Wife and I got into a Prius III 2 weeks ago and already put down ~500 miles in it. So far so good and I'm really liking this car. Other than the driver seat needing more lumbar support for me, I don't really have anything to complain about. Maybe the EV mode going 30mph but at 25mph, I don't mind slowing down speedsters in my neighborhood. Anyways, first tank done and I calculated to about 48.5 mpg but 100 miles was on power mode. We'll see what the 2nd tank amounts too.
Congrats on your purchase. i just bought my Prius II (or well it was bought for me) on July 10, and i've racked up about 700mi. I find once you pass the initial break in point (600miles), your mileage will steady out and improve. And for some reason my mileage tends to be higher on the highway (i think because in city i accelerate very rapidly). My dash reads 62.2 mpg right now after about 80 miles of driving on the freeway (70mph)
Welcome, kazak. Forget about EV mode for the most part (since all the power comes from gasoline, you can decrease mpg by forcing more energy conversions using EV). Also, the car will shut the engine (ICE) down up to 45 mph on its own once it is warmed up whenever it does not need much power. Use ECO if you want the finer throttle control, but ECO, normal, and PWR all offer the same power in the final analysis, just spread differently across the range of the gas pedal. I use ECO essentially exclusively, while others prefer normal or PWR. MPG ultimately depends more on other factors. Learn to pulse & glide without holding up traffic. It is easy and other cars and even your passengers won't even know you are doing anything different if you use some discretion. See the Tao of HSI here: HSI Good luck and enjoy the car.
Just got back from dinner and ODO reads 470. MPG reads 48.6. I sure hope it does get a little better once we get to 600 miles. Both wife and I are still learning how to drive but I think she's got the pulse and glide down since that how she drove her old car. I on the other hand have a pretty steady foot. Once I'm on that speed, it's hard for me to let go. It's like my foot turns into stone because it stared at Medusa. I wonder if I can throw the thing in neutral when I go down the hill. Hmmmm.... I do with my Tacoma. For now, I just let go of the gas pedal going down any hill. OK so EV not necessary? Come to think of it, I do notice the ICE turning off anyway.
Not the best idea to put it in neutral going down a hill, there are threads regarding this, has to do with MG1 and MG2 and spinning speeds. I don't fully understand it...... If you use the HSI screen, when you go downhills, you can gently press the accelerator pedal to remove the chg bar and try to get no bars showing. This is "effectively" neutral. It isn't true neutral, because usually there is a little regeneration or a little battery power going to the wheels. The Gen II had a broader band from what I understand. I don't think the package III came with lumbar support in the seats, you needed to go to a IV or V for that.
Congrats and welcome to PriusChat! Well EV is good if you anticipate recharging via regenerative braking later (e.g. there's a university at the top of a hill near my place and whenever I'm up there, I would cruise around in EV Drive mode so that I can recapture more energy when I leave and head downhill back to the town). In the Gen 2 Prius, I would usually go from 2 bars to 8 bars halfway down the hill so the rest is "wasted"... if I started with the normal 6 bars, I would've been done near the top of the hill and have to use the brake pads for the rest of the hill.
Sounds like a steep or long hill. I'm starting to get how drive this car and I find it a challenge to raise my MPG average.
