It's clear from my MPG chart (measured at the pump) that there's a direct correlation between MPG and temperature. But unlike others, I've decided to embrace the decline! I figure by Feb. 28 I should be getting negative 2 MPG. Bob 2010 Prius III
Hey .... think about the positive. On March 1st, you will start seeing an increase in fuel efficiency. Winter is tough on all vehicles: cold starts, heater use, pushing through snow, and do not forget winter blend of gasoline.
Good thread. People should start bragging about poor MPG. That should cut on numbers of new threads like "MPG lower than advertised" and "Toyota doesn't care." Let me state for the record that the lowest MPG I get is when drive for 1 mile: under 25MPG (sometimes as low as 17MPG when it's up hill).
Initially I got distressed seeing my MPG dropping, but then I put it into perspective. I'm still getting better gas mileage than I ever got with any of the other cars I've owned, even in the best of conditions. So no worries - as Felt said, it'll go up soon enough.
Temperature, length of trip, and no doubt tire PSI all control winter mpg. I'm still getting near 50 mpg despite cold temperatures and studded snow tires, but I don't commute with the Prius and generally drive 20 minutes or more when I take the car out of the garage (yes, the car starts at 50 degrees, regardless of outside temperature.
This thread, with a more descriptive title , should be a sticky. Here are two graphs posted by Tony Schaefer that show winter mileage reductions are inescapable realities.
Don't worry coach. I'm on the coast, and my current tank is 58.2mpg/302miles/42 average mph. If you ever get to pull the trigger on a Prius, you'll do OK during the winter...
Sure cold weather hits the fuel consumption. Here is a 1 year log of my fuel consumption (calculated at the pump). I also observed that the discrepancy between the displayed FC and calculated FC is higher when the temperature is cold. I will post the error graph later on. Note: car bought November 26th 2099.
