celebrating hybrid ownership

[john1701a]

Today marked the start of year #5 for me.

I still clearly remember 4 years and 1 day ago when the salesperson handed me the keys to my first Prius. The experience boggled my mind. I couldn't believe that remarkable technological accomplishment was ALL MINE! Yippee!!!

Now I have a massive website and so much data there really isn't much left to prove. But there was one tidbit grabbing my curiosity. I wondered what my average combined MPG was over the past 4 years, what kind of fuel reduction I had actually achieved (reduced emissions is a given). It turns out the 80,155 miles traveled required 1730.931 gallons resulting in an overall value of 46.3 MPG. Sweet!

This new year will be really fun. Awareness of Prius & HSD is proceeding quite well. So I'm not expecting any battles on that front, especially when it comes to winter. Living here in Minnesota has already proven everything about the cold season is no big deal for a Prius. And of course, MPG should be better this time. This 2004 is now broken-in.

What else is there? I suppose the nonsense with the "mock" hybrids GM is pushing may become somewhat of an issue. And perhaps the first hybrid from Ford will stir the market in an unexpected way. We'll see.

[daniel]

John, I am curious about something: Since your 2001 Prius was not yet fully broken in going into its first winter, was it's mileage significantly better its second winter?

I got my '04 in January, dead of winter, and as I've often commented, may have achieved the lowest mpg ever recorded for a Prius by driving a 4-mile commute in bitterly-cold weather and warming the cab for 4 or 5 minutes before driving. (Sorry: at 30 below zero I won't drive before warming the cab a little bit.)

My mpg has steadily improved since then, but how much is due to break-in, and how much due to the warming of the weather, I have no way to guess. I'll be around 5,000 miles as we sink back into winter, and I'm wondering what I might expect for mpg this winter compared to last.

[john1701a]

That winter had both the second snowiest and the second coldest December in Minnesota's recorded history (about 110 years).

So making break-in observations about those first few months of ownership is rather difficult.

And of course, there was some break-in of the owner too. But with this Prius, things could be different. My hybrid driving skills were already well established as habit, like rollerblading... you just naturally respond to road conditions in the most efficient way without giving it any thought. So if the winter is similar to last year, we may be able to make a better comparison.

Also note that I switched to synthetic oil before winter kicked in last year. So that variable won't exist. (Now people won't question my choice to switch early. Little did they know it was in part for data comparison the following year.)

[flyingprius]

John,
Congratulations on passing 4 years of ownership with your Prius. I'm sure if you wanted to, you could go ahead and make it to 14 years without much trouble.
Also, I've appreciated your ability to illustrate the benefits of Prius through with so many different tools on your website...
I've thought every now and then when looking around on your website how nice it would be if all Americans were as educated and passionate as you are about the Prius! There would be a lot less 8 mpg nonsense
Enjoy your Prius or whatever form of HSD you choose for many years to come!

Approaching 2 years this fall:
Silver Strata '03 - November 20th 2002
Salsa Red '04- November 13th, 2003

[john1701a]

I plan to make the education of Prius a little easier soon. I'm setting up to provide copies of my website on CD via postal mail again. (Last year's offering worked out really well.)

Having an offline copy available allows you to surf & search at speeds dramatically faster than even the fastest online connection. It's quite handy having access to the files themselves too, rather than being required to use the interface I created.

Stay tuned.

[DaveinOlyWA]

congrats on the aniversary john!!

i for one value your site as my decision to buy a Prius came about in 3 hours.

i went from researching the vehicle (your site provided about 80% of the info)

to getting in my 15 mpg ford pickup and driving down to my local dealer and ordering one. all that was done in time for me to make it home for dinner.

other than the fact that i would have liked to get a few more options, i have not a single iota of regret and still consider it one of the best decisions i have ever made.

[skruse]

Thank you John for educating us all. We learn much from your attention to detail and objective perspectives. I especially appreciate your sharing details on tires, oil changes and general self-service maintenance.

I'm in my 14th year with a Toyota 4Runner (166k mi, 25 mpg) in mint condition. I expect delivery of a 2005 Prius any day now (ordered April 2004) and expect to be able to keep my Prius 10 to 15 years.

As you are careful to point out, regardless of marketing hyperbole, it comes down to individual driving. There is a need for a primer to educate all vehicle operaters how to prolong the life of their vehicles and optimize fuel economy. Preventative maintenance and anticipatory driving go a long way and reap substantial benefits.

[jamarimutt]

John:

I wonder... could you buy any other type of car, or after having a hybrid for so long you feel nothing else's worth buying? After experiencing 50-52 mpgs for six months I find it very difficult to downgrade to 20-30 mpgs.

[john1701a]

I drive my parent's full-size conversion van from time to time, when I have a massive piece of cargo to haul or 6 passengers (and a wheelchair).

What an awful vehicle. The dang thing runs all through the red lights and the soft thumping of the automatic transmission shifting is really annoying. I don't think I could ever tolerate that on a regular basis, especially when having to fill the tank. The interior is nasty too, all that ancient technology from back in the 20th. Eww!

[DaveinOlyWA]

LOL... my my john... how quickly we become spoiled!!