Questions about Driving to get Best Fuel Economy

There is not much you can do on the highway except drive slower. Speed kills mpg. Do not try to pulse and glide at freeway speeds. Just pick a speed and try to maintain it as smoothly as possible. A real pulse and glide session would have you accelerating to 42-45mph then dropping to under 30nmph. Obviously you cannot do this on the freeway.

Try to maintain iMPG when going up a hill even if it means losing a little speed (when safe) then gliding down the other side using no energy. The other option is to speed up just before a hill then allow your speed to drop while climbing then glide down the other side.

You should be able to accelerate just under the Power section in most situations. Since I don't have a c I cannot say for sure which tactic is better.

 

Well, here's my take (one of many I'm sure you'll receive). Let's start with P&G. I say pulse up to speed quickly (even if it means power range of your display). As I stated b4, this is the best description I've found for P&G. I know its not specifically for the C but you do have the same display on the C. I've been told that it is harder to "glide" in the C (no arrows) but, it is possible. The way I learned how to do it is, pulse up to speed (I do it quickly with arrows initially going from the ICE and battery to supply power to the wheels then when I near max pulse speed (41 mph for me), I ease of and pulse the rest of the way with arrows like this

Then lift off the accelerator momentarily and reapply about 1/4 of pedal travel. If you see yellow arrows from the battery to the motor to the wheels, ease up slowly until all arrows disappear. If you see blue arrows from the motor to the battery, press down slowly until all arrows disappear. Initially you will find it very hard to find that sweet spot (no arrows) but, with practice, you will find it with ease (we call it a trained right foot). If you find the ICE is always supplying power no matter what, you are not in S4 and you need to come to a stop until the ICE shuts off (C experts confirm this please). It is important to note that all this assumes a flat surface or slight downgrade. Upgrades (even slight upgrades) are tougher.

P&G is not for highway use (that's why you're having problems with it). As for getting the best highway mpg, here's the tips (sometimes painful to implement):
Maintain an average speed of about 65mph, don't use cruise control, get up 65 on a flat, when approaching a hill, keep your foot at the same (or near the same) and allow the car to lose some speed on the way up (not less than about 58mph), gain the speed back on the way down to about 70mph and slowly decrease to 65 on the flat (repeat this). Just a warning, this will get tiresome on a 600+ mile trip. If I'm going on that long of a trip, I just set the cruise on 68mph and go. That usually nets me about 47.5-48.5 mpgs.

Some people will tell you to draft on the highway, I don't condone it but if you do, I would recommed a truck pulling a horse trailer or a square trailer rather than a semi. Drafting will def increase your mileage but its really not worth the risk (in my opinion).

You will never be able to avoid all battery usage you just need to use it smart. Also use regen whenever possible to recharge and try to keep your SOC high (5 or 6 bars).

Other tips include driving without brakes (or like you have no brakes)
see this DWB – Driving Without Brakes | Hypermiling Zone - the Fuel Economy Blog

Hope this helps

 

The advice above is good except I wouldn't bother using the energy display. It has proven useless on the GenIII. It's easier to use the HSI bar method. Instead of watching the arrows on the energy display, just make the HSI bar disappear between the Regen area and the EV area.

 

In addition to the above, avoid using A/C as much as possible. If only the front seats are occupied, you can often stay cool by using the fan (without the A/C) and adjusting the vents so they blow directly at you. One reviewer, mpgomatic, posted some results with and without A/C in his (useful) review of the Prius C

2012 Toyota Prius C Review | MPGomatic

Note that at 68mph, windows up, using A/C increased fuel consumption by more than 7%. I assume he obtained his results after the A/C had reduced the cabin temperature to the requested level, because the results would have been worse while the A/C was working full tilt to reduce the temperature. Using A/C will have an even bigger impact at lower speeds, because the power required to run the A/C becomes a larger fraction of the power required to propel the vehicle. I drive with the windows down in the city when it is really hot. Toyota is working on "zone cooling" (i.e. cooling only where it is needed) for future advanced hybrids because the power required to drive the A/C penalizes a fuel efficient much more than a normal car.
I posted a few tips on driving a Prius C, based on my experience, which is mostly in the city, in the threads at

MPG , Tiny Bit Concerned | PriusChat

 

Pulse and Glide is based on pulsing in the optimum efficient portion of the engine's power curve. If one is in the 'power' section of the HSI, one is doing it wrong. The general recommendation for Gen IIIs is to pulse at 3/4 of the wide HSI bar (Cs might differ slightly). This is what people mean by accelerate quickly. No contradiction if the terms are specified accurately.

Pulse and Glide is hard on the highway, as above 45 MPH or so, the car will spin the engine when in a glide, which leaches energy. At lower speeds, one wants to barely touch the gas pedal to reach the true gliding spot (no regen). On uneven terrain, one can Climb and Glide.

There is not much opportunity or need for EV mode on the highway. EV mode up 16 mph from a stop then hit that 3/4 spot, and you should be good.

 

Even though I do not currently drive a hybrid, ive noticed that the DWB suggested above is a fuel saver. I currently get around 35 mpg driving around in my 1993 Toyota Corolla using that method. It is a fairly easy to use technique and, IMO, it is just smart driving. There should be no reason to accelerate to a stop sign/light, you’re not going to get to your destination any faster by stopping first .

 

I have been driving a gen ii for 4 years and last week I purchased a gen iii. It is taking a bit to adjust to the pulse and glide graphics which are somewhat different on the gen iii. I agree that using the HSI bar graphic is the way to go on the gen iii but the energy screen is the better way on the gen ii in my experience.

I do a LOT of interstate driving in very hilly rural northern new england. Lots of long climbs and long descents. Not much chance for true pulse and glide but some on secondary roads. On the highway I find that by far the single most significant factor in my mpg is speed. Speed makes a big difference. But, I also find that letting my speed bleed off some on the long uphill sections and then gliding to the extent possible (no regen) on the long downhills will make some difference as well. Also driving without brakes - anticipating stops like exits way in advance and staying off the brakes as much as possible - helps.

I am still fooling with the eco mode v. normal mode issue. Not clear yet but so far I am finding that eco mode is the best mode for the lazy hyper-miler driver like me who sometimes forgets to play close attention.

In general, my experience is that if all I do is drive the speed limit or a little less I get myself about 95% home as far as mpg results. On my one hour commute if I drive 65 mph I get around 50 +/- mpg. If I drive 75 mph I get around 44 +/- mph. All based on display report re mpg. These results are similar to the results I got with my Gen ii, maybe a tad better.

Tire pressure - I used 50 lbs on my gen ii. I have not had a chance to pump up my gen iii tires. I'll give that a try as well. If nothing else my experience is that my tires last longer.