Getting an average of 35 mpg in city? Why?

i am just guessing that actually stopping, then going 150 feet then stopping again, repeat for four hours VERSUS driving in stop and go traffic by going 20mph then 30mph then slowing then 20mph 30mph then slowing, perhaps stopping repeat for one hour each way are two different things. so then your 30 to 35mpg might be awesomely high. i hope you are having fun with the car. i treat mine like a go-kart hotrod.

 

Assuming you are new to the hybrid world, you need to learn and live the phrase: pulse and glide. Then, your fuel economy will skyrocket.

 

In a nutshell yes but there's more to it than that (read up some more). You have the HUGE advantage of both knowing your route and your next stop. Also, I assume very little traffic to dictate speeds pushing you to go faster than necessary.

 

Hint: gliding is not coasting (foot off the gas).

 

Trying to stay in EV can actually hurt your mileage if you use it enough for the engine to have to kick on and charge the battery. A lot of it comes down to experience, just keep in mind that the gas engine is most efficient when it has a good load on it, like accelerating, so take advantage of it. When I say its most efficient when accelerating, I don't mean that the MPGs are necessarily the greatest, but that its making the most power per unit of fuel used. The EV mode button is more of a gimmick and is really only useful for moving the car around the driveway without having the engine kick on. You can use your foot on the gas pedal to dictate what power source its using. My Gen2 doesn't even have the mode buttons, but I can usually make the car do what I want using my trained foot on the gas.

What is your route like? From Google Maps, it looks like it could be dense neighborhoods or houses a quarter mile apart or more.

 

The ECO and PWR only change the throttle response of the gas pedal, so PWR feels more powerful because the power kicks in sooner. The available power is the same in any of the mode (neither mode active is normal mode). If you floor it in ECO, it'll be just as fast as in PWR. The one other difference is I believe ECO mode runs the AC more efficiently, which I assume means not quite as cold.

 

You can leave it in normal and the vehicle will choose for you the mode.

 

It can get confusing for hybrid newbies but always remember this: all of your EV comes from burning gas. So you want to pulse on gas in the most efficient manner (your gauges tell you) and then glide (EV but as little EV as possible to last longer) to your next stop. If the distance is too long, the P&G again. Rinse, lather, repeat.....

Make a game of it (a money saving game).

 

what was the tacoma giving you for mpg's on your mail route?

 

EV mode almost always uses MORE gas over time than other modes.
Eco mode does two things, it slows the gas pedals sensitivity so you push farther for the same amount of acceleration and it makes the A/C less powerful to save energy.
Pwr mode does the opposite to the gas pedal, small changes greatly change the acceleration near the top of travel. (I do not think the c has Pwr mode)

If you push the pedal all the way to the floor all modes are identical, there is not really more power.

The Prius likes to cruise, but your use will not involve much cruising. Brake gently enough that power can be regenerated back to the battery.
You may wish to start a thread here about rural mail delivery, we have several letter carriers who can give tips. Also Pizza delivery, paperboys, etc. Someone like me who sets cruise control for 90 miles at a time will not have tips for your use.

 

This is a result in my former CMax hybrid using P&G in the city over and over and over...... for 44 miles like a taxi.



The Prius C can/should do even better.

 

huh? better than the plug in?