Is The Prius Losing Its Purpose?

It looks like the mpg really ramped up when the engine reached operating temperature. You would be best served with a plug in Prius!

 

If you do this, OP, realize that you will be paying sales tax again! It's over 8% right now, are you ok with that? Also, do you really want to let go of the awesome technology (think SKS), high safety ratings (think latest overall 5 star crash test) and a much roomier interior that is already packed in your Prius over a new Civic or any comparable car?

Also do you think switching cars will really dramatically change your driving habits/behaviors?

I think your buyers remorse will quickly fade away after you rethink your current situation.

 

Don't too light a foot, that is detrimental to mpg. Extremes are never a good thing.

But you can see the engine warmup period and then you got just under normal mpg. An increase in your low tire pressure will probably boost that a bit.

Do you have a heated garage available? Or way to plug in an engine block heater? Your short commute is killing you coupled with driving style, speed, and tire inflation.

And what is "perfect" for oil level? Up at the top dot on the oil stick, bottom dot, somewhere inbetween, above or below either dot? Everyone has a different definition, but there is only 1 right answer for the Prius.

 

Funny title. The "Purpose" of the Prius was to make money for Toyota. It's doing that better than most of their products.

YOUR "purpose" for buying the Prius appears to be to get good mileage. You're not doing that but it's your own fault. Not the fault of the Prius.
Anyone who buys a Prius expecting to get the "extra cost" back in a few years is wearing rose coloured glasses. You DO have to drive a fair distance each year to achieve that. When I bought mine I did so because I liked the technology, NOT because it was and still is the mileage leader on this continent and probably the world, for a production car. The dealer manager told me that up front. But the design and technology were what sold me. Up to a point I don't care about how much the car costs.

Hope you learn how to get the mileage you expected. If you don't you can always sell the Prius and get a cheap "good mileage" car (cheap gas guzzler in Prius terms).

 

My lifetime is only 42.8 ... I struggle with about 40mpg all winter. This summer I'm getting 47-52, that's with constant, cold AC use.

I find the biggest killer for me is long uphills at highway speed. And also cold weather. Up here in Vermont I get a lot of that.

I'm perfectly happy with this... the truck I traded in got 16mpg on it's best day. It's crazy to think that anyone would complain about getting low to mid-40's mpg driving it just like any other car. Not other car will do that for you, all these new cars advertizing "40mpg" have 3 asterisks after it because it's only under ideal conditions (flat, highway, no ac, etc). Look at fuelly and get the real data for real cars, those "40mpg Elantras" are getting low 30's average.

Also bear in mind that a Civic/Elantra/Cruze/Focus is a COMPACT, and the Prius is a Midsize. If you carry backseat passengers regularly they will really notice the difference.

Total Cost of Ownership is a whole 'nother discussion. If the lowest TCO is what you are after, go buy a used Corolla and drive it into the ground.

 

Our Fiesta is rated nearly the same as that Civic. It averages around 13mpg less than the Prius. That's a whole SUV worth of gas.

Just looked at your graph, check your average speed, that is the key. I would bet you these guys with the 50+ mpg averages have an average speed of >40mph.

Us dudes that are stuck with 25-30mph averages will always have low MPGs because that means we have to stop way too often. Another clue is how much regen you have.

It looks like you have the same crappy commute I have. I average around 44 in town, so you do have some room for improvement but not much. I have a 9-11 mile commute but I can still push around 45mpg in the morning (gauge) and around 50mpg going home. I think the home trip is better because the car sitting in the hot sun is that much warmer already than the colder car sitting in the dark...not sure but it seems to warm up faster.

 

nonsensical thread.

 

I too bought a 2011 Prius recently and it is exceeding my expectations. MPG was a primary factor, but interior space/carrying capacity were a close second consideration.

I have about 3000 miles on it, and the first four tanks on it have been:
61.8mpg
63.2mpg
65.2mpg
65.0mpg
(these are calculated numbers from the pump,not HSI numbers)

I am completely pleased with it.

My GF in her first drive in it (it was her first drive in any hybrid) netted 64.5mpg (HSI reading) on a trip from Boston to Cape Cod Friday - in the rain (with no coaching from me). I drove back this morning in the dry at 70.5mpg (with AC on at 78 degrees, recycle, AUTO fan). Only other thing I have done is to air up the tires to 44psi.

In any car, driving it harder and faster will lower mpg. My experience has been that driving hybrids hard will cost more mpg than driving hard/fast in conventional cars does - probably even %-age wise.

If you really want good mpg, you'll have to retrain yourself a bit. Or just keep driving as you have been and get what you get.

 

This graph looks familiar. It looks like mine except I have longer commute.

It looks like unfortunately your commute ends right at the point where the Prius is fully warmed up and ready to get serious mileage. I bet if you drive an extra 5 miles your mileage would go up to 48 mpg.

At a point in my commute I go about 8 miles and average about 45 mpg, then another 8 miles I end up at 60 mpg. The average means the second 8 mile portion gets 90 mpg. Of course this is heavily influenced by terrain, but also because my car is warmed up.

It's quite pointless to go further to get better mileage as you burn more gas overall.

Also I'm guessing you traverse some fairly hilly terrain.

In a conventional car, you'd get much less than the EPA rating also. The Civic you are comparing to would probably only get 26 mpg, give or take.

 

I think that people who drive any other car, regardless of whether it is a hybrid or not, will experience the same mpg hits driving under the same conditions that you describe. So for example, if I were driving an F-150 under the same conditions, I would be getting less than say 10 mpg.

I think that the fact that you are driving a Prius under those conditions and getting as much as mpg as you are, indicates that the car is fulfilling its intended purpose.

 

Also, please research the Insight battery problems. Their consistent failure is causing a huge hit in lost mileage and battery replacement costs, for which Honda uses its best efforts to make sure they fail outside of warranty (with ECU flashes that reduce mileage and extend battery life until the warranty tolls.)

 

This is why I leave early and circle work for about 15 miles. It makes me happy seeing the gage go up.

Just kidding of course.

 

I have 24000 miles on our 2010, average right at 50 mpg in spite of a 1.5 mile commute and harsh winters.

You have more regen car symbols on that one screen than I have earned in over a year and a half.

I'll grant your traffic is far far worse than mine, but try to maintain a little momentum and stay out of the brake pedal when you can.

Normal acceleration rates are fine (no need to be granny), but for mpg, you need to end the acceleration and glide (not coast, make sure you know the difference) until time for another acceleration.

 

Consider over 5 years...
- higher resell value
- no brake jobs (saving you easily 500$ or more per 2 years)
- oil changes half as often (your time to go, wait, etc, plus the cost)
- A single tune-up (no S)
- Waaaay more cargo space in the Prius than the Civic (was the clincher for me)

The fact that you use less gas than a Civic and pollute 4x less are perks.

Edmunds did a total TCO between a Matrix and a Prius, same year, same mileage, and both cars end up being EQUAL after 5 years, based purely on dollar value. Edmunds failed to factor in the NO FRIKKEN BRAKE JOBS into the equation though...

Some cars are worse - my Mom's 2006 Kia Magentis is costing her over 1,000$ on brake jobs nearly every 18 months - and she's retired. Uses it every day, but does less than 10k miles a year.

Of course a heavier car is to be expected to cost more in brake jobs than a Civic, but the Civic is still a "conventional" car with 1990 technology.

 

Don't you think lead-foot driving will stuff up fuel economy in an ICE only car?
Rent one for a couple of days and use it like you do your Prius then get back to us.

 

Perhaps it's only that his car isn't broken in yet - 2k only miles?

I drive like he does, with a Thule roof rack on all the time, and I get 5.1 L/100km (46 Mpg).

On long trips through Vermont I often do 75-80 MPH and still get 5.5, since my ECO bar is maxed out, and goes red nearly every hill.

Unless it is a manuel tranny Civic, there's no chance in hell 30+MPG would be possible in same situation.

 

Is The Prius Losing It's Purpose?

Reminds me of "The Jerk" when Steve Martin discovers his "Special Purpose".

Anyway? All depends on your definition of "purpose". It has been debated often the idea of the up front cost of a Hybrid, vs. buying a cheaper alternative and how long the fuel savings vs. immediate cost savings would take to make the Hybrid purchase the "economic" winner...

But to the OP? I'd say it doesn't matter. As has been pointed out, there are many, many reasons for buying and operating a Hybrid, beyond the immediate reason of great MPG's. And even with your personal example...you are getting 13 mpg better mileage than a conventional ICE Civic. And The Civic? Is never going to get better mileage....at 43 mpg..you can great hope that you can often improve those numbers...

I currently drive a Honda Fit...and the overall MPG is probably almost exactly the same as your Civic example. And for now? I drive my Fit. But I concede that a Hybrid offers not only far superior MPG...but also benefits to the enviroment, and concievably in other areas as well.

No..The Prius isn't losing it's purpose. If you are simply doing the math..and focusing only on immediate cost vs. potential MPG fuel saving..then you've lost your focus...because there is more to Prius than just that dynamic.

 

The truth? yes, relatively speaking, it is. I love my Prius, but an Elantra can be had for a lot less and offers 29/40. If you run the numbers based only on mileage it will take a long time to make that up on the Prius.

It's not that the prius is getting worse obviously but that some of these other smaller cars are really seeing huge gains in MPG now. Still, with the Prius rated at 51 and an elantra at 29 city if you do a lot of city driving, as I do, its economy is still going to save me at least $50/month. That isn't a ton, though, not with the Elantra quite a bit cheaper.

The above is in regard to generic numbers. Why you're getting lowish numbers I don't know.

I agree it's a challenge. More or less doable but takes some effort at times, especially if using AC.

That matches EPA, combined city/hwy on an elantra is about 33. I suspect that a lot of Prius owners are NOT getting the combined 50 mpg stated in the Prius. Even around these forums with people more-than-average interested in these cars many of us can't seem to do it. Our average, including the computer's 5% fudge factor, across winter and summer+AC is probably around 46, maybe 47 I would say real MPG. Obviously it's still pretty damned good.

 

Any ideas on how we change that? I used to think education would work eventually, but that's been pretty much taken over by corporate and religious interests - it seems only a matter of time before such crazy left wing ideas as 'true costs' are weeded out of society altogether.