So I've read about "hypermilers" and "gliding, and coasting" techniques used to get the 50+ MPG from the regular Gen IIIs. I am not a patient person, when I want to go, I want to go NOW. I've heard that to get the most from your prius (plug in perhaps even more), you need to start slow, and coast at lower speeds to maximize your MPG. What happens if you are a "regular" driver, or if you are an impatient driver, is the prius still the car for you?
You are wrong on many ways. 50mpg is pretty easy to do with simple things such as pumping your tires up and braking slowly. I accelerate like a bat out of hell. But I coast (glide) once at speed. I also coast to red lights. I do not hold up traffic, and I drive with the flow. My display shows 50 to 51mpg most of the time. Slow acceleration is actually bad for the Prius fuel economy.
I just finished a 480 miles and did 50.1 mpg calculated. I drove normally. I may coast a little more before stop lights and when it is indicated that the speed limit is dropping.
The 3rd gen prius is rated by the EPA as 50mpg. So if you drive it exactly like their tests, then you'll get 50mpg. No hypermiling needed.
I am 54 and so have almost 40 years of 'bad' driving habits. In my 2009, I get 42 MPG in summer and Winter, 47 MPG in spring and fall, in the Mississippi delta, not all that far north of you. The 2010 might be 2 to 5 MPG better. I have never knowingly pulsed or glided. I do coast to stop signs/lights more than I used to, Other than that, same ole same ole. I went from 24 MPG in a Subaru Forester to 45 MPG with little change in driving style. By far the most important question in 'is the Prius for you' is the length of your commute, I tend to go 55 miles each way, 30,000 miles a year. The Prius is great for that. My wife goes 6 blocks to work, the car would never warm up.
Let me try to explain my question a bit more... As a somewhat "impulsive" "I want it now" type person.. will I be frustrated driving the Prius? I currently drive a V6 Nissan Frontier..
It has been shown here many times that the Prius is not for everyone. Whether it is the car for you and your family, only you can say. I would advise caution. "Impulsive" types seem to always looking for the "perfect car," and there is always something coming down the pike that sounds like it will have features that are better than the numerous little complaints and imperfections that will inevitably crop up. If you buy the Prius to get 40-45 MPGs, you can probably get that without any change in your driving style. If you buy anticipating $$ saved by getting 50-55 MPGs, you may very well have to change your driving style and work at it too. Would you be happy? (Many of us have found that going after the very best MPGs daily is a pleasant, even addictive activity that we look forward to every day.) If you buy for the bells and whistles in the III, IV, and V models, you'll have a lot of fun, at least at first. Will it last? Only you can say. (Note: many people find the Prius Nav to be less than cutting edge.) And lastly, can you find and maintain a positive, bubbly demenor that allows you to turn aside with humor and bon amie the self-serving, bone-headed comments of the misinformed, stupid, or just plain ugly folks that you will encounter on any day, time after time. The Prius is not a truck, although it can haul a surprising amount. The Prius is not a luxury car, although former and present Lexus and BMW owners like theirs. The Prius is not a sports car, even though ~$400 will buy a chassis brace and front tower brace that will stiffen things up a lot. The Prius will not save the world, the trees, or even Willy, no matter how you choose to drive it. The Prius is an ultra-reliable, low emisssions and mileage leader with many leading-edge safety and convenience features that can be the right car for you and your family now. It can honestly carry four adults in relative comfort, although on long trips luggage may be a challenge. It can provide you with a beginning understanding of the cars of your and your children's future. Is that what you want? :noidea: You guessed it... You're the only one who knows. Look within. The unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates
If you accelerate on electric only (which I see a lot of Prius people doing) you are wasting a lot of battery for a job that suits the ICE best. Really, if you accelerate from 0 to something around 4-8mph, then punch the gas (without flooring it) you are getting the most bang for your buck. Remember where all that electricity comes from. Only exception is in the mountains. I forcibly use all my battery and no gas to get from my house to the entrance onto the pass. Then it is all electric regen from there down. However on the way up, I punch it around 43 to keep the engine on and sustain the batteries. If you are interested in the general technique, research "pulse and glide". It is a favourite for hypermillers.
Teesal is one of the folks on this forum that advocates using the power mode, accelerating quickly (likely faster than most people accelerate in their conventional cars) and then getting off the gas once reaching speed. He still averages well into the 50's. Your commute will make a big difference in your MPGs, perhaps moreso than your driving style. The car spends the first 4 - 5 minutes warming up to get to the optimal engine temperature/MPG's. Mileage suffers because of this. After the first 5 minutes (or so) then the MPG's improve. But ALL cars are like this, so your fuel mileage increase will be relative to what you got before with your previous vehicle.
Me too, esp. since this post is currently in the PHV subarea. Is the OP wanting what's available now or wanting a PHV which isn't available for sale, yet?
I'm doing all my research based on the premise of getting a PHV. But I would imagine to get the same or better MPG with the PHV, you will still need to "drive a certain way"? Let's put it this way... am I going to have to go slower, and have more patience with the PHV to get the best MPG from it?
I have been trying to do that.. I'm on a waiting list from all the rental car companies- for several months now-, and no Toyota Dealer near me will rent the Prius.
What do you 'need' in fast? The Prius electric motors have maximum torque at 0 RPM, so it comes off the line quickly. It never shifts so there is never that lurch you may expect that reminds you you are going fast once moving. I 'frequently' get to 90 MPH passing multiple farm equipment on the two lane. My 2009 engine sounds like a sewing machine when floored, not very macho, but quite mechanical. Too bad I am headed to NC, not LA, this week, you could drive mine. If I may, you seem to be worried that you would have to change your driving style to get maximum mileage. We can only reassure you that if you don't change your driving style, you will still get good mileage, and to improve that, you need only change how you stop, not how you go. If you 'only' got 45 MPG, (like me) how much better would that be than currently?
I would LOVE to drive yours, thanks so much for the "offer" Well considering I currently get about 12 no kidding.. 12 MPG... 45 would be an improvement to say the least...
I was in Biloxi last month (Got as close as Hammond) and in Brookhaven last week, but this week I am headed east.
Coach, Have you considered purchasing a 2008 or 2009 Prius and having an after market battery pack put in? Some of these packs will go approximately 25 miles before the charge runs out. TheForce on this site has a Hymotion kit in his car and has attained a high of ~ 300 mpg with his. Food for thought.
