Quote:
Originally Posted by willravel
Most of my friends are unhappy with their Prius's gas consumption. 32 mpg in a hybrid is far less effective as a mid 90s geo metro which could get as good as 60 mpg. I wonder if the whole thing is a joke.
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The gas mileage of the Prius varies widely depending on the conditions you drive it under--as suggested above, hybrids respond more to your individual driving style. Additionally, the Prius performs better under stop-and-go driving conditions than a traditional engine does. It is not meant for the open road, and performs comparably to traditional engines under those conditions.
I know a number of people who have a Prius, and generally they are quite satisfied with the mileage they get. Of course, my town is 1) a college town, and 2) not overly large, but 3) full of liberals who drive Priuses, and 4) really the perfect condition to drive the Prius under--tons of stop-and-go driving.
Personally, I'm in the market to buy a car this fall. I'm eyeing the Honda Fit, because 1) it's a traditional engine so I can maximize fuel efficiency on the open road, and 2) I can get it with a manual transmission (good for stop-and-go driving, which is what I usually do). The Fit gets in the upper 30s for mpg in real-life driving conditions--much better than the 20mpg I'm getting now in a Volvo station wagon.