What kind of mileage should I expect?

Our 2013 Acura RDX has 2.5ga left when the fuel light comes on. Most cars have a healthy reserve built in. It looks bad when your vehicle is stranded on the side of the road.

 

The Gas Gauge Says Full, But That's Not Quite True: NPR | PriusChat might be insightful, even though it's a Ford engineer speaking. I agree w/F8L's comment about wanting to be conservative/erring on the side of caution by the automaker.

 

I've never come close to putting 11 gallons in my 2011 Prius. I've got 49.3 average over 11 months and 30k miles. The dash always reads about 3-4 mpg higher.

 

The length of your drive is another critical determinant. A cold engine kills fuel economy.
Therefore I don't "compete" with other Prius owners for best economy, I only work to do the best I can. I could improve my MPG by taking a longer route into town - but I'd still burn more fuel.

 

I also find myself changing the commute based on terrain, traffic, and weather. It's almost like a game to keep the dash number high! I ride between 85 and 102 miles each way. The fastest time-wise is mostly highway but its flat, so I use the gas pedal more and hit about 52 on average. The 85 mile ride is through towns and back roads. Stop and go and slow speed limits also keep mpg in the low 50s. The 98-mile option is the best for me, state highway rolling 55 with traffic, steady cruise with same up and down hills each way, gets mpg up into the upper 50s and into the 60s with warm weather. I've been finding that, for me, steady cruising has been the best bet for my mpg.

 

I've driven in Georgia weather, all year. So my vehicle has not seen the extreme winters of others. The last half of the year, I've done more highway driving. But I'm running a 49.2 mpg for the year. It is less than I got with my 2000 Honda Insight but more than any of my gas guzzling V-8's. So I am happy.