Interesting review on the Toyota Prius.

[EdWort]

 

[olllllo]

Top Gear is Gold.

 

[Arneba28]

Loved it. LOL

 

[beala]

Ouch. My dad drives a Prius and I don't mind it...

In any case, it has a 4-5 star crash rating. My dad averages mileage in the mid-50s (I guess it depends on how/where you drive it), and my friend that keeps raving about turbo-diesel says it isn't in the US yet (but will be soon).

 

[Klainmeister]

Oldie but goodie. Topgear has to be the best car show to even grace this earth.

 

[Desert Monkey]

Top Gear rocks - and have been in one of these I have to agree with him on all accounts.

Except the bullet proof thing. No one shot at us when I was in it, so I can't agree with him on that one.

 

[FishinDave07]

Ha! You got a Billy-Bob right here

 

[Evan!]

One of my favorite Prius Moments was when Larry David (who drove a Prius on the show at the time) was getting chased down the street on foot by a big german shepherd, and someone drives by in a Prius and he waves and yells 'hey, Prius!' Effing priceless...such a biting satire on ye olde Smug Alert.

 

[dirtymike1]

I've have said that a turbo diesel will get better MPG then that POS. My family had a little diesel gulf when we lived in Germany, and it was getting ~50 MPG, and that was in a beater.

Does anyone also realize the amount of pollution that is cause by them simply making the battery for a hybrid? When I get to work I'll pull up what I can to back that up, but I remember it being said that for what it takes to make one of those batteries, its equal to driving a car for its whole lifetime.

 

[brauhaus]

i hate prius cars, they are a load of bull.

 

[dirtymike1]

Ok I found this, it isn't the article that I had read before but it does give good insight. This is from the UCBerkley


Vehicle Production Pollution:
The production process for the hybrid vehicle is very different than the production process of a gasoline vehicle. There are similarities especially in regards to the production of the gasoline powered engine. Thus the production of the gasoline powered engine in the hybrid is similar to that of a gasoline powered vehicle however the addition of the electric engine increases the environmental impact of the production of the hybrid vehicle. The greatest environmental impact comes from the pollution caused by the elaborate battery system that powers the electric engine. The battery pollution is substantial because the creation of the batteries requires destructive mining to produce the batteries and the caustic substances that power the batteries must later be disposed of. The caustic substances that power the batteries are very poisonous and when released into the environment leech into the waterways and poison groundwater.

http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~coreyp/hybridenvimp.html

 

[dirtymike1]

Ohh and Top Gear is the sizznit! Just search for it on youtube and waste away hours of your life on dry, british humor.

 

[Ryanh1801]

I hate top gear, but that was pretty good. When they reviewed the new Vett, I was about to go crazy.

 

[blacklab]

I had an '81 diesel rabbit in high school that got 49 mpg. Batteries not included.

 

[McKBrew]

In many foreign countries you can buy diesel equivalents of vehicles sold as gas only here. Like the Nissan Frontier for example.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Turbo diesels are they way to go. Why they don't produce turbo diesel hybrids, I don't know. That would be the best of both worlds IMO.

I've got a Passat TDI and love it! It's a shame they stopped importing them. Driven normally I get ~30 in town and 40 on the hwy. If I'm in a hurry, I can drive 80 and still average 36 mpg. It's not as good as the golf/jetta/bug TDIs, but it's much bigger and more powerful. I once drove from CO Springs to Santa Rosa, NM and back to CO Springs on a single tank of gas. I had logged 690 miles before I filled up.

 

[Laurel]

I love Top Gear, hate the Prius, and make a point of cutting them off in traffic every chance I get.

The British review of the prius(the newer body style, that takes place in England) is pretty funny too.

 

[MrFebtober]

Turbo diesels are they way to go. Why they don't produce turbo diesel hybrids, I don't know. That would be the best of both worlds IMO.

I've got a Passat TDI and love it! It's a shame they stopped importing them. Driven normally I get ~30 in town and 40 on the hwy. If I'm in a hurry, I can drive 80 and still average 36 mpg. It's not as good as the golf/jetta/bug TDIs, but it's much bigger and more powerful. I once drove from CO Springs to Santa Rosa, NM and back to CO Springs on a single tank of gas. I had logged 690 miles before I filled up.

Diesel engines don't like starting and stopping very much. Their higher compression ratios and dependence on heat for proper detonation means they require more energy to start. I believe this is why they haven't been paired with hybrids. They also cost more than an equivalent gasser, which would make a hybrid cost premium even tougher to justify.

We're slowly getting new-tech diesels back in the States, but blame Cali and NY for killing the old diesel VWs off here. They just weren't clean enough and still coughed out a lot of particulate pollutants. Clean diesels are on the way, though. I'm personally looking forward to a 2010 boxer-diesel Subaru Forester.

 

[c.n.budz]

I drove a Prius for one day, one very sucky day. I got it as a rental when my old car was in the shop. It accelerated like a slug, the brakes were very grabby, and I just don't trust a car that only has forward and reverse. Even normal automatics usually have at least 1, 2, D, and R or at very least low, drive, and reverse. Golf carts have forward and reverse....

My sister and BIL recently bought a toyota highlander. They looked at the hybrid version but it was nearly 8k more expensive. Any money saved on gas is eaten up by the higher car payment

 

[MrFebtober]

oh, and yeah, Top Gear totally rules. Got every episode loaded into the media harddrive.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

I love Top Gear, hate the Prius, and make a point of cutting them off in traffic every chance I get.

So you actually make a conscious choice to drive in a dangerous manner, and be rude to other drivers, based on the kind of car they drive?

Or did you forget the little so people know you're kidding?

 

[EdWort]

I love Top Gear, hate the Prius, and make a point of cutting them off in traffic every chance I get.

The British review of the prius(the newer body style, that takes place in England) is pretty funny too.

I love this episode of South Park.

 

[david_42]

My '89 Civic Wagon got 43 averaged over 204,000 miles. I'm not even slightly impressed by the Prius. 20 years newer, 1/3 the room and only 20% better mpg? How about a diesel Polo?

 

[dirtymike1]

Well I said it on here before, my buddies Honda CRX with a DZ motor get 52 MPG highway. Cant beat that with a stick!!!

 

[Lil' Sparky]

They also cost more than an equivalent gasser, which would make a hybrid cost premium even tougher to justify.

They don't have to. My Passat TDI cost a whopping $200 more than the 4 cyl gas version.

Clean diesels are on the way, though. I'm personally looking forward to a 2010 boxer-diesel Subaru Forester.

Yes, hopefully we'll have a wider range of clean diesels to choose from soon. The diesel Forrester would be a nice option!

 

[aekdbbop]

babbbbooon

 

[Lil' Sparky]

babbbbooon

 

[MrFebtober]

Now that i'm home and had a chance to watch the youtube vid, I see that this is not actually from a Top Gear episode, but actually from Jeremy's UK DVD release: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly". It's a pretty entertaining review of American-market auto industry through the eyes of Clarkson...as long as your skin is thick enough.

 

[zbeeblebrox]

well there are few cars which i WILL buy in my life. one being the Caterham 7, another being a new triumph( if it ever happens) and the other being a lotus of some hind. that being said i dont care for gas millage if i like the car. however i wouldnt mind a cheap economical car for trips and the such or at least one that is slightly more comfortable then a caterham. so a small diesel car would be great and i could totally see myself driving one, just wish they would bring them over already.

 

[c.n.budz]

that being said i dont care for gas millage if i like the car..

Say that again when gas hits $6 a gallon....