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Malorn is right about the 35mpg Prius!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by micheal, Jan 6, 2006.

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  1. micheal

    micheal I feel pretty, oh so pretty.

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    I got back from a trip about a week ago of driving from Denver CO to Evanston WY and only got 35 mpg in my Prius! How could this be?! How could I have fallen for the Toyota trap of this being a green car?


    Oh wait, here are some more details I should probably consider before trading in for a Buick. The trip was on I-25 and I-80 at 75 mph with 500 lbs of people and probably around 300 lbs of cargo. The kicker was that we were driving into a headwind/crosswind that gusted to 60+mph. For those familiar with the Interstates, even the signs straddling the interstate warned against heavy winds ahead and at some points cautioned light trailers to not continue on the road (Interestingly enough there was only one semi that been blown over). Even more interesting was that we were being followed the entire way by a Chevy Lumina with 500 lbss of people and around 300 lbs of cargo. The gas mileage for the Lumina- was.........21 mpg (from its usual 28mpg hwy). Both cars filled up prior to leaving Denver.

    So, under the same conditions, with the driver taken out of the equation (cruise control set at 75mph), the Prius had 67% better mileage than the Lumina. One can look at the % decline in the conditions and find the Prius even did slightly better in the overall decrease (25% decrease in Lumina to 22% in the Prius).


    That my fellow PCers, is the best apples to apples comparison I have come across yet. (Tongue in cheek, I will admit, but the situation did actually happen).
     
    #1 micheal, Jan 6, 2006
  2. Jack 06

    Jack 06 New Member

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    Those northwesterlies between Denver and Evanston in the winter make for as bad driving (with snow) as you'll find. If you were even able to maintain 75 MPH, that's an accomplishment. Did the Prius meander all over the road? It'd be hard not to.
     
    #2 Jack 06, Jan 6, 2006
  3. micheal

    micheal I feel pretty, oh so pretty.

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    You are right about that! One thing that we were very thankful for was that there was no snow. That would have been really bad! People in Texas don't believe me when I tell them that they actually have gates that they use to close the interstate.

    The meandering wasn't much fun, but it wasn't too bad, except when you went from being in an air pocket from a Semi to getting hit with the wind. It didn't seem to be much worse than the Lumina. I never got really close to hitting anyone or felt unsafe.
     
    #3 micheal, Jan 6, 2006
  4. GreenMachine

    GreenMachine New Member

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    What tires are you running?
     
    #4 GreenMachine, Jan 6, 2006
  5. hdrygas

    hdrygas New Member

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    I would bet that my son could get 35 mpg in any Prius any time any road any speed and he could do better than that I bet he could get 25.
     
    #5 hdrygas, Jan 6, 2006
  6. micheal

    micheal I feel pretty, oh so pretty.

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    Right now we are running the stock Goodyear Integrity at 42 front and 40 rear. At almost 30K miles though, we are going to be getting some different tires.
     
    #6 micheal, Jan 7, 2006
  7. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    Car dealers do lots of little short runs... usually the mileage stinks until someone buys it and really drives it!
     
    #7 windstrings, Jan 13, 2006
  8. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    A lot of factors...
    - elevation change (uphill)
    - high speed
    - heavy headwind
    - heavy load (max is 845 lbs.)
    - cold weather

    Ken@Japan
     
    #8 ken1784, Jan 13, 2006
  9. benighted

    benighted New Member

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    Max is 845 lbs.? I hauled at least that much in boat motor parts (Detroit 671 Crank case, flywheel , Cam, pistons, about everything except for the block) plus me and my Dad over 200 miles. It was sitting pretty low but it handled the weight just fine and still got 46 MPG.
     
    #9 benighted, Jan 13, 2006
  10. 2Hybrids

    2Hybrids New Member

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    I'm kinda surprised at this figure...sure thought it got less than that...
     
    #10 2Hybrids, Jan 13, 2006
  11. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    Thats good to know, I'm not sure of the real reason, but I can guess that since the atkinson ICE "engine" does not have low end torque and is dependent upone the electric at low ICE rpms for acceleration. Maybe with excessive weight they are concerned the electric will be overworked, I could see how at low speeds for prolonged periods of time may tend to overheat things and really kill efficiency.

    I'm guessing you were able to get up to full speed to help prevent that.
     
    #11 windstrings, Jan 13, 2006
  12. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

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    Another factot with the Lumina is that it is at least 7 years old and I am sure not in top driving condition(Tires, tune-up, fuel etc)
     
    #12 malorn, Jan 13, 2006
  13. naterprius

    naterprius Senior Member

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    True, it would have been nice to have a brand new Lumina to test against. But, I've noticed in my own testing that I always seem to get the same percentage of EPA MPG when changing cars but not changing other factors. My commute to work gives me the same percentage of EPA MPG in all three cars, 04 Prius, 00 Trooper, and 94 Camry. Hills, traffic, wind, speeds, my driving seem to affect me mileage equally on all three cars.

    Nate
     
    #13 naterprius, Jan 13, 2006
  14. 2Hybrids

    2Hybrids New Member

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    Do you recall what they were rated when new?
     
    #14 2Hybrids, Jan 13, 2006
  15. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

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    29 or 30 on the highway. A better comparison would be if you drove a late nineties Camry in the same condition in fornt of the Lumina. I would bet you whatever you wanted the Lumina would get better mileage.
     
    #15 malorn, Jan 13, 2006
  16. EricGo

    EricGo New Member

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    What would you guess it is good for all tuned up, malorn. 23 ?
     
    #16 EricGo, Jan 13, 2006
  17. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    Have you ever read an owner's manual?

    Ken@Japan
     
    #17 ken1784, Jan 13, 2006
  18. benighted

    benighted New Member

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    Yes, but my point is most small cars can carry much more than the owners manual states. If you drive it right.
     
    #18 benighted, Jan 13, 2006
  19. JackDodge

    JackDodge Gold Member

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    No he's not :rolleyes:
     
    #19 JackDodge, Jan 13, 2006
  20. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

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    Ja :( ck, can't you give me even one moment of peace in the sun?
     
    #20 malorn, Jan 13, 2006
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