Argghhh! another bad review...

I subscribe to "Money" magazine and when the first issue was delivered with a review of fuel saving cars, it was rediculous...I decided to send a message to the writer...if anyone here wants to put in his/her $0.02, please write to Mr. Lawrence Ulrich at [email protected]

"Dear Mr. Ulrich,

I am a brand new subscriber to "Money" and as I picked up my first issue (August) from my mail box, I noticed the front cover stating "33mpg in an SUV". Since I am a very happy owner of a 2004 Toyota Prius (which I purchased for $21,829/package 4) I was hoping to see what you have to say about my car. Shock ensue as I flip to page 92 to find that you did not even give the 2004 Prius a "nod". I applaud the fact that you had included the Ford Escape Hybrid but your reviews of all the cars were not balanced.

You mentioned that you had driven all your fuel saving test cars "gently to maximize fuel economy." How did you manage to do that and get only 39 mpg in a 2004 Prius? If I may quote from another Prius owner, "I'd have to throw an anchor out of my window to get mileage less than 40 mpg". You wrote that "the Prius' highway mileage was matched by the diesel VW Passat and the diesel Mercedes E-Class...". How can this be if you stated overall miles per gallon for the Prius was 39 and the VW and Mercedes overall were at 32 miles per gallon? If you look at overall numbers from other fine publications such as "Consumer Reports", and "Car & Driver" you will find your miles per gallon numbers fall below their test numbers. I can assure you that as an owner of a Prius, I consistently get between 45 to 47 mpg in mixed driving in the Texas heat with AC running almost 100% of the time. I know that by choosing my Prius over cars like the VW and Mercedes diesels in your article, I have saved money off the sticker price right of the bat and have a much more reliable car that pollute less. I wonder if I should believe the writings in "Money" in the future when it makes comparison of consumer products?

Regards,
Anthony Han
Dallas, Texas"

 

It's frustrating when the media compares the Prius to the Corolla. That's like comparing an apple to an orange. If I wanted a compact car, I would have purchased the Corolla.