VIDEO: Inside Line presides over the battle of the fuel sippers
Posted Aug 12th 2009 8:59AM by Chris Shunk
Click above to watch the video after the jump
Fuel efficiency has finally moved to the forefront of many consumers' minds after 2008's record fuel price spike and demand is higher than ever for miser-mobiles. Several vehicles have benefited from the green car movement, and the Inside Line crew corralled three hybrids, a diesel and a supersized go-kart in the ultimate test of fuel economy prowess.
The Toyota Prius, Mini Cooper, Honda Insight, Ford Fusion and VW Jetta TDI were assembled to compete for the best fuel economy in city, highway and back road driving. IL also measured the cost to fuel each vehicle and the amount of CO2 each emitted during the test. The five vehicles were prepped to do battle, but ultimately it wasn't much of a fight.
The Toyota Prius won every conceivable category by a significant margin with amazingly similar fuel economy between 47 and 48 mpg in all driving tests. The Prius also took on all comers in regards to carbon emissions as the symbol of green motoring spewed .08 fewer pounds of pollutants during the test than the second place Honda Insight. Hit the jump to watch the video.
[Source: Inside Line]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Evan 9:05AM (8/12/2009)
Really? Because Jeremy Clarkson told us the Prius uses more gas than a BMW M3.
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Heimbachae 9:15AM (8/12/2009)
i was just wondering the same thing. especially with the jetta tdi coming in as the green car of the year... seems someone's getting paid to rub toyota's back
ufgrat 9:23AM (8/12/2009)
No, he didn't. He said what you drive isn't nearly as important as HOW you drive.
If you're going to quote someone, at least get the quote right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydvAQ6Y49vc
homunculus 9:23AM (8/12/2009)
the fuel economy of all cars goes to crap when you drive them to the limit, which was what clarkson did to test the prius vs the m3. his test had zero real world value.
of course i'd rather take the m3 anyway, but clarkson's test was crap bordering on dishonest.
Evan 10:26AM (8/12/2009)
Sarcasm is lost on some people.
ufgrat 11:17AM (8/12/2009)
It's not so much that sarcasm is lost on people... it's that it's terribly misused on the internet.
Plain text does not incorporate the necessary cues to determine sarcastic content, and in this case, it's easy to mistake sarcasm for serious, or vice versa.
Mike 11:35AM (8/12/2009)
Actually homunclus,
It's very real world. Ever see some dipsh!t driving a Prius at 90+ mph down the highway, I have, it's not an uncommon sight where I live. These JOs buy this thing to look all green and then drive them like they stole them, destroying the only thing they're good at, which is easy driving and getting good fuel economy. I usually just laugh at the hypocrisy.
MC959 11:56AM (8/12/2009)
That show from topgear was so stupid, if you put a M3 at max-speed, and a Veyron
has to follow it, the Veyron will probably consume less then the M3, what's the point about that???
Dave 9:06AM (8/12/2009)
But I thought the Ford Fusion Hybrid was the best thing to happen to cars since the Mustang and Taurus SHO, and that Toyota is overhyped. You mean the Prius actually won something?
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Ligor 10:31AM (8/12/2009)
when you drive both back to back you'll pick the Fusion
not becuase if sips less gas, but it's a drive that you won't mind on day to day and wont punish you with cushins made for a bicycle
Why isn't the Camry there to compete with the Fusion? me thinks it would have lost adn Toyota would not be having that cusy mushy feeling they have now, considering they likely payed for the comparison
d4rez 11:03AM (8/12/2009)
@ Ligor
Sour grapes much?
Mike 11:38AM (8/12/2009)
Just look at the picture and notice the huge size difference between the Prius and Fusion, if you can't answer your own question there, it's not worth bothering with you.
JDM Life 12:34PM (8/12/2009)
If you want size the Fusion is better....but that where it being better ends.
The Pruis is much better. Period. But i guess it needs to win some more to prove that lol
nardvark 12:59PM (8/12/2009)
They're really not meant for the same market. The Prius does only one thing well: fuel economy. It does that, but little else. The Fusion does many other things well, but it was not designed from the ground up to be the most efficient car on the planet.
tonybert@gmail.com 1:25PM (8/12/2009)
The prius... at the end of the day is still one of the ugliest things on the road and extremely uncomfortable. Hardly anyone drives them for better mileage. Its just a status symbol. I have 4 friends that drive them. Only one of my friends gets better than 40mpg.
Dave 1:34PM (8/12/2009)
What does the Fusion "do well" that the Prius doesn't? They're both passenger cars, and they're both very comfortable at that.
Alex 9:06AM (8/12/2009)
pfft... Toyota paid Inside Line off.
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Tourian 12:20PM (8/12/2009)
I'm guessing they'll pit the Sequoia against the SRX and the Flex to see which one can tow the heaviest load, have the most interior room and cargo space.
Dave in MI 9:09AM (8/12/2009)
Snarky Prius owners unite! Like they need any more reason to feel better than the rest of us....
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MTU 5.0 9:13AM (8/12/2009)
:) The 2nd gen smug cloud is brewing......