BMW M3 Beats Prius in Fuel Economy Test

[Squatch]

Until losing his election last month, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone had hoped to encourage residents to sell their high-performance sports cars and SUVs by charging a £50 (US $50) environmental tax each time they entered the city's downtown area. Drivers of politically favored hybrids like the Toyota Prius, on the other hand, would either have enjoyed either a steep discount or a free ride.

A test aired Sunday on BBC's Top Gear television program, however, casts doubt upon the notion that a hybrid would be the most fuel efficient in every circumstance.

"This is a BMW M3," the show's host Jeremy Clarkson said in introducing the car that would compete with a Prius. "It is not designed to be as economical as possible; it is designed to be fast."

Clarkson chose the most extreme examples to make the point -- a sedan equipped with a V-8 engine producing 414 horsepower against the Toyota Prius with its 76 horsepower hybrid motor. The EPA rates the BMW at 14 miles per gallon in the city, and 20 on the highway which compares unfavorably to the 48 and 45 figures for the Prius. In this test, the M3 matched the speed of the Prius as the hybrid ran flat-out over ten laps of the 1.8 mile Top Gear Test Track in Surrey, England. Measurements taken after the run show that the Prius returned just 14.3 miles to the US gallon, while the BMW had 12 percent better fuel economy at 16.1 miles per gallon.

"It was one of the dullest drives of my life, but in the interest of science I stuck with it," Clarkson said. "Seriously, what I'm saying is, it isn't what you drive that matters, it's how you drive it. That is everything."

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[Canuckistanian]

1. This was a test of the Prius going "flat-out"?

Meaning full-throttle? And the BMW M3 matching that speed?

I don't think that's a fair test, and certainly not representative of everyday driving.

[Greyskye]

2. What an imbecilic 'test'

"In this test, the M3 matched the speed of the Prius as the hybrid ran flat-out over ten laps of the 1.8 mile Top Gear Test Track"

In other words, in short order the batteries were depleted, and the Prius was running flat-out on it's IC engine only. :eyes: I love Top Gear, but Clarkson's an ass.

If he wanted a more representative test, it would have been having the M3 match the Prius as the drivers used hypermiling techniques.

[flvegan]

3. Top Gear!!!

Clarkson also took an Audi A8 diesel 800 miles without refueling.

So there you have it. If you want an economical car that gets fantastic mileage, get an M3.

[Clovis Sangrail]

4. ROFL

I guess if you have no other options you grasp at straws...
... but I suppose they have a point - if you drive around at 103 mph all day.

[carlyhippy]

5. wow, wonder if the EPA sticker will show this number on future prius?

I fully believe it is how one drives, also. I don't think this was a fair test, the prius had it's poor little engine maxed out, which would not be representative of ordinary driving, the BMW was barely running its potential. I can already see a difference in my new Xterra in actual mpg, which is actually better than the sticker showed, just by driving slower and watching the fast acceleration and hard stopping.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

6. This BMW got 40 miles per gallon

I'm talking about the BMW 700, a very small, light, sporty car with an aluminium body and a 2 cylinder engine based on a BMW motorcycle. But that was 1960s technology and I guess we're beyond that now.

[nerddem]

7. niiiiiiiiiiice

haha, fuck toyota.

although it's kind of funny, i'm crazy about this girl that drives a prius and i have a z3, but i'm definitely sending her the link

[loveable liberal]

8. 40 mpg is dog sh%$.

my 1995 jetta gets 36 mpg. Bottom line: automakers havent done sh&% in the last 15 years.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. Thrashing any engine will be inefficient

and driving at about 100 mph it not exactly relevant to people's concerns (and mentioning the congestion charge, when in central London you'd be lucky to ever do 20mph, seems a real red herring).

However, here's a better comparison: a Prius versus a BMW diesel, on a drive of mixed expressway, minor road, and urban driving:

But you can’t argue with the end result. Approaching Switzerland I felt confident of beating Jason. The computer was telling me that, for the journey as a whole, I had averaged more than 50mpg. The test had taken us along just over 200 miles of autoroute, about 200 miles of B roads, including winding ascents and descents in Switzerland, and 100 miles of urban driving.

Before we set off, Jason and I filled our tanks to the brim. At the end of the journey, at a filling station in Geneva, we filled them again to find out how much fuel we’d used. The BMW had done the journey on 49 litres (just over two-thirds of a 70-litre tank). Jason had . . . well, I’ll let him tell his own story.
...
The next day it became clear my Prius did not like motorways, at least not at 75mph into a headwind. My trip meter informed me I was now averaging about 45mpg; the Prius was not going to make it to Geneva on just one tank.
..
Coasting down the mountain into Geneva my Prius averaged 99.9mpg for a full 10 minutes. It was the highlight of my journey and improved my overall average fuel economy by a full 2mpg. But it was not enough. For all my defensive driving, slippery bodywork and hybrid technology, my average fuel consumption was 48.1mpg. I’d lost to a Beemer and I was disappointed; I had never driven so slowly or carefully for so long in my life. I’m considering buying a V8 Range Rover and opening my own oil well in protest.

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/used_car_reviews/article3552994.ece

And that's quite believable - on longer trips, at real-world speeds, a diesel is better than a petrol hybrid. In city driving, the hybrid may gain an advantage.

[BigDaddy44]

10. This is absolutely true

I own a BMW. Not an M3, but a 3 series. I'm also a notorious lead foot.

Over the past month I have made a concerted effort to drive with an eye on getting maximum fuel economy. No jack rabbit starts, no rapid acceleration. It has made a huge difference in fuel economy, and all of a sudden I go much longer between fill ups.

Its not a matter of what you drive, its how you drive it.