60-70 mpg. Really? Not sure about that....

I'm getting 50-52 MPG on average over many runs around town. But if I take a long ride on the highway and just calculate that one ride I can get 57-63 MPG. On some short rides to town I can get 70 mpg. But like you if I add them all up and average them on the car trip computer its about 51 MPG. On none steep grades you can do pretty well.

 

Me too. My highest was on a 50 mile trip @ 59mpg, but averaging in all the small trips around town it's around 50-51mpg consistently.

I am doing the pulse/glide, etc. just like you and have no idea what I need to do to up the mpg.

 

I drive basically only around town, and most of my trips are 1-5 mile. I basically never get to even warm up the Prius. I'm getting 45 mpg on my 2nd tank of gas. Whenever I get on the interstate (rarely) my mileage skyrockets.

 

Our lifetime average for the car is around 54. I will play hypermiling from time to time, but my wife just drives it. She has put probably 75% of the miles on it.
I get around mid 60's when I drive it, but have not put it on the highway at all so far. It shines on 2 lane country roads where the speed limit is around 45 and little or no traffic.
I think where you drive has as much to do with it as how you drive.

 

ya short trips are killer for the mpg.

 

It's not possible "easily" and I don't remember seeing anyone who said it was. Now if you're willing to pick your route entirely based on being able to P&G at 30-40 mph, and have a scan gauge, tires inflated above max sidewall, engine block heater, etc, etc, I have no doubt you can get 60-70 MPG, but that's not "easy".

Perhaps someone was using the word "easily" to mean certainty, not ease of task, as in "he was easily over 200 pounds"?

 

I agree it's not easy. But it's doable with practice, patience, and additional instrumentation. I'm still refining my technique after almost four years.

If you still doubt, take a look:

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-fuel-economy/63215-97-mpg-commute-aiming-100-a.html

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...-trips-oh-how-i-love-summer-fuel-mileage.html

Of course this with the Gen II, not the Gen III. But the GIII should do at least as well once everyone figures out its nuances.

 

10-15 mile trips on rolling country roads with speed limits of 35-45mph.. that's my recipe. Add in p&g, 46psi in the tires, easy acceleration and braking, and I find it very easy to get in the high 50's. If I did only those trips, I could get well over 60mpg without much trouble. But after I add in a few highway miles and short trips (1 mile in town stuff), it lowers my average to about 54-56mpg.

 

That Generation II-III difference is a very significant issue. GenIII nuances haven't been figured out yet, so it appears that those higher GenII numbers are not currently within reach.

My tanks are running 55 mpg. As a % of EPA sticker, this is my worst car ever. But that base sticker is so much higher than my pre-hybrids I'm still happy.

Pre-release reviews on CMPG clearly warned that for hypermilers, GenIII might not beat or even match GenII fuel economy. But for average drivers, it would do better. So, while it is not meeting my most optimistic hopes, it is significantly beating the basic expectations I used to justify its purchase. I wouldn't turn it in for anything else that currently exists.

 

I just returned from a 1,000 mile trip from Long Island to Virginia Beach and back. I averaged 57.8 MPG (56.1 calculated.) The car was kept in the "ECO" mode and I didn't p&g, but did coast long distances whenever there were red lights up ahead or when approaching exits.
Short trips...........Until the ICE warms up the MPG will be low. If I take a five mile trip with a cold ICE, even with a lot of coasting, I'll only end up around 42-43MPG.
With 3000 miles on the car the overall average is around 54-55MPG per the MFD.
Getting 60+MPG doesn't seem easy, nor does it seem to be that attainable within fairly normal (for Prius type of driving) driving parameters.

 

Well, you may not believe me either, but here goes...

I drive 150 miles a day, about 110 of which are on I95 with 62-65 MPH being my goal speed. Traffic hangups sometimes interfere with that. So far, I have had the Prius 5 weeks, traveled over 4000 miles, and I'm at the beginning of my 7th tank. Each tank is getting better MPG as the car breaks in and I learn to drive it better. My current tank states 62.6 MPG on the MID, or between 59-60 MPG actual after I calculate the miles traveled over the gallons at the next fill-up. I know this because the last two tanks have been 59 and 59.8 MPG on the MID and the actual has been over 57 MPG and almost 58 MPG actual respectively. (update: my tank made it to a calculated 59.74MPG, the MID stated 61.6. So close but no cigar, hit some bad traffic on I95! Maybe this current tank will be a calculated 60+)

While reading the below, try to distinguish the ECO bar from the Instant MPG meter. I'll try to specifically say XX% when referring to the ECO bar, and XXMPG when referring to the instant MPG meter.

As far as hypermiling and P&G, I don't do it. I figure it would work at slower speeds but that's not possible for me on the interstate. Of course, I may be wrong, but I'm not going to try to learn P&G for the first time at rush hour! Oh yeah, this is my first hybrid. I keep the AC on ALL the time at between 78-80 degrees. I use the ECO mode or just normal mode, but it's easier in ECO mode to be extra gentle with the 'go' pedal. And I hear it optimizes the AC, for what it's worth. I've tried POWER mode twice, but it just gives me too little control and the go pedal feels more like an on-off switch.

Anyway, I noticed that I can keep a steady pressure on the go pedal and maintain 62-65 MPH at somewhere between 50 and 75 MPG on the meter. True, this relegates me to the rightmost two lanes, but I don't want to interfere with the faster traffic lanes. I try to keep my foot in the same position, as opposed to trying to maintain the same speed like a cruise control. When I go up an incline, I will adjust my foot very gently to try to take the 'up' portion of a typical overpass at no less than 50MPG as read on the instant MPG meter. My speed can go from 65 MPH on the flat road to about 54 MPH by the time I get up the incline to the crest. Through the crest and back down the other side I try to keep the 50MPG reading, adjusting the pedal (more 'go') even if it means I go past 65MPH, traffic permitting. On the following flat road after leaving the overpass I may end up going 68-72MPH, and here I throttle back very gently to keep the ECO bar at about 62.5-75%, or just past the halfway line and into the bold white portion of the bar. As I understand it, this is not P&G as the glide of P&G should be at 0-20% of the ECO bar, which would slow me down too much and too abruptly. Holding ECO at 62.5-75% my instant MPG holds at about 75 or higher for a good little while and slowly settles to about halfway between 50 and 75MPG as my speed goes down to 62-65MPH. I keep the same foot position on the pedal and usually make it through a flat length of road at about 62-65 MPH and 60+MPG. Rinse and repeat on the next overpass.

Once I get near my off-ramp, I approach with the ECO bar at or just under 50, at 100MPG on the meter and slowing from 65 to usually 0 at the end of the off-ramp where there's a traffic light. So I basically come in for a soft landing, as it were.

On city roads, I leave stop lights and such at 80-95% of the ECO bar until I get within 5MPH of my target speed and then keep the ECO bar at or under 50% as much as possible afterward. I live in a neighborhood where the top speed is 30MPH, so I keep it electric the whole time (no EV button, just using the pedal) until I get home. This drains the battery down to three bars by the time I park at home. Doesn't matter, it charges up again by the time I need it the next day.

Miami to West Palm is pretty flat land, and the overpasses don't go too high or for too long. If I take the turnpike which is much flatter than I95, I get slightly lower MPG. This is because the speed I have to go on the turnpike is higher, say 65-70MPH goal. So the little hills are somehow helpful(?). I don't really understand it. But I know I'm constantly on the gas on the turnpike and the hills on I95 mean I can go electric on the downhill portion for a while. When i say slightly, I mean two days of the week on the turnpike instead of all five on I95 will lower my MPG for the tank about 1-1.5 MPG.

I'm pretty sure from city driving on the weekends that I could get MUCH better MPG if I worked nearby and didn't need the interstate. At lower 35-45MPH speeds the Prius does amazing even without total P&G.

If you are getting less than 60 or so MPG, and drive a lot on interstates, maybe some of the above could help. I'd love to hear from someone getting better than 60 MPG on interstate speeds above 62 MPH. Every little bit helps and I can REALLY use the help on 150 miles a day!

 

I am on my second tank of this car. It is the first time I have owned, or even driven a hybrid, so I don't have experience getting the most mileage possible. On my first tank, I got 53 MPG calculated (the MFD showed 57). On my second tank, my MFD shows 59 MPG, so I'm guessing I am around 55 when I calculate the next tank fill-up.

But, just tonight I mentioned to my wife that I bet I could get 70 MPG if I drove on roads that allow me to go 40 - 45 MPH all the time. I have played with P & G, and it does little at speeds above 50. But, in the low 40's, it rocks. When I get in sections that I travel 40 for a long period of time, my 5 min stats are all around 75 for that stretch. I would love to take a country trip where I can stay in that range, and see what I could actually get.

But, I am happy with the low to mid 50's I'm getting now. I just hit 1,000 miles. Others keep mentioning each tank increases as the car breaks in, so I may be able to settle at mid to upper 50's after break-in.

 

"Easy" . . .? 50 MPGs would be easy. 60 is attainable if you have the right driving conditions and drive the right way. Above that? You'll need real hypermiling techniques.

What keeps me below 60 (lifetime, that is)? Short trips. Family vacations (heavy load and no family patience for driving below 65mph). Short commute. Cold. Wind. 17" wheels.

I've had a few of my tanks above 60MPG. I expect to have more as the car breaks in, though winter will push most tanks below 50. Next summer will be the "high times."

I don't doubt those who claim 60 or 70MPGs, so long as they back it up with ALL fuel use information. I have a more difficult time believing folks who say they typically get between 50 and 55 or they have an "overall average of around 50 to 55." If you are really measuring your fuel economy, you'll keep records. An average is not difficult to determine (total miles divided by total gallons), so just report the "total" average.

 

I rarely employ the pulse and glide technique on my gen II and I can usually with ease hit 58 MPG on a tank. If I turn off the A/C it goes into the low 60's and keep my wife out of the drivers seat it goes into the 60's. If you drive the highway at 55 MPH instead of 70 you would be amazed that your average will be 60 + MPG (on the flat).

 

OP, I am one of those people who do not find it difficult to drive 60+ mpg lifetime. My *general* observations, for what they are worth:

Highway driving: your mpg is speed dependent. 60 mph gets 60 mpg.
City: cold weather and short trips are killers, so I avoid the latter. P&G is important no doubt, but in my opinion what *really* separates out the overachievers is ability to predict driving conditions to avoid brake use. If you live in a city with aggressive drivers you are probably out of luck.

Examples:

• I coast to turns, and bleed off enough speed to turn without brakes, or just gentle use.
• If a light turns red in front of me, I coast.
• I try to drive roads that have synchronized lights
• I speed up to 42 mph from a green light, and then glide (coast) on level roads or downhill until my speed is 35 mpg or so, and then speed up again. This is on 35 mph roads.
• It is unusual for me to start braking for a red light going much over 25 mph.

My last point deserves emphasis. You waste TWICE as much energy stopping from 35 mph as from 25 mph. Avoiding stops is even better: driving at 30 mph for a mile takes about 0.1 kwh of energy in a P&G'g Prius, while it takes 0.035 kwh to go from 0 - 30 mph. Add it up: if you can decrease your 35 -> 0 stops from 3 to 2 over that mile, your mpg is 17% higher.

 

The easy one is using cruise control at 50 mph. I saw 70+ mpg for 300 mile trip.
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...0-mpg-stats-post-them-here-21.html#post940964

The hard one is pulse&glide on a country road averaging 30 mph.
I saw 90+ mpg.
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...10-mpg-stats-post-them-here-7.html#post874637

Ken@Japan

 

I have to agree with Ken1784 that speeds do matter. I was averaging under fifty mpg and headed out two Sunday's ago on a 200 mile trip. Almost all of it on some back roads and state highways with 45-50 mph speed limits. When I filled up at the end of the trip I had a first tank average of 59.5 mpg. The only way I jumped 10-11 mpg is if I averaged between 65-70 mpg on that 200 mile trip.

 

the way you drive is what is going to control what mileage you get, not the car you drive.

now, driving a Prius will help you, but that is not all there is to it. we have a guy bouncing around here who gets 70 MPG in a HONDA ACCORD...and no, its not a hybrid.

i dont get 60-70 mpg either. but the only thing i really do to get good mileage is drive conservatively. anticipate traffic, use my brakes as little as possible, dont speed, etc.


case in point, made trip on Thursday. 50 miles up...62.5 mpg (per display. real mileage probably around 58.) trip 90% freeway, late afternoon, to major backups each about 3-4 miles long.

coming home, slightly heavier... well actually, about 300 lbs of IKEA furniture... also, not quite as aerodynamically svelte either... trip home about 57.5 mpg...only one short delay about 2 miles...

so as you can see, EVERYTHING you do makes a difference.