Is driving for maximum mpg worth the trouble?

100% worth it if you want to reduce your dependence on oil and save some money too! Not to mention it takes the "boring" out of driving and makes it fun...yes...fun!

Since trading in my 4runner in March for my Prius I've spent $400 less in gas and used 100 less gallons of gas in just 3 months compared to my 4runner...worth it to me!

 

Since a lot of us actually drive double the mileage used on that first chart (20,000 vs. 10,000) the savings is definately worth going from 35mpg to 50mpg! For some the annual savings in money is the driving factor, for others the annual savings in gallons of gas is the driving factor. So whether you are basing your opinion on your wallet or more altruistic factors like national security and a reduction in air pollution it looks like the difference is definately worth it to me.

Using the same math on charts in the blog, one would save $462/yr going from 35mpg to 50mpg. That is the difference between not trying to drive a FFH well (35mpg) and not trying to drive a 2010 Prius well (50mpg). At least according to the numbers presented in the blog and what we are seeing for MPG here on Prius Chat. One could calulate the reduction in air pollution as well which may further sway one's decision to drive for better mileage.

Even in the case presented by driving only the FFH for better mileage there is a strong case in favor of putting in extra effort to get better mileage. Unless of course you have to seriously hypermile the FFH to get 45mpg which I doubt is the case given Wayne Gerdes experience with the amazing FFH. This case becomes even stronger with the more miles a person drives each year. To me 10,000/yr seems rather low.

 

I have no complaint with the graph. Whether or not saving money by not buying gas is "worth it" is a personal decision. However Mr. Blogger is going to be in for a very rude awakening when he files his 1040. He'll discover he screwed himself out of some of the tax credit because his new Ford is going to be placed in service after the transition date. He'll probably just file a fraudulent return & the IRS won't notice.

 

I want a 100 mpg car, so 35 mpg just makes me unhappy. 60 - 70 mpg in my Prius is tolerable -- for now.

 

In a mathematical sense, that curve has the same shape everywhere, from below 0.001 mpg to above 1000 mpg. Anyone claiming that there is little benefit above any point X is being tricked by the scaling of the picture. Any given percentage change in mpg yields the same percentage savings no matter where the starting point is placed.

To meet the targets of the new Climate Bill, similar to what some AGW activists have been claiming for a few years, we must reduce our carbon emissions by an average of about 4% per year, compounded for 40 years. Even if AGW is a hoax, the national security problems of buying our energy from despots trying to own us, demands a similar response.

That will require a lot of thought and effort, and every little 1% gained here and there will be sorely needed.

For the transportation side of my carbon reduction obligations, more bicycling probably covered just 1 or 2 years, and that is already in the past. Hypermiling boosted my mpg about 20% (really a 16.67% carbon reduction), covering another 4 years of my obligations, but one of those years is already in the past. Shifting my driving to a Prius nearly doubles my mpg, good for another 16 years. By then I'll have to do something more.

Home energy consumption / carbon emissions is a separate budget. CFLs for lighting were adopted long ago, so that credit was used up long ago. Other efficiency changes three years ago achieved a 13% reduction, but that just gets me to -- 2009! A new heat pump this spring should cut total home energy use enough to cover 4 or 5 years. Then I'll have to do something else again.

We are still collecting the low hanging fruit. When that is gone, even 1% improvements will be extremely important.

 

Ah hell. I'm screwed. Our main car doesn't burn ANY gas. I need to get me one of them 35 mpg jobbies so I can start doing my part to clean the air and save money.

 

For me, the "short answer" to this thread's primary question is YES ...

My long answer rather parallels that of Matt Herring ... above.

After eleven months of ownership and with about 10,300 miles on our '08 Prius - we REALLY don't drive very much on a daily basis ... that 10,300 miles includes TWO trips to-and-from upstate New York! - we've already "saved" about 155 gallons of gas and have "saved" about $355.

( The "savings" above are based on my "high-end" estimate for the MPG our '97 Stratus - aka Stone White - would have achieved under the same driving conditions. )

I know full-well that ALL fossil-fuel-burning vehicles are harmful to the environment ... but getting the world off fossil fuels - especially when it comes to transportation-n-such - is going to be a very lengthy, "weaning" process! In the interim, all I can do is drive whichever car seems to adequately meet our family's NEEDS, be the least environmentally harmful / the most fuel-effient car available at the time, AND is within our financial reach. For us, that's the Prius at this point in time.

And, lastly ... I did NOT purchase the most fuel-efficient car currently in mass-production - again ... that for us is also affordable - to see how much BELOW the EPA-rated MPG figures I could get. As far as I'm concerned, trying to see how much ABOVE those figures I can get is not only worth the effort AND much more fun ... it's also much more important ....

 

If you read further down to older entries in his blog, you'll soon discover why (in part) he is questioning the pursuit of MPG.
His technique and understanding of high MPG still has a ways to go particularly regarding the use of EV and the frustration and resulting doubt is almost inevitable

Cheers;

 

My STi got ~20 MPG. My Prius V so far is getting ~65 MPG. Going more than 3 times as far on the same amount of gas (and not needing to pay extra for premium gas) is certainly worth the effort to me. Comparing that to going from 20MPG to 35MPG, I'm not sure i understand the OP's point.

 

Take a look at the change from 5MPGs to 10MPGs, and THEN you'll see a difference that turns your head!

Seriously, there is a gain to be made whenever you improve mileage. When you ask whether it is worth the effort, then you are beginning to consider all of the other cost/benefit issues of life. Is it worth it to drive 5 mph faster? Clearly, going faster makes accidents more dangerous to all involved, so is it a good idea? Going faster than the speed limit not only is more dangerous, but it could be more costly in terms of speeding tickets.

I'm taking a more personal and practical look at it. I drive about 15,000 miles per year. If I get 35MPG, then it costs me $1,200 (at $2.80 per gallon). My 2007 Prius was getting me around 54MPG on a rolling 12-month basis, though lifetime was just above 52MPG. If I call that 50MPG, then I spent $840 per year on gas, saving myself $360 -- every year! That was enough to cover oil changes and new tires. Just think of the appeal of "free maintenance" when purchasing a new car!

I think my 2010 is going to be more of a 55MPG car (I have the Prius V, so the mileage won't be as high as the other Prius models). The move from 50MPG to 55MPG is "only" $76 per year, but it is still $76. Of course, when I compare it to 35MPG, I've saved $436 each year, and now I can start getting "free" mods on the car like window tint.

What does it cost me? I've spent some time reading PriusChat to learn about driving techniques, and I've spent a lot of time on the road learning to use them. I don't compromise safety, and I take advantage of the amenities available to me in the Prius V w/ ATP. My last trip of 840+ miles with 4 people in 90 degree heat, using cruise control and A/C on Auto, and driving on highways at posted speeds and (slightly) higher, produced a round-trip FE of 52.7MPG.

If I had been alone on that trip, I probably would have driven a bit differently, and it would have increased my gas mileage, but the real saver would have been the weight differential. I've done similar trips on my own, recently, and my FE has been as high as 58.8 for 441 miles. That still is using all of the amenities and driving at between 55 and 75mph. There is nothing wrong with saving a bit of money.

 

The Author of the thread was refering to driving two different ways in the same car, in this case the FFH. If he choses to drive it normally he can get 35mpg. If he choses to drive for efficiency he can get 45mpg. According to the math in savings in MPG vs. effort he felt that driving normal and getting 35mpg was good enough for him.

Because it was on an FFH blog I have a sneaking suspicion that this was aimed a bit towards the Prius as well. Meaning 35mpg is good enough so why bother with 50mpg. I could be wrong though.

 

From the NY times review of the Fusion hybrid:

"Without all the budget-busting extras, Ford notes that the Hybrid costs about $3,300 more than a comparable gasoline model, the 4-cylinder Fusion SEL. Consider not only the price but the economy, too. The gas-only Fusion also gets impressive mileage; the Fusion S’s 34 m.p.g. highway rating is just 2 m.p.g. less than the hybrid."

If you are only going to get 35 mpg, why get the hybrid instead of the SEL?

 

I have a 2005 prius right now and im thinking of trading it in for the 2010 later probably next year but for now im stiicking to this one. so far i have read nice reviews about the 2010 and getting about 65 mpg or so for their car. on my 2005, im only getting 40-47 mpg tops. how do u go for the maximum mpg? is it by the way you drive? basically i drive 46 miles back ad forth everyday. I want a better mileage. i also heard about the pulse plug. i was thinking of getting one for my car and also the fuel saver thats being sold on skymall. any thoughts?

 

Welcome to PriusChat!!

Go to the Forums and look for the "Newbie" forum. The "sticky" threads listed at the top are the ones to read first, particularly this one: What every newb should know .

For learning about improving the mileage on your 2005, also look in the Gen II Prius Fuel Economy forum. The starting "sticky" in that forum is the essential: New owner? Want MPG help? Read this first.

Hope this helps you!!

 

Like most vehicles maybe the city driving MPG is really horrid? This would drive your average way down. Most hybrids keep the variable MPG between city and highway very tight and once you start dropping below 30mpg the money spent on fuel increases dramatically. So in the case of the Ford Fusion vs. the Ford Fusion hybrid, there is considerable cause to warrant buying the hybrid. The average MPG is approx. 12mpg higher on the hybrid than on the non-hybrid.

2010 Ford Fusion S FWD
Find a Car

Fuel Economy

Learn more about EPA's new MPG estimates! ​

Fuel Type

Regular​

MPG (city)

23​

MPG (highway)

34​

MPG (combined)

27


Fuel Economics​

Cost to Drive 25 Miles

$2.26​

Fuel to Drive 25 Miles

0.93 gal​

Annual Fuel Cost

$1354​

* Based on 15000 annual miles and a fuel price of 2.44 per gallon.

Fill-up cost and the distance you can travel on a tank are calculated based on the combined MPG and the assumption that you will re-fuel when your tank is 10% full.

Climate Change​

Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions*

Worst​

Best​

​

16.2​

3.5​

6.80 tons

Safety​

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NA


Air Pollution​

EPA Air Pollution Rating

NA​

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid FWD
Find a Car

Fuel Economy​

Learn more about EPA's new MPG estimates! ​

Fuel Type

Regular​

MPG (city)

41​

MPG (highway)

36​

MPG (combined)

39​

Fuel Economics​

Cost to Drive 25 Miles

$1.56​

Fuel to Drive 25 Miles

0.64 gal​

Annual Fuel Cost

$937​

* Based on 15000 annual miles and a fuel price of 2.44 per gallon.


Fill-up cost and the distance you can travel on a tank are calculated based on the combined MPG and the assumption that you will re-fuel when your tank is 10% full.

Climate Change​

Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions*

Worst​

Best​

​

16.2​

3.5​

4.70 tons ​

Safety​

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NA​

Air Pollution​

EPA Air Pollution Rating

NA​

 

I also question the OP's motivation for the post but I'll take it at face value. If you find no positive outcome (either in your pocket or with the environment) for getting 10-15 mpg higher just by driving your car differently then continue to get 35 mpg and be happy.

I could see if the gained mpg came at some cost (either financially or physically) but until I have to pay an extra cost for mpg's or have to do some strenuous activity to make it happen I'll keep hypermiling with a smile on my face. Driving is easy, hypermiling is 1% more effort. I'll take that effort vs. production any day!

 

F8L: I don't disagree with you. You must look at how you will drive the two cars when making comparisons. What yogadoc was pointing out, however, was the fuel economy already available through the "S" model, and if you are doing mainly highway driving, the difference, for the cost, makes for an interesting comparison.

(Edited to remove more info about the 2010 "S" I though F8L hadn't included!)