Hello from far Northern Illinois

Hello everyone! I'm a new member, though I've been lurking as a guest for quite a while. I do not yet own a Prius, but am hoping to be a 3rd gen owner sometime in the next 2 to 3 months. My commute is about 80 miles round trip and while my 2000 Saturn SL2 has been averaging a quite decent >35mpg, I'm looking at getting a Prius for better fuel economy, safety, and reliability.

 

Thank you!

With our current vehicles (the 2000 SL2 mentioned earlier, also a 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid that primarily my wife drives), I certainly see the mileage drop in the cold of winter, and expect a drop from a Prius as well. I'm hopeful that the long commute getting everything warmed up, and driving with fuel efficiency as a high priority, will give much better overall fuel economy than the SL2. On the occasions that I use our Escape Hybrid for my commute I can nearly match the SL2 fuel economy, though that takes more driving effort & results in a longer commute time using a different route that avoids any use of the highway.

Thank you!

I agree that those are definitely of help! Our SL2 and FEH both have block heaters and that makes a big difference. This winter I blocked the grille of the Escape for the first time and that also noticeably quickened warm up time and decreased engine heat loss when in EV mode. I plan on looking into grille blocking, and would definitely want a block heater but am a bit concerned as from what I've read thus far, installing the block heater on the 3rd gen Prius is quite an ordeal.

 

Thanks for mentioning that. It seems the 3rd gen Prius is overall an extremely reliable vehicle but I haven't read much about that particular issue.

Thanks for the welcome, and the data point about MPG in the Midwest winters!

 

Just a brief update that today we bought a 2010 Prius III w/Nav with about 125K miles on it. It seems to be in very good condition; appears to have been well cared for. I was pleased that the drive home of about 20 miles, on a slightly-above-freezing day, resulted in an indicated 50.5 mpg.