On Friday, I will have had my car for six weeks. It hasn't gotten a rest since I got it. 3500 miles so far, traveling through eastern Ohio and Western PA, and a few miles into WV. According to the display, 55.1 MPG lifetime, 57.3 on this near empty tank, on par to beat the record for the last tank of 56.7. Anyway, my reason for posting, I wonder if I am the only one that looks for what I call "Pruis friendly routes." Instead of cruising down the freeways at 70 MPH, I find myself looking more for the two-lane routes that are more direct. Yes, you might say that I avoid them unless necessary. In the past I have always preferred taking a more direct route if possible, at the expense of gas mileage. But now, with that wonderful blue car outside, it is in my best interest to find and enjoy the more scenic two-laners. I can roll along at 45-55 MPH to further enjoy the Prius experience, while enjoying the mileage gains we can enjoy so much. If you haven't done it, try it. So watch the maps for Prius friendly routes, make the GPS do its job, and enjoy the ride.
Oh yeah. "Preachin' to the choir, here" I love it when I have lots of errands all over town, just so I can drive slower, gentler routes. And, yes, I take the by-ways all the time when I'm out of town, just to avoid having to go 70-75 on freeways. It's amazing how much more time I seem to have when I take the Prius. I honestly believe it's lowered my blood pressure a little.
I've been doing this as of late. My area has a fair amount of hills if I go a certain way so I try to venture around them if I can. Unfortunately, I have to go up at least one small hill no matter which direction I leave my house.
I switched a chunk of my commute from 30-35-(50-55)(Interstate) to 30-25-(45-50-55-45)(1-lane Hwy). + Reduce commute from around 23 to 21 miles + Avoids hill immediately after exiting my street + Avoids ramp up to interstate 0.9 miles into commute + Avoids 2.4 mile hill (<=55mph to stay in Eco) on interstate 1.5 miles into commute + Improved fuel economy Although - 5-10 minutes extra journey time - More undulation in the middle of the commute - More chance of having to maintain speed on hills in middle due to limited passing opportunities I'm very confident it's improved fuel economy, although I haven't tried switching back. I switched in late spring/early summer and I'll be interested to see how it does in winter. Another alternative for the return commute is to take the Interstate but then cross town. That's 35-25-35-25, with a good chunk of engine-off coasting. The Interstate's also downhill at that point so I'm not sure how much of an advantage the cross-town route would be, but I do think it's shorter. I have another once-a-week 40 mile trip where I switched a 9min 6.2 mile (45)-35-30 for a slightly slower but flatter 10min 6.8 mile (35/40)-25-30-35 that I think helped economy. Of course, 6.8/6.2 ~= 1.097 so I don't know how much fuel it saved, but keep to 40 and below means it doesn't have to spin the engine. Added to sub-PSL driving on a quiet road at night, even though it was raining I got the Prius' display up to 69.8 at the end after a total of 85 miles on the tank. Peaked at 69.9. I didn't quite get it to read 70.
Yes, I do. I have several hills that I go up and down but the grade is not too bad. I am also using less of the freeway and more of the back roads to go from Point A to Point B. As a matter of fact, I am planning my errands for this weekend to take me to the furthest point first thing in the morning and bring me back closer to home as I finish the day. I figure if I start early when the stores and market first open I should be well ahead of the game.
I look for and take the alternate routes whenever possible. Besides the increased mpg's it's more relaxing and you get to look around and see things you'd miss otherwise. Sure there are times when you just need to "get there" and the Prius will get up and fly quite well when you need it.
routes can play a huge difference in your overall mileage especially when talking multiple errands in the same local area. since i have days off in the middle of the week, i am the one who does the dr appts, shopping, etc. i always taylor my trips to get the short duration (run in, run out) trips last on the day. usually the car is fully warmed up and i wont be stopped long enough to cool off the car (keep in mind, in winter time can be as little as 5 minutes to cool the car enough to have to nearly start back from scratch). setting a route that also takes time of day, estimated traffic, traffic controls and known road construction (nearly all ours runs in the summer. right now, literally half the county is tore up right now) in to play can also help. so, ya. as far as planning "Prius friendly routes" u have plenty of company
