Gen. 2 vs. Gen 3 gas mileage

Overall the GenIII gets better fuel economy for the average driver. I'd say about 5mpg better depending on how much highway driving you do. Even hypermiling I had a difficult time getting over 62mpg in my GenII. With my GenIII I can put forth the same amount of effort and get 68+mpg. The GenII mpg indicator is about 2% optimistic and the GenIII mpg indicator is about 5-6% optimistic. So keep that in mind. They are two totally different cars so I suggest driving them both to see what you like better. My GenII with mods felt zippy whereas my GenIII feels more like a solid sedan.

 

The GenIII has to be put in "Power Mode" to get that zippy feeling. In the grand scheme, the GenIII is the fastest of all the Prii models including the GenII. It just feels slower if you are not in Power Mode.

 

Hypermiling are techniques used to exceed EPA mpg estimates. Some of them include "pulse and glide", super highway mode, driving without brakes. Detailed descriptions can be found by googling those terms or simply googling hypermiling techniques.
The Gen III is a superior car to the Gen II but a late model Gen II ((2007 or newer) or maybe a cheap 2010 Gen III will yield you the lowest cost per mile (figuring in insurance, maintenance and other associated costs). Both are excellent cars with high reliability records. There are things I love about both vehicles but, I'm going to try to drive my Gen II for 9 more years.

 

The Gen II will not stay all electric below 25 or less. The ICE kicks in with anything but a slight push on the accelerator. The Prius is designed as a gas car with electric assist. Typically you can only use electic to maintain speeds on a flat or slight down/upgrade. The real mpg improvement comes from the ICE start/stop technology and implementing hypermiling techniques.

 

Thank you very much for this response. I have been stuck between the Gen2 and Gen3 but this helps me a lot. I currently drive an 01 Corolla and it feels like a zippy golf cart and that is something I don't like about the car. Much appreciated.

 

Also take a look at fuelly site, you can see the average mpg, second gen vs third.

 

Here's the link to fuelly: Toyota Prius MPG - Actual MPG from 6,575 Toyota Prius owners
Scroll down to see the various model years, then click on the year. Gen 2 is 2004-2009, and Gen 3 is 2010-2015.

Note, the results for 2012+ have the plug-in Prius mixed in, so they may be a little skewed. You can filter for a specific submodel using the drop-down at the top.

My experience is in line with @F8L's range above for Gen 3; my lifetime average in my 2013 is 48.5 mpg (calculated), and the display has averaged 3 mpg optimistic (6%).

 

Keep it simple, buy the newest one you can afford.

 

You can get a nice G2 for under $7500. I know, because I just did.

Hard to find a good G3 for under $10k.

$2500 buys a lot of gas!