Anyone getting better mileage in the city verses the freeway?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(berylrb @ Jul 11 2006, 01:54 PM) [snapback]284506[/snapback]</div>

Obviously Detroit

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(berylrb @ Jul 11 2006, 10:54 AM) [snapback]284506[/snapback]</div>

Toyota did not have any city in mind because it did not design the test.

Take a look at the EPA Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule (UDDS) which is commonly called the "LA4" or "the city test" and supposed to represent city driving conditions at this EPA webpage.

 

I would guess my diriving conditions are rural-berban. My route of choice is all under 35 mph, rolling hills and just a few stop lights right at the end. Rolling hills! It thkes the same amount of time as my old route that had a 50 mph section in it and I get much better mpg!

 

We have an 05 prius and found that on the road up and down hills we got 51.8 mpg but so far in town it has been 36.4 with 90 plus degrees and very careful driving so I am not sure what to do. running 38 lbs in tires and try not to use the air until it really gets warm but in El Paso it gots hot quick. I have never recieved any recall notice. Lastly I heard you could upgrade the nav to name streets but don't know if that is true. Perhaps a fix is out there. Best wishes Bill

 

I get just about what the EPA says the car will get. My trips are 50% highway and 50% surface streets. I just filled up this week and got 57mpg average but I usually get 55mpg. I have noticed that my city MPG is better than the highway. I also do better without the cruise control on the highway.

 

Exactly, LA4, LA92 ... these graphs show exactly what I'm talking about the definition of city is incredibly relative and important! I know, I know, these are computer simulations, but they come from real world observations, here's my interpretaton of 'simulated real world highlights of LA92':

You found 3 shortcuts to skip rush hour traffic in your 10 mile morning commute, (Three bursts in the chart of 100 seconds plus at a minimum of 45mph in a 10 mile drive). The total trip had 22 stop lights and 4 times you timed your roll perfectly although you did slow to under 10 mph. One of the 45 mph plus bursts was going around the 'mandatory' morning commute gridlocked intersection, (see first 200 seconds of gradually increasing speed over 4 complete stops), and in between the last two 45 mph plus bursts you got back on line for you workplace after going around the gridlock but not in time to skip the tail end of rush hour (see second 200 second segment of decreasing speed over 4 stops).

I leave it as a challenge to the highmilers to guess what their mpg would have been on such a course , 1435 seconds (23.91 minutes) total trip, 24.91 avg mph, hmmm ... Who knows what the terrain and temperature was, assume good mechanical, tires and A/C ... YMMV

 

For those getting low city mileage, try pulse and glide where you can, along with leaving a little distance between you and the car in front so that you can minimize braking and look well ahead to the next stop light so you can attempt to time the light. I live in a more rural setting, so I might not do well in a congested city. Try to accelerate relatively gently, if you are just going to have to put on the brakes soon at the next stop light, what is the rush getting to the next stop light more quickly accomplishes nothing, if you are sure you can make the next stop light then go ahead and punch it, but if it just allows you to wait at the next stop light 30 seconds sooner you're just wasting gas. Since I have started using pulse and glide my MPG has averaged about 64 MPG, my lifetime MPG prior to pulse and glide was about 50 MPG. Try it, you may not get 60 MPG, but I bet you can get 50.

Dennis

 

Better in the city, if you don't have to start and stop.

I did a 2-hour test in our downtown area, and averaged 72 MPG over the 2-hour period.

My lifetime average is 45 MPG, and I normally get 45-55 on most things I do.

So, city can be significantly better, under the right conditions!

 

I definitely do better on the highway, averaging between 50 and 56 mpg at speeds 55-70mph over long distances.

My "city" driving is suburban with a lot of traffac, stop and go, and small hills, speeds averaging around 35 mph. I only manage about 45 mpg at the most. During the week when I just drive a mile to the Metro station, I might get 35 mpg. Applying pulse and glide isn't too easy to do because of there are too many cars following right behind me and I don't want to p*ss off everyone and have them whining about how hybrid drivers not having a clue how to drive.

 

Almost all my driving is in the suburbs/town of Albuquerque. I call it mild to moderate traffic, based on ability to find timed lights, and no horn honking when I coast to red lights. My trips range from 10 - 30 miles.

65 mpg is pretty typical for me; around 52 mpg for my wife. The differences between us occur from AC and anticipatory driving habits. Then there are the days that she seems to plan her trips for the middle of hot summer days, and runs the AC full blast. Then she drops into the 40 mpg.

 

Our 2006 Prius has 4,400 miles since a May 18th delivery and we have consistently gotten better mileage on the highway than in the city. 45 vs. 35. But I drive my Prius like any other vehicles and think we all should be able to do that and get the mileage estimated; Period.
It is interesting how Prius owners discuss different driving techniques. My plan was to buy my Prius and drive it like I do ANY other vehicle. In my opinion, the mileage estimates should be correct from Toyota. My bet is there will be some class action lawsuit in the future filed on false advertising and I will be glad to join in the fray.
We love our Prius overall but I think Toyota should re-disclose the mileage estimates in the 40's average and whoever gets higher than that; good for them.

 

fuel numbers come from the EPA and not toyota, i believe the posted MPG is regulated by government. i can get 60 in the city using the pulse and glide, and 52 -54 on the highway.

 

Although you can fault Toyota for deciding to use the EPA numbers in their advertising every other manufacturer does also. The numbers are pretty unrealistic for all cars. The EPA tests are flawed as has been shown many times on this forum. You can drive the car just like any other car and expect better mileage than you can get from most any car. But it will not be the EPA numbers.

 

Your 6 mile commute is too short for the car to really warm up. We drive 30 miles to Boston and 30 back every work day. In traffic with stop and go and some spurts as fast as 65. On these trips each week we average about 53 MPG. We have then driven several trips of about 120 miles each all highway at speeds of 70 MPH to 80 MPH and our mileage goes to about 46MPG.

Overall on our 2006 Prius after drving a total of 6,200 miles we are averaging 50.5 MPG. Using synthetic and using the A/C which we do not find any difference in mileage whether it is on automatic or low

[THE EPA gave the mileage results and Toyota like every other car manufacturer uses them since by law they have to be the ones used. in order to track mileage you also need to keep good records over a long period of time like a couple of months. Yuo also need to calculate it from miles driven to gallons used not the computer on the car. In this manner I think you will see the mileage get better. also keep in mind that short trip under 10 miles will always show low mileage since the car is warming up and the ICE is running more frequent (ICE = the cars engine (Internal Combustion Engine)) My overall mileage from city and highway driving is just over 50MPG in about 6,200 miles on our 2006 Prius

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BVISAILMAN @ Jul 23 2006, 02:48 AM) [snapback]290850[/snapback]</div>

This is something I don't really understand. Why does the car need to "warm up" when the battery is fully charged and one is driving at low speed? Also, I thought the warm-up period is supposed to be about 5 minutes -- a couple of miles at city speeds. it also seems to need "warming up" after stopping for just a little while, not just overnight.

My mileage in city/suburban driving -- lots of traffic, slightly hilly, many stops -- is quite low -- probably around 40 mpg at the most. It starts out really low, around 25 mpg. After about five minutes it gets better, but never above 40-something. Even after driving for 20 minutes or so, it doesn't get much better if I have to keep slowing down or stopping and starting. Pulse and Glide can't be done when SUVs and trucks or buses are riding on your backside or people have to fill in every space you leave between yourself and and the car in front.

On the freeway, driving between 60-75 mph, I consistently average around 51 mpg -- and on some stretches can be as high as 60mpg.

I don't know what type of city driving EPA had in mind when they do their tests.