Toyota Prius vs BMW 520d
March 18, 2008 by Alborz Fallah
Given the number of complaint emails we receive for our somewhat, anti-hybrid comments, we thought we would try and educate a few of our readers with some real world figures.
Our friends at UK’s TimesOnline website have done a rather interesting test, they decided to drive to the Geneva motor show and took a BMW 520d (diesel) and a Toyota Prius for a fuel-economy test.
In Europe, the United States as well as here in Australia, governments have been fooled by the hybrid propaganda, giving Prius owners significant advantages over other motorists. It ranges from lower taxes, limited congestion charges, even the ability to use the T2/3 lanes without having another person in the car.
All of that is done in the name of the environment, use less fuel, save the planet. Right, so which car uses less fuel to travel about 900kms? A small Toyota Prius or BMW’s large 520d sedan?
This sums it up the best:
For all my defensive driving, slippery bodywork and hybrid technology, my average fuel consumption was 48.1mpg. I’d lost to a Beemer and I was disappointed; I had never driven so slowly or carefully for so long in my life. I’m considering buying a V8 Range Rover and opening my own oil well in protest.
If you’re thinking, but it’s was all highway kilometres and the Beamer had the advantage, you would be incorrect, the route was specifically picked to include lots of urban driving to favour the Prius. Still, the 520d won.
The article is available free online here, have a read, it might change your mind!
Print it: 
Gee Dingo u have the same one eyedness as TP when it comes to Toyota.
This comparison shows that Toyota have been resting on their laurels with the Pirus and it’s not as environmental as the spin would have us believe. Another example of how “ordinary” their vehicles are!
I believe like TP u have been brainwashed by the Toyota Hype. People really believe it when they buy a Toyota and it is like a self forefilling proficency with the illustion only shattered by a catastrophic failure of the Toyota they buy. It is quite a phenomena as Toyota owners are very forgiving of their cars as a result even accepting and glossing over failures that occur due to wear and tear that owners of other makes would not tolerate as acceptable.
It is akin to the process of hear say becoming fact.
Say it over and over again and people will eventually believe it despite scant factual evidence of superiority over other makes.
THe Toyota brand has been built with a reliability mantra and the Pirus brand is being built with an environmental mantra. If they hear it enough most will believe it.
Dingo, i don’t hate hybrids i think that at this stage before hydrogen becomes viable it’s the way to go as an interim measure so the oil companies can continue to sell the last of the fossil fuels…how ever to use the engine to drive the wheels is not the most efficient way to go and thats a criticism to all current hybrids not just toyota….there is a french guy that is using compressed air to run a piston engine and using a small petrol engine to compress the air (not run the wheels) he claims he can get 4,500ks out of one tank of fuel….it was on beyond tomorrow!!
I don’t know what your history with BM is but she seems like a great gal and you have been very civil to me so i don’t want to go there but correct me if i’m wrong but it seems that blind toyota supporters seem a bit arrogant with Toyotas success and that might be Toyotas down fall
My father was in the automotive repair industry and he loves Japanese cars specially Toyotas because while the europeans and yanks were still in the dark ages as far as imperial measurment bolts or welding door hinges the japs were making life easy for the repairer with practically built cars and easy to repair metric cars…eventually every one caught on…but you got to love the German build quality, innovation and attention to detail and the Italian flair and gorgeous designes even if they weld every thing on instead of using bolts.
Someone once said “Even a broken clock is correct twice a day” So Toyota’s aren’t all perfect and all the other car’s aren’t all crap!!!
NONAME – so you are effectively agreeing that hybrid technology is the argueably a atlternative solution for the medium term … THANK YOU VERY MUCH !!
oh yeah, will the hybrids from BMW, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, Ford and GM be classified as ‘GREEN’ or just those from Toyota …. mmmm !!
REALCARS – are we brainwashed are just sticking up for what we believe in… BIG DIFFERENCE.
You say that Toyota cars are ordinary yet their reputation, respect , growing popularity, quality / dependability surveys as well customer satisfaction / loyalty very much suggests otherwise and that is FACT !!
May i also remind you that Toyota is not the company in struggle nor thier diverse range of vehicles unlike others i can identify … HINT, HINT – while there shouldn’t be any need to discuss Holden /Ford mantras because if bogons hear it enough they will believe it.
Oh yeah – for the rest of your comment, dribble making absolutely no sense what so ever !!
kinda like … YEAH – WHAT EVER DUDE !!
“so you are effectively agreeing that hybrid technology is the argueably a atlternative solution for the medium term … THANK YOU VERY MUCH !!”
I never disputed this, all I have ever thought and stated above is that Toyota (and others) have been pulling the wool over the punters eyes stating the Green credentials of the prius and other hybrids when it is simply not true. FACT
“oh yeah, will the hybrids from BMW, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, Ford and GM be classified as ‘GREEN’ or just those from Toyota …. mmmm !!. I have never said this, I reiterate that Hybrids are not as green as they are being sold whilst they have a fossil fuel engine. Beleive this and you you’re being suckered big style. It is catagorically proven that a modern diesel even in a larger vehicle can out perform a Prius (presumably other Hybdirds as well).
Carl – i’ll be frank with you, no automotive culture has ever expressed as mush arrogance as that of hard core Holden /Ford loyalist over the years and that is a fairdinkum statement.
Toyota have thier supporters just like any other automotive manufactuer so you tell me the differance. The fact is, Toyota has grown as arguebaly the most influential vehicle manufactuer in the world today and that just does not happen by mistake … PERIOD !!
Every car and every manufactuer have thier warts but the difference is some have more then others while have more again. The mistunes of Ford, GM and Crylser can be blamed upon no other but themselves and if the likes of some Japanese and European manufactuers have grown in strength, recognition and finacial prosperity then they deserve respect becuase it would not have been an easy task to achieve.
In Toyota’s case – weaknesses and streghths – they have developed into what they are today and i believe the automotve industry has yet to witness thier true potential so why should we be judged on Toyota’s success.
Yes … i am a loyal Toyota supporter but i also hold in high regard and respect the likes of BMW, MB, Audi, Honda, Mazda and Subaru. What many bloggers fail to recognise is the true talents required to compete in just about every category in the world automotive market today and be highly competitive in just about all of them. Quite frankly, although many manufactuers have boomed in recent years thier overall proserity have not been able to rival that of Toyota’s achievements and they should be recognised for it yet they are not because most GM/Ford loyalists hate the fact that thier beloved companies are screwed by the might of Toyota.
And while Toyota has copped alot of flack over it’s hybrid regime, you must bare in mind that their envisage was long before many others considering hybrid is now on the move amoung many other manufactuers and with all the hoo-haa sh*t to the side … that’s pretty much the be all and end all of it whether you like it or not !!
Cheers, i going to bed after my long trip to Longreach.
Its a fair comparison I think. But people should remember that diesel has always had this advantage.
Also, as someone pointed out, diesel is still not the answer for motorists pass 10 years from now… even 5 from last evaluations.
But for now, I know a lot of people, especially driving big cars, use the diesel variant.
About the fuel consumption figures everyone has access to. Well, technically… every manufacturer has failed to live up to their claims in a consistent basis. Many factors add to that.
Back on topic, if you had the money… its not even a question which you would pick to drive for the next few years. But still, don’t count “hybrid” out, as I can say that almost all manufacturers have vehicle projects using some form of electric engine…
Hi Jamison – I agree with your comments, I believe much of the banter has been TP/Toytoa bashing.
To quote TP’s first comment ” dont get the point of this… no sh*t a diesel can be more fuel efficent. But it consumes MORE oil. Releases WORSE emissions. And in the BMWs case, cost TWICE as much.”
He an amazingly blinkered kinda bloke when a number of organisations have proven catagorically that the Prius is not truly a ‘Green’ vehicle and he’s just cannot bear to accept the truth purely on the ground that he thinks its a Toyota bashing exercise.
The Prius as you know has a 1.5 litre engine with assitance from electric motors its quoted at 64mpg there are many cars that can beat that with larger engines.
Its just amusment to all at how shallow TP is. I for one don’t really have a problem with him as its good for discussion.
I. as you may be aware, am a diesel fan, I’ve rarely ever driven anything else scince 1988. When I first found this website about a year ago I seemed like I was on my own making a diesel crusade. Now look at it, the average Australian cannot get enough of them.
dingo, i agree that hard core one eyed fans of anything are unbearable and there a lot of Ford, Holden and recently Toyota fans that can get too arrogant but your right to say that Holden and Ford fanatics were the first!!
But that doesn’t make it right to copy them in being one eyed cos if Toyota get the feeling that their fans will buy any crap just because it’s got a Toyota badge then they will go down the same route that Holden did with rebadged Daewoo’s or Ford with previous poor quality products….and look how long it’s taking Ford to turn that image around!!
No name, i agree that untill hydrogen becomes affordable diesel’s will rule!!!! even hybrids will be better with a diesel…but only until hydrogen takes over and then all other fossil fueled car’s will seem barbaric to later generations.
^^^sorry meant just all fossil fueled cars cos hydrogen is obviously not a fossil fuel^^^
I take a guess and say in Oz at least you would get 2x std. and 1x luxo Prius for the same coin as a beemer?.
Anyway, BIG-T are already claiming 150MPG in the new Prius not sure how far the production one will get to that figure, none the less that will brain ANY diesel on the planet….
Then again FIAT have a new generation diesel that uses less then 3l for 100km.
All good, less consumption no matter how its done suits me to a T
Cheers
F-0
good to see this has gone the way of the other toyota blogs…. full of twists and turns about hybrid, hilus, trd and then lexus!
I have come to the conclusion that toyota fans are worse than holden fans…. they truely believe there own bulls#$t.
Here is a comparison that proves hybrid AT THE MINUTE is a croc of s#$t yet we still argue!
How many more articles are you toyota guys going to see about quality and reliabilty slipping and the hybrid not being as green as you all say before admitting there on the slide!
I dont come on here cause it frustrates me to death and the car talk is rubbish, not the caradvice guys fault, but just a couple of guy get on here that are prob stay at home dads that think there car experts…… i have a skoda octavaia tdi in my shed at the min ad have done 3000ks in it in three weeks, average fuel consumption is 4.9l per hundred klms and most of that driving has been at 100klms on highway.
You can crap on that diesel is not the soloution, but there is methods around not using oil to produce diesel, short term diesel is still the way to go, and even greater than that is when they work out a cheaper battery soloution, is a diesel hybrid, something toyota will be too arrogant to do!
Dingo…. you have insulted everyone on here that doesnt agree with you yet carry on about BM… maybe you should back off, im totally frustrated hearing your half baked answers, maybe if you backed off a little and listened to other you might find you can make some great friends off here, i know i have and we all arent biased, just enjoy driving!
Longreach Dingo’s argument is valid. I’d seriously doubt the BMW would do better than a prius in urban driving, vice versa for open road driving. I’ve previously test drive a prius in Tokyo and I’m amazed with the seamless transition from battery to engine power. Imagine how much fuel can be saved when you are stuck in trafic for an hour (a norm in brisbane traffic) everyday with prius
Caradvice has been a great website but some of the comments are appalling with insults and name calling.
Tonyn, Toyota has turned it’s back not only on diesel except for big 4×4’s but also LPG!!!
And don’t dismiss the opinions of stay at home dads cos someone has to rise the kids instead of farming them out…i have a friend that is a chef and became a widower about 3 years ago and has become a full time dad and i still regard his opinions just as valid as when he ran a hotel kitchen!!
in fact he’s more up to date on current events than i am and i respect his work more than i do that of say the CEO of Maquarie bank.
josh you need to go and drive the equilivand diesl size wise, my vw golfs ive had and the skoda i have now still smash the prius for round town economy!
Hey Tonyn……what can I say babe but seems yet another blog off topic and full of the same old same old,hope you have been well.
Carl Dingos problem with me is that he cant admit when hes wrong,him and I go back to the Hilux rollover problems where he wouldn’t admit even I got one of the Engineers from Rio Tinto here in the West on the blog to confirm they had been banned on mine sites.Dingo is a diesel fitter not even in upper management in the mining sector yet he argues with those that are,tells you a lot.When cornered by me and Cobra045 he started insulting me with disgusting rants that most of the guys at the time said it stepped way over the line.As I have contact with Alborz directly I informed him of Dingos posts where Alborz informed me he had got rid of him,and too let him know if he returns.Have I told Alborz hes back yet,nope! Tonyn,AndrewM,No Name,Godspeed,Jbot,NM,Wheelnut{obviously}280zx,Watto,Cobra045,David n,I have direct contact with along with some of the other guys on the forum. Dingos problem seems to be with himself,something none of us can help him with we have tried to get on with him but he continues to return fire with nothing but insults thrown in with stats and his own personal feelings.If your a member of the CA Forum you can contact me through there or I can ask Alborz to give me your email address!
Dingo says…….
Bavarian … not only just my opinion but also FACT yet you hate that truth with a passion.
When it comes to quality, refinement, attention to detail, reliability and certainly value for money – yes indeed BMW and Mercedez Benz are the followers of Lexus… ooch !!
That smell … hop up and have a look, it’s coming from you – AS ALWAYS !!
oh yeah … and noooooooo i was not. You claimed last week you knew how i was banned so PLEASE … enlighten the rest of bloggers with your wisdom just so i can prove you WRONG !! AGAIN
um Dingo still your opinion on Lexus…..oh and me smell!
Here we go again,not even going to reply keep going on the lines at me and I will once again get you banned .Stay on track BMW-Prius ! Is that possible ?
Tonyn, i’m curious to know how your finding the Skoda, because i’ll be in the market for a diesel wagon in a year or two and while the styling of the octavia is a bit boring it seems like a well built car and on my short list along with the new Mazda 6 when the diesel comes out and the Mondeo wagon if it get’s confirmed???
BM, i don’t just judge a persons caracter by what friends they have but more importantly by their enemies!!!
So your safe in my eyes because from what i’ve read in the short time i’ve been on this wed site and in my humble opinion your friends make alot of sence and your enemies are full of it!!!!
Thanks Babe…….
These tests aren’t surprising. The Prius is the most overated car ever built. So if the Prius gets done by a family sized diesel sedan, imagine what the diesel Focus or Golf does.
those ADR tests are a guide only. Yes they may reached those figures in ideal test conditions but those conditions are not even close to real world. You can only go off real world figures and even then you have to take them with a grain of salt. Personally I’d take a diesel over a hybrid anyday. I don’t wanna pay $8000 plus labour to replace all batteries if one fails.
Yes GM, Ford, BMW etc may be developing or have released hybrids of their own, but its because there is a market for gullable people who think if they own a hybrid they are saving the planet. And if that market is growing you’d be stupid for not being part of that segment. Hence why Ford built the Territory. Ford notice SUV sales increasing but mostly in metro areas were the 4×4 will never see dirt so Ford designed a car specifically for metro areas but had the extra height and look of an SUV, and it was succesful. Its not that they needed to build it but if they didnt they were missing out on the market of soccer mums bying their urban rigs.
i have two at the minute in my drive, a RS wagon which i bought for my partner and a 1.9 TDi wagon i am evaluating for my dealership, and i have to say both cars impress me, nice and easy to drive, good performance and fuel economy, id recomend one to anyone looking for a european car at a great price, very impressed!
Ive lowered the RS, added some VW 19″ alloys and tinted it and it looks really mean, much better than the VE i had!
well said glen!
Tonyn, Thanx i’ll have to test drive one when the time comes.
Theres nothing like a blog about Toyotas these days to get peoples blood boiling. Such a thing would be unthinkable a few years ago. Perhaps now that they sell more than everybody else all the knives and petty jealousies come out. From all sides.
And all this from an article about 2 cars that aen’t even in the same category except for fuel consumption. The 320d here sells for double the prius price. In the uk the difference is 10 to 13 thousand pounds. (20 to 30K AUD)
And at the end of the day there still isnt a single car that anybody could call green when you consider the amount of energy, oil, metals and chemicals required to build it in the first place.
carl if your in sydney let me know ill organise one for you! if not let me know also and ill organise a dealer to look after you!
Tonyn, Will do, and yes i’m in Sydney but will be checking out house prices in Adelaide this weekend either way when i’m ready to buy i’ll let you know!!
I thought you had more to do with Audi Tonyn? Have you branched into Skoda too?
yeah gone into vw and skoda too, a bit of variety never hurt!
I started my career with VW and now i have the chance to work across the brands in a managment role! ive always had a soft spot for the VW brand, so its good to work with all the brands under there umbrella!
I’m guessing you liked seeing the Golf GTI beat the WRX in the Fifth Gear Ep posted today on CA then? Shows how good that GTI really is.
Longreach dingo I didn’t expect u to understand as u and TP only take what u want out of an argument. Toyota are experts at propaganda and perception in the market place. You must admit that most of their cars are very average in terms of styling,handling dynamics, interior trim etc.
Lets face it the other Japs like Honda/Mazda offer better product in every class!Even Subaru offer better alternatives to some of the Toyota lineup. And how could anyone buy a Camry over a Mondeo? The mind boggles!
I recently helped a friend look for a new car and done all the dealers. Honestly the Toyota lineup is so bland and uninspiring. Drab interiors aplenty and boring external styling as well. It’s as if Toyota don’t need to try anymore!
I agree. With Hyundai now rising out of Asia Toyota’s new found arrogance and complacency may be it’s undoing!
If I was after a car that was dull and boring I may as well buy a Hyundai at half the price of a Toyota once u factor in the cost of extras for the equivalent Toyota. I think u will find many cardigan wearers doing the switch over the next few years.
Deniliquin Dingo [or where ever you are from] Qulaity is a subjective term and a matter of opinion as it can’t really be proven by a series of scientific experiments or clinical tests which are more objective as the item in question is often disassembled and scruitenised to see if it meets a particular standard
The fact that Both BMWs and Lexus are on our roads means that overall they meet the Australian Design Regulations Standards however the quality of the cars or even some of their features/components etc is still open for debate.
as we all want different things in our cars and expect different things from them – same goes for most other material items
Hmm!! “we thought we would try and educate a few of our readers with some real world figures”.
What real world situation is 80% highway, 20% city driving? Not mine by a long way. 80% city 20% highway would be much closer to “average”. This I am fairy sure would tip the scales back much in favour of the Prius. Toypta should build the US Camry hybrid at Altona. It is much better looking and much faster.
The i30 tdi has got to be an excellent alternative to a Pirus?
1. Its a hyundai
2. Its a smaller car
ha ha ha ha
how to ruin a blog in under 10 posts……….
just add Dingo and/or TP.
i cant be bothered adding anything related to the topic now as its turned into yet another joke
Big AL,
just in follow up to that mate,
i feel that Hwy and city figures should be displayed separately and not combined. let the consumers make a better educated choice.
i know they figures are heavily weighted towards city style but from what ive seen its more like 90% city
independandtly displayed figures are hard to find. the only one i really know of is the E-gas falcon which is 15.3L/100k for city and 8.2L/100k for Hwy
can someone tell me how a 80/20 split gives it an average of 15.1L/100k’s
3. Waaaaaaaaay less features
TP,
4. it also costs waaaaaaaaay less to buy
Please list some of these features TP?
safety -t -cell, anti Landcruiser intrusion bars?
wheels, brakes, tyres and a steering wheel?
hahahaha…….That was gold Realcars…..
I agree wheelnut, people preferences vary from people to people whether its styling,handling dynamics, interior trim people buy things they are comfortable with and suites their requirements. its like expecting everyone to like F1 racing over NASCAR, A1 etc, it may be the forefront but it aint everyone’s cup of tea.
Seems to me if we are trying to cool the planet {pffttt} someone is going to lose out.I just read a story on Bio-fuel production being a threat to orang-utans. How, cause palm oil is used in the manufacturing side of the fuel and guess what our monkey friends eat,yep Palm Trees.
You want to know how many trees they are cutting down in forests to sustain their requirement for fuel production?
An area of forest the size of three football pitches is cleared every minute. And it’s getting worse.
So lets save the monkeys!
Yep its a give and take with anything, nothing is for free, one mans fortune is another mans misery.
TP – you’ve lost the plot mate, you need to get back on the green toyota bicyle and pedal to the sweety shop for todays rations of chocolate button and your milky bar.
yeah Bio Fuel ain’t the answer.
Running a myriad of electric motors and alternators in conjunction with a petrol motor ain’t the answer either.
A most efficient light duty internal combustion engine(diesel) charging a battery via an alternator running an electric motor only drive would have to be the way to go with the back EMF charging the battery during deacceleration.
Apply some Boolean Algebra to design a digital cct to optimise and control the speed of the diesel engine under various load and levels of charge.
Run the diesel on a combo LPG arrangement.
Can’t be that hard?
Pancake type electric motors inside each wheel providing drive to each wheel(AWD) electronically controlled to provide ABS/VSC etc and also electronically controlled to act as brakes. No transmission or drive train to fuss about.
Do you think this TP charecter has actually sat in the drivers seat of a prius and achieved the ADR figure that he believes the prius can do. So many tests have proven that “real world” figures the prius is beaten by a range of diesel cars. Maybe he lives in a world that doesn’t have friction or companies who bullshit or brains!
please get this TP
and don’t try calling me a child because i am not a child i have driven a range of economical cars including peugeot 306 diesel, civic hybrid and toyota prius.
i don’t usually put my two cents in but there are some twats out there that need to wake up and smell the petrolium