Finally figured out P&G, what a boost!

I've had a similar experience. Not only do I not really have the patience to develop a great P&G, I'm not certain there are many places I could use it. I still try, on occasion, when I'm out in the country with no one around (and no one else in the car), but those times seem so infrequent. I was able to work on it a couple of weeks ago, so that I boosted MPGs on a 300-mile day trip to nearly 62. Still, I had so much other travel interspersed in the day, and I took passengers on some short trips within that day. I can see that full P&G would give you incredibly high mileage, but it would mean some very long days of driving. (I know I don't have the patience to take 10 hours out of my day to drive 300 miles!)

Also, most of my driving is very short trips, and the trips are normally right around town. It is really a challenge at times to keep the MPGs in the mid-50s. I have to work at it (in non-Winter times) to get the MPGs below 50, but with a 4-mile commute my Summer MPGs will stay in the low- to mid-50s.

 

I find it interesting that the 2 previous posters have great MPG in spite of not employing P&G much.

 

I think it is just careful driving and clean living!

Because most of my driving is around town, I very infrequently drive more than 45-55 mph. I think a real sweet spot in mileage comes around 45, so I do well even though I have very short drives (for the most part). Getting out on the highway kills MPGs, unless you are driving 55-60.

Really, I just drive cautiously and always look ahead to try to keep room ahead of me for coasting/gliding. This isn't really P&G, though it is close. I always accelerate with a "balanced arrow" approach (my terminology) where I attempt to use only the ICE for acceleration. I then back off and allow the car's computers to figure out how to keep me at the desired speed. I also push the electric only mode when I am getting close to my destination. I figure the next start-up will provide a return of some of that battery juice.

 

Quite right. This is what really makes the difference, especially when driving around town.

True, true. (And . . . You're writing that just because hobbit and darrell haven't yet read this thread! )

 

My $0.02 --

High MPG is highly addicitve !

I've had the car since Jan -- Once I learned the best techniques from PC, and the weather broke, I was ASTOUNDED to achieve 74.9 MPG (MFD) on a round-trip 130 mi. run in April.

As you guys said, it requires patience, the right kind of roads, speeds between 25 - 45 MPH, & the right time of day, and warmer temps.

Still, it only took 20 min. longer than if I'd been on a highway at 55-60. More time for "All Things Considered."

On the other hand, my daily commute is short, occasionally punctuated by errands. This gives me an embarrasing 44 MPG, even doing all the right techniques, even in 60-70 degrees.

So -- based on a combination of the 2 types of driving, the total MPG on my last fill-up (510 mi.) showed 66.5 (MFD) / 61.3 (calc.).
And 2 pips to spare.

Addicitive ... and, to paraphrase -- once you've had the max, you'll never go back.

 

This past weekend I did a few longer trips than my normal commute and my MPG jumped 0.5 in two days....My commute is only 7.7 miles so kinda hard to get good mileage, plus I have a big bridge to go over within the first 5 minutes that I chug up at around 24 mpg. Can't wait to drive to NH this summer and see how I do on a long road trip. I was never a fast driver but I definitely drive slower now unless I need to get somewhere in a hurry. having the MFD show you how much better your mileage gets when you slow down a little is such a key component to the Prius....I think everyone would drive slower if their cars showed them what was going on!

BTW I've had my Pri for almost 2 months, 2200 miles, haven't touched a thing (including tires) and am at 48.5 MPG. Coming from a 14 mpg truck I am in heaven!

 

Adding miles to a trip to increase MPG may or may not be eco-friendly. It depends on how many miles are added, and how much MPG is improved.

Example:

30 mile drive getting 46.5 MPG = 0.645 gal.

alternate route:
35 mile drive getting 60 MPG = 0.583 gal.

Alternate route adds 5 miles but saves 0.062 gal each way.

2 times per day 5 days per week 52 weeks per year:

0.062 X 2 X 5 X 52 = 32.24
5 X 2 X 5 X 52 = 2,600

Under these circumstances driving an extra 2,600 miles saves 32.24 gallons per year.

Also at $4.00/gal that's $128.96 saved.

Of course while the addition of 5 miles per day may be eco-friendly in this case, if it meant driving significantly slower you'd be giving up quite a bit of time to save that fuel and money.

30 miles @ 70 MPH = 00:25:42.857 per trip.
2 times per day 5 days per week for 52 weeks = 9 days 6 hrs. 51 min. 25 sec. total per year

35 miles @ 40 MPH = 00:52:30.000 per trip
2 times per day 5 days per week for 52 weeks = 18 days 23 hours. total per year

That's an increase of 00:26:47.123 per trip or 9 days 16 hrs. 8 min. 35 sec. per year

On a purely short term personal financial cost/benefit analysis, it wouldn't likely be worth it. On the other hand, if you enjoy the challenge or feel strongly about the environmental benefits, it could tip the scale.

 

You are spot-on. I think some folks reject P&G out of hand because, at a minimum, they don't want to disrupt the flow of traffic or be discourteous to those behind them. Those are valid concerns, and many won't have the opportunity for sustained P&G on their typical routes without inciting road rage or being unsafe.

But we all accelerate and decelerate. Why not do both as efficiently as possible? When you accelerate (the pulse), avoid drawing from the battery or pushing ICE RPM into inefficiently high ranges. When you decelerate (the glide), preserve as much kinetic energy as possible instead of wasting it.

With anticipation of lights and other slowdowns and a little practice, I think folks (in any vehicle) would surprise themselves with fuel economy improvements just by being efficient during times they're speeding up or slowing down anyway. Then as the technique becomes more ingrained, it can be called up on demand for more driving segments as conditions and operator temperament allow. It might be just for a short segment as traffic volume behind temporarily drops. Or it could be something more sustained on lightly traveled streets. Finally, many can find alternative routes that provide more and longer P&G opportunities. Heck, they might even find the alternatives to be shorter overall for an even greater fuel savings.

 

I've found this out in the past few months. I thought I was doing okay by not tailgating and not stopping hard, but thinking ahead further than just the immediate area is starting to pay off. I'm looking at two or three stop lights ahead now and trying not stop (except at stop signs, I don't roll through). I may be going 10 mph when the light turns green, but that's better than getting the car up to speed from a dead stop. I drive like this coming home from work around eight in the evening, so traffic isn't a concern.
For me, watching the numbers and graphs was too much, I get better mileage when I'm not trying too hard. I keep an eye on things, but I'm not a slave to them.

 

Danny,

One thing to consider is what you would do with the extra 27 minutes per trip. If it is an excuse to drool in front of a TV set, then I'd disagree.

 

I've found that slowing down on my commutes has the benefit of lowering my stress level. I spend about 10 extra minutes per day driving at a lower speed, but I'm far less wound-up or aggravated by the time I reach my destination.

 

I've had my 2008 for a month now, and love it for sure. My commute is 5 miles each way with speed limits varying from 25-35mph and I get a solid 49mpg. (It's very flat here). I drove 1.5 hours in mixed 45-55mph with stoplights and the car loaded with PA equipment and got 57mpg. The p&g with added inertia appears to have made a big difference with regeneration and the subsequent mileage. I’ll be working on my technique – especially when I get a chance to find an open road.

 

I've been paged?!

 

Quite true... however, I know from reading some of these threads that there are people who go out and drive the car extra for NO OTHER REASON than to increase that mileage number. The amount of gasoline burned is of no consequence in these cases - only that wonderful MPG number. It is enough to make me say bad words, so I'm gonna go ride my bike and think happy thoughts.

 

Yes, with an extra "r"! (Sorry!)

 

No worries, I've been called far worse.