Corvette Gets Better Gas Mileage than Prius? - Garage419

1. Why does the Prius owner need to drive with HID and foglights on during the daytime while participating in an mpg run?
2. Considering the bladder variability, its tough to compute Prius fuel economy after one refill - 39 mpg is not good especially considering the engine was warmed up before the mpg competition.
3. Note the hair styles of the two drivers - does this appeal to stereotypes or what.

 

They did a very similar exercise on a UK motoring programme [Fifth Gear]against a BMW 5 Series[with the BMW coming out on top,on YouTube somewhere]and also on another show,Top Gear,on their test track against a Z3,with the Z3 basicially chasing the Prius around the track,again the Z3 came out on top,probably not that scientific......Good to see the lads went to an Irish Pub for a pint after their trip,the Guinness doesn't look half bad......Hope they weren't driving home after!!

 

Title isn't correct is it?
It seemed the Vette needed concentration to get that mileage but the Prius was driven normally.
One beer should be fine.

 

Hi All,

I liked this video. It was civil and somewhat fair. The Vette guy was hypermiling (neutral glides down hills), where the Prius driver was not. Put Wayne in the Prius, and that would be totally fair. Hypermiler against Hypermiler. The Prius probably would have come in in the mid 60's then.

 

So the answer to the title, as it is a question, is no. The prius wooped the C5 on fuel economy. The Prius could have done much better. The kind of of medium speed driving they were doing in the country is perfect for the prius if you know how to take advantage of it. I don't know if it was the lights or if he relied on regen braking too much or broke too hard but something wasn't right with the Prius only getting 40 MPG on that particular route. But if they only did one top off after 47 miles, then it was completely inacaccurate. You need to go through several tanks and average it out before you can get even close. With 47 miles and topping back off, the C5s DIC and the Prius's MFD are far more accurate at fuel economy estimations.

The C5 does get very good fuel economy. I was able to consistently get between 30 and 31 MPG on the freeway driving 65 MPH in my 2001 C5. It was the mos fuel efficient car I've ever owned.

 

Hi Sorka,

At that speed on a free flowing highway the Prius would be about 50+ mpg in 80 degree dry weather. Drop down just a little bit to get into the warp stealth band (below 64 mph) - say 62 mph, and the Prius will be 55+ mpg in that same weather.

Yea, I am suprised they did not reset the MFD and give us that mileage as a comparison.

 

Posted comment:

Rob

 

The C5 also runs on Premium unleaded.

 

Interesting, but it's sounds like a bar trick. I don't see how you can grant any validity to the comparison, since topping of the tank in a Prius with the bladder is not necessarily equivilent in any way to the gallons used, which is required to calculate MPG for the run. Although, with a bar trick, you need to control the trick. I'm not sure how the C5 driver could have counted on the odds of a short refill. Unless the C5 driver picked the station for the refill knowing in advance it was one who's tanks tended to click off early on Prius'. That's the kind of thing that makes for a bar trick. And I totally agree that a hypermiler would have changed the results. In fact, I don't think you would have even needed to be a hypermiler. Oh well. Interesting exercise that I'm sure will get reference many many times over.
P.S. I'm only saying it could be the E10 if that's what has changed. Not say that's what it has to be.

 

If I had been behind the wheel, The Prius would have gotten 70-75 MPG over that route.
And I could have made the "fill-up" reflect that or better too.
One-tenth of a gallon of gas would have skewed the Prius results by 10%, or more, which could be 4-5 +MPG. So those two little top-off hits at the end of his fillup would change the numbers by 10 MPG.
Entertaining, but pointless all the way around.

 

Re: Corvette Gets Better Gas Mileage than Prius? - BS

What a crock of BS. As a former owner a C5 (2000 purchased new) and current Prius owner there is no comparison in mileage. Sure, the C5 could get 30 mpg (pretty impressive for a 350 hp sports car) driven conservatively on the highway in favorable conditions but my lifetime overall was about to 20 mpg when I sold the car. Conversely, my Prius currently has a lifetime 56.6 mpg. I guess the real world conditions don't reflect parlor tricks. Additionally, any time I here a mileage claim that uses topping off a the tank after a short drive it is an immediately apparent the data is terminally flawed, especially with the erratic results observed with Prius fuel tank. Drive the cars 10,000 miles keeping records of fuel added and get back with me then.

 

My inlaw's V-8 Crown Vic gets 30 MPG on the highway doing 55-60 MPH.
That's really no secret these days with overdrive transmissions. But overall it's lucky to get 20MPG.

 

I'm not a particularly good driver for mileage, but I think my car would have gotten at least 10 mpg better than the Prius in the video on that course. Maybe there is something wrong with his car.

 

WHOA!!!!!!!!!! let's stop saying this blah blah and that. i am the present owner of BOTH cars. yes, i have a C5 Z06 and a #6.

Given the light of day, both cars just dont compare with each other. my Z06 is a "light your hair on fire" sportscar that really does a "decent" job at obtaining good american MPG. i can literally average 24-25 mpg on the street, and my high was 34 mpg on the highways. if i romp on the pedal, it's about 10-14 mpg, but all 400 hp breaks loose and things fly by in a blur. if i activate my NOS, i have an easy 650+ hp on tap. things get very scary at this point. believe me. it's an adrenaline rush that is very furious.

My prius? well, i just dont rush. i watch gliding, hypermiling, cruising and enjoying my mpg rise. even though my high was only 48 mpg, it's a joy to drive. no where near the high horsepower, but very fun and very economical to drive.

To compare the two is kinda humorous and pathetic at the same time. but i guess the comparison rests with the fact that i too own the two cars being compared. (i dont know if the vette is indeed a Z06, whatever)

Two cars, two different beasts, two different purposes of it's manufactured life. i dont expect any low ET's from my prius, but when aggression strikes, i can easily get low 10's all day long from my vette. why compare the two??????

if you want to see my vette, click on my name. it's there.

cheers

 

Nothing wrong with the car, just the method of result measurement and fill-up.

I'd like to know what his MFD showed his average MPG was if it had been reset when they began the test. I guarantee he acually got at least 50+ MPG.