60-70 mpg. Really? Not sure about that....

OP,

Realize also that Sagebrush is not driving a 2010 but has a lot of experience w/ Gen II. Probably also using an aftermarket computer like scanguge. Doesn't say where they live either. Doesn't state what tires are inflated to or what brand since by now would have aftermarkets. All have small effects which taken together increase MPG. Driving technique is the most important part though, for sure. Ken in Japan also uses a computer to help him. He is really far (probably farhest) along in understanding all the "behind the scenes" stuff about driving a Gen III. Without computers and a few other fairly easy mods (tire pressure significantly above Toyota recomm., fairly high A/C temp (difficult in AZ I know), you will probably settle into high 50's, low 60's at best with really good technique! That is great! Maybe I'll catch you down in the valley one of these days. My Red IV will have the SLRPOWR license plate.:rockon:

 

No extra gauges
Albuquerque
Michelin Hydroedges nicely worn it at 20k miles, inflated to 44/42 psi front/rear.
AC used when ambient temp over 86, set to 78. Activated after cabin venting.
My highway MPG is better than 60 mpg at 60 mph, but that is due to driving at high altitude.

I think the the two things my experience provides is easy coasting (gliding) and a pretty good handle how far coasting will take me. Those I do with hardly a second thought. Actually, another thought: I know my well traveled city routes. Sometimes I can go miles with very few obnoxious red lights.

60 mpg in the winter is hard. I do have a scangauge I will use in the winter to watch engine temps to protect the car while the radiator is partially blocked; and if my wife in willing, I'll use an engine block heater. I haven't done either so far out of laziness.

 

I actually get my best MPG on the highway. I find that drive about 60 miles per hour gives that "99 MPG" as long as I stay within a few miles per hour of 60. It's when I slow down that the MPG drop. My best has about 85 MPG driving at night for about 40 miles. I never get better than mid 50s driving in the city. And to be honest, I really do that much. The cruise control on the highway, does most of the work. I would guess if I was driving a 2010 Prius would be just as easy to get pretty good MPG on the highway, but in the city, it would be harder based on driving my friend's 2010. Though to this MPG had taken me about 3 months. The first month, I didn't average more 45 miles per gallon and I was happy to get that..

Steve

Steve

 

Personally, I'm on my third tank and my best so far (MID measure) is over 57mpg. I do drive mostly highway, but in an area with hills and valleys. Pretty much all I do is try to keep the ECO indicator on (no crazy acceleration) and keep to the speed limit. On a long downhill I'll take my foot off the pedal, and if I see slow traffic ahead, foot comes off the pedal as well.

I'm told the mileage will improve after the first 3k miles as well, so 60mpg isn't totally out of the question in my opinon.

 

In engineering we have a term called,"managing user expectations." It means in part, making sure the product meets the user's requirements, which are individual choices. So looking at our nearly identical 2003 and 2010 mileage, we're quite happy including at the margins ... wife driving to Nashville with peak speeds over 90 mph. So what we're finding:

	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
0	Operation	NHW11	ZVW30
1	use of air conditioner	85F+	any time
2	highway cruise speed	65-70 mph	70-75 mph
3	comfort	yes	better
4	steering	neutral	stable
5	power	adequate	good
6	efficiency	MPG	52.1	52.9

.

We bought our ZVW30 for efficient service and the ZVW30 does that in spades. It replaces a 2001 Echo and by every metric, it exceeds the Echo's performance. It joins a 2003 Prius and delivers equivalent performance with more creature comforts. From what we can tell, the ZVW30 is doing this for the vast majority of owners in PriusChat and even the 30 EPA user reports:



There are no doubt modified vehicles that can deliver exceptional mileage in skilled hands just like traditional gear heads modified their stock cars for street and 'stock' car racing. Over in Ecomodder and other sources we can find:

• rebuilt, manual transmission GEO Metro
• manual transmission, two-seat Insight with 5th wheel
• 1980s manual transmission VW Rabbit diesel with a transplanted Jetta engine
• Honda CRX with extensive aerodynamic modifications
• recently reported 2001 Golf diesel (via PM)
• Japanese aerodynamic body modifications

The point is a ZVW30 makes daily commuting, a quality life affordable, and if someone really wants extreme mileage, then get a hobby car for that purpose. If you have the money, do what traditional gear heads do and build a custom body that resembles a favorite car and stuff the guts with whatever power systems meets expectations. And a hobby doesn't have to be focused on efficiency. For example, one of my Huntsville Prius friends also races dirt-bikes so he has a big diesel pickup to haul the bikes and a trailer to events. His daily commuting car is an NHW20 and he love both cars (BTW, he also ran out of fuel in his hybrid and was able to EV limp to a gas station.)

So I'm going to take a break and retest driving 10 miles at 20 mph to see if I'm still get the same mileage I got on the 'from the lot' mph vs MPG graph:



From what I can tell from Ken@Japan's reports, we getting similar numbers. His was after doing a 1,000 mile tank and mine was as delivered from the dealer (including dealer tire pressure and E10.) If this measured data doesn't meet others expectations, well darn, bring better facts and data.

Bob Wilson