2012 Prius C

[cchase]

I won't comment personally on range and such, but I will comment that the smaller the tank, the bigger hit to effective range.

A 20 gallon tank in a vehicle that gets 20 mpg is 400 miles of range. No one is running a tank dry, so assume you leave 2 gallons in before filling up, you use 18 gallons with a range of 360 miles for a reduction of 40 miles in range.

A 9 gallon tank in a vehicle that gets 40 mpg is 360 miles of range. Again, you aren't going to run the tank dry, so if you leave 2 gallons of reserve (since you aren't going to proportionately run the tank dry-er most likely), 7 gallons gives you a range of 280 miles, or a reduction of 80 miles of range.

The point being that 2 gallons out of 9 is proportionately much less than 2 gallons out of 20.

 

[johnsmellsalot]

To be exact, my car has a 17.5 gallon gas tank. It gets 20 MPG. When the gas light comes on, there is 5 gallons remaining. So it takes 12.5 gallons to fill my tank. If you do the math, that's a range of 250 miles, which sounds about right.
Originally Posted By: cchase
I won't comment personally on range and such, but I will comment that the smaller the tank, the bigger hit to effective range.

A 20 gallon tank in a vehicle that gets 20 mpg is 400 miles of range. No one is running a tank dry, so assume you leave 2 gallons in before filling up, you use 18 gallons with a range of 360 miles for a reduction of 40 miles in range.

A 9 gallon tank in a vehicle that gets 40 mpg is 360 miles of range. Again, you aren't going to run the tank dry, so if you leave 2 gallons of reserve (since you aren't going to proportionately run the tank dry-er most likely), 7 gallons gives you a range of 280 miles, or a reduction of 80 miles of range.

The point being that 2 gallons out of 9 is proportionately much less than 2 gallons out of 20.

 

[johnsmellsalot]

At $4.00 a gallon, that means it would cost $50 to put 12.5 gallons in. I think I paid $45 last time.

 

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: cchase

The point being that 2 gallons out of 9 is proportionately much less than 2 gallons out of 20.


Yes and no. 2 gallons left in a car that gets 20mpg means you have a reserve of 40 miles. 2 gallons left in a car that gets 50mpg is 100 miles. Point being, I'd be more comfortable having 1-1.5 gallons left in this car than 2 gallons left in a car getting 20mpg.

I also don't think it's a big deal in a modern car to run it down to the final gallon of gas.

 

[jmsjags]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Unfortunately it already did with defense budget and subsidies to encourage more oil exploration and drilling.

If you were to apply the same principle, you might want to apply to both sides.

i agree the defense budget needs to be cut and oil exploration shouldn't be subsidized either. that's why i said the government shouldn't subsidize anything. if it's not sustainable on its own it isn't a viable option.

i don't vote on party lines i think for myself.

 

[JOD]

I get that some may want a car with a longer cruising range; but to suggest that this "isn't a highway car" given the size of the fuel tank seems a little off to me. I haven't heard similar complaints about every other car in this class (Mazda 2, Fiesta, Versa, Fit, Yaris), all of which have similar cruising ranges (or less). Never mind that almost all car-based SUV's have less cruising range.

 

[NateDN10]

Originally Posted By: cchase
I won't comment personally on range and such, but I will comment that the smaller the tank, the bigger hit to effective range.

A 20 gallon tank in a vehicle that gets 20 mpg is 400 miles of range. No one is running a tank dry, so assume you leave 2 gallons in before filling up, you use 18 gallons with a range of 360 miles for a reduction of 40 miles in range.

A 9 gallon tank in a vehicle that gets 40 mpg is 360 miles of range. Again, you aren't going to run the tank dry, so if you leave 2 gallons of reserve (since you aren't going to proportionately run the tank dry-er most likely), 7 gallons gives you a range of 280 miles, or a reduction of 80 miles of range.

The point being that 2 gallons out of 9 is proportionately much less than 2 gallons out of 20.

Why would you leave the same 2 gallons in a 9 gal tank as in a 20 gal tank? The fuel gauge doesn't indicate gallons remaining, it indicates a fraction of full.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: JOD
Obviously, I've missed all of the threads where people were complaining about their cars with 350-500 mile ranges...


Actually, I started a thread about the Prius c and its 9 gallon tank, here: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2562093#Post2562093

Personally, I have a 17 gallon tank, and often refill with 15 and sometimes 16 gallons. Right now I'm cruising the highway at 60-65mph, so I'm hitting upwards of 51mpg. 750 to 800 mile cruising range. Refilling about every 10 days it seems. Years ago I had a Saturn SL, and that seemed to drop to something just over 300 miles on a tank, in winter. Since I was driving 90+ miles a day, well, that was an annoying car. I did not care for refilling every three days! Wife’s Camry has a similar sized tank, and (if babied) can get upwards of 500 miles on a tank.

Am I a typical driver? Probably not. Do I still want a vehicle will >500mile cruising range? Yes. It still “costs” me the same 10 or 15 minutes to fill up my car, whether it is 5, 10 or 15 gallons to refill.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: JOD
I get that some may want a car with a longer cruising range; but to suggest that this "isn't a highway car" given the size of the fuel tank seems a little off to me. I haven't heard similar complaints about every other car in this class (Mazda 2, Fiesta, Versa, Fit, Yaris), all of which have similar cruising ranges (or less). Never mind that almost all car-based SUV's have less cruising range.



I guess you didn't get the memo that C in Prius C is for city?

Prius C is optimized for city driving (mostly by small size and weight) and you see it's edge vs regular prius in city MPG. Hwy MPG is lower due to less aerodynamic body. Even regular prius is not the most comfortable hwy cruiser, Prius C should be worse, I guess, I didn't drive one.