Got better mpg by driving without thinking

I agree. Hypermilers that squeeze the 60+ use the displays and others instruments to their advantage. If Toyota didn't make the car smart enough on its own, nobody would be getting the FE they claim.
But it is just too darn hard not to watch them.

 

See if this trend continues, if it does determine what your doing different. Expand on that strategy. I find it entertaining to get good mileage. My wife thinks it's silly or won't participate.
I own several vehicles and each has it's own form of entertainment, Prius is fuel mileage.

 

No, we already have too many people driving without thinking.

More thinking, less driving, that's what we need.

 

Either I do not understand what you are saying ... or I disagree.

My questions centers around your word "normal." What do you consider normal? Do you think PWR is "normal?"

I live amid Utah mountains; every week I am amid the mountains I have found it better to leave the "shifter" alone ... let the computer select the best option.

I have driven up a long 10% grade in Wyoming, and while I could hear the ICE running .... I cerainly would not have called it as "straining." I am confident this marvelous machine can and does select the optimum combination of gears, ICE and traction motor. My "lifetime" average is 53.7 mpg .... I just not think I can do any better than the computer.

 

What your saying is that the same amount of work is done with less fuel in power mode, in other words the car is more efficient in power mode. You really don't believe that do you?

 

One issue is that when you first get the car, you think you know what's best and you're mistaken.

You think since jack-rabbit starts are bad, turtle-slow must be good. You think that if you keep the meters in the proper range 100% of the time, you'll get better mileage than if you anticipate -- something the meters cannot do -- and go out of the "proper" range. You might think that regenerative braking is magic, so use it a lot: it's "free" power. You might see that you're getting 100 MPG+ in EV mode, so use EV mode as much as possible... etc, etc.

I certainly fell for a few of these. The point is, the car is smarter than us when we're operating out of misunderstanding, but we're smarter than the car when we do the human part of the equation: anticipation.

A second issue is that the car naturally gets better mileage throughout the break-in period, so even if you did exactly the same things on the same routes, you'd end up with 5 MPG more after 1500 miles than when you first got the car.

In my mind, the people that get the worst mileage are: 1) those that figure they know how a hybrid works, but are wrong, 2) those that drive like maniacs and call anything else "blue-haired old lady driving", and 3) those who live in a geographical region/climate/culture that's stacked against good mileage to begin with. I fell into category 1 at first, but think I've improved.

Actually, I have gotten more casual about mileage and have played around with different ideas, and my mileage has slipped a bit over time, from my high point.

 

yeah! i just got 46.7 mpg on my last tankful - with touring rims and bridgestone G017 potenza's. accelerate, lift and chill at the speed limit. at optimal connection to your car, my best advice is to "FEEL" the battery,,,,,,,,a slight throttle action will cause the car to surge a bit, that's the battery, make the most of it without the ICE activating.

do all this and keep a "SAFE" eye on the consumption screen.

 

Hear, hear...All things in moderation. I've also found that anticipation yields the most rewarding results followed quickly (equally?) by conservative speed.

 

I own a 2010 Prius with Nav and Advanced Technology Package. Drive 40 miles to work north of Alexandria, Virginia using 495 Beltway and Baltimore-Washington Parkway. The ATM has a sensor above mirror which senses (left and right) where your car is on the road and Prius helps you steer the car/sounds alarm if you're far from center lane.
ATM has a (InfraRed ?) sensor at front of the car which detects (driver adjustable) distance to car ahead and relative velocity between car ahead. I Set Cruise Control 10-15 MPG above traffic speed and rarely touch the brake or accelerator while driving 40 miles. I generally drive faster going to work and achieve 46-50 MPG. Coming home is much slower, average 45 mgh, and achieve 51-54 MPG.

Note: 2010 Prius User Manual and Prius Repair Manual are both incorrect at not mentioning that if car is in Brake mode (and has not had drive lever moved to Drive) you cannot Set Cruise Control.

 

I thought all the modes just modify the throttle response. And as far as I can tell that seems to be true. In other words, you wouldn't get more power from the car in PWR mode than in ECO mode. It just feels that way because you don't have to press as hard on the accelerator pedal.