Mercedes E vs Prius

Per 2014 Chevy Cruze: Trims - Compact Car | Chevrolet vs. Hybrid Cars | Toyota Prius 2014, starting Cruze Diesel MSRP is $785 higher than Prius Two.

Sigh re: "equal fuel economy", others have already covered it. Diesel costs significantly more (Daily Fuel Gauge Report--national, state and local average prices for gasoline, diesel and E-85. ) than regular unleaded. And, so far, the gasoline Cruze's reliability has been pretty lousy (worse to much worse than average) vs. much better than average Prius reliability.

 

Don't compare EU figures with EPA. The latter provides good results with real world mileages, unless cheated as Ford did with FFH.

Can you link MRSP values for Focus 1.0?

 

You all mock the Mercedes diesel but they do get really good mpg's. Now you see how Prius sales struggle, there is closing competition from many manufacturers. The diesel Mercedes A, B and C class all do amazing mpg's making the E look like a gas guzzler. The Mercedes all have the batter DPF systems too. If you ever see a BlueTec Mercedes, have a look inside the tail pipe and be shocked - it'll be clean as a whistle.

Does the Prius pip diesel in city traffic? Sure. But if you travel mainly highway and want something different, then the Mercedes diesels are amazing. Don't mock til you've tried a MODERN one (note: they've changed since 1981 ).

 

Correct me where I'm wrong but a base Cruze diesel is 25,600 (when you can find one) and a base Prius G3 is 24,200 (when you can find one.)
The Base Cruze Diesel does have something that the Base Prius lacks however..... a clutch pedal, since it lacks an automatic transmission.
The Prius is slightly more economical in real world fuel economy, and the fuel is 30 cents a gallon cheaper here.

You do have something close to a point about the cost versus benefit for something like a Versa/Fiesta
for some people over a G3, but those are gas burners and even as spartan as a Prius is they do have some basic options like a CVT, cruise, etc.
Personally I like driving a manual shift car, and I despise CVT's but if we're talking about fuel efficient vehicles you have to talk about things like CVTs and Hybrids in that realm.
You also have to include diesel in the conversation as well, since I haven't seen very many tractor-trailers, ships or freight trains that are hybrid.
However (comma!)
I think that the diesel premium (fuel cost, weight, motor cost) is a little more pronounced than the number benders say that it is.

Mercedes makes a great car, but you have to pay for that quality.
It's like the difference between Bass and Budweiser.
If money were no object I certainly wouldn't be driving a Prius either, but don't try to sell me on the idea that Bass is cheaper.

 

It's funny how this thread has shifted away from the original point. Just to clear up a couple of things here. The base Chevy Cruze has leather and a host of niceties that make it very inviting at least for me. One thing noted above which is incorrect is that the Diesel Cruze is not available with a manual transmission.

Again this article has nothing to do with the Cruze or normal drivers inabilities of achieving great mileage. It's about two completely different cars being driven by average people.

As a side note, those really nice charts Bob

 

In the US. I'm sure the European models have the standard transmission available, but they also have at least two choices of diesel engine.

 

Our next door neighbor got the Cruze D a few months ago (I posted pic's here somewhere). He recently told me his 75mph freeway mileage/flat land is 'almost 50' ... but the stop & go is around 26mpg fwiw.

 

Most mid range upwards diesel cars have an automatic transmission option. Though they're not usually cheap.

 

MPGe cannot be directly compared to MPG.

The MPG rating for the 918 (carbon fiber supercar with 4.6L V8) is:
67 MPGe
20/22/24 MPG (gas only)

The Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid (full-sized sedan with 3L supercharged-V6) is rated:
50 MPGe (5 cycle EPA testing starting with full battery)
23/25/29 MPG (gas only)

If you want to compare the MPGe ratings of any cars they must all be PHEVs or BEVs.

PIP vs. Volt vs. Panamera S E-Hybrid vs. 918
Compare Side-by-Side

 

I saw those bimodal peaks myself too. I always assumed it was city drivers vs hwy drivers, as city driving nets better MPG in prius and I belong in that category. To be honest, if my commute was not all city as it is now, I would have considered a number of different cars. But Prius is totally no brainer for my city commute. The only challenge for me was to get is cheaply enough to avoid the hybrid premium and near MSRP price. I had to wait till late 2010 to get mine. I know, I'm a cheap person.

 

That's correct, the US spec diesel Cruze is currently only available with an automatic trans. It's also been tweaked over the Euro version to be a much cleaner oil burner. As far as I understand it there is only a singular Diesel engine for the Euro Cruze, not multiple choices.

 

That simple point is a pure fallacy. Here is why. The author admitted this:

Then to prove his bias, he borrowed a trick from Clarkson to run the Prius at it's maximum speed that is very inefficient in this car. Mission accomplished.

My point is Prius is not the car to have for high speed driving. If this was the point they wanted to prove, they should have said it clearly and not mislead the reader.

 

It may not be the best for that job, but german folks do regularly floor it in autobahns, and make good use of the power available, and achieve acceptable MPG. I've heard of 23MPG @110MPH continuous...is that bad, or does it mean is "not the car to have"?!

 

Have you ever heard of "hyperbole" the article has it all over the place. How about this, why not load a driver plus an extra 1001 lbs of weight in the Prius and see how it works out for you. What's wrong you guys. They're comparing a Luxury car that rides and drives 1000% better than the Prius. In the real world people do drive 75-80mph. It's just an article pointing out that you can have a nice car and save fuel. What's wrong with that?

By the way, Top Gear is just entertainment, you don't actually take it literally........ Do you?

 

Yes MPGe can be directly compared to MPG since they are both based on the energy content (BTUs) in a gallon of gas. The KWh used is converted to BTUs and then MPG.

The Focus SE is listed on Ford's "build your car" site as $18,000. Add 995 for the three cylinder option, and you have about 19000 MSRP. Dealers sell below MSRP, so the car will be about 1500 dollars less.

If my main goal is to save money, I would not buy a Mercedes diesel even if it got 80 highway mpg like the old Lupo 3-cylinder. The fuel savings would not cover the high pricetag.

 

...and diesel emits 15% more carbon dioxide than gasoline.

 

But generally goes 30% further for the gallon.

 

...when compared against a conventional non-HSD gasoline vehicle.