Need opinions on mpg-averages 41

Welcome to the club!!!

I normally average ~52mpg, but I can see where yours would go down.

I drove to Austin for an NCAAW tournament game, and this is what happened.

70mph the whole way.
Air set on 78 degrees.
One 250 pound friend in the passenger seat.

I got a stead 42mpg there and back.

I suspect the Prius is very sensitive to the weight.

Try to lighten the load, bump up the tire pressure, bump
up the AC a little (if you can), and try to stay off the
highways (if at all possible).

You should see your mpg's improve considerably.

To answer your original question, if I drove my Prius (which has 8K miles now)
with your given variables, I would probably get about the same mileage.

Enjoy your car!!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(vikx @ Aug 27 2007, 01:37 AM) [snapback]502627[/snapback]</div>

Hi and welcome to PC! Your short commute (10 miles to work) at 64 MPH doesn't help. Your first 5 minutes with the ICE warming up probably only gets you ~25 MPG. If time is not as much of a factor as improving your FE try to slow down and even take service/city roads where the speed limit is lower. If you take the HWY try to slow down to 60 MPH (or just below) - you should notice a difference. Inflate your tires to 40/38 or 42/40 for further improvement.

Best of luck,
Gabe

 

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Your results seem reasonable.

You're a little under predicted fuel economy as figured by the Prius MPG Simulator. The simulator figures 44.69 MPG at 70 MPH and 48.32 MPG at 64 MPH. This assumes:

• Steady speed on level terrain
• A fully warmed engine
• Air temperature of 65F (based on mean temperature -- highs and lows averaged -- for Seattle for the last month as reported by Weather Underground)
• 300# load, passenger and cargo (my apologies if you weigh less than 200 )
• Climate control set as you describe
• No winds
• Smooth dry pavement
• Goodyear Integritys inflated to 38 front & 36 rear

Add in the warmup effect that Gabe describes, lower tire pressure, the inevitable accelerations and decelerations, terrain changes, a little rain (you do have that in Washington, don't you ), and head or cross winds -- all of which will lower your numbers -- you're in the ballpark.

 

Worry more about mashing the brake pedal than the accelerator. Leave a big gap between you and the car in front and drive smooth. I love how Prius makes me a better (smoother) driver.

I drive at speed limits everywhere but keep it smooth. I normally come first in the traffic light dash but I'm rarely first to the next red light. Predict and avoid stopping. If a stop cant be avoided coast to a stop, avoid braking hard. If you have to brake, brake soft and long.
My worst tank was 46.12mpg US and my normal is 53.45mpg US.
I don't give up speed for economy but I drive smooth and actually get to work quicker in my Prius than in my old car and for much less petrol.

I should add my every day commute includes a 5km stretch with 100km/h up the steep hill and 80km/h speed limit down. Every day at the bottom of the hill the Prius is dumping battery charge. I have no EBH but the car is stored in an iron garage over night.

 

Welcom vikx. In 10 miles you won't be able to do much. Follow the advice of the others. Check the tp and inflate to at least 42/40. Bump the temp up a couple of degrees and cut the speed a bit. Blocking the grill won't really help (but it won't hurt & it is cheap) but the EBH will.

 

Hello,

I'm new also. And also live in WA so it's not our clean air causing problems. :lol:

I've had my Prius for FOUR weeks and have not had a tank less than 50 MPG.
I work for the ferries and don't have a normal commute and work 7 days on, 7 days off.

My first week was from north of Woodinville to Seattle ~32 miles usually via 405 and 520 but also around Lake Washington on Lake City/Bothell Way (2 days going home.) I kept it under 60 since it is so new. Each day my mileage increased with a first tank average of 50.5. The second tank was 54.4 which was 3 work days and 7 days off where I did very little driving.

Tanks 3, 4, and 5 were 54.1, 55.0 and 55.6 driving 70 miles each way to Anacortes. One day it rained hard and I got 51.7 for 2 X 70 mile trips but got up to 54.1 before fill-up. i tried to keep it below 60 but occassionally went a little faster.

I am not sure why I am getting such good mileage but I am letting the MFD teach me. I accelerate slowly if no one is behind me otherwise I go with the flow. Anticipating stops may be very key and I do seem to annoy people sometimes but I did that before in my Chevy Aveo (which got 28 when going to Seattle and 32 when going to Anacortes). I also glide a lot taking advantage of our hilly terraine. I am "into the battery" because it is unavoidable with so many hills. Fortunatey my last few miles allow me to coast or use up battery both at home and at the ferry terminals.

A friend who has had his for 3 years says he averages 52 without trying, drives fast and takes it skiing in the winter.

It may be coincidental but my two best tanks were Chevron the others were from Costco. This week off I'm getting 51.5 with about 250 miles mostly short trips.

Anyway, I am very pleased with my mileage and anticipate doing better next summer. I expect it to drop when the rains start based on the rainy day last week.

BTW my tire pressure is as factory set 32/30, the A/C is always set at 68, the radio set to 1090 (Air America) and continually flipping the MFD.

I hope you figure out why your mileage is so low and let us all know.

Tom
Snohomish, WA

 

Even my Camry I ran higher tyre pressures than that. I love a firm ride though.
Welcome to PriusChat and congrats on your good mileage.