Got better mpg by driving without thinking

[hptsang]

I just got the my Prius 3 for less than two weeks. I had been driving by looking at the Eco bar and try not to step too hard and glide as much as possible. I barely can get up to 50 mpg by driving with turtle speed. This morning I turn the display off and drive it like how I drove my BMW 3 series and I ended up with 53 mpg drving from cold start engine. I really think the computer of the car will get you the best mpg for you without thinking too much while driving.

[spiderman]

I agree. Hypermilers that squeeze the 60+ use the displays and others instruments to their advantage. If Toyota didn't make the car smart enough on its own, nobody would be getting the FE they claim.
But it is just too darn hard not to watch them.

[a64pilot]

See if this trend continues, if it does determine what your doing different. Expand on that strategy. I find it entertaining to get good mileage. My wife thinks it's silly or won't participate.
I own several vehicles and each has it's own form of entertainment, Prius is fuel mileage.

[TonyPSchaefer]

I agree that the instrumentation certainly helps a person understand what's going on. But at the same time, it's possible to "overthink" the whole thing. Many times I have tried too hard to get good mileage only to see it go down.

[Tideland Prius]

mmhmm.

For example, if you were had to climb a steep hill, I'd get out of ECO mode and go with normal or PWR mode. That'll get you better mpg than trying to strain up the hill in ECO mode.

[hyo silver]

No, we already have too many people driving without thinking.

More thinking, less driving, that's what we need.

[Felt]

Originally Posted by Tideland Prius

mmhmm.

Iif you were had to climb a steep hill, I'd get out of ECO mode and go with normal or PWR mode. That'll get you better mpg than trying to strain up the hill in ECO mode.

Either I do not understand what you are saying ... or I disagree.

My questions centers around your word "normal." What do you consider normal? Do you think PWR is "normal?"

I live amid Utah mountains; every week I am amid the mountains I have found it better to leave the "shifter" alone ... let the computer select the best option.

I have driven up a long 10% grade in Wyoming, and while I could hear the ICE running .... I cerainly would not have called it as "straining." I am confident this marvelous machine can and does select the optimum combination of gears, ICE and traction motor. My "lifetime" average is 53.7 mpg .... I just not think I can do any better than the computer.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Tideland Prius

mmhmm.

For example, if you were had to climb a steep hill, I'd get out of ECO mode and go with normal or PWR mode. That'll get you better mpg than trying to strain up the hill in ECO mode.

What your saying is that the same amount of work is done with less fuel in power mode, in other words the car is more efficient in power mode. You really don't believe that do you?

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

What your saying is that the same amount of work is done with less fuel in power mode, in other words the car is more efficient in power mode. You really don't believe that do you?

Depending on the grade, you might not have the engine in its optimal power band, that's all I'm saying.

Originally Posted by Felt

Either I do not understand what you are saying ... or I disagree.

My questions centers around your word "normal." What do you consider normal? Do you think PWR is "normal?"

I live amid Utah mountains; every week I am amid the mountains I have found it better to leave the "shifter" alone ... let the computer select the best option.

I have driven up a long 10% grade in Wyoming, and while I could hear the ICE running .... I cerainly would not have called it as "straining." I am confident this marvelous machine can and does select the optimum combination of gears, ICE and traction motor. My "lifetime" average is 53.7 mpg .... I just not think I can do any better than the computer.

Normal as in none of the buttons activated. (so not eco or pwr). I guess "straining" wasn't the best word. But either way, it'd be nice to get the engine into its sweet spot to better climb the hill, wouldn't it? For this steep mountain climb up the coast mountains, I'd rather have it in PWR mode and let the engine rev freely then keep it in ECO mode (and have the computer restrict rpm)

[wfolta]

One issue is that when you first get the car, you think you know what's best and you're mistaken.

You think since jack-rabbit starts are bad, turtle-slow must be good. You think that if you keep the meters in the proper range 100% of the time, you'll get better mileage than if you anticipate -- something the meters cannot do -- and go out of the "proper" range. You might think that regenerative braking is magic, so use it a lot: it's "free" power. You might see that you're getting 100 MPG+ in EV mode, so use EV mode as much as possible... etc, etc.

I certainly fell for a few of these. The point is, the car is smarter than us when we're operating out of misunderstanding, but we're smarter than the car when we do the human part of the equation: anticipation.

A second issue is that the car naturally gets better mileage throughout the break-in period, so even if you did exactly the same things on the same routes, you'd end up with 5 MPG more after 1500 miles than when you first got the car.

In my mind, the people that get the worst mileage are: 1) those that figure they know how a hybrid works, but are wrong, 2) those that drive like maniacs and call anything else "blue-haired old lady driving", and 3) those who live in a geographical region/climate/culture that's stacked against good mileage to begin with. I fell into category 1 at first, but think I've improved.

Actually, I have gotten more casual about mileage and have played around with different ideas, and my mileage has slipped a bit over time, from my high point.