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Dear Neil,

As you state, official fuel consumption figures for Prius, and all other new cars on sale in the UK, are reached by following an EC Directive – an evolution of previous UK government legislation I believe – which prescribes exactly the test cycle to be used. These tests are designed to be replicated and the results checked.

Consequently, manufacturers cannot fiddle, fudge or otherwise fake the results. I would also challenge you to find any car maker who would describe their relationship with the EU as "cosy". Recent and proposed EU legislation is costing the car makers – and so the car buyers - billions of euros and threatening the very survival of some.

Back to fuel consumption, the tightly prescribed speed and acceleration of the tests might not necessarily replicate the way you or I drive, but the figures provide a consistent cross referencing tool for the potential buyer and as such have a considerable value. As to why your results are so far out I can only suggest it is the difference in driving style and route.

By your own standards you may not have been driving the new Prius hard, but maintaining 50-60 mph through the rolling Sussex countryside, as you said you did, is far removed from the stop-start and low top speed the Urban Cycle test demands - a regime the Prius is well able to exploit with its low speed, no petrol engine needed characteristics. Had you tried the Prius across London I suspect you would have found a very different result, one far superior to any conventionally powered car and probably even better than the official figures allow us to claim. The slower you go in Prius the more fuel you save - something even Honda's IMA cannot match as it cannot run on electric power alone.

Finally, contrary to the assurance you gave your readers, I can assure you and them that Toyota do avoid misleading potential buyers by pointing out that the Prius, while happy to cruise endlessly up the motorway, will not give its remarkable frugality in such use. Part of the training for salesmen on the car has always been an emphasis on qualifying the customer to make sure they do not buy the Prius with false expectations. We have no need or desire to sell the customer the wrong car for their needs, not least as Toyota has the widest range available on the UK market and can usually find another model - e.g. Avensis D-4D diesel - to better meet their needs if long distance cruising is the dominant factor.


Best regards,

Scott