Driving for Economy Tips, Please!!!

just wait...

It will change...it almost feels alive and moves around depending on temperature, elevation, driving style, etc.

Also, I've noted that somtimes when i fill up the tank and take the mileage by hand I'm getting more than what the computer says, sometimes it is less. I think it has to do more with how I fill it up.

I was worried at first, but it will go away soon. Besides, 37.6 is still better than many cars out on the road AND you are releasing much less emissions than many other cars out there as well.

 

Brian:
When I first rented a Prius for two weeks while my Honda was being repaired, I found using the cruise control, even in city traffic, made huge improvements in MPG. The accelerator, which is electronic, not mechanical, is very sensitive. It helped improve my driving patterns, etc. I went from 35-37 to 50-52 MPG almost overnight.

 

Brian -

Here are a couple of suggestions for getting the most economy:

1) Use moderate accelaration to get up to speed and then back off the pedal. Sometimes you have to completely remove pressure from the pedal and then resume light pressure to maintain speed. This is usually how you can get in to stealth once you are at speed.

2) Anticipate stops and, if possible, slowly brake for as long as you can. Sometimes traffic won't allow for this (especially if you have someone on your rear)

3) Combine your trips so you are driving at least 10 or so miles at a time. Short trips will reduce your economy, especially in colder weather.

4) Tire pressure at 42 front, 40 rear. This is recommended by many of the "experts" in the Prius community.

Hope this helps. It seems to work for me (current tank has 634 miles, averaging 60.0 MPG in combination city/highway driving).

 

Re the accel. being touchy, and cruise -

I wholeheartedly agree. When you have a chance when your driving conditions are near ideal (ie, a chance to glance down at the screen without worry of other traffic), take a mental note of what your 'current' mpg is, then lightly let back on the accel (or push forward) just ever so slightly - the accel. will barely move, and you should notice that even with the ICE on, your mileage might jump from mid 30s to mid 50s or higher.

When I accel. from a stop (light or sign), as long as traffic is cooperating, I try keeping it in stealth til about 12mph, then the engine will usually kick in. When it does, give it a bit of a punch, and try to get up to 'cruising' speed as fast as possible - while this will push the ICE harder, it will push it for less time, giving you better mileage overall.

And no matter what you do, if your trips are short, as mentioned above and elsewhere, your mileage will be lower than anyone who drives for long distances/times. Truly you'll find this car can easily make you a better and more aware driver, even if you knew nothing about cars beforehand.

-m.

 

Evan,
I think you should definitely put that reply in the knowledge base or faq.

 

According to an NY Times article, which is a followup to the article a few days ago about the Prius, the author states that he is getting average fuel mileage in the high 40's and that seems to be the norm. There was another post somewhere about how the EPA has jogged the figures on all cars so that none of them are getting posted mileage because of flawed methodolgy on the part of EPA.
Because the Prius has instant and constant MPG readouts, we are getting actual information from our cars whereas the rest of the public is not. My average mpg has been between 45 and 49, mixed driving. While not quite as stellar as the EPA mileage says, it is still quite astounding.
If people question you about how come you aren't getting the posted mileage, you can respond that no one else is either regardless of what they drive.
B
p.s. I'd be really interested in hearing from anyone who has gotten over 50 on a regular basis and who might have even topped 60. I hit 74 on a short 15 mile trip home, but have not been able to duplicate that feat.

 

I just posted this in another prius chat forum but just to reiterate, my wife was able to top 60 MPG by the computer on her commute home from Boise, ID. Ironically, (not really) it was traffic jam driving most of the way. Understand though that Idaho traffic jams are not New York traffic jams. I grew up with the latter.

In this area recently by the computer we are routinely getting in excess of 50 MPG. Can't tell you if that still holds when doing the actual miles logged vs. gas bought. The numbers are written down, just haven't gotten around to crunching the numbers.

Jon

 

My new silver bubble is one week old and now has 1500 miles on it. My mileage has improved from 45 to 51 MPG The current tank has 200 miles on it at 51 MPG in mixed driving. 75 mph kills MPG. Yesterday I picked someone up from the airport and had to circle for 20 minutes. Only had to stop twice while ranging between 15 and 45 mph. For this period, I averaged about 80 MPG and added two bars to my SOC. It kinda makes me want to drive home at 30. While stuck in traffic the other day, I filled up and then went 7 miles at well over 100 MPG but lost four bars on my SOC. I say well over 100 because I then drove like a maniac for a while to show a freind how much acceleration she has to offer and it took a while for the average to drop below 100. After it did, the drop was fairly rapid. Makes me wish the meter would register over 100. This car loves to drive slow. In my old F150('99) driving slow had little effect. I feel empowered by this car to be able to affect my mileage by adjusting my habits. It also loves rolling hills where I can goose it up the hills and coast on the other side. Keep her under 65 and she just sips the petrol.
All for now,
Ray

 

Temperature seems to make a big difference too (though I changed another variable at the same time -- tire pressure -- so it's hard to be sure what the cause is).

I just hit 50.6 mpg on this tank of gas (350 miles or so). That's the first time I've had an entire tank over 50 mpg, and it's also the first tank where there have been multiple days above 50 degrees.

 

Ditto.

 

I'll add one here that seems to have been missed:

Slow down. Driving the speed limit, instead of 10 to 15 over makes a big difference. You'll probably find that you have a better time with hitting lights green instead of red. The time saved by speeding is next to nil.

 

This seems kind of low, Brian. But given the driving conditions in S. Cal you may have no choice but to accelerate and break hard. Your average temperatures should not be a factor in the low numbers. Is it the driving (traffic) conditions?