Born in 1997, the Toyota Prius is the world’s first-mass-produced petrol-electric hybrid car. Having influenced almost every carmaker on the planet to search for better fuel consumption since then, the car still impresses today. In a milestone for the model, the Toyota hybrid just set a new Guinness World Record for the “lowest fuel consumption driving across the USA, from west to east coast.”
The renowned “hypermiler,” Wayne Gerdes, drove the Prius 3,211 miles (5,168 km) from Los Angeles City Hall to New York City Hall. That would be the same as travelling from Berlin, Germany, to Lisbon, Portugal. As the founder of ‘hypermiling,’ Gerdes describes the discipline as “Always beating the EPA ratings in whatever car you own and drive.”
“For a record attempt like this, it’s a lot of planning,” said Gerdes. “You can’t just go sight unseen into doing this. You have to have that plan. But you also have to be able to work on the fly. So, if things change, you have to switch up your plan. Reroute. Figure out what you’re going to be able to do to achieve that goal.”
Gerdes traversed a wide range of roads and landscapes in the Prius. This includes the Mojave desert, where temperatures soared beyond 40 degrees Celsius, and the mountain highways rising to 7,000 feet above sea level.
Despite this, the Prius managed an impressive fuel economy of 2.53L/100km or 39.5km/L or 93.1 MPG combined. The prior best was approximately 3.7L/100km (27km/L).
The Prius in question was a 2.0L model with 194 horsepower and 206 Nm of torque, powered by Toyota’s fifth-generation hybrid technology. It takes 7.1 seconds to go from 0 to 100 km/h and has a reported top speed of around 180 km/h. Regretfully, it is not formally marketed in Malaysia; however, it is accessible in nearby nations like Singapore and Thailand.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
This result is an impressive one, and could tempt buyers to either stay with their Prius or buy a new model on the way to switching to full electric near the turn of the decade when EV prices are expected to vie with petrol cars, range improves, and charging infrastructure is more developed. After his record-breaking drive, Gerdes recommended “slower take-offs from standstill and maintaining even pressure on the accelerator pedal” in order to maximise fuel efficiency. Additionally, he mentioned that utilising the vehicle’s momentum to glide towards stops and reducing accelerator pressure early can both significantly improve fuel efficiency.