What kind of MPG can I expect?

i use my prius mainly for work... about 10-15 minutes away and based on my experience terrain is a big factor in my mileage. i have stop and go traffic, lots of uphill grades to and from work and am able to get 40-45 mpg at best (and that's from really trying). but on regular flat roadways, i'd get 47-50mpg. on the freeway i'd get 50-55mpg, my best average was 57mpg. go figure! (it's the opposite of EPA predictions). i guess it really depends on driving habits, terrain, length of trip, etc.

but i must say... with that distance you say you travel a tank will go a long way for you! (i fill-up every 3 weeks..!)

 

My daily commute is similar--all local roads with lights (usually not a terrible amount of traffic, stopping is mostly from lights) 45 MPH max. It's not flat, but gradual sloping uphills and downhills (somehow you notice the slopes that are barely hills more when you're trying to max out your mileage). Commute generally doesn't take more than 20 minutes. The first 5 minutes are killer for the overall MPG, so I generally average around 47-48 MPG. When I drive more, my MPG goes way up (like the day I did two round trips to school and two round trips to the airport, I went from 45 MPG to close to 50 MPG). I've had my car for just under two months, but I'll probably average a fill-up every 3-4 weeks.

 

I agree with what's been posted. Our commute is about 3 miles, but we still manage to average 40 mpg/tank, even if that's all we do. On weekends we tend to up the average.
And that is nice, but no, we could probably have bought a Civic or Camry or something and saved money.
Lack of emissions plus way better mpg than 4runner were motivators.

 

On thing we don't know, and I suspect could alter the "how much" answer is where Kerensky lives. Are you going to take a 'really cold winter weather' hit or do you live somewhere warm (maybe add that to your profile)? Combining a lot of short trips, with engine cool down in between, and recent cold weather & snow, my current tank (only 45 miles so far) dropped from 46 for the last tank to about 35 now. Hopefully with the regular work commute (15 min AM, 20 PM) I'll get it back to mid 40's.

I agree with Evan, don't buy it thinking you'll recover the price over a base Civic or something. Compared to my old 20-22 MPG Odyssey, I have so far saved about $47/mo For the length of time I will probably own the Prius, and if that savings value stays constant, the $$ saved in gas will be about $5,500.

Don't EVER stretch yourself financially to buy a depreciating asset. The hole will only get deeper and deeper.

 

www.greenhybrid.com has a database of real numbers that users input

 

College is just a few years. So only getting around 40 MPG (possible mid 30's if sub-freezing temperatures) during that time is no big deal. It will still be significantly better than you get now with a traditional vehicle... and it will be drastically cleaner.

You'll drive elsewhere from time to time, so that's an obvious benefit. And eventually you'll start a career that most likely won't be as close

Whatever the case, you'll still have the Prius after college and it won't have that many miles on it yet.

Go for it!

 

I think no matter what, you'll save with the prius. It all depends on how long you are going to keep the car and how many miles you plan on putting on it during it's lifetime. Since the drive train last longer than any other car, it's an instant saving of a couple thousand dollars. This makes up for the hybrid cost. If your car last 10 years with 300k miles on it.. then that's 300k miles ( normal car with a... 30mpg average cost @ $1.95 a gallon: $19,500 for 300k... The prius with short trips over a 300k spand.. so.. we'll say 45mpg lifetime average: $13,000 for 300k)

People say you can't save with this car. Its not designed to be temporary. It's designed as a car you keep for a long time. So at 300k miles... you've saved a good chunk in fuel.. you can buy a new battery if you want.. plus you've saved thousands in maintenance.

So.. as long as you keep this car for a long time.. it will pay off. possibly pay for itself. You still have to include labor.. and extra cost of those other maintenance periods.

 

v8:

Problem is I have never met a person who keeps a car for 300K miles. Have You?? (Duck, Here it comes ...)

I believe over a more realistic 5-9 year period most people will put on between 80K - 150K miles before churning this car. I know many people in this forum put on 20K+ per year, but as this car becomes more mainstream (which it is in the process of doing) you will see average yearly mileage move closer to the 15K mile range.

Also, on gas alone I believe it is more realistic to see people going from 25MPG to 45MPG. That puts your gas savings (Based on $2.00/gal) anywhere from roughly $3,000 to $6,000.

If gas goes to $3/gal then you could save $8,000 at the high end. Factor that in with lower maintenance costs (brakes should last longer, no transmission), tax incentives (I'm saving $1,600 on day 1 due to no sales tax in CT), and the lower emmissions it is truly a smart decision now, If you can truly afford it.

A bargain at any price is no bargain if you can not afford it. Only you know the answer to that, but don't fool yourself. In a couple of years everything will improve, there will be more choices, and hopefully the premium for buying in to this technology will decrease.

 

V8 - I think some of your logic there is flawed, possibly just unknown.
If you're in NOVA, your gas mileage simply won't be great (I'm assuming that you deal with that traffic), however it obviously will be better than anything else you drive.

In my short time with the Prius, I'm the typical 40mpg around town user.
Other costs are unknown at this time.

 

My daily commute to work is 40 miles over 55 mph highway. After 13,000 miles I am consistently getting 50-51 mpgs.

The worst thing about the Prius is that once you get used to those 50 mpgs it will be very difficult to buy another car. Also, it makes so much sense that the engine should be off when going downhill and when stopped that all other cars seem obsolete.

 

I have met someone with over 300,000 miles on his camry

 

Then he will be going to the junkyard to drop off the camry soon. LOL

 

300,000 miles is virtually impossible in Minnesota if not done quickly. The anual freezing & baking cycles along with all the salt & sand tear apart the vehicle. So oridinary wear is overwhelmed by climate. As a result, about 90% of the passenger vehicles here are simply decommissioned before year 10.

Strangely, there is a benefit to that. Vehicle safety & reliability is higher, since only a few are driving outdated technology.

 

I fully agree. My point is simply to just try to show people where savings are. I forgot about the tax and so on. I see these cars as a huge benifit to taxi companies and such. It's a benifit either way.. but.. some people like to see some huge figures before considering a purchase. So.. according to everyones math.. you save half the cost of the car. roughly. very roughly.

The average car gets around 30.. most are less.. so.. 30 being a good number, you'll still save compaired to any car. well.. except hybrids. The cost are known. In Vancover, someone used the prius as a taxi. Logic also tells me that you are using your braking less ( last longer) you don't change oil as much as some cars ( potential savings ) No transmission to ever burn out ( savings ) fuel savings... ( er.. savings) and i'm sure their are many other little things i'm skipping over again.


I'm not saying my ideas are perfect. It's simply supplied to people can give opinion about it.. or... for people who are looking at this forum for information since they have no clue.

I wish their was a standard "format" for priuschat. When talking about info useful to people.. you would quote the info.. and add your comment.. that way when you are late to looking at a forum.. like 6 pages in.. you can just look at the last post and get an idea of info shared. I'm just day dreaming though.

 

He called Toyota and they said 300,000 miles on a Camry is nothing special. They can go 500,000 +

He said he has never ever had a single problem. His sunroof is broken though, but its because his friend broke it.

 

If you don't change your driving habits, you're right - expect around 35-45 in NoVA. But, with a few variations in how you drive/react to traffic, it's quite possible to break 50+mpgs (depending of course on taking a different route, etc).

I drive from Springfield to Dulles Airport 30 miles one way in rush hour traffic (takes usually an 1-1.5 hours), and my average for 20k is holding above 50 - my real dents in mileage is taking road trips to the flat midwest where the speed limit is 70 and everyone drives 80+.

-m.