Toyota Prius v Wins Best All-Around Performance Award from ASG - The News Wheel The Automotive Science Group (ASG) has determined the 2014 Toyota Prius v to be the winner of its annual Best All-Around Performance Award. The award compiles a number of factors important to both consumers and industry experts to determine which vehicle tops them all. In addition to the 2014 Toyota Prius v winning the Best All-Around Performance award, it was also named ASG’s Best Wagon for 2014 and given the Best Environmental Performance Award for its diminished carbon footprint. Other Toyota vehicles were honored by the ASG: the 2014 Yaris, Prius c, Prius, Prius Plug-in, and Venza were all named Best 5 All-Around Performance finishers in their respective segments for their commitment to social, environmental, and economic excellence. Full details at the ASG website; click on each category of car to see the winner and runners up. AUTOMOTIVE SCIENCE GROUP
The V is a beautiful car.... I set the cruise control to 45 during a testdrive & after 100 interstate miles the display showed 70 MPG. That's amazing for the size of the car. (I also testdrive the tiny C which scored 71 MPG.)
Which is interesting Bob This is interesting Bob considering the V is larger and heavier. I guess 45 mpg is a pretty sweet zone and somewhat sustainable. But . The 30 and less...are you saying 4kilometers is good for that figure? Because I know I can only go a mile or so straightaway with 100 mpg before ICE kicks in.
I believe the MPG shown is with the Prius G3 alternating between EV and gasoline modes over a long distance. BOB: Your graph also matches what I get in my Civic Hybrid (lean burn engine). The Civic does poorly below 35 mph: ~45 mpg at 80 ~55 mpg at 70 ~62 mpg at 60 ~74 mpg at 45 ~77 mpg at 40 ~77 mpg at 35 ~72 mpg at 30 (engine is idling at this speed) (5th gear)
Benchmarking Prius performance is a little tricky: have to properly warm-up car - this is typically 20-30 minutes have to avoid traction battery SOC tricks - another couple of miles to get the car into a stable state and avoid grades that can distort the results It has been years since I did the test but I found if I'm very careful to normalize the car, 4km can work. In truth, I am my own worst critic with doing these kinds of tests. BTW, the fact that so many cars get similar highway mileage, including non-hybrids, suggests that at higher speeds, they are all running about the same drag load and the engines are fairly close in thermal efficiency. This led me to the insight about engine overhead costs that the Prius evades by turning the engine off. The Honda Accord hybrid is playing the same trick. Bob Wilson
