Who has the worst gas mileage?

Well, I am not going to participate in this contest , but I remember to read a review is some local motorist newspaper some time ago where the guys only got 36 MPG from a gen II over about 500 miles... Can't imagine how they did it, perhaps drove with a brick on the gas pedal ?

When I drove my Prius for the very first time (not mentioning the test drive), bringing it home from the dealer (approx. 60 miles trip), I got 47 MPG, as I lacked any knowledge about hypermiling and did not try - just wanted to see how the car would do driven normally. My very first tank was 51 MPG.

Today I consistently get between 53-57 MPG in my "normal" driving, so cannot compete with you in any stretch of imagination... As much as I also cannot compete with the true hypermilers on the other side of the spectrum .

 

I get around 42, but tons of hills here in North-Central WV. I think it's still my driving, since I came from a caddy. But, when I get into the Pittsburgh area to visit family, I get in the low 50's.

 

I can get below 40 by driving to a car show, and leaving the car on with (add-on) 800W stereo and undercar lights on for 6 hours, and driving home at freeway speeds.

 

I wish I got 40. My commute is about an mile and a half, and I never travel more than about 30 seconds before having to stop for a stop sign or (long) light. And did I mention it's downhill when the car is still warming up which means its uphill going home?

38 MPG for me (and the only reason I do that well is a couple of times a week I do a half hour highway driving), much worse in the winter.

The plus side is since my commute is so short, I'm still only filling up once a month or so.

 

Ha! None of you can approach the champ: I got my Prius in January of 2004, when I was living in Fargo, ND. It was 20 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. My commute was about 3 miles in about 10 minutes. I had to pre-warm the car for five minutes before driving or my fingers and toes would freeze solid, figuratively speaking. The car didn't get warm enough to get to S4 operation until very near my destination, if at all, so the battery was nearly always at 7 bars. I got 29 mpg, until the weather warmed up.

 

Why not a block heater?

 

During the winter, when most of my driving consists of cold starting the car and looking for a parking spot on the other side of the street (New York City Alternate Side of the Street Parking Rules ... see Tony Randall as Felix in opening scenes of The Odd Couple), I average about 35 mpgs.

 

Thankyou all. I feel much better now with Pearl getting as low as 41 MPG US in the winter. My trips in the winter are 10-15 km and that helps.

-20F. Poof. Try -30 or -40. Now THAT'S fun! (NOT!)

 

At -40 I was able to maintain 43mpg. I Had to drive around Fairbanks w/out a blockheater. I did have a tank that was 37.5 though.

 

I didn't know it was going to be an issue. Remember that this was the first winter the Gen II was on the roads. A year and a half later I moved out of the bitter cold. Problem solved. Now I only drive the Prius for road trips or if there is snow or ice on the streets here. Otherwise I'm driving electric.

However, a block heater would have helped a lot.

 

Last winter I got a 27 MPG tank. Having girlfriend stay in car with engine running while I went shopping a couple of times is what made an already normally bad tank (28 or 29 in the winter isn't uncommon) even worse. I'd get a block heater, but I have no outside outlet.