How to get 30MPG easily while still driving like a good prius owner

Well what were you getting with your other car?

Most of my trips are 4 miles long. In winter I average 36-37 mpg and in summer it's 47-48 mpg on these trips. But that's way better than what I got in my old car (Camry), and with lower emissions to boot.

Just because I don't have a commute that's good for hypermiling doesn't mean I don't use less gas with this car than I would otherwise.

Plus I get 50 mpg or better on longer trips. And that's without trying very hard.

 

I strongly suggest an engine block heater. It really helps blunt the MPG-killing effect of those short trips by getting the car up to normal operating temp more quickly. You don't say how short they are, but if they're no more than 10 minutes, I bet you'd see an overall 5-10 MPG improvement.

If your wife drives longer distances, I would indeed let her use the car. Might as well confine the gas hog (relatively speaking -- I know the CRV does pretty well for an SUV) to the short trips.

 

I don't believe shifting into N is helping you.

30mpg just seems really low even for short trips.

 

I do almost nothing but short trips now that I'm not commuting, and I'm still pulling in the high 40's MPG.
There is a break-in period on the Prius, like every other car. And the tires. Check your PSI on the tires.
Give yourself some time to get good at the hypermiling thing.
Be sure to combine trips whenever possible.
Oh, and an engine block heater may be right up your alley!

 

You definitely want to do some reading on here and try to optimize your routine. I believe that running in N is probably doing much more harm than good. You generally want the ICE to be loaded after startup so that it will heat up as quickly as possible. You do sound like a good candidate for the block heater and grill blocking. I believe folks have found that can take your warm up cycle from 10+ minutes down to 1-2. Once you get out of the warmup mode you should go from 25-35 up into the 45-55 territory. Sorry I'm not that much of a warm up expert due to our mild winters. I think it broke 90 today, maybe mild is a bit of an understatement

Rob

 

30 MPG is too low. We live in a small town, and if we don't get out on the open road we still get better than 40. In the summer we usually average 56 MPG, in the winter 45. Either your trips are incredibly short, or something is wrong.

Tom

 

Shifting to N is a bad idea.

Just drive the thing normally and see how it goes.

 

Agreed on the block heater, and throw in an EV switch while
you're at it. You can use it to prevent a lot of excess engine
run during warmup phases, which it sounds like you'll spend
most of your time in. Having the engine continue to putter
along while you're in a glide is silly almost any time, so
best to force it off when appropriate.
.
_H*

 

This is probably the best advise - in a two car household, the most fuel efficient vehicle should be used for the longer trips when possible.

 

Hi Mon...,

Until you get into stage 4, pulsing and gliding will reduce your mileage, I think. And those short trips you will probably not making stage 4, till its 80 F outside , and then at the end of your 4 milers.

The EV switch is probably the best suggestion for mileage. Do not use it to run the battery down tho. Just to kill the engine in a downhill glide, like Hobbit suggests.

Shifting to neutral does not shut off the engine. Its still running if it was running when you shifted. During warmup, the engine runs much of the time even when there is no activity on the screen.

And while it will show better mileage, the engine is using gas without any benefit. Whereas in the normal warm up the battery gets charged during these periods, and probably results in a better trip average, even if not as good a downhill segment mileage.

Without the EV switch, your not going to be able to kill the engine during Stage 3. Which is probably miles 3 and 4 of your four mile trip. And when the weather gets warmer it ll be mile 1/2 of your 1 mile trips.

In the average winter cold weather, I get a prolonged Stage 2, right where I have a down hill run. And can get good mileage there. But its a bit coincidental.

 

I drive about 10 minutes everyday in very hilly terrain and get about 45mpg in the winter.

 

Where can I get more information about these 'stages'?

 

BTW, driving in neutral is illegal in most states. Of, course pulsing may be, too, since you will exceed the speed limit. (Like everone else does who doesn't drive a Prius does! hah, hah!)

 

http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/five-stages.txt

 

Mondrin, you might want to look into a neighborhood electric vehicle like the 2002 Ford Th!nk Neighbor or a Chrysler GEM.

These are street-legal fully electric vehicles with a typical range of ~30 miles and a top speed (stock) of 25mph, though they can be reprogrammed to go a bit faster (Th!nk can go up to 35mph).

My Th!nk cost me a little less than $6K and does at least 1,000 miles a year, just running around town.