Effects of weather on mpg

[spiderman]

Originally Posted by ALS

Just wait.
My problem is I only live three miles from work and all my trips are under five miles at the most.
That three miles to work which is <35 mpg and most of the distance is 25 mph. Throw in six lights and seven stop signs and yes it can get ugly if the engine is running most of the time. HEAT, what heat? Heat would kill my gas mileage as bad as the AC does in the summer.

Wow, hands down it sounds like you have the worst case scenario for a Prius. An EV conversion sounds like your best bet. Probably not what you want to hear after spending that much money...

[plug-it-in]

I agree with a64pilot. Turn off the heat. The ICE will shot off after it reached its 'warm up' faster if it does not have to heat. On the other hand - who cares? I remember VW Beatles in the 70s had poor heat. One could freeze in them until VW added the 'auxiliary heater'. Guess what? This gizmo also burned gas. Consider that even in a comfy Prius cabin your mileage is still better then most cars get on the road around you. Enjoy the ride!

The Prius's mileage is relatively poor on short trips. That is why an all EV range of even 30-40 miles would be nice. The 50 or so MPG on the highway is pretty decent for this size of a car. The short city drives irk me.

While the world is salivating of the future of 100+ mile range EVs and battery drop-ins etc. Toyota is missing a fantastic opportunity. They could offer a PEV upgrade - for over 1 million Prius owners! - capable of a 30-40 mile EV range for every day city driving. This is definitely doable today using existing technology. And for say $8999 less government rebates it would sell. I would buy line up at the dealership myself.

Some say hybrids are a dead end technology. I think not - at least not for awhile. Just think of a pure EV in our Northern climate during the winter months! With the (electric) heat ON - haha. I really would like to know how far could I drive that TESLA of mine before getting stuck in the snow and possible freeze to death? (Maybe they will add an auxiliary heater, running on gas, from VW.) After all we not all live in California or Florida during the winter are we?

[Shawn Clark]

Originally Posted by plug-it-in

I agree with a64pilot. Turn off the heat.

Who runs the heat on commutes that short? The other poster said he wasn't running the heat, so turning off what is already off won't help...

I don't turn on the heat until the car is warmed up or in bursts to provide some defogging.

Reread what ALS wrote:

HEAT, what heat? Heat would kill my gas mileage as bad as the AC does in the summer.

[a64pilot]

Either way, don't turn the car off and then have to restart the warm up cycle, allow the car's programming to run, but a short commute will achieve poor mileage. Good news is that very little fuel is burned due to the short distance.

[Shawn Clark]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Either way, don't turn the car off and then have to restart the warm up cycle, allow the car's programming to run, but a short commute will achieve poor mileage. Good news is that very little fuel is burned due to the short distance.

Unlikely. If it isn't completing the warm up cycle while moving it is burning more fuel than if it was shut off on such a short commute. From what I've gathered the warm up is primarily for emissions, not mileage. It's not like it will lose much heat sitting there off so one is not resetting to zero again anyway. Warm up under actual acceleration is pretty quick and the most efficient way to get the car up to temp. Idling? Not so much.

[Mt View]

Originally Posted by PriusRos

We all know that very cold temparatures can cause a drop in mpg.

Is it my imagination or does rain also have a noticable negative effect on mpg? Why would this be? Is it because of increased resistance on the car?

I had a about a 40 mpg tank driven on a trip in the rain. I'm averaging a bit over 47 (actual, not computer) over 10,000 miles, even with that bad tank in the mix.