50+ MPG -- A Newbie's Quest

Wow......after reading these last four pages I am both amazed and overwhelmed.

I'm not an idiot......I have a professional job, and have designed and built my own house, and am generally considered by most folks I know as being halfway intelligent.

That being said, much of what I read here seems beyond me. I have owned our Prius for awhile now, and have put just over 1000 miles on her.....we bought it with 50k on it.

The tires are at 42/40, oil at the correct level, (now), and I drive like there is an egg between my foot and the accelerator. I try to get it and keep in with just the yellow arrow from the battery driving the car showing 99 mpg. Sometimes I can, other times I cannot. Sometimes when going from a stop accelerating the mileage in low, in the teens. Then I try to get up to speed so I can show better mpg. I've tried all different methods, and the bottom line is the best I seem to get is like 44-46 mpg.

The day I avg 50 I'll do backflips. I know it is a learning curve, so I'll be patient. 45mpg is not bad when your other car gets 17 mpg....so I still love my Prius and just need to learn more.

When I used to have a Volks Bug I belonged to clubs where we got together and learned a lot. I wish there were Prius clubs around so I could learn face to face from some of you experts.

Anyway, I love my Prius...even without ever hitting 50 mpg avg.....

Thanks for all of your informative posts!!

Frank D.

 

I'm the proud owner of a new 2009 Prius touring package 5. This is not my first Prius, as I bought a 2005 Prius for my wife four years ago. On her Prius, I found that with good timing of traffic lights and sensible driving, I could get over 50 mpg fairly easily, and my best tank was 69 (almost entirely bumper to bumper rush hour driving, which the Prius really seems to like).

On the 2009 Touring, I was having trouble getting over 47 mpg on the first two tanks, even with all the tricks I learned from the 2005 Prius. For tank number 3, I inflated the tires to 44f/42r and tried to cut back on the air conditioning usage whenver possible. I also studied up on pulse and glide, stealth, warp stealth, etc. Pulse and glide is hard to do around here as traffic is extremely aggressive!

The good news is that I got 52 mpg on my 3rd tank, a 10% improvement over the last two tanks. I am very pleased I could get my new Touring model over the 50 mpg mark.

 

I somehow get better mileage with the AC on

 

It is much easier to get a "no arrows" glide on my Touring model if the a/c is off!

 

I own a new G3, IV now with 1900 miles indicated.

My overall average is 53 mpg; the best thus far was 62.9mpg and the least 49.7 mpg. Neither extreme represents an average for normal driving.

More important ..... I suspect the keys to good mileage (at or above the EPA figure) are:

1 - Conservative driving habits (as explained elsewhere in this thread)
2 - Tires properly inflated
3 - Driving environment ... let me explain:
I fill up the tank at about 250 miles. A more lengthy average is more relaiable. For example, today I filled up. The indicated efficiency going into the station (239.7 miles) was 54.5 mph. Upon leaving, the indicated average (with less than a mile from fill-up) was 43.5, but after a few miles, the indicated average rose to 50.7. The calculated average at fill-up was 53.2 mpg.

I make no special effort to hypermile .... however, when I find a suitable down-hill, I will find and use the "sweet spot." More important, to get the great fuel efficiency, you must live where you can cruise in the 35-45 mph range for periods at a time. I live in Utah, and do have that opportunity. There are "rolling foothills" and I try to keep the "ECO" lit (on the Hybrid System Indicator" screen) when going up gentle hills, which is possible much of the time. Then "sweet spot" it down. I burn Sam's reg gas. I am not impressed that the A/C on/off make a big difference, but logic tells you it does have an effect.

But consider this .... if you live where the circumstances (traffic, stop lights, up hills and etc) keep you below the EPA figure, you are still much better off than you would be doing with your old car (driving under the same circumstances).

I hope all are enjoying their Prius as much as I.