It distracts me too much and I can't seem to get better than 45 mpg no matter how I drive (regular mode mostly highway). Anyone else turned it off permanently?
Yes, in Settings mode and not in motion you will see a selection that will let you turn off the right side MFD display.
It is the live feedback that helps make the Prius different. Prius teaches you how to drive (hyperklicking) and optimize fuel efficiency.
Coming from a Civic Hybrid, IMHO one thing Honda did better was dashboard ergonomics: I don't much care for getting info from a little computer screen, situated about 20~30 degrees away from straight ahead. Borders on dangerous in night driving. Maybe someday those two companies will hook up: apply the best of both?
IMHO, I think the entire binnacle cluster should be located directly above the steering wheel and not in the center of the dash. I sometimes feel I'm going cross-eyed watching the road and glancing at it where it is.
Not meaning to be rude or anything close to that.......but I believe your spending tooooooo much time looking at the display screen....drive the car as you like.....!!!!!!!!
LOL! But I like keeping tabs on the HSI so I keep in the ECO range as much as possible. It would sure be nice to glance down rather than over. It's just not a natural feel to me.
Driving at highway speeds I get around 5.2-5.5L/100km (42-45mpg). For example my last long highway trip was 700km, 106km/h avg, trunk full, no passengers, 16" winter tires and got 5.5L/100km - add 6% MFD error and you land at 5.83L/100km or 40mpg. What I mean, is that at highway speeds when the ICE is always on, the only real factor that you can leverage for lower fuel consumption is slower average speeds - like all cars, the wind resistance and wheel rolling resistance determine most of the fuel consumption. The HSD and the electric motor almost cannot help in this type of driving beyond a certain speed. This is where good inflated tires and the excellent aerodynamics of the car, as well as the Atkison Cycle lower rpm and higher power/torque of the new 1.8L engine of the Prius play a *major* role. I thought of turning off the MFD as well when driving in town, but it turns back on when you turn on again the car. Being in the EU I am lucky to have a Prius with headup display - and this is where I look the most for the HSI bar, to keep my accelerations at bay. I keep the MFD to 1-min consumption to see my fuel avg to understand how I am driving. Typically if I am nervous or "late" I tend to have an higher mpg. When on the highway I tend to keep 5min fuel consumption or the Energy flow (mainly for fun). The HSI is almost useless for me. It is a pity that the battery status is not available in the head up or the Fuel Consumption history, because I use it for battery usage strategy (when I know how the road looks like on my trip).
