The novelty is wearing off...

I've tried to time the stop signs in my area, but I can't seem to get the hang of it.

Tom

 

I find that as long as you are driving just like normal traffic (ie not crawling up to speed or trying to coast) the biggest factor that increases your MPG is the speed you travel. Keep it under 60 and see if that's not it.

 

I dislike braking every 30 seconds, but I dislike broadsiding other cars even more so I have no other choice.

 

You could probably get away with it at 3 AM as long as someone on the cross street doesn't try it at the same exact time. :madgrin:

 

Good idea. Actually, in my area, the locals think stop signs are only for tourists. I have actually heard people state that. Most of the population in this area is so old that they don't remember what stop signs look like. On the other hand, they drive so slowly that any collisions will be low energy.

Tom

 

Maybe you could just outfit the car with some boat fenders to absorb the energy in case of a collision. :madgrin:

 

Keep in mind winter blend gasoline may have just arrived. I've lost about 3 MPGs or so recently, pretty sure it's due to winter gas.

I know they have that gas in CA, don't know what other states get it.

 

Drive it normally, but just avoid using your brakes. This means you should accelerate with traffic, but leave a larger buffer zone in front of you. Try to accelerate so you don't have to use your brakes at all.

If you see a red light ahead, take your foot off the throttle. If you see a line of brake lights ahead, take your foot off the throttle.

I've gotten some amazing mileage when I've hidden my scangauge and turned off the MFD. See what you get when you do that. Babying the throttle too much is inefficient.

When you accelerate from a stoplight, don't use electricity to crawl to speed, immediately accelerate hard enough to kick on that engine from the get-go.

 

I've tried & tried to gently suggest to my car pool'er how to get his mpg's above 50mpg, but it's seldom that he hits that mark. It's strictly his driving style, and he's so completely entrenched in the only driving style he's done for his entire life, that I've come to the conclusion some folks simply can't adapt ... or that attempting to do so is beyond frustration for some.

.

 

And don't forget hills. Or maybe these should be Momentum Taxâ„¢ or Momentum Tollâ„¢.

 

Yes, but what goes up must come down. :madgrin:

Back when my dad still lived up in the foothills, it was a 2500 ft climb (in 45 miles) up to his house which would drive the mileage down. But I would get a lot of it back coasting down the hill.

 

Leave a bigger space so you have less need to brake. Really, it works.

 

I'm confused. If I'm on a side road at a stop sign trying to turn onto a major road with heavy traffic, how does that work?

 

In that case there is no need to brake. You need to use the *other* pedal, the one just to right of the brake.

Tom

 

Please see the above post where I state my dislike of broadsiding other cars is greater than my dislike of braking.

 

40mpg doesn't sound bad. We average between 38-42mpg depending on the week with our 2008. Mostly city driving, lots of short trips (under 5 miles). Mid to upper 40's on the highway.

2kDVR

 

Then accelerate as needed to safely turn onto the main road.

But seriously. Heavy traffic will screw up your mileage. There's no way around that. BUT, keep in mind that if your getting poor mileage, that normal car will get even worse.

 

You have already stopped, where is the issue?

2 can play this stupid game.

 

I have seen many posts on this but when I bought my new to me 2007 this spring, it had brand new tires and I am averaging 54-56 mpg.

Kirk

 

I have always averaged between 52 to 55 MPG on my 2004 Prius with 78K miles now. I moved to DC from San Francisco a couple of years ago and the mileage can drop into 40s during extreme ( sub 20F) periods. After the first year or so, I haven't even looked at the display except periodic checks and drive the car normally. I am a rather cautious driver and avoid over acceleration and always take my foot off the pedal when I know a stop is coming up. This is more to baby my car than just save fuel. I have found that I got just under 50 MPG for the first 30K miles and then the mileage jumped to around 53 MPG. I have kept the original tires.