Gas Prices are Rising But so is My Mileage

My mileage continues to increase as well. The first 500 miles were not much better than 35 mpg. Now, at about 1300 miles, I'm up to an average 45 mpg. Part of the increase is because I've learned better how to drive the Prius. Also, almost every day...until a couple of days ago...the temps have been extremely cold. Seldom has it been above freezing. That certainly hasn't helped with fuel efficiency. But warmer days are coming and the MPG has only improved so far.

 

I hear that! Temps are now right at 70 here in Dallas the past 2 days. I have been averaging 57.1 those days. I love the Prius!!!

 

I been using the cruise control alot. Usually setting it between 55 - 65. I have been totally amazed by the vehicle the last few days. Now that I am finally more comfortable & knowledgable about how to drive the Prius, I hope to keep this up until I must use the AC. Which I can only imagine will lower MPG a little. This is a great site. I have learned so much about my Prius. Keep up the good work!

 

We've also had a couple of warm days (in the 60s yesterday) and for the last 60 miles on a fresh tank of gas my CPU average is 53.4 mpg. This is driving my regular commute (no highway driving - just suburb driving) where I was getting more like 47-48 mpg. Looking forward to warm weather. Of course, it's suppose to snow tonight. :? Oh well, we do need the moisture...



<Still breaking in the car at ~1700 miles>

 

Today we're up to a sweltering 45 degrees in Indy!
And no snow in the forecast til the weekend! Geeeeeeeezzzz.

 

Rockluvr - I am also in Colorado (Boulder), and I've been averaging over 50 mpg for my first two tanks. I purchased the car earlier this month. I'm curious... how many miles have you gone on each tank and how many gallons pumped in? I was able to go 407mi on the free tank that came with the car, and my first fill was 7.93 gal. I travelled 435 miles on the second tank and filled to 10.6 gallons.

Jim - Tideland AM

 

Hi Jim,
I'm on my 6th tank of gas since purchase on Dec 24. I have not "pushed the envelope" as far as range goes on the car. My understanding is that it is not a good thing for the car to run out of gas and I think that is why the gas gauge is the way it is (leaving extra gas in the car when it shows you need to fill up.) For my first tank I filled up when there were 3 bars left on the gauge. For the last two fillups there was 1 bar showing, but it had not started to blink. I only fill up to when the pump automatically shuts off. I've not been able to get more gas into the tank after the pump shuts off. Given all that, here are my numbers...

275 miles 5.94 gallons 3 bars showing 46.3 CPU ave
336 miles 6.68 gallons ? bars showing 50.0 CPU ave
356 miles 7.21 gallons ? bars showing 49.4 CPU ave
325.1 miles 7.0 gallons 1 bar showing 45.9 CPU ave
351.9 miles 7.3 gallons 1 bar showing 48.1 CPU ave

Overall calculated average based on # of miles driven and gallons of gas put in = 48.2 mpg

Average of computer averages = 47.9 mpg <only 0.3 difference!>

I have been very pleased with the car so far and as you know the temperatures have been all over the place. From single digits up to 60's and temperature makes a HUGE difference in how easily the car will just use the electric battery or motor to run without tapping the gas engine. I try to drive conservatively to maximize gas efficiency i.e. kick in stealth whenever possible, back off on the gas, anticipate stops, etc. Most of my driving is short trips of 20 - 30 minutes suburb driving. I must say that since I have been driving the Prius, I am not above the speed limit as often as I was with my other car and I don't start and stop as often - I don't like seeing that mileage hit! In fact, if all cars had this instance readout I bet speeding would be greatly reduced! :lol:

My biggest complaint is that the gas station that I frequent offers 1/2 price car washes on Tuesdays (which routinely was my fillup day in the old car), but I can't always time my fillups for Tuesday since the minimum gas amount is 6 gallons for the car wash special. OK, so we should all have this problem!

Jim, have you driven the Prius in the mountains much? Did you use "B" to downshift? Also from what dealer did you get your car? Did you have a huge wait? Sounds like you are getting really good mileage for the breakin period.

 

R - Thanks for all the info on your fillups, miles, etc. I'm trying to understand, as we all are, how the bladder and fuel gauge work. Accumulated real life experience is probably our best teacher.

On my second fillup, I made the mistake of trying to pump more after the auto shut-off. It first shut-off at 8.6 gal., but when I tried to add more I didn't realize how fast is was filling until I heard bubling in the filler neck. That's where I got the 10.6 gallons. Unfortunately, a tiny amount dribbled over the edge and down the side of the car. I won't do that again. I bought the car as much for clean emissions as for other reasons and overfilling obviously doesn't serve that.

I based my mileage for the second tank, however, on the auto shut-off figure of 8.6 gal. I'll see when I fill for the third time if my average mileage really is staying above 50 mpg as my display indicates.

I feel fairly comfortable driving at least to the blinking gauge if necessary. In fact, I suspect that at that point there is still about 2 gal. left. I do want to know what the car is capable of so that if I'm taking a longer trip at some point I'll know what to expect.

I have not driven in the mountains yet. I look forward to seeing how it handles some of the steep, long climbs, but mostly I've been driving my normal suburban/in town combination. I did take one trip into Denver on the turnpike. RT average of 53 mpg was delightful. I've only used the "B" gear on a couple of short, steep downhill drives around Boulder in the snow. I really like the control it gives in that situation.

I bought the car in Sterling, Colorado. I was on the list in Boulder and would have prefered to buy locally, but this dealer in Sterling called me out of the blue (I'd previously emailed several CO/WYO dealers before I put down a deposit in Bldr) to say he had a car I could have. I conducted the email search in mid-December, put down a deposit in Bldr on 12/24, got the call from the Sterling dealer in early January, and picked up the car on Feb. 3rd. Very nice experience all around!

Wish we had a half-off car wash up here. Nice deal!!

Jim - Tideland AM

 

HFFL...I live in Plano (suburb of Dallas for those of you outside of North Texas) and don' t use the cruise control much around town and I am getting about 41 MPG. The highest I've seen is 49 MPG and that was mixed highway and city driving. I was surprised to see your MPG number so high.