This One Really Pushed the Prius – A Four-Day Family Getaway!

[a priori]

This past week we took our 2010 Prius V out for a real tester: A long trip where we filled the car to the limit, drove it in some hilly terrain, went directly against heavy winds and through rain (on the way out), ran the A/C on Auto the entire time (temp in the 90s with high humidity), and used the cruise control to pace our speed at between 62 and 74. (When I say “filled” I mean we had more than 700 pounds of people and luggage, and the cargo space was pretty well jammed with stuff.)

This was the fourth time I’d taken my new 2010 out for a fairly long highway trip. The first two were on fairly flat land at speeds between 55 and 65, with mainly good weather. The third trip was in hillier terrain, against winds and at speeds mainly above 70. In those first three trips, I was on my own. Mileage? First two trips: 57.1 & 58.8 MPGs; third trip: 53.0 MPGs; this recent trip: 52.7 MPGs.

I was highly disappointed with the mileage on the outbound trip. Looking back on it, however, I suppose I only can be amazed at the car’s performance. I wasn’t going for high mileage, though I wasn’t completely ignoring the effects certain actions would have on MPGs. Even so, I ran the A/C on Auto the entire time. We drove at the highest speeds I was comfortable driving (no more than 5 to 8 mph above speed limit), and I used cruise control for comfort, even when driving in very hilly terrain. Because we were driving in the heat of the day and into very strong winds, I expected we’d lose out on mileage, but I was still a bit upset it turned out to be only 50.1.

When we left for our return trip, the mileage started out at either 50.1 or 50.0, and it didn’t start increasing for many miles. Still, things were markedly different on the return trip. We had some cross-winds at the outset, but no headwinds. We used mainly the same roads, but I avoided a 60-mile stretch of Interstate Highway, opting instead for a divided U.S. Highway. The only difference was the posted speeds of 70 on the Int. and 65 on the U.S. Hwy. It was just as hot on our return, but we had no rain. Also, we weren’t quite as pressed for time, and I drove at a more leisurely pace (usually right around 65). We stopped about ¼ of the way home to fill-up. The last 264 miles showed the FE at 58.7 MPG, and this was enough to bring the entire Round-Trip mileage up to 52.7 MPGs.

Isn’t it interesting how mileage numbers like these can seem so disappointing? I suppose this type of fuel economy for a fully packed car (exceeding 700 lbs, not including gasoline), given the weather conditions, is really pretty good. It exceeds the published numbers anyway!

My long-distance trips to date (in the 2010, that is) have been solo trips. This is what accounts for the better mileage, of course. Traveling with my whole family, though, gives an opportunity to have additional evaluations of the car. Aside from earlier comments I’ve made elsewhere, here are some more recent observations:

Plus: A/C is very effective throughout the car. The cargo space is enormous for the size of the car. Back seat legroom is great. Sound system is much improved over the 2007 (XM radio helps, too, as does the streaming audio under Bluetooth). Lumbar support is a nice addition. A/C doesn’t seem to be nearly as big a drag on FE as it was in the Gen2.

Minus: Though noise separation from the engine compartment is fabulous, the tire noise at 60+mph started to be bothersome (not so big a deal while alone, because the radio covers it). My wife found the passenger seat no more comfortable than the 2007 (once we got beyond about 200 miles or so). The Nav is much improved, and it found even really remote addresses, but it would announce that it couldn’t give voice commands in really rural areas – weird, really, because if we watched the screen, it showed us exactly we were going and all of the streets showed up.

[Gen 3 for me]

Your experience makes me more comfortable to be buying one.

[F8L]

Very nice!

I'll get me one within a couple years for sure. I like the idea of extra cargo room.

[V8Cobrakid]

that's great to hear! my 04 packed to the brim with two mountain bikes on a rear hitch gets about 30mpg while cruising over 70... and my car has the same rim size as yours.. and may be just as "light"

so 50+ mpg is excellent

[usbseawolf2000]

That kind of MPGs with the 17" wheels are very impressive!

[Blind Guy]

Originally Posted by a priori

This past week we took our 2010 Prius V out for a real tester: A long trip where we filled the car to the limit, drove it in some hilly terrain, went directly against heavy winds and through rain (on the way out), ran the A/C on Auto the entire time (temp in the 90s with high humidity), and used the cruise control to pace our speed at between 62 and 74. (When I say “filled” I mean we had more than 700 pounds of people and luggage, and the cargo space was pretty well jammed with stuff.)

This was the fourth time I’d taken my new 2010 out for a fairly long highway trip. The first two were on fairly flat land at speeds between 55 and 65, with mainly good weather. The third trip was in hillier terrain, against winds and at speeds mainly above 70. In those first three trips, I was on my own. Mileage? First two trips: 57.1 & 58.8 MPGs; third trip: 53.0 MPGs; this recent trip: 52.7 MPGs.

I was highly disappointed with the mileage on the outbound trip. Looking back on it, however, I suppose I only can be amazed at the car’s performance. I wasn’t going for high mileage, though I wasn’t completely ignoring the effects certain actions would have on MPGs. Even so, I ran the A/C on Auto the entire time. We drove at the highest speeds I was comfortable driving (no more than 5 to 8 mph above speed limit), and I used cruise control for comfort, even when driving in very hilly terrain. Because we were driving in the heat of the day and into very strong winds, I expected we’d lose out on mileage, but I was still a bit upset it turned out to be only 50.1.

When we left for our return trip, the mileage started out at either 50.1 or 50.0, and it didn’t start increasing for many miles. Still, things were markedly different on the return trip. We had some cross-winds at the outset, but no headwinds. We used mainly the same roads, but I avoided a 60-mile stretch of Interstate Highway, opting instead for a divided U.S. Highway. The only difference was the posted speeds of 70 on the Int. and 65 on the U.S. Hwy. It was just as hot on our return, but we had no rain. Also, we weren’t quite as pressed for time, and I drove at a more leisurely pace (usually right around 65). We stopped about ¼ of the way home to fill-up. The last 264 miles showed the FE at 58.7 MPG, and this was enough to bring the entire Round-Trip mileage up to 52.7 MPGs.

Isn’t it interesting how mileage numbers like these can seem so disappointing? I suppose this type of fuel economy for a fully packed car (exceeding 700 lbs, not including gasoline), given the weather conditions, is really pretty good. It exceeds the published numbers anyway!

My long-distance trips to date (in the 2010, that is) have been solo trips. This is what accounts for the better mileage, of course. Traveling with my whole family, though, gives an opportunity to have additional evaluations of the car. Aside from earlier comments I’ve made elsewhere, here are some more recent observations:

Plus: A/C is very effective throughout the car. The cargo space is enormous for the size of the car. Back seat legroom is great. Sound system is much improved over the 2007 (XM radio helps, too, as does the streaming audio under Bluetooth). Lumbar support is a nice addition. A/C doesn’t seem to be nearly as big a drag on FE as it was in the Gen2.

Minus: Though noise separation from the engine compartment is fabulous, the tire noise at 60+mph started to be bothersome (not so big a deal while alone, because the radio covers it). My wife found the passenger seat no more comfortable than the 2007 (once we got beyond about 200 miles or so). The Nav is much improved, and it found even really remote addresses, but it would announce that it couldn’t give voice commands in really rural areas – weird, really, because if we watched the screen, it showed us exactly we were going and all of the streets showed up.

THANKS, these are EXACTLY the kind of posts we need!

Since we also have a V w/ AT coming to port 7/7/2009, we read your posts with GREAT anticipation.

THANKS for your GOOD work, and the knowlege you impart to us.

THANKS SO MUCH!!!

David (aka Blind Guy)

[basspro]

Very nice report. I have being driving my 2010 Blue ribbon V with Nav for about three weeks now and was just wondering how have you been able to get those high 50 MPG's. I am just getting into the low 50's meaning 50.8 to 51.8 just driving on Eco and really babying the starts and stops. What do I need to do to get into the high 50's like you, since we have pretty much the same car and options. Lastly your numbers are all based on MFD right and not actual pump numbers?

[FireEngineer]

You know if you put some 15" wheels on..........

Wayne

[yogadoc]

Thanks for the info. We are taking a trip to NY in a few weeks, it will be my first highway experience in my V. I'm spoiled by the incredible MPG I've been getting on my daily commute thus far. I hope I can do as well as you on the highways. Any tips for highway vs. back road driving?

[RodJo]

Thanks for the detailed report! It performed better than I would have guessed, especially considering the strong headwind.