My best tank yet

If I had a chance to drive around town only (which I should try sometime soon), in good weather and in not too short stretches, it wouldn't be impossible to hit 80 mpg.

 

Up until now, I was somewhat skeptical about guys and gals reporting very high mileage; but I have seen a couple of 99.9 mpg and half a dozen 80+ mpg on the black good-bye screen after driving across town for 4 to 9.5 miles (on different occasions) @ 20 mph average. These are of course inaccurate, as my trip computer consistently exaggerates mpg by 6-7%, but still unexpectedly good figures.

 

Look at my avatar. Find the top 20 thread in the link below to see others with terrific numbers. No need to be skeptical.

 

^ "How many mpg do you see on my avatar, Winston?"

 

Winston is out on a smoke break with Phillip Morris. I see 99.9 MPG on my avatar. The car is capable of returning well over 100 MPG and has done so. 99.9 is as high as the display goes, of course.

 

As long as they don't inhale and brush their toothes afterwards.

There is no argument about 100+ mpg. As I reported, I have had a couple of 99.9 readings myself over shorter distances (4 to 9 mi) in good weather, which validated similar claims by other 'c'eople. It would be hard for me to reproduce the miracle of the "99.9 over 500", because I will have no patience to drive up and down our lovely city for 25 hours @ 20 mph without having to go elsewhere.

 

Agree that 99.9+ over 500 is near miraculous. I can exceed 95 on a short loop but it's purely a stunt.
However, "going elsewhere" is one of the reasons I bought my C. Knowing that I would likely be driving ~10,000 miles/year just to visit family (15k/yr total) I wanted something much better than 20 MPG from my minivan. Since I have patience and the luxury of time on weekends I've found surprisingly direct pre-interstate routes with limits of 25 MPH to 45 MPH.
With light traffic anyone could get a "best tank" at 80+ mpg if you're lucky enough to string these trips together. Sure, this includes pulling over to let rapidly overtaking drivers go by (I know the routes and watch my mirrors a lot) but it's entertaining and frugal. (Entertaining for me, that is: I'd never subject a passenger to death by long-distance hypermiling.)
C is not just for running Circles around Cities.

 

Well, some people have competetive urges but most don't. Achieving over 99.9 is indeed 'stunt driving.' Personally, I feel a sense of satisfaction for my little, and in the grand scheme of things, essentially meaningless record here at Prius Chat. I took a challenge and triumphed. Ha! Took me a couple of days of patient driving. I will admit to practicing beforehand on a selected route.

It is obvious from my Fuelly figures that this is not a full time pursuit - the car gets plenty of use as a delivery vehicle. It's a great little car and I've had almost as much fun squeezing great MPG numbers out of it as I used to have seeing how fast I could traverse a winding road in the BMW I was privileged to own years ago.

To each his own.

 

That is my experience with our Gen2 Prius. Lots of tanks in the 70s, not once did I hit 80.

 

I was about to ask about the practicalities of hypermiling in the Commonwealth of Massachussets. I have probably driven across MA about half a dozen times. Can't remember the exact route (the GPS syndrome), but it included a toll road with funny hats. I had never before, and has never since been continuously tailgated with such great vigor and resolve ..

 

Oh, I didn't realize it was a competition .. as in "My cruise bar on the ECO Score indicator is longer than yours?".

 

After two and a half years of ownership, I no longer track my fuel mileage. My Prius Plug-In gets exceptional fuel mileage under almost all conditions. That's all that matters.

 

I had several trips in 70s.. but last several tanks were ~60, give or take a few tens.

Big contrast to a couple months back when it was a struggle to keep it in 50s

 

Yes, the "Top 20" list is a competition and ufourya's accomplishment is amazing. I searched for ways to top it and concluded I could not, so I've settled on slow journeys instead - and for precisely the reason ufourya stated in his second paragraph. I too drove BMWs (a 320i and (all-bow-down) a modded '72 2002tii) at driving schools and on back roads. But now "squeezing great MPG numbers" seems a better fit.

Yes, we have some poor and aggressive drivers here. That's a bad combination and it's passed down from one generation to the next. Years of checking my mirrors at driving schools helps me get out of their way. Most zoom by looking for their next ticket but a few don't seem to know what to do with themselves without a car in front of them. They would rather tailgate than think for themselves. (This is NOT a commentary on our great Commonwealth.)
The toll road with funny hats is the Mass. Pike.

 

Of course you didn't. Nor need you have.

 

I remember that road. I was ticketed for traveling 59 mpg on a 55 mph highway. At 1am. In the middle of nowhere. With only me and the trooper hiding in the trees the two cars around.

 

Did your car have Colorado plates? If yes, maybe it was just a creative way of applying the Massachussets tourist tax.

 

Sorry about that. You were very, very unlucky. Most MA state troopers look the other way until you are at least 10 over the limit, but Your Luck May Vary and there are certainly small towns/local constables that have stricter policies.