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Gen III Prius, 51 city mpg, Myth or Fact ?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Iceman123, Apr 22, 2010.

  1. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    I would think that the answer would be that at 40+ mph and on flat roads the ICE is more efficient than the electric motor. The electric motor is using battery power and the ICE will have to run eventually to recharge the battery.
     
  2. draheim

    draheim Member

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    I am averaging in the low 40s but my typical drive between cold starts is usually less than 5 miles/15 minutes, always with lots of hills and stop/go traffic. On trips that have allowed the engine to warm up I have noticed an uptick in MPG but those trips are few and far between.

    Also, someone else said they had a city drive of 15-20 minutes with only 5 or 6 stoplights. I don't know what the official definition is but I don't think that can be considered "city" driving any more than driving on a freeway that happens to go through a city. I have 5 or 6 stoplights/stop signs per mile, at the least. Sometime I'll count how many complete stops I average per mile and try to figure out how that factors in to MPG...
     
  3. thbjr

    thbjr Member

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    My last tank was 578 miles, 68.3 displayed and 65.0 calculated MPG. My current tank is around 420 miles and 71 displayed MPG, but over thos 1000 odd miles, none have been freeway or over 50 MPH.
     
  4. Malachy

    Malachy New Member

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    I'm the "someone else" and in thinking about it, I actually have two stop signs and eleven lights in my 15-20 minutes of driving. However, the moment I see a red light or a light that just turned green with cars at a standstill, I pull my foot off of the gas and allow myself room between me and the car in front of me so that if they brake, I am not forced to do so as well every time. My first tank (dealership filled), I averaged 47 MPG, second tank 51 MPG, and I am currently averaging just over 55 MPG on this third tank, all because I have been much more diligent on how I accelerate and what traffic is doing around me. So, even though I have the eleven lights, if I pay attention I usually only have to stop at half or less. Stop signs are another issue.
     
  5. draheim

    draheim Member

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    OK... I guess that qualifies as city driving. I don't recall if I've ever been to Lubbock - is it pretty flat? Must be in the 70s or 80s by now too. I think most people who get better mileage, in addition to having mastered some of the driving techniques discussed at length on these forums, probably live in flat hot places like Florida, Phoenix, and certain parts of Texas. Folks in the cooler, hillier places like the Northeast and Northwest seem to report worse mileage, from my totally unscientific survey.

    I try to accelerate as gradually as possible from complete stops, start coasting as soon as I see a yellow light, and I watch my little hybrid indicator obsessively - but I'm still managing only about 42 MPG. But I think that's more because I almost never drive far enough to allow the engine to properly warm up.
     
  6. Malachy

    Malachy New Member

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    Lubbock is definitely flat and dry. My biggest hurdle out here for MPG is high winds, which at this time of year average 25 MPH and gust up to 45 MPH regularly. In fact, looking out my window right now, the sky is close to the same color as a tan Prius!
     
  7. xbdude

    xbdude opticat

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    City driving, usually mid-50s. Lately, though, after viewing the YouTube video I found on one of the posts here, I'm getting 57-58. I took my first "long" highway cruise last week. Didn't go much over 70 mph and kept it pretty steady. Over 260 miles, my average mpg was 51. No BS! I've had plenty of practice with my 2006 Prius, and just a bit of common sense will let anyone achieve great mileage.
     
  8. JATiii

    JATiii Druid

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    I bought my 2010 in October. I have gotten about 48-51 MPG on every tank. I don't drive 'special,' I don't over inflate my tires and I don't tailgate to draft. I also use only regular mode and never switch to electric. Basically I am happy with what it is.

    My driving is usually under 5 miles to work or shopping and an occasional 30 minute drive partially on the highway. I now have a 2" receiver on the car that I mounted myself (Thanks, I'm recovering nicely) and a bike rack mounted in it. Total weight is about 60 lbs. My first trip with two adults, two bikes and some supplies will be tomorrow. I'll post the mileage.

    I do notice that mileage is worse when the car is not warmed up or the weather is cold.
     
  9. draheim

    draheim Member

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    Sounds like you should hook up a wind turbine to the battery and maybe also put up a sail :)
     
  10. hsiaolc

    hsiaolc New Member

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    Getting 51 mpg is no bs but its not all car but a lot of you is needed.

    Meaning it all depends on your drivng style and if you want to get 51mpg you will need to learn how to drive green or the Prius hyper miliage techniques.
     
  11. priusrasta

    priusrasta New Member

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    I usually get 55-60mpg during summer and 47-50+ during winter....I have very hilly terrain....this is in the inland nw...mostly city driving with 20% highway
     
  12. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    That's the problem then... Gradual acceleration is evil in mpg-land with the prius. Look up the pulse/glide technique.
     
  13. draheim

    draheim Member

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    I'm familiar w/ the technique and have been working on it. I watched one of the videos posted here recently too. But it seems no matter how quickly I accelerate to reach my target speed (often going all the way into the full red PWR area), after that point I have to keep the meter pretty far over to the right on the HSI to maintain that speed or even gradually decelerate. If I allow the meter to drop down to just right of the CHG indicator (barely holding my foot on the accelerator), the car slows down pretty quickly unless I'm on a down slope.

    I have another couple of posts on the forum including one I started today that touch on this. I'll keep trying to learn pulse & glide but so far it doesn't seem to be working for me. I've gotten my best mileage so far on a trip to the mountains on the freeway using cruise control - even uphill to the pass was probably better than what I've managed so far in the city.
     
  14. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    I guess you haven't seen the photos of GenIIs pegging their displays at 99.9 over full tanks.

    Of course, those are achieved by serious hypermilers, not ordinary mortals.
     
  15. Iceman123

    Iceman123 New Member

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    Love the way you videoed everything, but travelling on the Gowanus and the BQE is highway mileage(As you mentioned when you got on,("Here we call this a highway not a freeway" ), I already said that the car gets better then 48, especially if you hit bumper to bumper traffic and hit 100 mpg when you creep. I got like 65 several times driving through that stretch.But if you stayed on 65st for 50 minutes of your trip(Like when you left your girlfriends's house),which means staying strictly on city streets you would get 1/2 of that, as proven in your first 5-10 minutes 27.8, You also already had your car started, which didn't exactly prove that the car was cold either.

    People ...when there are 2 sets of stickers on a car that you wish to purchase and they indicate 2 MPG's those results are not contaminated by one or the other..."City"(lower speed limits with traffic lights, limited lanes) is not be combined with highway mileage ...and "Highway"(Generally, no red lights and high speed limits, additional driving lanes)is not to be combined with city.

    Please save your post for another thread if you wish to give faulty combined results that has nothing to do with the title of this thread.

    Grats on your 70 mpg btw !
     
  16. Iceman123

    Iceman123 New Member

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    Prius 27.6 mpg.jpg

    Yes, that says 27.6 mpg! This is a result of driving 120 of the 147 miles on city roads in the past month and not going for any long highway stretch of more then 3 miles...For mostly short duration driving . Notice the 10 mph ...that means you sit in allot of traffic for more then 1/2 of your driving time.
     
  17. Erikon

    Erikon Active Member

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    Around town driving and speeds ranging from 30 to 45 MPH, several lights, hills, I get between 55 and 60 MPG for a 4 mile trip. That's starting with a cold engine and usually includes a quick stop at the corner store!
     
  18. Iceman123

    Iceman123 New Member

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    Yes, Longer the drive the better the MPG.The longer distance the traffic light is , the better you can anticipate your glide w/o stopping. Long lights will stop your glide and kill your MPG . Hilly terrains allot of gliding. . Warm states, faster engine warmups.All pretty well known, once you own the car for some time and research your quirks.

    I'm still trying to see, on how many people use their car as per frequency in short durations in the city as opposed to limited frequency for long duration in the city or vice-versa (Then get an average mpg).Excluding highway driving, which in general is longer durations.Where I come from, its common place to use your car more often in short spurts(driving kids to school, grocery shopping, Gym , visit family)as per a prolonged drive in the city.Long drives in the city, just cuts on your time , here . I simply can't do enough frequented long city driving to improve my city MPG.My highway will stay golden though .

    It appears though that allot of the posts contaminate all their driving of the Prius as City driving, as my fellow NYer did who hopped on the highway after 5-10 minutes of horrible MPG driving on regular streets.



    .
     
  19. hsiaolc

    hsiaolc New Member

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    Also it depends on the terran.

    If you live in SF area then forget high mpg because steep hills are one of Prius nightmares.
     
  20. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Iceman,

    Interborough highway with congestion is like EPA city test. I started and ended in NY City.

    Your route and trip duration does not reflect EPA test and do you expect to get EPA MPG rating?

    At least 27 MPG you are getting is roughly twice you would get from a non hybrid midsize car.