cruddy mpg

sounds about right to me, sorry. why not take a 20 mile drive and find out for yourself?
what is it, anyway?

 

That sounds quite reasonable to me.

On both this and my most recently departed non-hybrid, I figured each full warmup cycle cost very roughly the equivalent of 2 (warmed-up) miles of fuel. I.e. for the old Subaru, which would fully warm in that distance, a 2 mile trip from a cold start would consume the same fuel as 4 miles on a fully warmed engine. That also meant a cold 2 mile trip had half the MPG of a long trip. Shorter cold trips had even low MPG.

The Prius seems to have a similar total warmup penalty. But since it warms slower (in my area, where the engine shuts down at stops) and doesn't get fully warmed in 2 miles, so doesn't pay the full penalty on short trips. That is why it's MPG after 2 miles is better than just half the figure it achieves on long trips.

 

There are pathological trips that make a Prius as bad as an ordinary gasser. Short trip from a cold-start is death but ideal for a plug-in . . . which does not have to be a Prius.

Bob Wilson

 

you got that right.

 

Then there is the Top Gear route!

Bob Wilson

 

Sounds right to me. A conventional car would never get even remotely close to its EPA rating in such conditions either. You're spending so little in fuel costs you shouldn't care or you should have bought a BEV or PHEV.

 

How did you lease a Prius for less than a Volt withing the last 2 years? Volt leases are generally $179-$250 a month.

 

The only way significant way to mitigate the cold start cost of a 1.5 mile trip is to prewarm up the engine with a 400w OE engine block heater before each cold start (or if it is in a heated garage) - depending on the outside driving temperature - there is a point of diminishing returns with respect to warming up the coolant over 60 minutes. Grill blocking won't help fuel efficiency of a 1.5 mile commute one way. At 1.5 miles - dropping your top speed to about 28 mph will probably help your fuel efficient without increasing the time you are travelling significantly. Unlike most gasoline based cars the Prius is optimized to trade off fuel efficiency for very low exhaust emissions during the first five minutes of a cold start. The Prius exhaust emissions are about 1/2 that of a regular car - even during the cold start cycle where most gasoline cars emit 2x their rated exhaust emission, the Prius exhaust emisssion are very low.

To get high fuel efficiency going up a good size hill on a Prius, a Prius needs a running start before entering the uphill grade. There are two approaches to controlling the throttle when going up hill, non automated and automated. (1) For non automated, a driver put the Prius in normal or pwr throttle mode for the most responsive throttle setting but keeping the throttle down so that the HSI display is never going pass the "C" in the "ECO" capsule marker while the Prius goes uphill . The Prius will likely lose speed as it climbs uphill but if you have a running start - the speed drop will be acceptable. (2) For automated, a driver quickly brings the Prius up to a predetermine climbing speed (like 40 mph) and fixes this speed using the cruise control. The on board computer is then used to maintain the climbing speed until the Prius gets to the top of the hill at which time the driver turns off the cruise control and sets the throttle back to manual. This keeps the Prius speed up while using the least amount of fuel possible.

OTH: A 1.5 mile commute is better served with an electric car like a Leaf, plug in car like the Plug in Prius, a human power vehicle (e.g. bicycle) if the roads allow for it, mass transit, or walking if the conditions permit it.

 

Bicycle the 1.5 miles!

Free and healthy and prob just as quick as getting in the car and sitting at traffic lights. If it's chilly layer up and get the handlebar muffs. They work great.

 

we're starting to get some <40 MPG tanks, but I think its just life style change all tiny trips around town.

 

I missed the fact you are in NC. A lot of Chevy dealers outside of CA really don't push the Volt and are not in competition with dealers like Keyes or Rydell. Still, they quoted you a crazy price. Still, you got a solid car so whatever right?

 

best lifestyle, even if it costs a few mpg's. time to get serious about a pip.