I've had my car just over a year, and clocked over 21k miles. Since moving back to PA from WV, my average tank went from ~38MPG to ~45MPG. Not bad coming from two previous full size sedans, a Crown Victoria then Deville. My wife's XL-7 goes into the body shop for a week, she drives my car... comes out with a 52.6MPG, 500 mile tank! LOL There's just something not right about that.
I don't get how you can get 45mpg when I get 62-70mpg and I travel on more hills than you. I travel about 700miles a month and fuel ONLY once a month. My last fuel up was July 2nd (at 650miles now with 1.5 bars left).
I had the insane WV mountains, mostly highway driving at 70-75. I was used to V8 power and speed, so I still use a heavy foot. I just started telecommuting, so we'll see how it goes with just local driving. I don't know how you can get 70MPG, must be down hill both ways
i don't think any of us can really assess how others drive, but, short of mechanical problems, the driver has the biggest influence on mpg, followed by environment. but if you were getting 15-25 mpg before, what's wrong with 40-45? and if you want to improve, you can! the frustrating thing is getting 60-65 and trying to improve.
I am driving hills frequently and I onlu get about 45mpg. I drove a lexus before the prius and I have to admit that changing my driving style has been difficult. But I feel like I have done a fair job with the transition. How do you get 62-70mpg?
Yea well you HAVE to be slowing down traffic and annoying people getting that kind of numbers. It's almost impossible to get those numbers if you flow with traffic. Or your lieing look at fuelly.com most people get around 45-48mpg. It's normal for the car.
I ALWAYS drive speed limit (around 35mph) and ECO mode, NO EXCEPTION. I only turn on AC when I have to (and cycle it). I have driven over a month now on a SINGLE tank of gas (has 1 bar left now, 680miles total). Guess how much it costs me in fuel per month? $34 Guess how much it costs me in fuel per year? $300 Guess how much it costs me in expensive car repairs? $0 Guess how much my insurance premium is? Less than $100 (with only $150 deductibles!) All of these are because I drive slow. All that savings is going to a nice retirement fund.
i drive the speed limit and everyone hates me. well, not everyone, but most people. my wife loves me! i think...
I think I've driven my Prius enough now to have a good baseline for what it's capable of, at least here in the Appalachians, and in the warm season. Here's the bottom line: Yes, driver technique is key, especially conserving momentum by coasting up to lights, trying to avoid stops and starts, etc. I tried driving the car without much effort to monitor the display, and got around 53 mpg. Drive aware and get at least 56. Load has a huge effect. When I carry passengers it's very obviously taking more gas to move it all around. Estimate 2 MPG for each 200 lbs. Terrain has an enormous effect. Simply put, you will never be able to gain back all of the energy expended to gain elevation, due to Newton or somebody... It will be very interesting to see what happens when cold weather returns. Since buying the Prius in mid-April, I've averaged about 57 MPG display (54 MPG calculated) in mountainous terrain, which I think is great. When I've had extensive drives in the relative flat areas around here, I've seen the MPG hang around 60-70 MPG, so I know it's possible to achieve those numbers, driving relatively normally. I envy people who live in the flats, and wonder why they don't all get at least 60 MPG. The Prius is a stunning technological achievement.
