Synergy - The Truth About Hybrids (And Toyota Prius Review)

Dodgy maths in the costings.
A loss is the loss. Over the time of ownership, I'm guessing 2 years in his example the total difference in the cost of the 2 cars is $13,000. That is not correct either as he used the price of the current Prius, ($39,990) instead of the purchase price of the 2007 which was $37,400 bringing the difference in cost of ownership to $11,400, not even close to $25,000. This takes into account the $1000 per year saving on petrol.

The nickel still exists at the end of the life of a Prius so overall there is no cost to the environment as that nickel can be used to replace nickel that would be mined.
If it takes 25,000km to recover the environmental cost of producing a Prius over a similar size conventional car then I am well in front with 130,000km on my 2004. I have saved the environment over 4 times the additional production impact. In the mean time a Focus is treading water.

Here is my maths.
I bought my car in 2007 with 61,000km on the clock for $24,900 all inclusive
I have driven about 70,000km. Driving a Focus across the city at the rated 11.4L/100km http://www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au...rentTask=aa7c9e13-b52b-4ca7-aa1f-1e51dc763620 that would amount to 7980 litres of petrol, but in a Prius at my actual 4.3L/100km I would have used 3010 litres over the 2 and a bit years. My Prius has saved me 4970 litres of fuel. At a cost per litre I conservatively estimate at $1.21 that is a fuel saving so far of $6013.

I could sell my Prius now for about $18,000 so I have lost $7,000 on the capital value of the car, take off the fuel saving over the Focus and my total cost of ownership excluding tyres and statutory charges (I'd have to pay these no matter what I drove) is under $1000 for the 2+ years.
Tell me again, how much depreciation did the Focus have?

PS, when I went car shopping it was for a new car in the $20,000 to $25,000 range, then I saw the Prius was in my price range as a used car. I could have bought a new Corolla, a new Focus or a new VW, but instead I bought a used Prius that was like new and I have never looked back.

 

Perhaps it is more effective to go to uTube and post your comments and evaluation there.

Bob Wilson

 

I will, but I doubt it will fit in the space provided

 

I believe the argument that it takes 20km (or whatever) was investigated and debunked by Toyota. The vast majority of the environmental resources are expended during the operating life of the car.

Also, I'd rather drive a Prius than a Focus. I looked at a Focus before buying the Prius. I wasn't impressed, and my GF wasn't either.

 

I did, what a chore, you can't post links on youtube.

 

I can't stand to read the comments on most YouTube videos. It is literally scraping the scum from the fountain of knowledge. :madgrin:

 

Thanks for this video. I don't understand this guys math. He says a new Prius costs $40,000. I guess I got a screaming deal when I got a new one for $22,700, that's less than the $25,000 he says the new Focus costs. I think that would change the equation a bit He says the reverse beeper is a negative- we all know that is easily hacked. I wonder who funded this video. Perhaps GM?

 

The guy in the video is using AU $.

 

Oh- never mind

 

Newsflash! Did you know a $40,000 car costs more than a $25,000 car?! That means it costs you more money!

And this one has metal in it which has to be mined (cue ominous, scary music) and this one's made of...um...well, maybe we won't mention that part. :redface:

'The truth'? Oh, puhlease.

 

Yep, America gets the cheapest Prius prices in the world.
The reverse beeper can't be disabled in Australia, not without removing the beeper anyway.

I suspect this is some guy trying to make a name for himself as a Clarkson clone.

 

Not just Australian dollars, Australian pricing.
$40,000 AU for a base model Prius is equal to $36,754.57 USD
The iTech is the fully optiooned model, it comes in at $54,000 AU or $49,618.67 USD at today's exchange rates of $1 AU = 0.918864 USD.

Because we never had George W running our economy our dollar is doing pretty well right now against the greenback. Toyota don't adjust pricing to reflect this.

 

Hi Pat,

I suspect there may be other 5-seat cars priced the same as the Prius in Australia. This puts the hybrid skeptic in the position of trying to argue specifications ... a much harder problem.

The reason for posting comments on YouTube is that is the only way to tag the counter arguments with the video. Posting here is a bit like preaching to the choir.

Bob Wilson

 

Camry Altise is under $30,000 with
STYLE PACK INCLUDES:
16" ALLOY WHEELS
REAR LIP SPOILER
REVERSE CAMERA
DISPLAY AUDIO
Drive away price.

I understood why you suggested to post on you tube, the tiny character count makes posting meaningful comments damn hard.

 

Plus, reading comments on YouTube can significantly decrease your IQ. Perhaps permanently! :0

 

Pat, I'm curious why Prius pricing seems high in Australia. Is the Prius subject to tariffs common comparison cars are not ? I cannot quite accept that currency exchange rates are the entire explanation.

As for 'the truth', much more often than not that kind of headline is anything but.