how many GIII owners are getting over 60MPG?

I reviewed the Top Gear episode (Season 11 episode 1 ) in question to refresh my memory again. The video shows the 2nd Generation Prius being initially accelerated reasonably hard and then cruising at a top speed which does not appear to be that high (the Prius appears to be driving under 55mph) that it would keep the Prius from eventually achieving 50 mpg if driven for an extended time. The Top Gear *comparison* video between the Prius and the M3 did not show any hard braking (which is not to say there wasn't any given the nature of the current producers). However, the distance/time travelled by both the BMW M3 and the Toyota Prius appears to be very short (less than 8 miles/30 minutes) so my initial assessment/memory of this episode is correct. However, I failed to remember that Clarkson was hypermiling the BMW M3. Clarkson appears to be *drafting* his BMW - decreasing the air resistance on the BMW by driving behind in the Prius wake( NASCAR race cars do this all the time). Barring drag racing or +100mph racing, if the Prius is driven for over 75 minutes on a USA super highway (e.g. the Ohio Turnpike) with the cruise control set to 75 mph a Prius should get very close to 50 mpg BUT a BMW M3 even if it was drafting behind the Prius like Clarkson would be lucky to get 20 mpg and would be spewing much more nasty emissions. Further - if a 2nd or 3rd generation Prius with the cruise control speed is set to 70 mph and driven continously over 75 minutes on the super highway that Prius should easily get 50 mpg (if the road isi dry and the temperatures is above 60F). I agree Top Gear is a boy racer fantasy show - it's fun to watch but it's not relevant to the daily metro commuter driver. There's really not many opportunities to *race* in rush hour traffic jams - which has fast luxury sports sedan stuck side-by-side with the not-so-fast inexpensive commuter cars. Why Top Gear would even consider real world commuter car like the Prius or the Leaf is beyond me.

 

I ususally get 60 to 62 mpg in warm weather with all around driving. This drops to 56 to 57 mpg in cooler weather. I get about 5 mpg more with my Gen III than my Gen II.

 

Stay off the brakes & install a fresh tomato between your foot & the accelerator pedal ....