I would love an official ruling on that for a Prius. The planetary gear box is NEVER disconnected from the wheels, 'Neutral' in a Prius is just having no load on either motor. However, since there is no disconnect, there is no safety issue (as there might be with another car), Nor is there anyway that a police officer could know you are in neutral (as opposed to just gliding).
Possibly. I have not consciously made an effort to drive more intelligently. But it could be that the car itself is changing the way I drive. That said - it's an awful long jump from getting 51 to 52 MPG to 67 to 70 MPG. We'll see how this averages out in work week traffic.
First, a single tank is going to be hard to detect a consistent change. Second, if your car moves just as it did in Normal mode, your mileage might be a smidgen higher due to economized A/C, but will otherwise be the same. Third, if you drive just as you did before, you will going slower (since Eco adjusts the response to the accelerator, the same accelerator level, will result in lower speed). I can't think why you might be seeing higher highway and lower city. My guess would be that you are seeing variations in environment.
Nobody wants to drive shifting into N all the time. For a more sane experience just be smooth and consistent - get up to speed and stay there, avoid wasting energy using heavy braking, anticipate traffic ahead of you (lights, stop signs, etc) and try to keep your momentum. Happy prius-ing!
Same goes for you. Watch the video and listen carefully. Then re-read my post regarding neutral shifting. Jeez
My opinion based on my driving experience, not the video. Simply offering up my two cents to the masses.
I can respect that but know that the instructor in the video is a renowned hypermiler who is well respected by consumers and the automotive community. It is worth the time to watch the video if you care about driving for max mpg or if you simply want a few more tools in your toolbox. If you don't want to watch it that is fine but don't dissuade others from watching it by stating all you have to do is xyz. If you feel you can provide better advice and tutelage then please feel free to create an instructional post or video like Wayne and Bob did. I''m always eager to learn more as are many others on the forum.
Point taken. For sure it's not as simple as xyz, but hey it works for me. We happen to agree, by the way. I saw somewhere on here a video (short, thank goodness - horrible attention span) on some pulse and glide basics. It really helped me milk out a few more MPG without having to do too much work. For someone in their first hybrid like me that isn't good at actively pushing the tank as far is it might can go, it sure helped a lot. It's a great place to start and for me has been an easy way to learn how to drive a PC efficiently. As for ECO mode, i've been enabling it while on the highway when I don't necessarily need the extra power. I can't say that it's made a difference in efficiency, though. This is why my overall strategy is trying not to waste momentum.
Your advice is accurate and is all most people need to know to get good numbers. We do agree. Now you just need to get signed up on Fuelly so we can get more data points for the c. It's quite a remarkable car!
There is no extra power. Eco mode is not a low power mode. It is just that the accelerator response is changed so that power requires more pressure on the pedal. Floor it, and it acts just exactly like both Normal and Power modes. For those who didn't watch the entire video. The guy in it, got over 100 mpg in his training session.
Getting 100 on a single trip isn't difficult if you have the right conditions, though. His advice is sound, I'm curious what he'd get on a whole tank.
I would guess around 80mpg if he wanted to. People like him and Jason Holder can achieve 80-90mpg in Prius and HCH and InsightII over the course of a full tank. They can get even higher tanks if doing it for demonstration purposes. He's (team included) even wrung out a Ford Fusion hybrid to 81.5mpg (1,445 MILES)and a Ford F-150 EcoBoost truck to 32.2mpg over 2,467.8 miles! You may enjoy his review of the Prius c. CleanMPG Previews the 2012 Toyota Prius c - CleanMPG Forums
Wayne and compatriots got 1300 miles on a single tank a few years ago. Averaging around 113 If I recall correctly. The gentleman actually driving in the video got 91 on the challenge portion of that event (the $500 costco prize referred to in the video)
Dooohh!! So I'm finally doing good on ECO. This morning still doing well - this tank will finally take my Fuelly average over 50 MPG for sure. This afternoon can't get much over 44 MPG. Then my tire pressure warning light comes on. One tire is down to 17.5 lbs - when changed out - small piece of sheet metal in the treads. Car sounds funny driven with the compact spare... On the + side - I know how to change a flat on this car now. And just why is the jack under the driver's seat??? Edited to add: Tire is toast - went to a tire shop - can't be fixed. Went to dealer - still has a few months of "road hazard tire warranty". They're ordering the tire - 15" Goodyear - as they have none in stock.
I did watch the video and the reason some states make putting a car in neutral against the law is if something happens while in neutral some people would freak out and forget to reingage the drive not allowing them to accelerate to avoid an accident. Similar to Toyotas problems with accellerator pedals the real problem was people panicked and forgot what they were told.
