Incredibly... the first snowfall here in metro Detroit is about a month behind schedule. :huh: Well, it's snowing outside right now. My typical 50+ MPG trip home looked suspiciously close to 44 MPG :angry: with the heater running and outside air temp @ 32 F. And it's not even COLD yet!!! :blink:
We only received proto-flurries here in Ann Arbor. It'll be interesting to know how a Michigan winter affects your MPG. A2Prius 2006 Prius due to arrive in mid-January!!!
I have found that running the fan with the vent only (using outside air) and setting the cabin temp at 75 or so keeps me from having to use the heater at all. I do wear a coat when I do this, but it really helps save the mpgs!
I'm curious... since I can't compare where I am... how does the weather affect your mpg in a 'regular' car?
I believe that if you run the fan at all with the temp set anywhere above "max cold", the heater core receives coolant and you get cabin heat anyways. So far I'm theorizing that using "recirc" should conserve that already-warmed air a little more, but that's often impossible because of the windows fogging up. . _H*
Only 32F and you are using the heat? Get a jacket! I have actually turned my heat on a few times, but just for a few minutes at a time. I fortunately park in a garage, so it's a reasonable temperature when I get started every day. On a side note, I've been keeping our house at 60F and just dressing warmer. Temps are about to drop form the 70 we had today to the 20's tomorrow!
It's 25 and snowing like the dickens here. My mpg went down to 37 :angry: tonight while driving around. I guess I got spoiled with the high 40's average since we got it six weeks ago.
well already had a below 50 mpg tank and currently sitting at 51.5 so holding out hope for this tank... go9ing from summer to winter formula gas immediately drops you about 10% here
Much worse than the temperature is the wind here. 40 mph winds the last few days are killing my mpg. started at 55 mpg after 100 miles. 2 days later, at 300 miles, 46 mpg.
Be patient.... Before you know it, Spring will be right around the corner, bringing songbirds, tulips, and better MPG. But until then: Welcome to a Frozen Hell! (Uhh... unless you live in Arizona.)
So I just finished suffering through summer in Arizona with nearly three months of 105-110 degree high temps. I plan on enjoying MY vacation from seasonal hell. (I'm half tempted to start posting how great my mileage is now that my A/C doesn't run all the time, but that seems a little cruel...) Currently the snowbird population in Phoenix is enjoying highs around 80 degrees, lows around 55 at night, and lots of flat cruising space on surface streets.
I started reading this thread with sympathy and feeling a little nostalgic for the White Christmas I was assured of when I lived in Michigan. But now I'm with you here in AZ, and read your comment, and I couldn't agree more! Actually, I try to keep the Auto A/C on such a high temp that it doesn't kick on much. As I was merging onto US 60 yesterday morning, I realized that the heat had kicked on to try and warm me up.
I got rid of a 2000 GMC Sierra SLT 4x4 - an unreliable POS - to get my Prius. In summer city driving when I didn't need the A/C, I could routinely expect 22 litre per 100km or about 13 MPG Imperial gallon. In winter at -40, stuck in stop-n-inch due to backed up traffic from the blizzards and Snow Routing, the defroster at full blast and the electric rear window defrost on, the same commute was more like 45 litres per 100km, or around 6 MPG Imperial gallon. I was still pissed off at getting "only" 9.8 litres per 100km in my Prius while stuck in traffic last January, but compared to what I was driving and what everybody around me was driving ... still much better fuel economy.
http://www.w8kc.com/priusmileage.htm You can see my MPG since the 2005 was obtained almost a year ago. Keep in mind the slowly improving MPG figures are also attributable to the car "breaking in." I was only a mildly experienced Prius driver having owned a 2004 for just 12,000 miles, previous to getting the 2005.
dropped to 49.9 for the first time in a while, well not including when i let hubby drive air temp on the drive to work today was 37, had the heat on medium, set to 72. bah. at least if it's gonna cool off into the 30s, bring some snow! <_<
I bet you all couldn't wait till someone from southern CA chimed in with, "My butt was freezing this morning at 68F!" Just goes to show how truth is relative, I guess.
Got cold here (New England) this week (highs in 30s or low 40s lately). My first week with the Prius and was glad to keep it between 52-53 mpg. My wife borrowed it for a few short errands and did pretty well... even though she took me down to 51.3. I'm hoping to get it back to 52 before my first fill up
