Document your MPG by doing this!

well, I suppose SOME Prius's come with an EBH.

... just over 30? ... yea if 36mpg is just over 30. My math says that's about 17% beter than the EPA's 30mpg for even the 2 wheel drive. Our 400h's best is AWD. I think Evan's taken his hihy into the mid 30's too. ... and as for "just" over 30 ... maybe you don't grasp how fantastic an EPA 30mpg is, for a SUV. The non-hybrid V8 RX EPA is in the teens ... and many SUV's only do low teens ... so ... 'just' over 30 ??


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Here's my latest. Sorry no finger in image.

 

Okay, it's only 54.7 mpg on a 175.1 miles of driving at an average speed of 29 mph. That 29 mph can't be serious! I think I drive a bit faster than that. This is only my second tank in the 2011 Prius, still breaking it in.

 

This is a common misconception. Your average speed includes slowing down, stops, and acceleration. Thus your displayed average mph will be much lower than you anticipate unless you are on a long road trip where 98% of the trip was on the highway with only stops for fuel.

 

How about a picture of a beach donkey wearing a sombrero?

This is just daft. Cause you can't get 50+ you suggest everyone else is lying.

I regularily get 250000mpg, I don't but sure you dont believe it anyway.

 

In a GenII with a bladder rather than a fixed tank I'd venture to say the computer is more accurate.

 

Here's mine 90 percent highway and the rest city stop and go. Highway was 65 plus mph.56.8 mpg Not bad for the conditions.

 

You mean like this? My Prius is giving the bird to OPEC, shortly after I bought it.


But that picture doesn't meet the parameters here, I just took that for fun. For >50 mpg, here's an old photo I have of the first time I went over 500 miles on a tank, sorry no fingers. In the winter I only get about 43 mpg (short commute). I do have an EBH, but it doesn't help for the return trip. I have a Scangauge, which helps with pulse-and-glide, and my tires are at 39/37 psi. In the summer I average about 52 mpg, lifetime is 49. That's pretty good considering I have a 2.8 mile commute, and short trips kill the mileage. This picture was taken on a road trip.
My best 3-tank average is 56.7 mpg.

 

For advertising, they legally have to follow the official EPA estimate, which was reduced significantly in 2008 to 48/45 but was 61/50 before that I think. My numbers are between those two estimates.

That hummer was a one-off plug-in hybrid, not the same category at all. With plug-ins you also need to consider electric usage. The battery pack needed to propel a hummer for miles has got to be huge.

According to fueleconomy.gov, which is probably less biased than cleanmpg numbers, the real-world reported average for the 2004-2009 model ranges are:
2009 49.2
2008 46.2
2007 46.5
2006 47.6
2005 47.7
2004 47.5

This seems reasonable to me. Any hypermiler worth his salt is going to get at least 55 mpg. A lot of things can bring that down though - using the heater or A/C a lot, letting the car "warm up" before driving, short trips, stop-and-go (especially with a lead foot), driving over 70 mph. Other than winter, I'm hard-pressed to get under 48 mpg, and that's with a very short commute.

I disagree. I was telling a friend about pulse-and-glide, then several weeks later we were going to a restaurant and he was following me. We got to the restaurant and he said he was disappointed because he wanted to see my pulse-and-glide technique. I told him I actually was doing it all the way! In a suburban setting, you pulse after a light or up a hill, and glide when traffic is slowing down or going down a hill (or if nobody's behind you). If you look ahead and plan things, and watch the traffic around you, this can be almost seamless (on roads that are marked under 45 mph).
Now I don't do some of the extremes, like drive on the paint lines, or let the car slow down (without brakes) to a near stop when coming up to a stop sign.

It definitely helps to get that last 5% improvement if you know the 4 stages of the Prius hybrid system warmup and have a scangauge or similar to truly know when you're in a glide (the energy screen doesn't tell the whole truth).

 

That's pretty typical speed for suburban driving, when you consider lights and all. If I know something is 15 miles away, I assume it will take 30 minutes to get there, even if most of the roads are 40-50 mph.

 

the gauge at the service station implied there was still nearly 2 ltrs left, well ok 1 and a bit. But I couldn't chance going much further with the trip I had planned for the day.

 

I tell you, reading this thread makes me feel like a loser. I've implemented all the hypermiling techniques, run the tires @44/42, and I do everything I can to increase mpg but I still come up short. My best is 48.1 on the MFD for just over 200 miles (phenomenal for me but pitiful for many of you). Maybe I'll grow up to someday become a true hypermiler (lol).

I do applaud the OP for starting this post. I know he has been a bit abrasive at times but so have some of the responders. It is a tough pill to swallow when others can do what you can't. I did see a lot of responders say they would post a pic later but never did.

My congratulations and respect goes out to all of you that can achieve 50+mpg on a regular basis.

 

I now use 'trip A' as a total mileage. Here is my average for the last 3463 miles. I am not a hypermiler. This includes city, suburban, and about half highway mileage with a lot of 70 mph which hurts my mileage. My suburban mileage is usually around 55 mpg.

 

At Browse On-the-Road Fuel Economy Data, the 2010-2012 Gen3 gets about 49 mpg, the 2004-2009 Gen2 gets about 47 mpg, and the 2001-2003 gets about 45 mpg. So each generation improves the mileage about 5% (while also adding power and space).

The question that comes to my mind for USNavy, is where is he driving, and how long is the commute? That can really affect things. Part of the reason my summer mileage is better is because a good number of my 2.8 mile commutes are then done by bike, so the car is used more for longer trips, percentage-wise.

 

I do have a Gen I but also a Gen II (06). Its listed in my signature line (sorry for the confusion but my heart is sentimental to the Gen I). The 48.1 refers to the Gen II mileage. I typically get 40-42 in my Gen I but, it has been handed down to my 16yo son (for now).

Nerfer,
I'm driving in the city, my commute is about 6 miles with 2 stop signs and 4 stop lights. I try to catch them but its not always possible. Speed limits vary from 35 - 2 miles, 45 - 2 miles and 55 2 miles (gentle hills with no elevation change). Even though its only 6 miles, it usually takes me about 12-15 minutes to get there.

I'm certain its the "short" commute time that really affects my mpg's.

Thank you both for the encouragement.

 

This is the best I can do with my commute. Mostly 71mph..

 

This is my best so far in my 2008 Touring. If the weather holds out, I may see my first legitimate (not due to the bladder) 60 MPG tank!

This is all 100% pizza delivery, with about 5-6 miles of highway at 55-65 MPH and the rest residential with 20-50 MPH speed limits in hilly Boulder, CO. The temperature while driving has been between about 46-70F, with the 39F shown here just as I arrived home after work tonight. Mileage seems to stay reasonably high (varying by only 3-4 MPG) so long as the car is kept from getting completely cooled until the temp drops to about 27F, below which I lose 10-15 MPG consistently no matter how well I hypermile, it won't go much over about 46 MPG. Roughly 26-28F seems to be some kind of "magical" cut-off point for the Gen-II Prius' engine management system.

I have my tires overinflated to about 46f/44r PSI, do extensive pulse & glide and only use cruise control on long straight and relatively flat sections of road or downhills where it's more effective or better for traffic than holding instant MPG at a constant 70-75 MPG. I also use a Scan Gauge II where I currently monitor ICE coolant temp, average MPG, HV SOC, and HV charge/discharge current along with the MFD on the consumption screen.

I do my best to maintain my SOC at or above 53.5% at all times unless conditions will allow me to regen back up to around 54.5% or more by the time I come to a stop, because at 52.5%-53.0% it enters a higher charging condition that runs the ICE at higher RPM and lower fuel economy especially under acceleration to charge the HV battery to a "happy" level. Performance remains steady with 60+ MPG achievable at SOC between 53.5%-66.5% at which point it favors using HV over ICE until you either exceed ~40-50 amps HV of current draw or SOC drops below 64.5% where it reverts to it's normal "happy" mode. At SOC above 66.0%, mileage is WAY better, but it's almost impossible to maintain that SOC for more than a few miles unless you have lots of downhills, and trying to keep it that high without lots of downhills is probably worse for mileage in the long run anyway because of conversion losses.

I'm running the original 12 volt battery and I believe it may be coming due for a replacement in the upcoming few months because even with no accessories switched on, I'm seeing what seems to my untrained eye like too much current draw from the HV battery at all times (1-2 amps, or 2-400 watts @ ~200 volts) which may be holding my mileage back slightly at this point. This is making me anxious to see what I'll be able to do through the warm, summer months after I replace it.

 

fwiw I did my first two years of driving on my used 2005 Prius with a dying/dead 12v aux battery. I've swapped it for a optima yellowtop but contrary to priuschat wisdom I haven't seen a change in gas mileage going from a bad aux battery to a good aux battery.

I'll be sure to post here if I start seeing 70+ MPG tanks, but I fully expect to get the same 60 something MPG tanks this summer.