Is there a topic for How to Drive My Prius

GREAT write-up!

Thanks!

 

My advice is just drive it!

Yes, you are burning far less gas than other cars. And no, you definitely should not try to accelerate on electric power, as that is the least efficient way to drive a Prius. (That electricity must be replaced from the engine later.)

While extreme driving techniques like pulse and glide can result in higher mpg, they also result in erratic driving which can obstruct traffic, and can even result in your being stopped by the cops and given a breathalyzer test.

Toyota designed the Prius to act like, and be driven like, a normal automatic transmission car (even though, strictly speaking, it has no transmission.) While most driving conditions make the EPA city numbers unrealistic, and the EPA highway numbers are based on slower speeds than most people drive, you can rest assured that the only gasoline-powered car getting better mileage than a Prius is a two-seater Honda Insight.

Enjoy your car. Drive safely. And go with the flow of traffic where it's safe to do so.

 

I had the same thoughts. After having mine for a week, I decided, from day one, actually, to just get in, start, and go. I drive it like my Camry. Nothing special.

 

Strictly speaking, a Prius is just like any other car when it comes to fuel economy and driving style. A less efficient driving technique will result in lower gas mileage whereas a more efficient technique will result in higher efficiency. The only difference is that 10% in a Prius looks like a whole lot more than 10% in a Chevy Tahoe since we might be talking about 5mpg for the Prius vs. 1.5mpg in the large SUV.

One *very* common misconception about fuel efficient driving is that you have to make "sacrifices." For example, I have heard and read it stated that fuel efficiency requires getting in the way or driving too slow or resorting to high-effort techniques that no human can maintain without driving himself/herself insane. Not so! They key is that you don't *have* to do anything. Only do what is appropriate for a given situation.

There is a wide variety of techniqes from which to select. Some are as simple as planning ahead for traffic and stop lights vs. rushing up to every one and slamming on the brakes at the last minute. You are going to get to your destination in the same amount of time either way, but the former method uses less fuel than the later (not to mention that your car will thank you for a gentler driving style in the long run, and that applies to both hybrids and non-hybrids alike.) Or, as another example, you could strive to use moderate acceleration instead of very hard acceleration where appropriate. Might you need to get on it harder in certain situations? Of course, and one example might be entering a limited access freeway in such a manner so as not to impede others already on that road. But you should recognize these situations and act accordingly.

Would you do better pulsing and gliding between 30mph and 40mph 100% of the time? Well, yeah. Is reasonable to expect anyone to do that? No!

My recommendation for anyone interested is to start by learning as much as possible. Then keep those techniques in mind as you go through your day-to-day routine. What I have found is that there are times when an early glide, a gentler acceleration, or a short duration of EV is appropriate for the conditions. And learning to recognize those situations can really pay off over time.

My other recommendation is not to worry so much about your fuel economy vs. what others attain. Each situation is different and so is the maximum fuel economy that one can reasonably expect. If you are doing what you consider to be your best, pat yourself on the back. Thinking about fuel economy at all is a step above and beyond what you will find in the majority of drivers.

That's just my two cents. Ok, maybe a dime. Take it or leave it as you please.

 

Brick is absolutely right and I'll just add my experience. The one overriding thing I do in my Prius that is different from how I used to drive is, everything is gradual and gentle. Gently press the throttle to get up to speed, lift off as soon as a stop is imminent, gradually depress the brake pedal with incrementally increasing force up to the stop.

I do another trick which is only recommended for those very comfortable with cruise control. I use it on city streets and mountain roads all the time. The gas engine definitely spends more time odisengaged with CC on. Just be ready to touch the brakes or flick it off at a moments notice. Definitely something to be practiced on the freeway first.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Slow & Green @ Dec 17 2006, 09:21 PM) [snapback]363618[/snapback]</div>

I do not find this to be the case. The cc is rather aggressive (at least in my '04) and is more likely to kick the ICE on. And old-timers know they can achieve electric mode earlier and extend it longer by very gentle use of the accelerator, from "feathering" to induce electric sooner, to very gentle acceleration to extend it longer.

This notwithstanding, maximizing ICE-off time is not necessarily more efficient. It all depends on conditions. The car is designed to use gas and electric together, not sequentially. Driving in electric mode is only efficient when the battery has attained too high a state of charge.

The whole point of pulse-and-glide (an extreme technique which I do not recommend, as it disrupts the flow of traffic) is to avoid use of electric altogether.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bugmenot @ Dec 15 2006, 12:30 AM) [snapback]362610[/snapback]</div>

We have plenty of insane drivers in Chicago (ie., both agressive and stupid), so if we need to floor it to get up to speed to merge we do. That's not our preferred method, but the car will do it, and doing whatever is safe in any situation should always be your first priority. Megan has to drive in that sort of traffic everyday and has no complaints. She actually likes it a lot better than our former 98 Subaru Outback (the Prius is peppier).

 

Daniel's comment needs some further comment....

Yes, the cruise control can be aggressive IF you are, for example, 15mph and the cruise is at 35mph. It will aggressively take you to 35mph quite fast. HOWEVER, if you use the cruise control to MAINTAIN speed it will do so with good efficiency. I also noticed the switch to EV mode more often using cruise control than manual speed control. That can be a lack of technique on my part but it works for me. I use cruise control for both city and highway driving. Using it to slow down and then to return in small increments works like a charm. It is not aggressive if you need to only return to a speed 5 mph higher than you are currently traveling. So, it really depends on the set point and your current driving situation.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

By "aggressive" I mean that the cc holds the car very solidly at the set speed, even when conditions might suggest allowing it to deviate one way or another, as for example, allowing it to slow down a bit going up a rise, and then speed back up going down the other side, and vice sersa. I use cc for its convenience, and because it frees me to think about other things than staying at the speed limit. But I think a careful driver can do a wee bit better on the mpg without it.

On the other hand, your '06 might behave differently than my '04.

 

FYI, this site is safe to actually register at. No need to use bugmenot. (I'm a fan of bugmenot myself, but trust me, you are safe here).

Nate

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Dec 18 2006, 07:23 PM) [snapback]363868[/snapback]</div>

As a Prius owner of a few weeks (06 UK model), I have to agree with this. The weather here currently is around 2 to 3 celsius and with the cruise control on, the car adheres to the set speed very agressively. This just results in excessive revving when going up any gentle incline. I did a 62 mile round trip yesterday on our motorways and the car returned 48mpg (imperial) using cruise all the way.
I did exactly the same trip again this morning (same route, speed, ambient temp etc) but this time I used my right foot and just kept the gas pedal position the same as on flat parts of the road (so the speed steadily fell when going uphill). At the top of the hills, the car sped up because I kept the pedal position the same again. This time I got 56mpg!

That's some difference. Maybe if the cruise control would fix the engine rpm instead of the vehicle speed, we could all get better mpg's.

Anyway, that's my 1p (2Cents) worth!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ravi @ Dec 24 2006, 06:04 AM) [snapback]366265[/snapback]</div>

Obviously, your experience does not surprise me. However, I would just like to note that with the Prius, there's an almost complete disconnect between engine speed and vehicle speed, due to the nature of the PSD (power-split device, which the car has instead of a transmission). This is why the engine never has to lug when you press the accelerator from a stop: the engine can run at its full design rpm even before the car begins moving, because the PSD allows the engine to run even with the car stopped. In this case, the engine is turning MG1, which generates electricity for MG2, which can provide torque at low speeds more efficiently than a slow-turning engine can.

The Prius does an excellent job of matching engine speed to power demand given the vehicle speed and the battery SOC.

So it's almost meaningless to ask the c/c to hold engine rpm steady. But it would be nice to be able to select between hard c/c, which would aggressively hold the speed, and soft c/c, whch would accelerate more gently and allow more drift from the set speed.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ravi @ Dec 24 2006, 06:04 AM) [snapback]366265[/snapback]</div>

FWIW. An imperial gallon is 25% larger than a US gallon. So if ravi is using imperial MPG...
48 MPG (imperial) = 38.4 MPG (US)
and
56 MPG (imperial) = 44.8 MPG (US)

and 1 p (UK) = 1.957 cents (US)

Sorry, I'm just having a "math nerd" moment :blink: