Very Short Commute...is Prius good for this?

IMHO, if you drive less than 20,000 miles a year, Prius does not make sense cost wise considering benefit from the fuel savings but high price of Prius offsets this. A Corolla or Camry is good in this case.

A 20K miles/year will give you a cost saving of about $1000/year which in a 8 year period equal to $8000 saving which when subtracted from initial price of Prius, will equate and/or better than a base corolla/camry situation. Offcourse a loaded Camry (leather/JBL/CD-Changer/keyless) is not cheap either.

If gas reaches $4/gallon then Prius is the King!!!

 

My "regular" commute is under 4 miles each way in hilly, around town conditions, and I still average between 55 and 60 MPG! I would recommend two things: First have the dealer install an engine block heater before you pick it up. You'll start out nearly warmed up, which can make a big difference. Also check out the threads on grill blocking. A couple of dollars of foam and five minutes will help the engine get warmer faster and retain the heat better when the weather is cooler. Heck, for short trips even when it's 70 degrees, a 75% blocked grill is safe and very effective! Just pull out some foam when you take longer trips.

 

If you must get a "currently on the market" car, then I'm glad you are choosing the Prius. But please... (and I don't think I've seen it mentioned) will you at least consider walking or biking at least some of the time when/if possible? A Five minute commute? In a multi-thousand-pound vehicle? why??

How about a GEM? Driving any gas car for just five minutes is am amazingly silly use of resources.

 

I haven't had any trips longer then 6 or 7 miles at one time , in the last month , MY MPG is 27.5 . I thought there was something wrong with my driving , since I hit allot of lights and I spend as much time at lights as in driving. People posted allot of responses to me when I was getting bad MPG but no one explained my phenomenon correctly. This will explain, under "Plan your trips accordingly" Driving Tips Page

If you drive in 5 -10 minutes durations, you are wasting what the Prius was built for. I also don't see why, unless you're a taxi driver or delivery guy that one would need to drive in the city for a long duration.

The car does get very good mpg on the highway for me and even better then the 48 MPG posted, if you sit in traffic and just stay below the ECO mode .

Good luck on your choice of cars !

 

A 5 minute commute??? Forget the car, get a pair of these:

Keith

 

I see your signature shows a Prius on order. One wild card would have been to go with the earlier version, NHW20, and get a plug-in kit. This would have given you an EV with excellent long distance and high-speed cruise. Regardless, you'll be in good company. Enjoy the ride.

Bob Wilson

 

No, that would be me. My commute is 1.1 miles. And in Chicago winters, I'm lucky to have a tank average of 31mpg, which includes other trips to farther destinations. On the other hand, I've filled up only twice this year - Feb 14th and again last week.

 

In my experience, temperature has been key. In TX, your car will warm right up (most of the year) and you should get decent mileage on the short commute.

Aside - to those who advocate biking or walking, I agree, with a caveat. In addition to the OP's needs, there's also the issue of safety. Being from Bodymore, Murderland, I've been 'bike-jacked' and hit by a car in the same year. I still ride, but sometimes it's not exactly, uh, pleasant.

 

Very Short trips and limited refills...do you need a gas stablizer to prevent the fuel from gunking?
I hope I've not strayed too far from the OP...

 

Wow! Ok, I think you are the winner.

 

fwiw, I have a 7 minute commute here in houston, non-highway, with the 17 inch wheels. In cold weather, without much highway driving, I got around 40 mpg actual. warmer (but not hot) weather brings the real commuting mpg up to 42 or 43. highway trips have ranged anywhere from around 50 for a hop down and back to galveston, to 43 going up and down the hills to Austin.

 

I posted a similar message a week or two back. I just bought a 2010 Prius II. My commute is typically about 7 minutes: 4 minutes to drop my daughter off at daycare and then 3 more minutes to the bus stop. On my first tank I was getting about 37 mpg (which went up to about 43 after a weekend trip to the mountains and a few other longer trips). Then I increased the tire pressure to 42 front, 40 rear and I'm now averaging around 44-46 mpg in the city (I reset the meter and started with a fresh tank the day I refilled the tank, so I know these numbers are accurate). So if 35 mpg would make you happy, I'd say you can't go wrong. You will get at least that and probably more, at least based on my very limited experience. Good luck!

 

Drive for 5 minutes? Heck, I'd get a bike ... especially since your avatar shows you're in the south west. Good weather! When I was 6 miles from work (10 minute drive) I'd bike unless rain was threatening. So for 5 minutes? that'd be a breeze. Unfortunately now I'm 19 miles away, and have to be on the road at 4am. Even so, I've made the bike ride a few times. Whew! too rough ... not no more. Man, I WISH i was just 5 minutes away.

.

 

I live in Los Angeles but live very close to work, less than 10 minute commute. It hurts MPG. I've seen about 46 MPG city and 55 highway. The weather is a big deal also, in cold it's much worse and warm somewhat better. I drive really "easy" so regular drivers should chop off 3-5 MPG off those numbers.
BUT, when you mix my city and highway driving I'm averaging right at 50 and am pleased.

 

Due to the recession I suddendly had a 65 mi one-way commute when I ordered my Prius but fortunately it turned back into a 1.1 mi commute by the time my car was delivered. (I'm on a 11,000 mi per year pace due to other driving I do beside going to work.) I bought the Prius for other reasons besides fuel economy.

I live in a semi rural area and feel safe riding my bike to work. I only drive the Prius to work on the coldest or slippery or wet days. And when I do drive it to work I leave early and drive it at least 7 mi which includes 4 mi on the interstate at 65 mph to warm it up quickly. I know I'm not saving gas that way but I am preserving the car for the long term.

For your short commute I would be concerned about condensation in the engine and exhaust. The new oil change interval of 10K does not apply for commutes below freezing if driven less than 5 mi frequently. 5K oil changes are still recommended for such driving.

The other posts of block heaters and grill blocks are good ideas.

 

You need about 5 minutes of warm up driving before the battery propulsion kicks in. You also need to drive it a lot over the years in order to reap the premium you paid up front for the Prius (i.e. when comparing to the purchase of a Yaris, Corolla, Civic, etc.) The other alternative may be diesel VW because diesel engine relies on compression so the warm up time will be a lot less. Diesel engine also has incredibly low gas consumption comparable to hybrid engine.