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44.9mpg with hard driving

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by ChipL, May 13, 2012.

  1. ChipL

    ChipL Active Member

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    Did a short test driving my Prius very hard. Accelerating very fast to 5 to 10mph over the posted limit on my regular commuting route for a few days. I also did not do my standard coasting to traffic lights, but maintained speed till the stop. Other than cutting off folks, I tried to drive as hard as possible.

    As you can see from the title of this post, I was still able to get 44.9mpg. About a 11.8% drop from my overall average of 50.8mpg. Though it was 16.2% less than my 53.5mpg that I have been getting with a careful approach to watching how I drive.

    The other negative of this test was that I was more edgy in the driving, and not in relaxed state of mind afterwards.
     
  2. alfon

    alfon Senior Member

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    Now that the weather is warmer, temps in the mid 50's to 70 degrees with dry roads are mpg gauge since last fill up is
    reading 62 mpg which is probably 58 mpg at least true.

    This is normal driving in town and highway at speeds to 60 mph.

    The lowest we ever achieved calcualted is 40.7 mpg which
    was in the dead of winter with unusual temps in the teens,
    which is unusual along the northwestern Oregon coast.

    High speed driving with a full load, 3,850 lb gross vehicle
    weight, was still over 48 mpg calculated and that is
    with ac on.
     
  3. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    A full tank of high speed driving which equals 75+mph and a 59+mph average is good for about 47-50mpg depending on the conditions. My li GenII saw about 42mpg running a full tank at 80-85mph from Sacramento to LA. These cars are great. :)
     
  4. ChipL

    ChipL Active Member

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    Should explain that my regular commuting route is on typical suburban roads. 20 miles r/t with five stop lights and 3 stop signs in each direction. Some decent size hills along the way.

    Some surprises in this short test. One being how spirited the Prius can move in suburban driving if one is so inclined. Left a few more powerful vehicles behind when leaving some stop lights. The Prius is not a street racer, but for those worried about being hated on the road - the Prius can keep up.

    The 44.9mpg was the other surprise. I had expected a bigger hit.
     
  5. tach18k

    tach18k Member

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    My driving is 20 minutes streets, 40 minutes freeway, one way. The same on the way home, well maybe 15 monutes of extra slowing in traffic. The best over all, was 48.2 mpg, while using ECO mode and watching very carefuly my driving. The worst I saw in normal mode was 42mpg. I have tried two tanks in power mode and got about 45mpg with careful driving. The other day I saw it dip into 39mpg in ECO mode. Its a hard road to recover back to 47.5mpg. 100 feet of full power on the ICE, will kill a full day of glide and coast. Currently trying to get it back up in the high fourties again, but it is not easy. It has 7500 miles on the car since beginning of march.
     
  6. kalome

    kalome Member

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    "47-50mpg"
    I drive at those speeds and can't hit that range, but I drive aggressively with power mode.
    What kind of tires do you have and @ what PSI?

    I changed my driving habits 1/4 tank in on my last tank and drove it how you should to get better mpg. I got it back up to 46.7 with leaving it in power mode the whole time.
    Before that tank I was averaging 44 mpg. with lowest 42.6.
    A couple days before I filled up I inflated tires (all tires were @ 29psi) to 35/33 per Prius handbook.
    I'll see how this tank does, hopefully it will be in the 47-50 range if I continue to drive it more efficiently. So far 20 miles to work (95% freeway) 52.8 on dash which might be around 50 mpg in reality. My last tank was off by 2.5 mpg, dash read 49.2 actual 46.7.
     
  7. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    Funny that you said that. I noticed the same when I have to use my wife's car (almost 300HP V6) and drive it aggressively. I guess this is about the stress of beating the traffic vs going with the flow.

    Even car reviewers that hate Prius will mention the relaxed driving.
     
  8. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    You answered you own question. :)

    If you drive fast and aggressively then your mpg will suffer. If you drive moderately and slower your mpg will rise. Power mode, normal or Eco mode doesn't matter. It's your foot control that matters.

    The numbers I stated are generally steady driving at that speed for hundreds of miles. If you have a 20mile commute and you always drive fast then your mpg may be lower than what I stated but still possible if you throw in a good glide every time you exit the freeway.

    I run Yokohama AVID Ascend tires at 44/42psi. If you want to try and bump up your mpg without changing your driving habits too much then purchase a set of Energy Saver A/S tires and pump them up to 40/38psi or higher the next time you need tires. That should give you an instant 2-3mpg boost. :)

    FWIW, I can get 59+mpg if I stay at 60mph on the freeway and glide on off ramps. I could do even better if I didn't have to deal with hills. If I drive like I don't give a damn then I'll drop below 50mpg for sure.
     
  9. kalome

    kalome Member

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    Yeah, I noticed a difference in my last tank (last 3/4 of it) and my mpg went up and this was before inflating tires..they were @ 29.
    I've heard good things about those Energy Saver A/S tires.
    It will be a while till I'll need new tires since I just bought the car in March but I'll definitely be considering those depending on price.
     
  10. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Yeah, I forgot you had a 2012. Unless you drive a lot you won't need new tires for years. :)

    You may find yourself slowing down more often once you start seeing your mpg creep up. I made me slow down. :) Good luck on your next tank, mate!
     
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  11. d2mini

    d2mini Active Member

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    Understatement of the year.
    I used to drive like a crazy person. Now I get passed like crazy. :D
     
  12. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Welcome to the club! :D

    This used to be my view in my old car..... lol

    [​IMG]

    This is my view now...
    [​IMG]
     
  13. kalome

    kalome Member

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    I have been driving like that a few days. I am uncomfortable with it since it is not my style of driving but getting used to it. I look at it as a game each time I drive somewhere seeing if I can maintain the good mpg.
     
  14. kalome

    kalome Member

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    "I used to drive like a crazy person." That's how I drive. It's quite the adjustment.
    When I bought my 2011 last year, I started off a little concerned about achieving good mpg and was getting between 46-48, then after like the 3rd or 4th tank I said screw it, went into Power mode and drove like my usual self... a maniac.
    I still did pretty good with the 2011 getting between 44-46 in the summer, winter was between 43-44.
    I'm in AZ so it doesn't get that cold here.
    When I got my 2012 in March I was getting poor mpg with my all time low of 42.6.
    Broke my record though last tank with 46.7, only because most of the tank I toned it down and drove normal.
    I'm going to try to hit 50 with this tank...right now I've only driven 50 miles with dash reading 52.5
     
  15. SoCalBPrius

    SoCalBPrius Active Member

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    44.9 avg. is pretty good. I wish I could do an experiment like this but I don't want to get back in the rat race of driving stressful again plus I don't want to lower my fuelly avg;).
     
  16. ChipL

    ChipL Active Member

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    That is why I did this over only four days. In the end it was only .2mpg hit on my Fuelly average....

    Learned my lesson of "aggressive" driving many years ago in trying to be part of a pack of folks from the DC area going to Durham NC for work. They were hitting 75-85mph on I95 just outside of DC, weaving Kandahar out of traffic... :eek:

    I enjoy a more relaxed state of driving these days, and the Prius helps...
     
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