Gen III Mileage Estimate in Power Mode

66corvette · Nov 8, 2009

Just took delivery of new silver Prius IV this week. Wow - what a car! My wife does not like the pokey behavior in eco mode and likes to drive in power mode most of the time. What gas mileage can we expect to obtain if driving mostly in power mode. Also -would driving in power mode adversely impact on the break-in period of the engine.

Thanks for your input

F8L · Nov 8, 2009

Power mode is not going to kill your MPG, erratic driving, short commutes and not anticipating stops is what will kill it. So if she drives like the typical SUv soccer/power mom in my area I would expect you to see low to mid 40s at best in a Gen III. Toss in a terrible commute and you could dip into the 30s.

a64pilot · Nov 8, 2009

Only thing power mode does is de-sensitize the gas pedal and allow the AC to run at full capacity. If your rate of acceleration is the same, your mileage will be the same regardless of which mode you select.

Dark_matter_doesn't · Nov 8, 2009

I've been running in Power mode for at least three fill-ups, and my mileage is around 44. I suspect hills and decreasing temperatures are bigger factors. I also like the quicker power response than the sluggishness in Normal mode.

Search for the thread "I Love Power Mode" for more experiences.

That said, one still gas to drive prudently.

Blind Guy · Nov 8, 2009

66corvette said: ↑

Just took delivery of new silver Prius IV this week. Wow - what a car! My wife does not like the pokey behavior in eco mode and likes to drive in power mode most of the time. What gas mileage can we expect to obtain if driving mostly in power mode.
* There are MANY conditions that affect your Fuel Economy, for example, your type of driving, if it's in town and lots of stop and go, short trips with many stops, your Fuel Economy will suffer, it would probably range somewhere between 42-47 MPG. If your driving consists of a daily commute that results in a constant distance and few stops at lights and little traffic congestion, you could expect mileage of around 48-55 MPG.

I must, however, qualify these statements by saying your driving style will either positively or negatively affect those figures. Also terrain will have an affect on your mileage, and lastly, weather will play its part on your mileage. You'll see lower mileage in the Winter than Summer, that's because in the Winter the engine has to warm up and stay warm, partially to keep its occupants warm and partially to meet emmission standards.

Also -would driving in power mode adversely impact on the break-in period of the engine.
* NO! The PWR button does NOT actually give the engine MORE power, it simply makes the throttle more sensitive. The engine produces 98hp, there are 4 driving modes: 1) EV mode, this is the ALL electric mode and if conditions are right, will allow the Prius to travel up to 1/2 mile at speeds NO greater than 25 MPH. There are numerous debates on the usefullness of this mode, but, it is generally recognized that its best use is for moving the car around in a Parking Lot, or repositioning in your garage/driveway 2) Eco, this gives the throttle pedal the least response, and is supposed to train you on how to better drive a Hybrid, 3) PWR mode gives the Throttle Pedal the MOST response, and like the EV mode, there is some debate on its affect on Fuel Economy. However, there are many who are convinced it actually improves milage over the other modes, experiment with it yourself and determine how it affects your specific case 4) There is a Forth driving mode even the manual doesn't explain, it's the Normal mode, and that mode is accessed whenever NO modes are indicated in the MID (Multi Information Display), for example, if you are in any mode (except EV), pressing that same mode button a second time will put you in the Normal mode. Let's say you press the ECO mode button, the ECO will be indicated in the MID, pressing the ECO button again will extinguish the ECO indication and you will be in Normal mode. Normal mode will do exactly that, make the throttle sensitivity behave normally.

Throttle sensitivity only affects the first HALF of the throttle movement, In other words, pressing down on the throttle for the first half of its movement is where the modes have any affect, the second half, there ALL the same (except EV mode).

EV mode is affected by conditions like: engine warmth, air temperature, throttle position, speed, Battery SOC (State of Charge) and other factors that determine whether it can travel 1/2 mile or can reach speeds of 25 MPH. For example, if the engine is NOT warmed up, it will only attain speeds of 10 MPH in EV mode.

Thanks for your input

David (aka Blind Guy)

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