Hi there, I'm looking for a first ever Prius. Am very impressed w/ what I'm hearing about mpg for '10's - '12's. What's the difference overall for Gen. 2 vs. 3. Looks like the Gen. 2's don't have the eco/ev drive settings. Also, what's difference from actual owners in a '10 (first yr.) & '12 (3rd yr.) of Gen. 3. Thanks for any input.
Overall the GenIII gets better fuel economy for the average driver. I'd say about 5mpg better depending on how much highway driving you do. Even hypermiling I had a difficult time getting over 62mpg in my GenII. With my GenIII I can put forth the same amount of effort and get 68+mpg. The GenII mpg indicator is about 2% optimistic and the GenIII mpg indicator is about 5-6% optimistic. So keep that in mind. They are two totally different cars so I suggest driving them both to see what you like better. My GenII with mods felt zippy whereas my GenIII feels more like a solid sedan.
Thanks. Did you have to do anything special to get 62 mpg in the Gen. 2? What is "hypermiling?"--sorry I'm new to this. I have driven both. The Gen. 3 feels a little sluggish to me on starting out. Is that just a matter of getting used to how much "gas" to give it? The Gen. 2 drives much more like my '91 Honda Civic, which can still pass newer cars on a hill when needed. & the Prius-C was zippiest of all, but I have to confess to liking the roomier & cushier interior of the standard model.
The GenIII has to be put in "Power Mode" to get that zippy feeling. In the grand scheme, the GenIII is the fastest of all the Prii models including the GenII. It just feels slower if you are not in Power Mode.
P. S. Does the Gen. 2 stay on all electric if driving 25mph or less like the Gen. 3? Is it easy to tell when the gas motor kicks in?
Hypermiling are techniques used to exceed EPA mpg estimates. Some of them include "pulse and glide", super highway mode, driving without brakes. Detailed descriptions can be found by googling those terms or simply googling hypermiling techniques. The Gen III is a superior car to the Gen II but a late model Gen II ((2007 or newer) or maybe a cheap 2010 Gen III will yield you the lowest cost per mile (figuring in insurance, maintenance and other associated costs). Both are excellent cars with high reliability records. There are things I love about both vehicles but, I'm going to try to drive my Gen II for 9 more years.
The Gen II will not stay all electric below 25 or less. The ICE kicks in with anything but a slight push on the accelerator. The Prius is designed as a gas car with electric assist. Typically you can only use electic to maintain speeds on a flat or slight down/upgrade. The real mpg improvement comes from the ICE start/stop technology and implementing hypermiling techniques.
Thank you very much for this response. I have been stuck between the Gen2 and Gen3 but this helps me a lot. I currently drive an 01 Corolla and it feels like a zippy golf cart and that is something I don't like about the car. Much appreciated.
Here's the link to fuelly: Toyota Prius MPG - Actual MPG from 6,575 Toyota Prius owners Scroll down to see the various model years, then click on the year. Gen 2 is 2004-2009, and Gen 3 is 2010-2015. Note, the results for 2012+ have the plug-in Prius mixed in, so they may be a little skewed. You can filter for a specific submodel using the drop-down at the top. My experience is in line with @F8L's range above for Gen 3; my lifetime average in my 2013 is 48.5 mpg (calculated), and the display has averaged 3 mpg optimistic (6%).
You can get a nice G2 for under $7500. I know, because I just did. Hard to find a good G3 for under $10k. $2500 buys a lot of gas!
