How does everyone Average 50 MPG

It would be neat if it was possible to hit a "tutor" mode with the Prius. That screen that gives all the messages could give you tips on how to achieve better mileage. E.g. "your braking is fairly aggressive; if you go lighter in braking you could achieve a substantial increase in MPG" or "You use AC a lot even when it's not very warm outside. Don't use it on cooler days and you'll get a minor increase in MPG" "You accelerate like mad," etc.

 

You must be joking. The only way a Gen 3 Prius will get 90 mpg is if you're sitting at about 20-30 mph constant speed and every light you ever hit is green. And even then probably not because anybody who's around you has probably already done a drive by because you're driving so irritatingly. Hitting 60 real mpg (e.g. 62-63 on the computer) is possible only in optimal conditions and/or you're driving as if your life literally depended upon minimizing gas use and probably driving anybody behind you up the wall.

Some of the numbers people here get are achieved through benefit of their terrain and being very diligent about how they drive; the average joe is likely to get the EPA advertised numbers give or take a few mpg.

 

Synthetic oil gave me a small boost too. I hope you use Synthetic oil as it came with it from the factory.

 

I doubt synthetic vs non makes a difference anybody could measure meaningfully. You should use it as it's factory, fill, however, but if the lubrication of non-syn is so bad that it's markedly decreasing mileage the wear on your cylinder heads must be through the roof, which it's not.

Every link I have found on the net says it gets better mileage but nobody has quantified it, so...it may be like saying sleeping 15 extra seconds/night is better for you, but without numbers what does it matter? At least from a gas mileage perspective.

 

The EPA should under report hybrids. Look at the stats from various car magazines. The Prius is almost all the time under the EPA.

Regular gasoline or diesel powered vehicles are almost always at the city EPA level when the major car mags review those vehicles.

Alfon

 

NO, I was not joking, with my car warmed well up after returning from Reno to Sacto, I decided to tank up. Upon returning to I 80 at Auburn, I started down the hill again, with a 1000-2000 foot drop, (guess) After starting down I noticed that the AMG read 90 mpg, After about 20 more miles I pulled into my garage with a 68mpg reading. This was very close to optimum conditions, After this tank was consumed the AMG read 50 mpg. ( two weeks later ). 90 mpg for a entire trip, never. :cheer2:

 

I currently have about 300 miles on my new Prius and the gas guage is at 1/2. The avg mpg currently reads 49.1 but was as high as 49.3 earlier in the day. I have an almost equal amount of city/hwy driving on my daily 26 mile (each way) work commute. The avg seems to creep up about 1 mpg a day. I have noticed that babying the throttle off a stop light keeps the instant mpg low. I don't know it this is right or wrong but off a stop, I hold the throttle right at the line where the ECO indicator would go out and when I reach near my cruising speed, I back off the throttle as much as I can to get the instant mpg as high as I can without the speed dropping. Sometimes it switches to all electric power. I can tell because the graph maxes out the mpg but the line-graph still shows energy being used. The use of the electric motor may theoretically hurt mpgs but compared to my old pickup truck, I can't complain about almost 50 mpg in the Prius. Also, the climate control is always set to 76 degrees. I'm not willing to be uncomfortable for 1 or 2 more mpgs. I had no a/c in my old pickup so its time now to make up for all those sweaty drives home.

 

I've got a loaner right now, had a full tank when I picked it up, so I reset the Trip A to see how many miles I actually put on it. Right now it's sitting right at 100 miles and showing 52.7 mpg. I've been driving it as I would any other car, no pulse & glide, or conservative starts (Not dogging it or racing either). I have been playing with the power mode more on this one just to see how it acts on my daily commute (ICE kicks in way more often and much sooner than in normal or eco). All of this mileage has been on surface streets in stop and go traffic with the A/C on...

I normally try to get the best gas mileage I can, and have been averaging about 56-57 mpg on this same commute with mine.

 

Sounds like you are doing fine, and will get better!

 

My Gen III gets the worst mileage of all of my previous Priuses. Same driver. Same terrain. Same commute. Only difference is the car. I struggle to average 45MPG. I can only flirt with 50 in the summer when mileage has typically gone up in years past. 45 MPG avg was my expectation for my old Priuses in the winter. I am very disappointed with the Gen III on so many levels. I feel as though they lost site of the purpose of the car as they continue to make them longer and add useless features. Did each generation NEED to be bigger?

 

I don't want to dismiss what you are going through but this car IS superior to previous generations. On a macro level it is:

Larger (important to most people, including me; its classification as a mid-size was a key point in purchasing it)
More powerful
Gets better mileage (your experience notwithstanding)

In all the key areas the vehicle is better.

 

The car magazines almost all test sporty or enthusiast cars. If you drive a Prius enthusiastically, you brake hard at the very last second, losing all regen. Long, slow braking can make a huge difference in MPG.

Car and Driver freely admits to this "Until fuel returns to $4 per gallon, you’ll remain in power mode with B (max engine braking) for 90 percent of your Prius occupancy." "In short, we drove as we always do, trying to eke out some fun, and our observed fuel-economy figures reflect that." 2010 Honda Insight vs. 2010 Toyota Prius, 1998 Chevy Metro - Comparison Tests

B mode is designed to waste energy, so they are shooting for the lowest figure possible. They got 42 MPG. This corectly reflects their target demographic of 16 year old boys.

Road and Track's Dennis Simanaitis reports " And in a 34-mile jaunt down to Napa, around its neighborhoods and back, I saw 69.8 mpg with only a bit of finesse: I used EV mode through school zones (where there's a 25-mph limit anyway) and invoked a lot of gasoline-engine shutdown along 35-mph stretches of wine country. And, in full disclosure, other more hypermiling colleagues got 75 mpg along the same route. (I passed a pair of them.)" View the latest first drive review of the 2010 Toyota Prius. Find pictures and comprehensive information about Toyota cars at RoadandTrack.com

Road and Track beats the EPA over all and beats it in every single leg except "canyon carving' in this test intended to show off MPG. Hybrid: Reality - Article - RoadandTrack.com

Again, I am betting canyon carving involves last second panic braking using the friction brakes, not regen.

 

key areas are a matter of personal preference. I could not care less about 'more powerful,' and larger is definitely not better in my book.

My diet may have something to do with the latter ;-)

 

They are a personal preference but most people like larger and more powerful and cheaper to own.

 

I see driver's that like to hammer the throttle from a stop / get up to speed quickly. Doing that habitually will lower your FE significantly. Quick acceleration or driving hard up steep hills makes gas go whoosh.

Did you know a top fuel dragster burns up about 15 gallons of nitro-methane fuel during a 1/4 mile run to 330 MPH in 4.5 seconds?

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I run 40 psi front tires / 38 rear. Bit harsher ride, not bad
Fairly easy acceleration but I look in rear mirror and drive so as to not PO driver's behind.
I drive solo much of the time, no extra junk in car
measured 50.3 MPG for 8.5k miles in 2009 Prius

I've seen well over 50 MPG's at the pump every time renting the 2010.

 

The Gen3 Prius is only 0.6" longer, 0.8" wider, same height and weighs only 110 lbs more than the Gen2.

Gen3 has 24 more HP, offers more front seating room, and wider cargo area.

I have seen ~ 48 MPG going up Bay Area mountains, then up to 53 MPG coming back down in city, and 53 MPG at the pump.

Gen3 Prius III feels more secure at higher speeds on curvy roads and more solid than base model Gen2.

Gen3's controls and shifter are better placed than Gen2 whose shifter is not too difficult to knock out of gear.

Gen3 Prius is better looking overall, MUCH better front seats, esp. driver's seat, more power, easier to use climate controls, better fuel economy, more cargo space, more driving information, better ride quality, better JBL sound system, available ATP and safety connect ....

not that the Gen2 is a bad car if one happens to fit and feel comfortable in it.

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I have looked at 4 door hatchbacks (not including crossovers) until blue in the face lately. There is no better all-around 4 door hatchback than the 2010 Prius IMO.

But, there are hotter, less practical ones like a Mazda3 hatch, GTI, Impreza, ..

2010 Insight is kinda sad .. not ever recommended by CR.
.
.

 

I'm frankly surprised more people aren't buying them with the pretty good capacity it offers at the cost and the superb mileage.

 

I guess it could happen to get a unit that just doesn't meet the EPA with tires inflated. Seems like driving habits affect FE though.

If I made the upgrade, I'd buy from Toyota Sunnyvale for their 3 day/250 miles no hassle return policy. If the new Prius didn't do a little over 50 MPG's for me, say only 45 mpg's or less, I'd return it. Every rental has returned over 50 mpgs.

 

I guess some are turned off to Toyota's recalls. Consumer Reports has like 8 models not recommended now due to the gas pedal recall / sticking issue.

Terrible economy (CA's unemp. went up in August), weak job market, fear all hurting sales.

Some may simply be waiting for the 2nd year model, 2011, to avoid apparent 1st year blues. Maybe.

When the smoke clears, the new Prius is poised to takeover. Better than the old one which sold in huge numbers.

 

Little off topic, but would little faux pas hurt Prius sales? -

I have measured with yardstick and level ... the driver's door armrest is 1 inch lower than center console. sat in the 2010 so many times, it is very noticeable in a bad way. IOW, it feels wrong. Not many cars have a 'too low' door armrest. Fixable with a 1" slab of neoprene.

I still like the car and would trade mine for V, but not for $12k more out of pocket, no way.