Have you changed driving habits b/c of your Prius?

I have a 2007 since July 07. I noticed right away the aerodynamic's of the Prius. (The drag coefficient is .26) I coast up to traffic lights and if you do that, you will find the light may change to green before you get to it! You just gotta time it right.

Don't get too 'hung up' with pulse & glide (do a search for it on this forum). Just drive and enjoy your car!

Marvin

 

It has completely changed my driving style... WHEN I'm in the Prius. I still have my other vehicles that I drive the same. In fact my 1 FAST car I probably flog even more than usual to make up for lost time. I'm halfway through my current tank (in the Prius) and barely above 56mpg. That puts me in the higher range of what you can get out of a Prius so one would certainly say I drive it pretty conservatively. When I'm in my other vehicle however, watch out. Luckily I only drive this once every few weeks and usually under 10 miles so I'm still ahead of the game fuel consumption/environment wise. I think 10-15 miles of "fun" during a month is a good trade-off for being very fuel economy conscience the rest of the month. It's kinda like being on a diet but allowing yourself to "splurge" on Saturdays. :eyebrows:

 

I set the cruise control at the speed limit and watch the MPG stay up over 54. Once every few weeks I get my ZR-1 out and run it quick. That helps But yes, I am a slower driver in my Prius, trying to get better fuel economy.

 

Absolutely. I guarantee that I'm a much safer driver in the Prius than I was in my Grand Prix. I do miss the get up and go of the Grand Prix and sometimes I drive the Prius fast and kill my 51/52 mpg just because I like to drive fast.

 

Yes, I try to use the most efficient techniques to get good mpg, without affecting other drivers. My last tank, 430 miles over ~2 weeks, combined city and highway (around 50/50), gave me 60.3 mpg from the mfd. I think that's the best I'll ever get, I don't know what other tricks I can use unless I change my normal commute route, and I'm not anal enough to do that. I have an engine block heater (thanks FireEngineer!), TP is 40/38, use a modified pulse and glide when feasible (usually 40-35 mph), and read the red lights fairly well. I think I'm doing the best that can be done without doing the other extreme stuff that bugs the other drivers. So I'm happy! :bowl: And I think I drive as safely as when I was driving my Sienna minivan.

 

Yes. I don't drive 75 miles an hour on the freeway. 65 or less is just fine with me.

I also coast more to stops and don't stomp the accelerator to start.

If every car had the same feedback to the driver the Prius does, it would improve everyone's mileage.

 

Perhaps a more appropriate question is:

Has anyone NOT modified his/her driving style/habits at all since having the Prius?

 

Well, maybe not so much just because of the Prii, but also gas for my Infiniti is about $3.90 per gallon, so I don't drive ANYWHERE unless I absolutely have to. I'm even walking to the grocery store if I need stuff (unless I'm doing the "big" shopping).

 

I'm following you on this. At first I wanted to average 50MPG on a single tank. I hit that then wanted to make sure that every tank after that was at least 50. Then I set my goal to stay above 52. Now I'm at 56 and am telling myself that I don't want to drop below 55 on this tank. We'll see what the next tank brings. I honestly don't think we the route I take that I can hit 60mpg.

 

My driving style has absolutely changed. I think it's a combination of being mid-50's now, getting "enough" speeding tickets, and the ability to channel all competitiveness through the MFD's feedback. Also, the last ticket I got demonstrated that speeding has very little effect on arrival time, as a friend who passed me on the side of the road while I was with the cop got to the same destination within only a few minutes.

Bottom line: I like the change!

 

I followed the same path to more efficient driving. I think the easiest way to improve the average MPG of Americans would be to make every car have a gauge/display that shows the impacts of driving styles on MPG. If the guage was clear enough and couldn't be disabled by the user, most folks would likely change their driving styles.

 

I slowed down in '03 ... before the Prius ... while still driving in the SUV. So I'd say no, because the change came prior to to Prius. But... once a year, I DO go ape- s**t and hypermile . . . just to see if I still got the touch .
THIS, is that week (or I SHOULD say TWO weeks), and I'm 1/2 way there . . . head'n for my 3rd 700+ mile tank, on less than 10 gallons.

 

Yes indeed, I've changed my driving habits since getting a Prius! I also apply the new habits when driving my '98 Ford Expedition and my wife's '07 Subaru Tribeca.
I got over three month's out of the last fill-up on the Expedition, (Only use it when I need to haul something)

The Subaru is rated at 23 mpg on the highway, but I typically can get 27 to 28 mpg out of it using the new habits and keeping the tires inflated to maximum sidewall pressure. I also use "CA40g" additive with Regular gas instead of Premium that is supposed to be used with the car.

After using it for six months... I feel safe giving my approval of "CA40g".
Check it out here: CMH Industries, Inc.

 

I've slowed down, and changed my route to work. I got my Prii last Thursday and the fastest I've gone is 70kmh and that's because I was going downhill and pulsed too much from the beginning. I've been P&Ging ever since I got the car. That's the most significant habit that has changed...along with avoiding highways.

 

I've found that while I drive much slower now (and rarely exceed the speed limit) the increased safety from the slower driving is offset by the fact that I am constantly staring at the MFD.

 

yes I have changed. I drive slower now. My wife thinks the speed limit is a suggested starting point!

I use my MFD mostly on the consumption screen and can read the road now. I can almost feel when the yellow bar is gonna hit the roof. I can tell when it is about to drop too. I like it.

The wife drives her Pri like she stole it all the time and still gets in the mid 40's or higher.

 

I've only had my Prius for 5 months (9k miles) but it had an impact on me from the start. I drive much more purposefully and plan ahead. I still keep up with traffic just fine and am actually passing a lot of people now with everyone else slowing down. (I do about 5MPH over the limit)
I know this has been a major impact on my overall driving because I'm now the slowest driver in the family (rather than fastest). I noticed this when I drove my wife's Solara and bumped up her MPG by a couple when I got behind the wheel. The Prius techniques work on every car!

 

That pretty much covers me as well, especially the comment on the competitive urge.

I think that the specific model of car had something to do with it: obvious benefits (on MFD and at pump) for going moderate speeds, driving more smoothly, etc.

Another big aspect was the psychological side: I'm changing cars (to my first-ever new car), I'm done with my 20s, etc... so I consciously chose to drive in a more moderate fashion.

On my old San Diego commute, that change cost me fewer than 10 minutes a day, and I'd arrive at work and home much more mellow and relaxed than when I used to do 15 over and lots of passing.