What MPG Should Display Show

are you resetting it before driving? if not, you're averaging with past drivers. if you reset, you should get 40-50 mpg.

 

but they may be idling and etc., killing the mpg's. best to reset it, and take it for as long a drive as possible, under varied conditions.

 

I see from your profile that you've in Texas, so how often are you using the A/C in the Prius?

 

That is a fairly tall assumption. Many (even most non-enthusiast?) drivers are not fuel efficient. Many routes or particular vehicle uses are not efficient. Some cars are also not maintained to be efficient, e.g tire pressures allowed to fall until TPMS warning lights up, then barely kept above that. When all these factors converge, astoundingly low MPGs can appear.

For more direct car-to-car comparisons, reset the trip meter so that it is showing only for you and your route, without the wildly unknown variations of past history.

 

There are plenty of people who average over 50MPG. They're either trying or just happen to have driving conditions that are good for economy. Low 40s average is within reason, especially if they drive 80mph on the highway with the AC blasting. 32MPG, there is either something wrong with the car or the driver idles with the AC on all the time.

I agree with resetting the average if you want to see what the actual car is getting, not the car plus the other driver.

 

First the bad news: the mpg the car tells you tends to be optimistic, you're getting a bit worse than it says. On the other hand, I believe second gen didn't exaggerate as much as third gen. Anyway:

If you want to get a clearer picture of your mpg, start calculating. For mpg, when you fill up, note the gallons required, and the distance driven since last fill-up. Divide the gallons into the distance. Record the mpg for a few tanks and you'll be able to see how your doing, and what effect any changes make.

 

First thing I did when I bought mine last Thursday was to reset everything! Then accidentally reset it again yesterday after filling up for the first time. Anyway today I did something like 230km and the display reported 4.9l/100km which is stupidly good. Still running winter tyres and needs engine oil and trans fluid changing. Previous owner had the tyres at around 2.1 bar which is way too low, I've pumped them up to 2.6 so that should be helping too.

Reset everything, do a whole bunch of miles and let us know what the display says after a week or two, or a few hundred miles, or km, or any other distance unit of your choice