TOYOTA PRIUS FUEL PERFORMANCE

A common question about hybrids is how much fuel will they save? Natural Resources Canada Energuide numbers for every vehicle in Canada are based on a specific testing methodology that measures fuel performance based on a “typical” drive cycle. Each consumer has a unique drive cycle of stop/go, urban/highway, and winter/summer conditions that determines a specific vehicle’s fuel performance and how close it will "match" the Energuide ratings.

80 Prius Traveling Over 2.8 Million Kilometres
The Hybrid Experience Report has collected detailed fuel consumption information from a number of Canadian organizations and individuals.  These vehicles are located in different provinces and are used for a variety of different tasks.  As a result the fuel efficiency of individual vehicles varies. This information provides a more realistic expectation on actual fuel efficiency under real world driving conditions.

The Toyota Prius has been widely used in fleet applications across Canada.  Consequently there is more fuel consumption information available compared to other hybrid vehicles.   The Hybrid Experience Report contains information collected from more than 80 Toyota Prius that have traveled more than 2.8 Million kilometres. 

This section contains fuel performance information for the Toyota Prius:

• Original Toyota Prius (2001-2003)
• Fuel Performance in Different Temperatures
• Monthly Fuel Performance Compared to Chevrolet Cavalier
• The 2004 Toyota Prius

2001-2003 Toyota Prius

The average fuel efficiency for the BC Government Prius Fleet was 5.83 l/100km. This number is higher than the 4.5 l/100 km (city) and 4.7l/100 km (highway) Energuide rating.  Toyota has issued a statement regarding the fuel efficiency of the Toyota Prius vs. published ratings. 

Transport Canada has operated four Toyota Prius over the past three years.  The average fuel efficiency of the four vehicles was 5.69 L/100 km. 

The City of Richmond, British Columbia operates two 2002 Toyota Prius and two 2002 Honda Civic Hybrids.  The average fuel performance of the two Prius was 4.94 L/100 km.  One of the Prius, after 26,846 km has met the Energuide City Ratings.  

The City of Vancouver has also kept detailed fuel performance records of its 2003 Prius.  This vehicle experienced above expected fuel consumption for an average of 7.8l/100km. As indicated in the accompanying chart the length of each trip taken in city traffic directly affected fuel performance. The City’s review of the Prius’ operation was that the vehicle was primarily being used for short, infrequent trips. The 2001-2003 Prius hybrid system requires approximately 5 minutes to warm up before demonstrating significant fuel efficiency improvements. The 2004 model uses a new coolant heat storage system that enables the engine to reach peak efficiency more quickly which improves fuel performance over short trips.

 Other organizations that have done similar tests on the 2001-2003 Toyota Prius include:
Province of Manitoba (Word)
City of Toronto
U.S. Department of Energy

Fuel Performance in Different Temperatures
The Province of Manitoba conducted a rigorous one year test on their two 2001 Toyota Prius.  One of the findings was that showed that the Toyota Prius had considerably better fuel performance in warm (4.1 C to 23.9 C) than it did in very cold weather.   Another finding was that the fuel performance, regardless of temperature, improved as the vehicle drove longer distances.  This effect appears to be more dramatic in cold weather. 

Monthly Fuel Performance vs. Chevrolet Cavalier
The Province of Manitoba also evaluated monthly fuel performance of their two Toyota Prius against their 50 2000 and 2001 Chevrolet Cavaliers.  Overall with the Prius, the province experienced a 39% improvement in city fuel performance and 35% improvement in highway fuel performance. 

NOTE: Accurate data for the Toyota Prius was not available for December 2000 and August 2001resulting in gaps in the chart.

2004 Prius
The 2004 model of the Toyota Prius featured significant changes from the 2001 model.  Six organizations have submitted fuel efficiency data for their Toyota Prius'.  The data is based on 44,000 kilometres traveled, and shows that the 2004 Toyota Prius has shown an improved fuel efficiency  (average: 4.78 l/100km) compared to the 2001 models in the Government of BC Fleet (average:5.77l/100km).   Also, these vehicles have shown fuel efficiency more similar to the Energuide ratings for the vehicle.  Note: The 2004 Prius owned by the City of North Vancouver demonstrated higher fuel consumption than did the other vehicles. North Vancouver has a number of large hills which likely had a significant impact on fuel efficiency.