BMW m3 V's prius on top gear last night?

Question

did it shock you that the bmw was more fuel efficient than the prius....whats going on

Answer 1

No it didn't surprise me, this is because the engine in the prius was having to work a lot harder than the BMW M3. The Prius is not made for hurtling round tracks.  However in normal everyday driving, the Prius would beat the BMW quite comfortably.  However, the Prius is a con, there are so many cars out there that don't cost as much and are extremely fuel efficient. A 1.6 tdci Ford Focus does over 60mpg and falls into the £35 per annum road tax bracket, its a lot cheaper as well, I'd take a car such as the Focus over the Prius anyday!

Answer 2

This is not the first road test that has prove that cars like the Prius are expestive to buy, more expensive to run and in ecological terms and complete disaster.

Answer 3

Did not shock me.

Its all a myth.  80% of CO2 is produced in the production of the car.

The most environmentally thing you can do is keep and maintain the car you have.  People who rushed out and bought a Prius have caused huge amounts more damage than if they'd kept their old car.

As the mentioend, keep the car you have, drive it more carefully (don;t over rev etc.) and cut out non essetntial journeys.

This will have a much better effect on the environment

Answer 4

Loads of cars of a similar size have significantly better mpg than the Prius. One survey put it near the bottom of a 'green' survey because the batteries carry a heavy end of life penalty. Is it's pollution output comparatively low? Or have we got yet another case of uninformed gullible  customers?  Without them certain well known car brands would simply disappear.....

Answer 5

Well, Clarkson did say it's the way you drive the car, not necessarily the make of it that makes it economically friendly.

But yes, it did shock me, considering the Prius is advertised as being environmentally religious.

Top Gear taught me that I could buy a Ferrari and still emit less CO2 than a Smart car.

Answer 6

There's a difference between fuel economy and "environmental friendliness".  The only thing the Prius has going for it is the ability to run on battery in traffic, thus allegedly helping with inner-city pollution. There's a lot to be said for a big engine working gently being much better than a small engine working hard, which is why the BMW came out on top . . .

Our local Toyota dealers privately admit to sniggering quietly when people buy a Prius as there are hardly any opportunities around here to run on battery - it's nearly all open road.

Answer 7

I don't remember seeing a BMW for under $23,000 that would get 50 mpg.