3 months in. thoughts?

[debos]

so ive had my prius nearly three months now and have been trying to keep somewhat of a tab on my mpg's as well as what ive spent on gas. heres my chart and my data that ive collected so far.
i know this is nothing spectacular and am still gunning for my first 50+ tank, but what gets to me is the difference i spend now vs. what i used to spend with my tacoma. crazy

[PearlDriver]

Your mileage will improve as you get use to your car and the car breaks in.
I keep a total gallons and miles and get an average MPG. Also for fun I calculate how much I would have paid to use my other vehicle instead. 22,000 miles: Prius(51 mpg) $1400, Aveo(30 mpg) $2400, Tahoe (15) $4900

[HomeandRanch]

My first tank I got 48 mpg and most of it was highway miles in the heat(65 mph). My second tank I'm at 53.2 MPG with over a quarter of a tank down. I think I may have reached my max mpg using my current method of driving. So I think it greatly depend son your driving style and your conditions. I drive 53 mph on the freeway and use pulse and glide to the max when not on the freeway..

How about you?

[icarus]

14 months in, 17k miles, we are now getting ~58mpg with some careful driving. If don't worry about it and just drive normally we are at ~52mpg. Two long road trips over 3000 miles each averaged right around 50, that driving freeway speeds and faster.

No complaints!

Icarus

Blocked grill, added tire pressure, scan gauge

[abq sfr]

Seems like So Cal people have it the hardest, I don't know if its the heat or year-round ethanol or the unpredictible traffic patterns. Here I can usually predict what's happening 10 cars ahead of me on the Freeway, which helps to get some regen or less stopping. But even with mpg in the 40's you're still doing better than every non-Prius on the road!! I think your records also show that Shell is no better than any other fuel, at least where you are. Gimme cheap(er) Costco every time!

[Tammy7287]

Yeah, it will take some time to break your old driving habits. I have had mine since mid May and have been getting 50+ the last month or so. Just recently (after reading a post on here) I switched to Shell gas and am now starting to get 55-56 mpg.

[debos]

i think ive developed some pretty refined driving habbits, but i find that my biggest problem is my drive it self. on my commute to work, majority of my driving is down hill across 2 freeways, while coming home is nearly all up hill. as much as i try to stay under 70 on the freeway, i cant, as i fear for my life whilst watching semi's pass me.

[tasker109]

Originally Posted by abq sfr

Seems like So Cal people have it the hardest, I don't know if its the heat or year-round ethanol or the unpredictible traffic patterns. Here I can usually predict what's happening 10 cars ahead of me on the Freeway, which helps to get some regen or less stopping. But even with mpg in the 40's you're still doing better than every non-Prius on the road!! I think your records also show that Shell is no better than any other fuel, at least where you are. Gimme cheap(er) Costco every time!

we always use shell because i believe it is the best available to us in this area. ALSO, we have a shell mastercard that gives us a 5% rebate so that means even though the pump registers 4.19 we get 21 cents off of that so our gas is 3.98. all of the gas stations in our area are within 1 cent of each other even at sams, which is supposed to be cheaper. thats what they said when they put the station in but its NEVER cheaper. its always the same as everybody else. so for us, shell is the cheapest and the best. as a PS....we have a USAA mastercard that we earn points on and one of the merchants it has added is shell. so i can get a 50 dollar gas card every 2 months from them.

[kazots]

I also had a tacoma before my prius and feel the same way. Great!

[abq sfr]

Originally Posted by tasker109

we always use shell because i believe it is the best available to us in this area. ALSO, we have a shell mastercard that gives us a 5% rebate so that means even though the pump registers 4.19 we get 21 cents off of that so our gas is 3.98. all of the gas stations in our area are within 1 cent of each other even at sams, which is supposed to be cheaper. thats what they said when they put the station in but its NEVER cheaper. its always the same as everybody else. so for us, shell is the cheapest and the best. as a PS....we have a USAA mastercard that we earn points on and one of the merchants it has added is shell. so i can get a 50 dollar gas card every 2 months from them.

At least in NM the tankers dump the same gas to almost all stations including Shell... as evidenced by diesel being switched with unleaded at the one distribution tank farm, with nearly all gas stations (including Shell and the various quickie marts) shut down for a period. See this previous thread...
The Truth About Gasoline