Now that I have GOTTEN the car, how do I drive it?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(yarzy @ Sep 8 2006, 07:43 AM) [snapback]316247[/snapback]</div>

congrats. First just enjoy the car for a while and get used to how it runs and sounds before trying to learn the P&G technic. I have only had my car for four months and I am still learning more about it, but I keep getting more MPG each tank. If you can find a road that has a 35 MPH speed limit, that will really help to learn it. There is a lot more here about pulse and glide, so read other posts, but here is what works for me,

1. The engine needs to get up to temperature before the computers will allow it to shut off. The first couple of minutes you will not be able to pulse and glide, but you can pulse an glide with the engine running running, and when it is warmed up, you will start seeing all the arrows go away during the glide. The pulse should be enough accelleration to keep the yello arrow charge going to the battery, to much accel will give you nothing going to the battery, and more will have the battery driving the motor. You need to try to keep the battery charged at or abouve 4 bars to keep the engine off during the glide. When you get to 40 MPH, take your foot off of the accelerator. you will see the regen arrow. Now very slightly put your foot on and the arrow will go black. this is the glide. Coast down to 27 MPH if traffic allows, 35 if there is someone behind you. Then pulse up to 40 again. You keep repeating this during your drive, and remember, if there is a lot of traffic, you probably can't do this safely, so practice this where traffic is light.

2. I do not have the Nav, but I think there is a post on how to turn off the beep. The back up beep is easy to stop with the odometer button, it is a procedure that must be done just right to get it to work, but it works when you do it right. It is posted on one of the threads on the site, so do a search back up alarm.

3. Don't underestimate anticipating stops. My wife looses several MPG because she won't take advange of the regenerative braking. Anyway hope some of this helps, enjoy.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(yarzy @ Sep 8 2006, 08:43 AM) [snapback]316247[/snapback]</div>

There's a setting I think after pressing the "Display" button next to your MFD... "Display Settings" or something like that, and it does let you turn off the beep sound that accompanies every touch of the screen. I think that was the first thing I did when I got my car home because it was so annoying to have it beep every time I touched it.

So, I have 2 pieces of advice for you:

1. What others said about just driving like you normally would and not worrying too much about fancy tricks yet. If you are thinking about new driving techniques, you might get a little more distracted since there are some basic things that are a little different about this car. Just get to know the car.

2. RTFM. In detail. You should do this for any new car, but this one's manual in particular has some important things in there. Many of us, myself included, are guilty of posting topics asking about things that are in the manuals, so save yourself the embarrassment and just read it!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pcflorida @ Sep 8 2006, 08:31 AM) [snapback]316272[/snapback]</div>

Actually, ideal pulse and glide involves no arrows to or from the battery, because in that mode yuo are most efficiently using the energy from the ICE (converting to electricity to store in the battery is lossy, ie you loose some of the energy).

The general idea is to run the ICE in its optimal range (meaning most efficient fuel->energy conversion), which is generally considered to be around 70% of maximum. This means accellerate briskly, but don't floor it. Then stop accellerating, and very gently "feather" the pedal. on the energy screen, you'll see all the arrows disapear (if you're under 41), or just some arrows from the ICE but a reading of 99.9 MPG if you're over 41. Use that to more or less hold your speed (if there's no one around, you can allow speed to bleed off for longer glide times), and you've got P&G!

But like it's been said, don't worry about this too much just yet. Enjoy the car, get to know her... the key to effective P&G lies in building up the relationship so you know her different moods :lol:

 

Do not try pulse-and-glide in traffic. You will anger and frustrate other drivers. P&G consists of accelerating on engine only (which you can learn to do if you have a sensitive foot on the pedal) and then coasting (engine off, no arrows into or out of the battery). The result is a very erratic driving style, fast-slow-fast-slow. This is dangerous and discourteous to other drivers on the road. The famous hyper-milers who used P&G to demonstrate very high mpg numbers were pulled over several times by the cops for what the cops thought was impaired driving, due to the erratic nature of it.

Drive the Prius as you would drive any other car. Avoid jackrabbit starts and hard braking (except in an emergency). Every car benefits from a moderate driving style. And most importantly (for any car) Drive Defensively! Safety is far more important than that extra 1 or 2 mpg.

 

my bad... i've got several decent sized hills around here, so i guess i unconsiously modified it to help drain the battery since it would be recharged on the hills anyways

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(yarzy @ Sep 8 2006, 08:43 AM) [snapback]316247[/snapback]</div>

Congrats on your car....I have had mine a month, have gotten very acceptable MPG for my first three tanks of fuel and have fun driving the car...I am starting to learn the pulse and glide when traffic is light...Most importantly, keep returning to this forum. I pick up ideas every single day!!! Thanks to all.

 

Congrats on your new car. You'll love, I am sure.

For break in, drive it like a normal car. Then - too get great mileage I tell people you drive the Prius the way you should drive a normal car.

Moderate accellaration, and moderate braking/slowing. Seems most people I ride with, including my wife, in conventional cars have two foot selections, on the gas or on the brake. Then they complain that they don't get advertised gas mileage and ask how I got the front brakes on my Explorer to last almost 80,000 miles.

There is that very useful position for one's foot in most cars - on the floor instead of either pedal. Most modern automatic transmission allow the car to pretty much "coast" for quite a distance when you take your foot off the gas.

The Prius does this very well. While it is not technically "coasting" there is that sweet spot were you are just pressing the pedal enough that you are not using power to move the car and you are not charging the batteries - no arrows on the energy monitor. Take you foot all the way off the pedal and you will start regenning power back to the batteries and start to slow down a bit more - like slowing against the engine of a conventional car.

The pulse/glide technique I think is just silly. It makes you look drunk or lost. I does give you good mileage - it is very similar to driving in heavy commute driving on the freeway where your speed is constantly changing by fair amounts, like between 20 and 45 MPH. And hybrids get their highest efficiency in such conditions (I have noticed a slight dip in my average mileage since I got access to the HOV lane... hmmm?), but I am not about to simulate those conditions on surface streets Just not my style.

I do drive for mileage though. I leave my MFD in the consumption mode most of the time. I use the "current" mpg bar sort of like a tach. Using it to adjust my pedal pressure for maximum mileage while keeping my speed pretty steady and practical. I don't concern myself about which way the arrows are going in the energy monitor mode. When the yellow bar pegs at 100, I figure the car is gliding, coasting, regenning, or just otherwise not using the ICE.

On the freeway, I am a cruise control user - if traffic conditions allow, I use it. My best speed for freeway driving between Sacramento and various points in the bay area is bewteen 65 and just over 70. The most common cruise locked speed you will see on my speedomter is 69. That usually keeps the current MPG bar hovering just a "pixel" or two above 50.

Works fine for me. My ododmeter will turn 6,000 miles this weekend. I reset the consumption screen at every fill up and have only once pulled into a gas station with the average MPG reading below 50 (and even that time it was 48.something).

As for hacks or mods - I am not the guy to ask. I tend to shop for things that meet my needs and cover most of my realistic wants in stock condition, and leave them alone. This car is not likely to be any different. I considered the Coastal EV switch thing... but... if you overuse it, it will hurt your efficiency and it sounds like the most practical voices are saying that it's really just a gimmick thing that you use to impress people for a few minutes. I don't think it would be worth effort to tear the dash board apart. But I am a... how do you spell it? Kurmudgen?