Welcome Toyota Prius Mark 2

In the time before Blog I got quite excited about the Toyota Prius - an amazing petrol-electric hybrid car. Almost to the point of buying one. I test drove it on four different occasions, which is a record even for me. But I just couldn't bring myself to buy it. You need to understand that I am a revhead in rehabilitation and a car which only does 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 13 seconds was just a little slow. Now my treatment has progressed I would probably revise that assessment but at the time I was driving a car that did the 0-100 km/h sprint in 5.2 seconds.

So while I have been evolving my thinking Toyota have been busy revolutionising the Prius. The original model was launched in Japan in 1997. It was then tweaked a little in power output for the US market in 1999, but really we're still talking 1997 technology. The Prius relies on some much hi-tech smarts that it really can be improved a lot thanks to Moore's Law and some smarter programming.

It is faster - that 0-100 km/h sprint is now around the 10.5 second mark which places it around 2 litre manual sedan territory. It now has a larger interior, yet weighs less. It boasts a more practical and prettier hatchback shape. And it uses less fuel and produces even less pollutants than before. It is also packed to the gills with enough gizmos to keep us geeks very happy.

Will I buy one? Hmm ... it makes sense. If I was in the market for a new car I would certainly have it top of my list. I spend 95% of my driving stuck in urban traffic snarls and the Prius makes so much sense. Can I rationalise it? If I really want one I will . Last time around I figured it was an expensive way to save on greenhouse gas production. Here are some updated calculations which suggest I had it a little wrong. This has been helped by Toyota lowering the retail price by $3000 in Australia. Prices in other parts of the world haven't changed - the Aussie dollar has appreciated strongly against the Yen so perhaps Toyota has been kindly passing along the forex savings.

	Prius	Camry 2.4 Auto	Difference
Price	$36,990	$31,490	$(5,500.00)
CO2 g/km	105	233
Urban l/100km	4.6	11.45
If travelling 15,000 km per year
Fuel consumed (litres)	690	1717.5
Fuel @ $0.95/litre	$ 655.50	$ 1,631.63	$ 976.13
CO2 produced kg	1575	3495	1920
Over a 5 year period will save	9.6	tonnes of C02
Therefor it costs	$ 572.92	per tonne of C02 saved

The Prius Mark II is very comparable to the 2.4 litre (4 cylinder) Toyota Camry. They have very similar wheelbase (the Camry is only 20mm longer). The Prius is only slightly slower 0.3 secs slower to 100 km/h.

If you travel 15,000 km a year (as I do) then the pay back for the Prius is a little over 5 years. That is the extra cost of the Prius is offset by the fuel savings. This assumes petrol prices stay static. Also note fuel in Australia is about 1/3rd of the price in Europe.

I also 'cheated' a little in favour of the Camry. It has a Euro 96 fuel consumption rating of 13.2 l/100 km in urban and a combined (urban and extra urban) of 9.7. From experience I think 13.2 is a little high so I went for the average of the two figures. If I stuck with the 13.2 figure then the payback period goes to 4.5 years.

Meanwhile you are saving almost 2 tonnes of green house gases every year. This is not to mention all of the other nasty tail pipe emissions which you have avoided.

I was going to argue on the cost per tonne of C02 saved but realistically there is no cost due to fuel savings over around a 5 year ownership. Although it remains to be seen if the Prius suffers greater depreciation than a 'normal' car. That has been the experience to date but the first generation Prius sold in lower volumes than is expected for the second generation.

Alternatively if you are a single commuter then something like a Toyota Echo is more cost efficient. It is not as fuel efficient but the initial purchase price is so much lower that it makes the Prius seem expensive overall.

It is not really comparing apples with apples but from a cost efficiency point of view comparing a Prius with an Echo greatly increases the cost per tonne of C02 saved. If that is your focus you will find easier and more cost-effective ways to save C02 other than buying a Prius.

According to the The Australian Greenhouse Office

An average house using gas to heat water produces about 1 tonne of greenhouse gas each year. Using electricity would produce about 4 tonnes

.

So switching to solar hotwater could save up to 4 tonnes of C02 per year - that is twice as much as you would gain by switching to a Prius from a Camry. We switched to solar hotwater about a year ago for $2000 (400 litre tank) after government rebates. It was compelling for us in times of C02 savings as we don't get natural gas.

Another alternative is to buy Greenpower, that is electricity which is generated from renewable energy resources. According to Greenpower

Around 75,000 customers across Australia have chosen Green Power products, including close to 3000 businesses. As a result of the growing demand for Green Power, over 150 new approved renewable energy projects have been installed in Australia since 1997, including the southern hemisphere?s largest solar farm at Singleton, NSW and wind farms at Crookwell and Blayney in NSW, Codrington, Victoria and Ravenshoe, Queensland. Growth in the industry and the installation of new generators such as these have a positive impact on employment and tourism in regional areas.

We signed up for Greenpower over 6 years ago and have been paying a premium ever since for the peace of mind that we're contributing to the growth in renewable energy sources. It is currently running at a 63% premium to standard electricity rates which is pretty steep but if it helps grow renewable energy generation it is worth it.

A bill I found pre-solar hotwater shows in one quarter we saved 4.8 tonnes of C02 from being released due to our use of Greenpower. Doing the calculations show it cost us $92/tonne of C02 saved.

So if you are in the market for a new family sized car the new Prius pays for itself in fuel savings in around 5 years in Australia. So the greenhouse gas savings are a welcome bonus.

If you can't afford a Prius or it's not right for your circumstances you can offset some of your C02 production by being energy smart in other ways.

I have yet to see the new Prius so can do no more than to point you to lots of new stories.

Canadian Driver: First Drive: 2004 Toyota Prius

Redesigned Prius hybrid starts with a bang in Japan -- Toyota Motor Corp. says it received 17,500 orders for the hybrid-electric car in September, its first month on the market, eclipsing the sales target of 3,000 a month.

Autoweek: 2004 Toyota Prius ? Green is Good: Toyota?s new Prius is a techno-wonder of efficiency, and might even make a profit.

Forbes: Toyota's Next Green Car

Finally I will finish by pointing to John's site - www.john1701a.com - he has had a first generation Prius from the outset and is now treating himself to an upgrade. He has an amazingly detailed site dedicated to his Prius and its performance.

So will I buy one? We'll see. Must book a test drive soon.

Comments

[Godfrey]

Hi Tony.
In your price comparison, your price for the Camry is $4,000 to $4,500 too high. With Toyota special on at the moment, you can get one on the road for $26,990. In April I purchased one for about $27,700 on the road.

Regards
Godfrey