OK, so I bought a 2010 and after reading all the tips here I have been driving about 5,000 miles using all the reasonable techniques I could find. Feeling pretty good about the fuel economy- computer says 58.7 average, measured 55.1 by hand calcs. But a couple hundred miles or so ago I had to get somewhere fast and just hammered the car to get there. As a test to make myself feel good about the benefits I must by adding by using anticipatory driving methods etc I reset the trip mpg and prepared to ring up a big drop. Funny thing is its been holding at 57 or so even though I continue to flog the car. Not sure how to take that- as a big let down that my skilled driving really isn't, or good news that I can quit worrying about mileage and just drive without much of a drop off. Being an optimist I think I'm just happy I can flog away without penalty. Does make me wonder what the heck the people who report 45 mpg are doing
I'm one of those 45 mpg guys. Wish I knew how you get over 50. Sounds like similar driving techniques but then "mileage may vary"-- lots of variables I guess.
What the heck are you asking "what the heck" when you don't know anything about mpg? Please be polite. Mpg depends a lot on traffic situations such as how many red lights, is it busy or light traffic, air temperature, wind direction and speed, road surface conditions, are there a lot of uphill/downhill slopes, speed limits, what's the distance of the trip, etc, etc. You can't belittle other people's 45 mpg because you average 57 without trying. Good for you, but if you drive in those people's area, you might get less than 40 mpg. You've got to compare apples with apples.
Two major drivers on MPG in auto transmission cars are pumping the throttle and using brakes. Some people drive a long getting on and off the throttle every couple of seconds like they were pumping a kiddie car with their foot (I'm not talking about hypermiling). Many other drivers drive right up where they are going to stop and then brake hard. Either or boith of those poor driving techniques wastes a lot of fuel. Then there are competent drivers that get poor mileage because of their difficult driving conditions. Short trips, killer traffic, etc.
The single biggest factor is driving distance. If you only go 3 or 4 miles at a time, you'll get bad mileage and there's very little that that good driving techniques can do to pick it up. After that it's staying at moderate speeds, proper (or slightly over) tire inflation and gentle decelerations. After that it's getting into hypermiling techniques.
Same here. I think the Prius responds to a good driver and the ECU doesn't change with an occasional change of pace. (My opinion)
