Wife Driving

[bmg21]

I have a question for people who share the prius with their wife or others. Is it hard for you to say how to drive the car correctly? I've been trying to add hints here and there to further get better gas mileage but I don't think my wife cares as much as I do.

Fortunately, my wife does a pretty good job driving the prius when she wants too. IE hypermiling, p&g and some SHM but she will only do it for small stretches. We did average 53.4 mpg on our very first tank of gas which I guess is better than most, but since getting the scanguage and watching the ign/rpm/coolant temp/gph I've been able to get 64-67 on my normal commute to work. That places the rest of the miles she drives at a much lower mpg.

My question is, does it bother you guys and gals that you may never see a tank above 60 because of others driving the car? I care to an extent because it is starting to be extremely fun to try and pull better mpg using all the techniques, but I can't tell her how to drive. It just isn't right, and we still got close to 54 mpg which is far better than what we were getting in our other cars.

I'm sure with breaking in the car we'll see tanks over 60. I think i just throw a lot at her after reading most of the articles on priuschat and putting them to use.

Thanks

Mods 42/40, scangauge

521 miles on first tank

Brandon

[AOV]

Being the "wife" here, I say....get her her own Prius! I am the "wife" that does not let her husband drive the Prius for I feel it is the "husband" that won't care as much as I do in getting the best mpg's possible.
Situations do arise that when his car is in the shop, we have only the Prius left, and if he does have to be somewhere or go somewhere, its is I that drives him there. Maybe I should buy him his own Prius.

[TonyPSchaefer]

Originally Posted by bmg21

My question is, does it bother you guys and gals that you may never see a tank above 60 because of others driving the car?

Yes.

Originally Posted by bmg21

Is it hard for you to say how to drive the car correctly?

YES!

[doubleg2005]

if you click on my signature, there is one tank i've had (very recently) that my wife drove basically the whole tank. i'll let you figure out which one... in her defense, i will say that the MFD did read 38...

it happens a lot less now that we got her a Mazda3 and she doesn't have to drive my old car from college...

[freshmtt]

Speaking from a "wife's" perspective, if you have no other choice but to share the one Prius, then I agree with you in saying that it is not right for you to correct her on her driving. I say this because you are both 2 very different individuals and you just cannot make her conform to your way of driving. It's that simple. The Prius is an excellent car and if she is at least making an attempt to P&G and do her best, then leave her alone and don't say anything to her. At least she is trying and you are still getting awesome MPG and saving money.

Now, if you have the financial means for you both to have your own car. Like someone else said, get her a Prius for herself to drive, then you will have the most fun out of your Prius and can maximize your hypermiling to the level that you want from it.

My husband has 2 of his own cars/trucks and I let him do what he wants with them, and he has never even asked me to drive my Prius yet and I suspect he won't ask because he is just not interested in driving it. Which is just fine with me.

[qbee42]

Yes, it bothers me. No, I don't say anything. A little extra gas is a bargain compared to the cost of a new wife.

Tom

[McShemp]

Originally Posted by AOV

Being the "wife" here, I say....get her her own Prius!

Exactly what we did! Not solely due to my high FE numbers or any griping (I don't gripe) but because of her expense when filling up her SUV. When I was spending $40 a month on gas and she was spending well over $100 she saw the light. Her justification was "more money for shoes" or something like that.

In the end, getting the 2nd Prius was a great decision. FYI - She also had to get a package #6 (since I had a #5).

[mingoglia]

Every time my wife drives my mileage drops. it's not really her fault though. I drive 20 miles 1 way for work which does a good job at keeping my mpg in the low 50's (well, a bit lower now that it's 113 in Phoenix)... and the only time she drivers it is on the weekends when I'm home. She'll typically just take it to take the kids to the grocery store a mile away.... or head to lunch or other trips shorter than 5 miles... so that's where the miles goes.

On her vehicle that she uses for work she's running 10% higher mpg than the 2008 epa figures suggest she should be getting so overall she does good.

[Jiipa]

My mileage used to drop when my wife drove. Rather than try to tell her how to drive, I left the MFD on the Consumption screen when I powered off. She noticed that the mpg average was higher after I drove than when she did and asked me how I did it. Expained to her how I drove and what I was doing whenever we went out together. Now there is almost no difference in our averages.

[h2photo]

Everytime my husband drives my Prius, my mileage drops...

BUT, everytime I drive my husbands Prius, his mileage drops....

I think each car is used to how the "owner" drives it. I swear it learns!