prius for driving only on highway?

I actually get better mileage on the freeway than I do in the city. When I get to cruise speed it takes very little effort to keep me going vs. the constant accel and decel in town. I get around 62 MPG on the freeway at 60 MPH but it always drops to 56-59 MPG as soon as I hit the city.

The battery does fine. I watch my panel sometimes it and if constantly going back and forth on the freeway between using elec motor and gas motor recharging the battery.

At 70 MPH I would expect you to get around 50-55 MPG.

 

you do not need to press the brake for the battery to recharge.

The battery will recharge while driving in the freeway as the gas engine turns the elec. engine to recharge your battery.

As said above, at around 70mph, you can expect to get around 50-55mpg

 

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So do I. I guess it's because once you get up to speed, the car doesn't need to use much gas to maintain it, unless your going up a slope. And going down a slope, even a slight one, really helps your gas mileage.

 

Evan is absolutely right in everything he said. In order to see tanks above 50 MPG you would need to drive some of your miles at lower speeds such as in town at either end of these long trips.

A good rule of thumb is 70 MPG at 50 mph and subtract one MPG for each additional one mph. Other factors that will weigh in are amount of heat or ac required, outside temperature, condition of road, steepness of the terrain, wind, and additional loading of vehicle. The order I entered those may be the order in which they affect the mileage.

 

I drive ~ 100 miles a day, mostly freeway. It's the middle of my second week with the car and per the display I got 47.3MPG (I really got 48.6) on my first tank. I'll need to fill up again tomorrow and the display is reading just about the same.

I've been driving between 65 and 72 mph, mostly about 68 while breaking it in.

 

For what it's worth. . .
I bought a 2005 Prius in Feb.
I drive 64 miles to work and back every day (32 miles each way).
From home to the expressway is around 3 miles between 25-30 MPH with several stops and I average 25 to 32 MPG.
Once on the expressway, driving 68-70 MPH, I average 58 to 62 MPG.
I never get higher than 32 MPG in city stop and go and I have never seen less than 55 MPG on the highway.
The battery is usually at a constant 6 bars on the expressway and as I pull off the expressway it goes to 7 bars until I get back to city driving.
So charging of the battery should not be a concern.
Once off the expressway, I'm at 40-45 MPH for 2 miles and average 40-45 MPG.

 

I drive ~150 to ~200 miles a day. I travel at high speeds. Up to about 102 or so, the battery will keep a good charge. You can even cruise at 100mph ( not recommended with stock tires ) and still achieve ~25mpg.

Highway or city, the prius performs well when it comes to MPG.

Even if you drain the battery... ( hard to do in most cases ) if you were to drive a min or so on the highway, it will be back to normal. The car doesn't like to have a dead battery. it does it best to keep it close to that 80% charge range.

 

If you follow a tour bus at about 8 - 10 car lengths, you can get 60+ MPG at 70+ MPH. Semis work too, but create more turbulence and the hole in the air is a little smaller, so you have to be closer. I was far more comfortable behind the bus as it punched a larger, cleaner hole in the air.

Evan may step in and give us the business about safety, which is well advised (yawn). However, doing this on a clear, dry summer day, behind a vehicle that weighs 30 times your Prius, is unlikely to get you in a wreck unless you are just being an unattentive goofball.

Bigsk8r

 

yeah. i learned this a while ago.. along with really heavy trucks with huge tires fling rocks.. sure.. get your 60+ mpg.. but any little tiny rock that the semi or bus goes over flings those rocks.... check the front of your car next time. you may be missing litle paint chunks

Safety.. lol.. i know. it's all in a good manner though. btw, the prius does 106.. only gets 15mpg at that time ( while fully punching it) ... now.. you probably don't have to punch it to stay at 106.. but that's the gas mileage you get.

i've pushed the safety barrier with the prius. it's a good car. gotta love the VSC.. it's a life saver.. on several occassions. ( freak downpoor going almost 90 when an SUV spun out in front of me.. VSC kept my car strait. I was decelerating the entire time. )

 

Just checked my MPG. The MFD says 59 MPG but I only got 53.8 using hand calculations.

 

Since the prius uses a bladder system, i tend to find the MFD is more accurate. Ever since i switched my tires out, it's been a little off, but not by much. you are probably getting over 55mpg. Congrats.

 

The Prius loves,
1. Long trips
2. Warm Weather

 

Gee, lately I have seen MPG at or below 50MPG at speeds 60-70MPH.

Granted, last time I drove, there was a bit of wind, which may have skewed my observations.