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Well duh?! Didn’t we all know the Prius was the most fuel efficient car in existence? No, not really. Way back in 2000 there was a two-door Honda Insight without today’s safety equipment or level of protection that had been the fuel efficiency champion up until now. Consumer Reports in its latest test found that in a variety of driving situations the 2016 Prius is the top vehicle ever for fuel efficiency. Note that the test was of the “Prius,” not the new Prius Eco, which has an almost insane MPG rating.
Consumer Reports is unique in that the group uses a fuel meter of their own calibration and installation to measure the precise amount of fuel consumed. In their overall testing, the new Prius returned 52 MPG. Although Consumer Reports does not attempt to replicate the EPA Combined fuel economy test, the results CR got do exactly match the EPA Estimated Combined MPG for the Prius at 52.
Normally, this is where the dirty diesel fans chime in and proclaim “But our beloved spark-less oil burners can do better on the highway!” Nope. Consumer Reports also tested the Prius at a controlled highway loop and reports, “At 65 mph highway cruising, we measured 59 mpg—which is better fuel economy than any diesel-engined car we’ve tested.”
We won’t spoil the rest of Mike Monticello’s excellent report on the Prius. You can read it in full by subscribing to Consumer Reports.
Related Story: 2016 Toyota Prius Eco beating EVs by about 20% in cost per mile - EPA
Image by John Goreham
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Umm...my 2000 Honda insight
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Umm...my 2000 Honda insight cost me 5 grand used with 75k miles on it and it gets 75mpg on the hwy. 10 gallon tank record with a combo of city and hwy was 681 miles averaging 68.9 mpg throughout the whole ten gallons.
Brandon, great input. With
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Brandon, great input. With your good driving habits, imagine the mileage you would get with the more efficient Prius.
Few vehicles respond better
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Few vehicles respond better to responsible hypermiling practice than the first-gen Insight, and that includes all generations of the Prius. The Prius' mission is to make thriftier drivers of the average motorist, while the Insight - not necessarily by design - is more responsive to thriftier practice.
All of that said, I'm getting an average of about 52 in my Civic Hybrid (rated for 40 combined). If I could start from a 52 combined rating, just imagine what I could whistle up in practice. That would be fun.