Using mostly battery less than 40mph

try this video, for basic Pulse and Glide techniques. When you get used to it, this can give you a good boost in MPG.

 

Although I'm a fan of P&G but you don't need to use P&G to get good mpg. Last Friday, I made a 49 mile round trip (50% freeway and 50% local road 45 mph speed limit) and got 64 mpg and believe it or not, the heavy traffic that I was in actually helped me to get better mpg. Normally, I would go 65 mph on the freeway, the heavy traffic restricted my speed to 55 mph.

The trick that I used is simple. I put the car in "Eco" mode and relied on the HSI as my guide. When I accelerate, I never let the bar go near the "PWR" zone. I applied this rule even when I was climbing a slope and since I was in heavy traffic anyway, I didn't piss anyone off behind me. When I was going down slope, I back off on the accelerator until the bar is in the "EV" zone. That was it. I didn't do any P&G on this trip

 

it won't hurt the battery, but you'll get better mpg's if you stop driving in ev. the ice has to replace that charge, and that's less efficient than actually powering the car with the ice. the battery is there to absorb what would be wasted energy in braking, coasting, etc., not for always powering the car as much as possible without the ice.

 

I'll consciously keep the bar to left of the median line, to use electrical propulsion only, but relatively sparingly. If the battery's near full I'll be fairly aggressive, but as charge starts dropping I'll back off, resort more to pulse and glide. With the bar close to the median your charge is (obviously) going to drop fast, so I'll try to avoid that scenario in particular, preferring to then kick the gas a bit further, reactivate the engine.

One scenario where I seem to invariably run down the battery, can't seem to avoid it, is extreme low speed, puttering around parking garages, things like that. At extreme low speed the car seems predisposed to keep the engine off.

Bottom line, I do a bit of EV hunting, but try not to push it too far.

 

I only "EV hunt....when it's late, late at night and I'm on side streets with very few cars or people around. THEN I might experiment...just for fun, with trying to get home or as far as I can on EV power alone.

Otherwise, I just drive it.

I think in mixed traffic it can just be too dangerous if you are paying too much attention to trying to remain in EV. And you're likely to be driving slow enough to further the Prius drivers are inconsiderate "putters" mythology.

Since buying my Prius...in near ideal weather conditions, my MPG has been anywhere from 48 to 52+ mpg. And I'm happy with that.

Sure you can get out of it what you want to put into it. There are a lot of tips about "how"to drive a Prius and I think a lot of them are valid. But I think the best tips are just some overriding common sense. The Prius does better warmed up, so combine short trips into longer gambits if possible. Then The Prius responds "economically" much like any vehicle, just with greater returns based on the boost of Hybrid technology.

 

What tires and what PSI? That's probably the answer for you to improve MPG.

 

Not LRR will decrease your mpg but you get a more comfortable ride. I have LRR but if I lived in a city where there are bumps and holes on the roads, I would have gotten regular tires.

 

If you want FE help, please answer the questions at Fuel economy complaints/queries? Please copy, paste & answer these questions, esp. if you're new | PriusChat.

If you have some expectations based upon EPA ratings, please learn about what goes into the tests at Car and Driver: The Truth About EPA City / Highway MPG Estimates | PriusChat.

 

The engine, in surface road driving, rarely charges the battery. It is charged primarily via the regen systems. Contrary to a lot of posts, the regen energy is much more efficient than the engine and should be used as much as possible to extend your glide, which is what you are doing (not using the EV button). Try keeping the battery amps at 10 or below during the glide. If you do not have a scangauge, keep the bar just above the regen line. If you can pulse to 45 on flat roads, you should be able to get in the high 50's or even 60mpg.

 

I don't go by the instant mpg reading. Instead, I look at the display that shows up whenever I turn off my Prius. There's a bunch of information on it but I normally only pay attention to the mpg and the miles driven. Sure enough, it said 64 mpg at the end of the 49 mile trip. How are you assessing your mpg?

 

if you consistantly pulse, and then use the motor to maintain your speed until you're down to one or two bars, the ice is going to charge the battery back up. you couldn't regen enough unles you were going down a lot of hills.

 

You might try running say five trips using cruise control, tossing the high and low, and averaging the remaining three. Then try five trips using your best manual technique. To even out the climate changes, alternate days.

Bob Wilson

 

ya, that's a tough one to figure, but if you had lrr's and stopped using the battery for propulsion, i bet you'd be getting 55 mpg or better which is pretty dang good!

 

Pulse and glide is the way to go. I get about 60MPG in my '05 on my commute to and from work. About 5 miles, 25-35MPH with a couple hills, auto AC set to about 78F when it gets warm. I have LRR tires pumped to 51PSI.
Using the battery to drive hurts your mileage in just about every situation besides a parking lot. As traffic allows, I'm either accelerating with the ICE or gliding with it off. My mileage takes a bit of a hit when I drive to other places because of freeway driving and usually more traffic, but I'm sure I could keep it above 50MPG average in most situations.