Happy at 61.1 MPG

I have filled mine up at 52mpg and 59.5mpg. I am well pleased with the gas milage.
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The reason is becasue you get some idiot testing it for 1 hour who doesn't know how to drive the car

 

I'm not into conspiracy theories, so I don't believe it's a deliberate effort. It's a new technology and it makes for somewhat interesting news. Airbags, anti-lock brakes...they all had their controversies in the old days, but who would now get a car without them?

Also, I've come to realize the media are far less educated on reports than you would believe. This other forum that I read often(www.airliners.net) is filled with threads about how awful the media is in reporting about aviation news. I've also read articles dealing with medicine and I'm thinking, who did they talk to?

Five or ten years from now, I don't think anyone will be talking about the "Great Toyota Prius Fuel Efficiency Scams of 2005-6."

 

That's just the point.
You do have to drive the Prius differently and Americans don't want to be told how to drive.

Also, if you drove an ordinary car the way you drove a Prius, you would probably get correspondingly better mileage.
If that's the case, these comparisons are probably much less unfair than I think you'd be happy hearing.

 

Those that complain, are likely the same people that buy the Prius simply to get better mileage and save money on gas. If that truly is their goal, then they should be willing to change. That was my number 1 goal, so when I drive, my emphasis is usually on getting the best mileage I can get. To do so, I have adjusted my driving.

 

Many Americans want and expect the car to do all that for them without having to change their driving style.
Some will learn after they buy a Prius, others will grouse.

 

Hey philly, congrats on your first 51 mpg!

It's just not the media but prius owners that also don't understand how to drive the car. I was having the same problem with poor MPG after about 8 weeks of ownership. Some tips from priuschat and I 've slowly been increasing my MPG again.

Also, I don't recall the service manager/salesperson explaining that I may see a decrease in mileage under certain conditions or how to get the best fuel economy, the manual was no help at all trying to figure the decrease in mileage. So did I feel decieved and tricked, you bet!!

Toyota is responsible and deserving of this negative national media attention for providing insuffecient information to consumer.

 

I too was never told about ways of getting better mileage. Interestingly, their website does. They should at least give a handout of that information, but maybe they're concerned it might turn of some potential customers.

 

The point I am discussing is that you are not told that the car must be driven differently, you realize once your mileage drops. When i first bought the car, I was getting great MPG 48-50+, then is just cut in half. Because I really love this car and planned for a year to purchase a hybrid, I was willing to try and make some changes.

The manual was no help, I was goingto call the dealer but didn't trust them because of a bad purchasing exerience, so I went on ine and found priuschat. (What about people who don't have access or use internet as a resource for problem solving? ) The info help change my thinking and my MPG's are improving. I'm sure others have complained in part because of the lack of information that feels like deception. It's not being informed when the information is known and available that is the main problem. Like the lemon Law--inform!!!!

 

do you think the drivers of any conventional car get the EPA advertised milage? I would think you would have to make some driving adjustments too to get better milage in any car, but since you don't have a MFD telling you what your average mpg is, most people don't care or don't bother to calcualte it.
I do understand that the premise is gas savings when you are purchasing a Prius but I would also think that you should understand that you might not get the advertised fuel savings without trying to adjust. I agree with you that there is no place that tells you what you should do to improve your fuel economy, but doesn't the same apply to any auto maker?

 

The difference with the Prius hybrid is the card must be driven differently for the best fuel economy.

Why would I assume that the car should be driven differently to get this mileage? What information doI have that it needs to be driven differently? It's a car, I get in, I turn it on, I hit the gas.

 

I'm with maggieddd on this one. All car's mpg benefit from certain driver habits.

The 'real' difference is the purchaser. A Prius buyer wants and expects great fuel economy, an SUV buyer wants cheap fuel at the pump, does not track fuel economy, and is pretty happy to ignore the entire question given half a chance.

Ask physicians: litigation often is prompted by unfulfilled expectations, often unrelated to facts.

Mandate fuel economy displays on all cars, so that consumers accept driver habits are a major factor in fuel economy, and the problem will go away. Toyota *could* inform the prospective purchaser that certain driver habits and conditions are required for superb fuel economy, but this suggestion goes back to the problem of unilateraly posting FE numbers lower than EPA. It is NOT a unique attribute of the car, so it is unreasonable to expect Toyota to deflate consumer expectation of FE when other manufacturerers specifically rely on consumer ignorance.

I suppose in this light, asking EPA to test based on aggressive, FE illiterate driving habits has a savings grace in telling people what FE they are actually getting if they do not make an effort to do otherwise. The Prius advantage may indeed look a bit less impressive on paper, but then reports of some people exceeding EPA by impressive amounts will make for good news.

 

and are you not able to do that with the Prius? You get in, you turn it on and you hit the gas. What's the problem?
Do you complain that your other car doesn't get the advertised EPA numbers? Do you go and complain that the manufacturer of the other car should write instructions on how to drive a car to get the best fuel economy?

 

To understand how people could get high 30's and low 40's for MPG, try driving only 5 mile trips on non-highway roads with cold engines and see what you get.

Alternatively, you could look at your first 5 minute consumption bar and realize that that is the MPGs you would get if you only made short 5 minute or so trips.

It's the gas milage you get after driving for 5 to 10 minutes that pushes your MPGs above 50. People who don't drive for that long at a time don't get that MPGs that high.

Believe it or not, but not everyone commutes 30+ miles to work.

 

There is one thing I don't get. How did the EPA get 60 city and 51 highway in their tests? Did they get detailed training as how the Prius must be driven differently to get the best mileage? I'm sure they didn't. I have to believe they drove the Prius like they drive every other car. It would seem to me that if you don't drive aggressively with jack-rabbit starts and slammin' stops, and stay within 5 MPH of the speed limit, you should be able to come close (5% to 10%) of the EPA rating. I have always hit the highway rating and above in every new car I've owned. I would expect that I should have a similar experience with any car, hybrid or regular.

 

One other point I have not seen mentioned: The EPA numbers were obtained by testers with no previous experience with Prius, or hybrid at all for that matter.

They do know their routes, and no doubt use standard techniques to avoid fuel waste. But they most assuredly do not pulse & glide below 42 mph, or deadband.

So arguments that a Prius school is required for EPA FE, and should therefore be an obligation of the company do not have merit.

addendum: WELL, I guess this point has been mentioned -- about a minute earlier, and one post above mine

 

Spot on. One of the most useful changes we have made to our driving, particularly in winter, is to combine trips.

 

Marlin is right. Often I only drive for five minutes and get terrible fuel mileage. When I first start the car going to work, I would let the car coast on its own down a long hill. What would the MFD say I'm getting in fuel mileage? Anywhere from 20-25 MPG. This too would be with all the windows closed and the heater turned off.

I know it's not my driving style that's the cause. Sometimes when my commute is 30 minutes or more to the city, I would post consistant mileage anywhere from 51-54 on the highway to 75-90 MPG on the city streets. I could reach the holy 60 MPG average my first month if not for the many short commutes.

 

Cars get bad mpg when cold. Has nothing to do with hybrid cars specifically. When cold the Prius is effectively not a hybrid because other than the first minute or so that favors the battery power, the battery is pretty shut down and power is from the engine.

Every gas car gets 0 mpg sitting in traffic with AC going full blast. And gas cars can get over 100 mpg coasting down hills. Also every car loses energy when brakes are used, but hybrids lose less.

So why does anybody need a Toyota warning that they could get different mpg numbers under different conditions? Might as well have warnings in big letters on the side of the car warning people not to hit their heads as they get into the car.