Is this mpg typical?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(newblue07 @ Dec 26 2006, 12:10 PM) [snapback]366716[/snapback]</div>

One more thing -- long rolling hills. Since you mention that, I want to note that at moderate (say 45 mph) speed, that's the absolute best terrain I've found for Prius gas mileage. My tips? Don't ever use cruise control in that situation. Instead, aim to use the engine only to power the car up the top 1/3 of the hill. The rest of the time, aim to keep the gas engine off. Allow your speed to vary, as traffic permits, to let you do this.

So, watch the energy screen to see when the engine is on and off. Then, as traffic allows, use the gas engine to get you up to the top of the hill, flick the gas pedal off momentarily to shut the engine off, coast down the hill and pick up speed, add a little "gas" to turn on electric-only boost as you start to climb the next hill and speed falls, then then use more gas to turn on the gas engine to power you up the top of the next hill.

On the energy screen, you don't want to see green lines (electrical generation) on the downslopes, unless you're actively trying to slow the car down. Instead, ideally, on the downslopes, you'll see nothing on the energy screen -- no arrows, called "dead band" in other threads here. What I'm saying is -- don't take your foot entirely off the gas for the downhill side. That'll generate electricity and slow the car down. Instead, flick the gas off, then apply a little pressure on the gas pedal so that you're not doing regenerative braking (green lines on the energy screen) as you go downhill -- try to get the car in a neutral (dead band) position.


In short, you only use the gas engine to boost yourself up and over the very top of the hill -- everything else is gravity (downslope) and electric (flat and first part of uphill). I guess (have never timed it) that in the best case, the engine is running 20% of the time. You can't do this if forced to move lockstep with traffic, but if you have the opportunity to do it, you ought to get excellent mileage. Plus, trying to get this right turns what would otherwise be boring driving into a fun challenge.

If the hills are too shallow (or speed is too high) to turn the engine entirely off, then my goal is to keep the engine on but the consumption bar as close to 99 MPG as possible, as long as possible, on the downside of the hill. So in effect, if given the choice of keeping the gas pedal in one place, powering ahead and picking up a little speed at (say) 55 MPG on the downslope of a hill, OR idling/shutting down the engine and bleeding off a little speed on the hill downslopes and getting 99 MPG, I'll do the latter. So the goal remains to get as close as possible to gas engine shutdown on the downslopes.

After a couple of weeks, this becomes second nature. I find myself flicking the gas pedal off at hilltops in my other (non-hybrid) car by mistake. There's been some debate here about whether mileage gains after "break-in" are due to the car getting better, the driver getting better, or both. I think it's mostly the driver.

 

Prius2007TouringDuo,

As Jim suggested, I will be glad to show you what this car or even your can do under the right conditions if you are anywhere close to SE VA. Do a search on pulse and glide, prius marathon, read my signature, click the link in my signature. Depending on the way you drive and the conditions (very important) under which you drive, it is very possible to beat EPA estimates.

JimboK / Skwyre7,

Hobbit will be passing through on the 28th or 29th. It might make more sense for you to come down to my area this time as Hobbit wants to pass over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(VABeachPrius @ Dec 27 2006, 09:37 AM) [snapback]367126[/snapback]</div>

Keep me posted on the schedule. I'm in SW VA at the moment, but plan on heading back to Richmond tomorrow. Depending on the time, I might be able to make it tomorrow. I'll definitely be able to make it on the 29th. Please PM me with any more details. I'm looking forward to it. I've never met a Hobbit before. :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prius 2007 Touring Duo @ Dec 26 2006, 05:38 PM) [snapback]366862[/snapback]</div>

At 45K miles, my lifetime (Calculated not MFD) mileage is right bang-on 55 MPG.

Just because you don't see something doesn't mean it isn't happening, a lot.

For an accurate estimate of overall Prius Mileage I'd recommend the GreenHybrid.com database. It has good info from hundreds of owners of many different hybrid models and you can see what others are really getting.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prius 2007 Touring Duo @ Dec 26 2006, 07:38 PM) [snapback]366862[/snapback]</div>

I have never gotten below 44 (when temps were in the teens last winter). I consistently hit 54-56 in the summer. Stock 2005 Prius. I do not drive "special". My wife and I share the car and she usually does better than me. Majority of driving is to/from work, a 13 mile one way trip that includes about half and half city, country road.

Long trips on vaction (500-800 miles) always got me 50+ mpg at 70 mph avg speeds. Is that enough support?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prakash @ Dec 26 2006, 07:48 PM) [snapback]366869[/snapback]</div>

Absolutely, in fact, my mpg's were around 45 and should not have been. I found a nail in my LR tire (only 1 tire mind you) and pressure had dropped to 30 when I caught it. Fixed and now back up to 50mpg.

 

<_< As other have hinted, another factor is that it takes awhile for both the Prius and tires to "settle in." Some owners have reported steadily increasing fuel economy up to 1,500 or 2,000 miles on the clock. On PriusChat, you can see some fantastic claims regarding MPG's but most seem to report an overall average of ±45 MPG.

So much fuel economy is dependent on driving habits, terrain and weather that it's difficult to make an objective comparison. My new 2007 Touring Edition [replaced my 2004 Prius] has only ±800 miles on the clock so it's much too soon to reach a conclusion about MPGs.

Related comment: Over 2 years in my 2004, I kept an Excel spreadsheet of calculated MPGs [Miles driven/fuel purchased] and found that the onboard computer was over 97% accurate - "Close enough for government work!"

 

I rented a Prius with about 1,900 miles on it to check out various issues. I have noticed that the read-out on the screen that gives gas milage per "trip", is different than what it is if you calculate it the traditional way by keeping track of miles and then filling up without topping off and just dividing gallons into milage. I used the same gas station in both the intial fill up and the end one for this test. In fact way different. The trip indication on the energy display said 46.2 MPG for the 130 miles and the reading I got from pumping gas was 37.2. I found that to be the case with the first "trip" i took but did not keep accurate records to validate it. I wonder if anyone else has double checked the trip indicator against actual gallons pumped and miles driven? This concerns me and i hesitate to buy one if that computer is that far off.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(squall @ Jan 9 2007, 03:22 PM) [snapback]373234[/snapback]</div>

This is likely the fuel bladder which is throwing off your numbers. This is one of the biggest complaints of the Prius in the U.S. You can search for "fuel bladder" and read more about it, but essentially colder temperatures reduce the elasticity of the bladder, meaning that your tank capacity is no longer constant (thereby screwing up your calc's). Over the long run, however, it should all average out if you divide total miles driven by total gallons consumed. I record both computer-calculated and hand-calculated for comparison as a point of interest. Don't automatically assume there's something wrong with the computer, though.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(squall @ Jan 9 2007, 03:22 PM) [snapback]373234[/snapback]</div>

I will research into fuel bladder. are you saying that you get this same discrepancy, and do you find that overall, after several readings that the hand calculated and the computer calculated figures even out? My concern is that 9 gallons difference, or in this case, by percentage, almost 20% lower gas milage by hand calculation concerns me greatly. I have not bought yet which is why I rented and tried the car. Does hte computer really clear when it is reset, or does it still display cumulative numbers? Do you know?