March 28, 2008

BMW or Bigassed Prius? We report. You Decide

2004-BMW-5-Series.jpg
Style ....

2006-toyota-prius.jpg
.... or stupidity?

You can choose which model to sink your money into. Will you choose the one that makes the most sense in terms of fuel efficiency, or the one that lets the world know what a really good person you are?

On their trip from London to Geneva (plus 100 urban miles), the BMW pictured above played music and ran air-conditioning while the Prius driver turned off both as he tried to drive very carefully. Nevertheless, the BMW consumed 4.7 liters per 100 km (41.9 mpg) while the Prius has burned 4.9 liters per 100 km in average (40.1 mpg). Subtle BMW gadgets to save fuel seem to be more important than the hybrid core of the Prius as well as its 500 missing pounds. -

BMW 520d: more efficient than Toyota Prius
Choose carefully because you have to remember that, deep down, most people know that:
priusprick.jpg

YES! GIVE ME MY FREE PRIUS PRICKING BUMPERSTIP! SUITABLE FOR STICKING TO PRIUS BUMPERS [0.5 MEGABYTE PDF]


Posted by Vanderleun at March 28, 2008 12:14 PM
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

Correction: nothing says prick like Priapus and the condition for which he is named. To put it another way, "baby you can drive my car," but not for longer than four hours.

Posted by: Gagdad Bob at March 28, 2008 12:46 PM

AUGHHHHH!!! Beat me to it.

I was going to say, you can't spell "Priapus" without "P-r-i-u-s".

Posted by: Rich Fader at March 28, 2008 2:14 PM

Gasoline has 34.6 MJ/l and diesel has 38.7 MJ/l. therefor, a given quantity of diesel should carry you 12% farther than the same quantity of gas. 4.7 liters of diesel equals 5.3 liters of gasoline in energy content. Therefor the Prius is more fuel efficient than the Beemer.

We would also expect that diesel should cost 12% more than gas. Right now the price gap is closer to 23% so the Prius also got more miles per dollar.

Posted by: Fat Man at March 28, 2008 6:42 PM

The Prius loses because the battery will have to be replaced about every 7 years and then there is the problem of disposal of the toxic battery waste.

High mpg diesels are off the shelf technology, cheaper than hybrid technology, and can be produced in large quantities for most vehicle uses, including buses. Diesel is easier to produce than gasoline and with bio diesel and coal liquefication added into the mix the price of diesel should soon be less than that of gasoline. It just takes some leadership at the government and car manufacturing levels.

IMO it is the engine of choice for ground transportation until we can develop hydrogen or ????

Posted by: Jimmy J. at March 28, 2008 7:45 PM

I was not promoting the BMW over the Prius. They are different vehicles for different people in different situations. I was simply pointing out that the comparison is trickier than it might first appear to be.

Personally, I am happy with my 2002 V6 Accord. When I have to replace it, I will probably buy another Honda.

Posted by: Fat Man at March 29, 2008 8:29 PM