Prius Actual Gas Mileage VS Advertised

MPG is a tangible reality.
But also a perspective attitude.

With a hybrid there are just that many more factors that affect you MPG.

The Prius gauges and software kind of teaches you to strive for efficiency. Even with all my years of hanging around Prius Chat thus having fore knowledge of MPG expectations vs. Reality, I still have found myself falling into the "newbie" reaction of making a short trip with The Prius and being instantaneously disappointed when I come to a stop and find out I "only" got 32 mpg for that trip.

But then I instantly remind myself that in my previous vehicle, if I ever got 32 mpg for ANY given trip, short, long, freeway or side street, I was pretty happy.

Right now, depending on my driving in any given week or 2 week period, I'm getting 48-50+ mpg. I'm REALLY happy. However, it's a brand new Prius, and it's Spring time, I fully expect the MPG to decrease this fall and winter. My expectations are always going to be that EPA estimates are a moving target. With The Prius on any given trip I can overshoot that target, undershoot that target, or even occasionally get it dead on. With a vehicle that employs the assistance of a battery that WILL be affected by the environment it happens to be in? I don't think I should ever expect EPA perfection. If in average on a yearly basis I can be upwards of 50 mpg? Which I do expect, then I'll be happy.

 

I always exceed the EPA ratings. What am I doing wrong?

 

+1

 

When I had my 11 Prius 2 I averaged 44 mpg over the 37k miles I owned it. Consumer reports also averaged 44 mpg, so I am in good company (real world). In Los Angeles driving 60 mph would probably get you killed, either run over or by gunshot. I was happy with the mpg, I just drove the car.