The wife and I took delivery of a 2012 Prius III yesterday. This was more of my doing then hers, she's a bit skeptical, although the more she sits in it she's warming up to it so I could lose this car. Still learning all the cotton picking buttons. I can't even set the radio although I'm working on it. For now I'm pretty excited and I got 56.2 mpg to work this am on a 35 mile commute. I'm gonna love this, everytime I fill the gas tank I feel like I'm supporting the terrorists. I'm in Michigan, what should I expect to see for a drop in the winter? jim
We've only been in the Prius family for a couple of weeks, also buying a 12 (but a v). So welcome from one newbie to another. I'd caution you not to believe the mileage computer on the dash, though. Pretty much every thread I've read on it in doing my research says it is optimistic by a few mpg. And our one fill up so far we found that to be the case also. So hand calculate and keep a log if you want to know what you're really getting. Which will still be phenomenal and all, but just saying.
welcome, mpg's will take a hit as the weather gets colder and the engine has to run longer to warm up and stay warm and provide heat as you require it. it's around 10-20% in the dead of winter, depending on your climate. you take a smaller hit for a.c use. all the best!
The first few miles will be brutal (mid 20's to 30's) till the ICE warm up, then maybe mid 40's by the end of the 35 mi commute. It's hard to be more precise as it can vary widely from day to day depending on conditions. Frigid cold is a mpg killer, but compound that with a 20mph headwind and it's way worse. You can still get decent mpg in winter if it's a pretty still day or you have a tailwind. No matter what, you'll still be getting better mpg than 99% of the other cars on the road.
