2016 Toyota Prius Two Eco Beats EVs in cost per mile in Michigan
In a recent test, Patrick Rall here at Torque news put the all-new 2016 Toyota Prius through its paces. His test vehicle was the Prius Two Eco. Although the Prius Two Eco has an EPA combined mileage rating of 56 MPG, in Patrick’s testing over more than 800 highway miles, the Prius Two Eco returned 63 MPG.
- Read Patrick's Full Test Report Here
Using the average cost of gasoline for fuel in the state of Michigan, which AAA says is $2.20, the Prius Two Eco has a cost of energy of just 3.9 cents per mile when we use the EPA’s 56 MPG number. Patrick’s actual cost per mile was lower, at 3.5 center per mile, but for this comparison, we will use the more conservative number of 3.9 cents per mile.
According to the U.S. Energy Administration’s website (eia.gov), the average cost for electricity in the state of Michigan (May 2016) is just 15.33 cents/kWh. Michigan is far from having the highest electricity costs in the nation. California’s average for example is 17.74 and Hawaii’s is 26.87. In our past comparisons of the Prius to EVS, we have used Massachusetts as the example state. All of these states are popular EV states.
EVs, like the Nissan leaf, measure their energy consumption per mile in kWh/mile. According to EPA, the Nissan Leaf consumes 30 kWh/100 miles, or 0.3 kWh per mile. Calculating the cost in cents per mile is therefore very easy. One need only multiply the 15.33 cents per kWh by the 0.3 kWh per mile consumed and the energy cost of the EV is 4.6 cents per mile.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Rall.
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