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New EPA Tests Cut Mileage Claims

Prius Takes the Biggest Drop But Is Still Most Fuel-Efficient

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

February 26, 2007

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The 2008 Toyota Prius is dropping 12 miles per gallon in city driving, down from 60 mpg to 48. The decline has nothing to do with Toyota engineering and everything to do with the way the feds test for fuel mileage at the Environmental Protection Agency.

The new fuel mileage numbers confirm complaints registered by many Prius owners and present a challenge to Toyota dealers to explain to consumers why their little hybrids have suddenly become officially less fuel-efficient.

The EPA has now released estimated figures showing how 2007 models would have been rated using both the both old and new methods. The new numbers are based on estimates of the difference made by new test procedures.

You can find out how the new tests would change mileage numbers awarded to 2007 models at www.fueleconomy.gov .

The EPA adopted the new method of calculating fuel mileage in December after hearing complaints that fuel economy estimates have been too high. The new standards are meant to more accurately reflect driving factors like higher speeds, harder acceleration and greater use of accessories such as air conditioning.

Hybrids will see the biggest drops in estimates, perhaps by as much as 30 percent.

For instance, the Prius in 2007 received a combined city and highway driving mileage figure of 55 mpg. In 2008 the same vehicle will receive a combined 46 mpg.

City mileage for 2008 is down to 48 mpg from 60 in 2007 for the Toyota hybrid while highway driving drops from 51 to 45 mpg. In addition, consumers told the EPA they received anywhere from 34 to 61 miles to a gallon driving their Prius.

Maia, who lives in San Francisco found her Prius on the low end of the mileage numbers.

"I am extremely disappointed in the gas mileage," she wrote ConsumerAffairs.com. "Following the best advice the manufacturer has to offer on maximizing mileage on my car my mileage is UNACCEPTABLY low. Tops is 35 mpg in the city; 48 mpg on the highway," she told us.

Maia thinks the EPA has misled her.

"I just read on your site that EPA has recalculated the government-endorsed (if you will) mileage claim for the Prius. That's just fine for the people who have NOT yet bought their cars, but are comparing Prius claims to claims of other manufacturers," she wrote.

"That, however, does NOT help me," she said.

The new tests use faster speeds and quicker acceleration as well as air conditioner use and colder outside temperatures, all of which can cut into mileage. The estimates will be adjusted downward to account for factors that are difficult to replicate in a laboratory, such as wind resistance and road surface friction.

Most vehicles you can check at the EPA mileage site will end up with lower mileage estimates, whether they are fuel-efficient gas-electric hybrids or big-engined trucks and performance cars.

The Toyota Prius is the most fuel-efficient so it took the biggest drop. Nevertheless, the Prius will remain the best-mileage hybrid even with the new formula.

Toyota officials claim not to be concerned about the drop in the Prius' estimated mileage because almost all other vehicles are dropping as well.

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