Living in Hilly area and Mileage

Yes, I average about 43mpg in hilly terrain, many short trips (most under 2mi), and average 60-degree temps.

This is common. Level terrain makes a huge difference in MPG.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(marleewolf @ Jun 6 2006, 02:11 PM) [snapback]266879[/snapback]</div>

Technically, it was the EPA who came up with 61/51 MPG. The EPA's tests are not like real-world driving, so they are only useful to compare one car against another. That is, a car with better EPA mileage should give better real-world MPG than one with a lower EPA rating. You may not achieve EPA numbers on any car, but you at least know that the worse-EPA car would be worse.

Car manufacturers are required to use the EPA numbers in their advertising. Some drivers will exceed EPA figures; others will never achieve them. (Oh, and the EPA doesn't have to worry about the hills!)

I'm not going to consider the different formulations for fuel in winter vs. summer. Also, the Prius does better when the weather is warm, because the engine warms up quickly, so it can shut down the engine sooner.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(marleewolf @ Jun 6 2006, 04:25 PM) [snapback]266848[/snapback]</div>

Stop and read what you're saying. "Only 45 mpg" ain't nothing to sneeze at. And it's not "low mileage". I know the EPA ratings set a higher expectation but still you're not doing badly. Most of my commute is up and down hills albeit on an interstate. As you can see below, I am averaging just a shade over 50 mpg and I'm at about 2K miles.

 

I have an unavoidable hill to climb whenever I go home, plus some fairly hilly areas on my commute. I would typically get about 5.2-5.4L/100km (45-43.5MPG) every tank. In the last couple of weeks, I have altered my route to go around some of the major hills. After some fine tuning of the path, I am currently getting around 4.9L/100km (48MPG) on this current tank. I have another course change to try out , so hopefully, it'll get even better. I also tend to stomp on the pedal now and then, and that is definitely going to worsen the FE.

 

I live at sea level and my office is at sea level. I do a 350 M (let's call that 1100 ft) climb on my 50 km (30 mile) commute.

My last few tanks I have been getting 4.1L/100 km, or about 57 miles per US gallon.

I have about 50,000 km on the car.

 

I'm also in a hilly area in central Alabama. Going to work has more "up" than "down", so my milage is about 44-45mpg going to work, and about 45-46 coming home, when there's more "down". But on a really hilly stretch of two-lane road the other day, I got stuck behind a log truck...I had 10 minutes with over 75 mpg! Course, I was mostly coasting along about 45-50 mph. I was "only" getting 44-45MPG the first few weeks I had the car, but as I learn more about it, I'm getting better. My worst yet was 42mpg on a tank, but that's still almost double what my old car got!

 

I think we need to define hills. Hills are different. When I lived in Ohio hills were one thing. In Montana they are another, and in Washington another, etc, etc, etc. Hills are not hills. I live on the coast with Mountains to my east, and no these are not what you call mountains on the east coast, and they are not the Rockies either. All of this has regional connotations. I drive to work on the uplands just above the coastal area and before the hills that proceed the Cascade range. I would guess this is some what equivalent to the lower part of the piedmont in the east. Remember we rise faster than you do. I drive over gently rolling hills between my home and work. A series of ridges and valleys, small lakes, I would guess left by the last glacier in this area. It is great to pulse and glide over but I can imagine better. Some of the terrain in northern Ohio going east and West just south of Lake Erie would be great too. Better temp in the summer ( sans air) and worse in the winter. The nature of the terrain is very critical and how we define our terrain really does differ!

 

Well I live in one of the flattest areas in the Continental US outside of the desert southwest and the bonneville salt flats: Northwest ohio... around here the biggest hills are the overpasses... (all of which are artificial as there are no hills, its completely F-L-A-T here... so... I average a consistent 48 Miles per gallon thourgh a combination of city and freeway driving.

However, I just love how we can complain about ONLY getting 45-46 miles per gallon when 98% of the drivers in this country would poo their pants to get the mileage that we complain about....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(marleewolf @ Jun 6 2006, 03:25 PM) [snapback]266848[/snapback]</div>

You're good! I live in a hilly part of Missouri and I get about 46 MPG. Still way better than my 29 MPG Toyota Matrix (and I thought I was happy with that! )