poor mpg when starting trips

Short trips are killer to mileage for any ICE vehicle - especially in cold weather. The computer intentionally injects extra fuel during the warm-up cycle which lowers emissions during this period, so your fuel consumption will be relatively high. This is specifically why I purchased the Plug-in model with most of my city driving being between 1-3 miles. In the winter when the ICE fires I often see trip mileage of between 20-30mpg for those short trips.

 

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my commute is 6 miles, on cold mornings it can sometimes only get 38 mpgs. Conversely, I drove 2.8 miles today to get pizza. It was sunny, dry and 42 degrees at that time. It got about 42 mpg on the way there. On the way back I got 60 mpg since the car was already warmed up.

 

If the C calculates segment mileage, it will always start low and increase, since you are starting with 0 mpg. As you accumulate miles, the mileage will increase as the mpg's add up. The ScanGauge does the same thing. It is really a lot more useful than the instantaneous mileage indicator.

 

the best thing you can do is fill up at a station near the top of a long gradual hill with ice already warm. then when you leave, your mpg's will go start at 999 and slowly come down as you use the ice. this produces much better average over the life of the tank than starting at zero and trying to get it up.

 

Hmmmmm...

 

MPG is not directly proportional to emissions. The extra fuel is injected to heat up the emission control equipment faster so that it may better do its job.

Another example are the 'tuning' chips available for many cars that increase MPG but also increase the amount of NOx emitted contributing to a net environmental loss.

 

Yes. both my gen 2 and my v start each day with this green curve:



I would expect a c driven at a fixed speed on an absolutely level surface to have the same curve.

 

I understand an engine block heater can really increase the initial performance as the engine would start up already warm. It is sold on this site for $60. If I lived in a colder climate, I might would purchase one. But generally my car starts out above 70 degrees F most of the year.

 

My commute is 4.9 miles. I start with cold engine, cold coolant, cold oil, cold tires, cold heater core, cold vents, cold wheel bearing grease, cold trans fluid. Ten strikes against you before you even back out of the driveway.

It gets better with everything warmed up, and with warmer temps outside.

 

Don't you love it when pretty much all your preconceptions are wrong, lol.

Seriously, a cold engine is the worst situation for mpg.

 

I got about 25 mpg for first 5 miles. The rest of the commute distance bring average up to 45mpg. So 30 mpg is pretty good for your 3 miles commute. Prius is a wrong car if you use for 3 miles commute. Corolla or yaris is a better choice. mpg will come very close for them in the 1st 3 miles. I would turn off the heat in the winter. I found more EV mode kick in cold weather if the heat is off. The heat will not warm up if you go only 3 miles anyway.

 

The "warm-up cycle" just does that. You're using almost all battery to move the car until the warm-up cycle is over, which is why I am usually very light on the pedal (high-throttle on the battery means very low efficiency), plus you have to re-charge the battery thereafter and that takes a lot of gas.
Most of my commutes are also short like yours.

 

perhaps libby traded in her prius...

 

Every car is wrong for their commute except for a pure EV. Get a Nissan LEAF. Depending on your state it can be bought for cheaper than a P.C. after the credits.