Prius v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon...) Wagon (only) MPG - Please Post Your Results

Wow, we only get 40 ave mi/gal. Want to know how people get these stats in the v. I live in the city and have alot of stop and gos... should I try EV mode instead of ECO?

 

Interesting finding today. Until today I was getting 50.6mpg, with most driving being my daily commute of 17 miles each, of stop and go.

Today I had to make a 2-hour drive (each way) for business on the freeway and was doing 75 most of the way. The Trip meter told me I got 40.4 mpg, and my overall mpg dropped to 49.0.

So maybe you folks that are getting lower mpg are doing a lot of jackrabbit starts and freeway speeding??

 

I am consistently getting 44.38 mpg on way too commute and 47 mpg on way back. Commute is 12.4 miles at 65 mph (limit 62.14 mph) and 3.11 miles at 46.6 mph (limit 43.5 mph). There are some moderate inclines on route in 3 to 4 different areas. Also when starting from stop end of accelerating quicker(jack rabbit start) to avoid horn honk from behind and bumper riding I accelerate to try and spend as little time as possible in the orange zone while bring the V up to speed of traffic flow. I travel according to post speed limit within 2 to 3 mph weather condition permitting.

 

Have you had a chance to watch Bob's video of how to most efficiently drive a Prius? It's for a Gen3 but all the concepts are the same in a v.

 

This is only my third tank so I don't have a lot of history yet, but I think my commute to work is an ideal route for the Prius. I drive approx 50 miles each way, first 12 minutes 40mph back roads with minimal stops. The rest is highway, but fairly congested so lots of chances to enter EV mode. Overall, my average speed is somewhere around 45 mph when all is said and done. It results in this:


I've got to say, it's not as easy to get great mileage in the V compared to my Gen II. My Gen II is was nothing to get 56 or 57 mpg. I'm assuming with the computer diff, I'm getting around 55mpg. That's another thing, my Gen II's computer was a lot more accurate than this one is. Kind of bummed about that.

 

Ended up with 560 miles on the tank. Ended up doing a whole bunch of <10 minute trips over the weekend. Going into the weekend, I was at 59.2 on the computer, but at the end I was at 57.4. Filled up at the same gas station, same gas pump. Calculated mpg was 53.1. I'm going to inflate the tires a little over standard now and see if that makes much difference.

With my 2008 I was getting 56~57mpg...but I'm fine with a little bit less mpg's in trade for the room and sturdier feel.

 

Very good numbers for the v!

I would definitely recommend inflating the tires more. You can safely fill to their max sidewall pressure.

 

Best mileage so far on 7 th fill up. 47.36 mpg / 4.969 L/100km. Trip computer had 4.7L/100 km. Overall computer average has improved from 44 mpg/5.3L/100km to 47 mpg/ 5.0L/100km on 4186 KM.

 

I am very happy with how much I am saving even with my Jack Rabbit starts. Approximate month of savings of $296.24 on fuel alone.


11.8 avg L/100km old car
Date Odometer Distance km Litres price Old Car L Savings/fill Accum Savings
24-Jul-12 149 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
28-Jul-12 649 500 27.566 1.089 59.000 $34.23 $34.23
2-Aug-12 1291 642 33.974 1.089 75.756 $45.50 $79.73
7-Aug-12 1624 333 17.308 1.089 39.294 $23.94 $103.67
11-Aug-12 2142 518 26.865 1.149 61.124 $39.36 $143.03
16-Aug-12 2855 713 37.336 1.149 84.134 $53.77 $196.80
22-Aug-12 3525 670 35.306 1.149 79.060 $50.27 $247.07
28-Aug-12 4186 661 32.846 1.089 77.998 $49.17 $296.24

 

Have the Prius v Three... Realtor - get in and drive - Houston Texas area, fairly flat.. same tires it came with..at 27k and averaging 45.6 ... this includes two trips to Alabama and lots of highway driving as well as city driving.. I do not speed..may go a couple over the speed limit, but I do not crawl..i basically go as fast as I can to get from A to B with out having breaking the speed limits. This is a great car for comfort and mileage for the comfort, but has some short comings in windshield wiper performance, and a stinky smell from the AC when first turned on.

 

I once did 143 kms and paid $6.04 at the pump with the litre going at $1.159

 

My taxi has only 3000 clicks on it so far. I've started averaging 60 mpg, for some of you that might be excellent but I'm pushing more. For those who want to get better mileage, be very patient & be very humble. You will do just fine.

 

3400km now on my prius v luxury package(16" wheels). My commute is 110km round trip 5 days a week, average speed of 85km/h, 90% highway, only 2 traffic lights to get out of the city and onto the highway. Weekends is more 50/50 hwy/city driving.
Last couple tanks i drove the speed limit and took it easy trying to get the best economy, at the same time trying not to be a road block in traffic. 4.8-5.0 L/100km was my indicated FE in those conditions.
current tank which is half empty i'm driving like i did in my old car. driving 10 over the speed limit all the time and racing off traffic lights, etc. even got the tires chirping once or twice.
This tank so far is averaging 5.3. I believe the steady high speed driving is having the worst impact on my FE. 120kmh highway driving 5 days a week 35 mins each day.
Still, very impressed! My old Honda Fit would do 7.5 in those conditions and maybe 6 if i took it easy.

 

close to 3000km now and the computer reads 4.2 L/100km (56 MPG)
awesome

 

I have a heavy right foot, usually accelerate a little faster than the rest of traffic, once up to speed I just make sure I'm not the fastest guy on the road so the 'other guy' will attract attention before I do though usually pushing a few mph over the speed limit. Just to see how the V will do I ride with all the avg/instant mpg gauges off, never bother using the the EV/ECO buttons, AC blasting in the Georgia heat, and just drive how I want. Still averaging around 43 mpg - actual calculated. That's pretty fantastic to me.

 

It would be interesting to compare numbers posted by Prius v owners who were owners of Gen II and Gen III to those for whom the v is their first Prius. My interest lies in the fact that I was rear ended in my 2004 last night and I don't know if they will be able to fix it or will total it since the KBB private is ~$7,500. The damage is bumper and below (thankfully hit by a car, not a truck or SUV which would have smashed the rear end and probably the glass). But the hatch and passenger side rear door do not open even though they show no damage. She rammed the right rear and it shoved the wheel well onto the tire. That has to mean at least some rear floor crunching.

Hopefully they can fix it but if not I have to buy a new car. I have great distain for the Gen III lack of ergonomics, the stupid arch, etc. I would be very hard pressed to suck it up and get a Gen III. At least the v put the shifter back on the dash where it belongs and got rid of the arch but the controls that were on the MFD on the Gen II that are now 'manual' bite. Anyway, I know the newbies are all excited about getting 40-45 summer MPG but frankly, that sucks compared to my 49+ MPG 131K lifetime and summer numbers that are never below 57 and frequently at or over 60 MPG. So I'm wondering if the people who learned to drive the Gen IIs efficiently and now have a v are doing substantially better than EPA and those just starting their Prius experience.

If those "in the know" aren't pulling in better than EPA numbers my other option is to hunt a Gen II in good shape but you never know how someone treated a used car.

Bruce

 

Bruceha_2000 (Bruce) – Run, do not walk, to your local Prius Purveyor, and saddle up a Prius v “V”onder “V’agon.

I came from a GEN II ’07 that delivered 53-55 MPG to me during Florida’s summer with me running the HVAC Air Conditioning full-time at a 75°F Set Temp/Medium Blower Fan Speed during the months of June-July-August-September. This was my first summer piloting my 2012 Pv5ATP Petrol Warfighter, which I am running using the same “Keep Her Nibs Cool” 75°F Set Temp/Medium Blower Fan Speed settings.

I run with Up-Pressured tires and drive “Hybrid $mart” in an “Around Town” (80% CITY/20% HIGHWAY) profile running in the ECO Mode 99.9% of the time, and using the EV Mode accelerating from red lights starts to the 25 MPH EV Mode drop-out speed.

During the mild, NO HVAC REQUIRED Springtime months, I was regularly logging 55-56 MPG Per Tank-Fulls. During my nine-months of ownership of the “vee” Fuel Miser, I have never posted a Per Tank-Full MPG Fuel Economy number that broke below the “Magic” 50.0 MPG Per Tank-Full, with the exception of when I am running 100% at Over-The-Road, Interstate Max Legal Posted Speed Limits (70± MPH) on Family Vacation and Recreational Trips. On these trips the 1.8-Liter I4 ZVW30 (2ZR-FXE "Atkinson-Cycle") is running nearly 100% of the time.

Based upon data from these multiple Interstate Trip Data Points over multiple multiple-hundreds-of-miles of recreational, leisure family trips, the Prius v delivered 47± MPG.

Considering the Coefficient of Drag, Cd = 0.29 for a Prius v, it delivered about 3%-4% less MPG Fuel Economy than is delivered by a 2932 lbs, Coefficient of Drag, Cd = 0.26 Prius GEN II/2G running at the same Interstate Highway travel speeds. When compared to the 3,042 lbs, Coefficient of Drag, Cd = 0.25 GEN III/3G, whose 1.8-Liter I4 2ZR-FXE “Atkinson” engine and Hybrid Synergy Drive innards are identical to the “vee” (except for the vee’s “thirstier” final drive axle-ratio), the Prius v delivers about 7%-8% less in MPG Fuel Economy than does the GEN III/3G.

As a rule of thumb, expect that if you drove a Prius v, you would get nominally 3-ish less MPGs Per Tank as compared to what you logged with your now prematurely dead GEN II.

 

Thanks for the input, it is quite helpful. Your location isn't specified but I'm guessing not the "cold frozen north" so now I need some input from "wow, warm today, above 0F" owners
I do not KNOW that it is "now prematurely dead", just trying to figure out my "will cost at LEAST $20K (new with insurance if they total it) I didn't need to spend since the car is maybe half way through its life and has never given me any trouble" options if it is. Still have my fingers crossed.

Given a perfect world, I'd be choosing to buy an EV on MY schedule, but they aren't quite there yet. The Leaf is the most likely currently available but until they put a "real sized charger" in it, it is a no go. I have no intention of paying $2000 (probably more given the house) for an electrician to hard wire a "charging station" that basically does nothing that the car isn't already doing. I can deal with 8 hours overnight charging but 16 isn't going to cut it. And then there is the issue of the reported battery capacity dropping. Not sure yet if that is only "summer in hot places" or affects all the cars. If the 100 mile range is generally "80 real world" and drops to 60 or 70 after < 1 year, it is also a no go.

Too bad I don't have $100K for a Tesla Model S with 300 mile range. Of course, I think the closest dealer is in NYC which is also problematic. And I don't need a sports sedan, give me the "Prius equivalent" (with minimally Gen II ergonomics) level. But being a small company, they aren't going to make money in the "lower middle" level cars so I'm out of luck there as well.

 

Bruceha_2000 (Bruce) – As regards my GEOPOSIT, I live on the “Hybrid Friendly” Space Coast of Florida. The key bit of important MPG-FE information I shared with you is, “…if you drove a Prius v, you would get nominally 3-ish less MPGs Per Tank as compared to what you logged with your…GEN II.”

Plot the fuel economy records for your 2004 2G against the Late Fall-Winter-Early Spring months of last year, then overlay a “Minus 3± MPG Delta On It,” and there, on the whole and by enlarge, will be where you can expect to be tracking with the “Wintertime Fuel Economy” with you driving a 2012 0r 2013 “vee.”

The running fuel consumption experienced by having the 1.5-Liter Atkinson Cycle I4 Turnin’ & Burnin’ & $lurpin’ motor fuel in the P2G, because of “Warm-Up & Cold Climate Operation” caused by the Vermont cold, wintertime weather, parallels the consumption of the of the 1.8-Liter Atkinson Cycle I4 in the P3G or Pv2/3/5 running in the same cold Outside Air Temperature environment. It will be do the same thing --- but minus the “3-ish MPG Delta To Fuel Economy” comparing the Prius “vee” to the GEN II.

With Respect To EVs: As for a personal vehicle that is 100% Battery-Powered, Electric Vehicle (EV), I view EVs as a novelty, niche form of personal vehicular transportation, more than a long-term general solution. Per Google-Search: Currently, 71% of electricity across the USA is generated from fossil fuel (coal, gas, oil) with 29% from Renewables-Other. Therefore, a 100% EV or Prius PIH on Part-Time EV are doing “EcoGreen Three-Card-Monty” when they claim Ultra-High Miles-Per-Gallon-Of-Fossil-Fuel.

With you, there in Vermont, it is likely the Fossil Fuel Percentage is even a higher, probably up into the 90-ish percentage range, because you have no substantive and large electrical generation contributions from Hydro, Geo-Thermal, Solar, Wind, Tide, Nuclear or Other Renewable Sources.

IMHO, EV shall remain a novelty and niche mode of personal transportation until an EV-Battery or Alt-Fuel/Hydrogen-Fueled car can deliver and sustain Over-The-Road, Long-Haul travel at Interstate highway speeds with short-few-minute “Refueling/Pit Stops/Comfort Stops” required to refuel along the way. An EV is a great CITY “Extended–Range, Pseudo–Golf Cart” with a limited application. It has more value to battling Liberal-vs-Conservative politicians than to a private citizen who can only afford to own a single personal vehicle to commute “Less Than 100-Miles” or to drive to Aunt Martha’s or Grandma’s house a couple of States away for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas Dinner or a family vacation trip to Disney World.

Back a few years ago, I recognized a paradigm shift in personal energy use when gasoline was still selling for well under $1.499 per gallon (i.e. I saw “IT” coming). At that point, I opted to purchase a GEN II Prius Hybrid well ahead of the Skyrocketing Price Of Oil spurred demand for Prius Hybrid cars. I transformed my Porsche-honed throttle foot into a feather-light, “Hybrid $mart” one, and altered the driving and fuel consumption behaviors and techniques under which I operate my personal vehicle. I was successful in reinventing “Need For Speed, Euber Auto-Bahn-Eater,” me, into “Petrol Samurai Warrior & Hybrid Pseudo-Hypermiling / EcoDriving Zen Master,” Watakushisan.

I now drive a Prius because it is a petrol-fuel powered car that delivers the highest MPG and longest driving distance out of every drop of gasoline it consumes with its “technically elegant” Hybrid Synergy Drive. My “Performance Driving” is now all about achieving “$tellar MPG Performance,” not making sure everyone sees my taillights and personalized license plate disappearing on the horizon.

I choose to drive a Prius v Station Wagon/Cross-Over, out of the other Prius Hatchback Sedan, Prius c Sub-Compact, and Prius Plug In Hybrid Family Member vehicles, because Prius did it right and hit the $weet $pot with the Prius v. I call the “vee” a “Caddy In A Kimono,” because it is “Takusan ‘V’underbar.”

The "v" in Prius v…is for more "v"ersatility…but also…"v"ery good driver road perspective "v"iew "v"isibility, "v"ery good fuel economy, and "v"oluminous interior space. I have both a car aficionado'sand engineer’s critical-eye for cars, and their associated “Techno Bells, Whistles & Spinning Red Wheels.” I am loving the designed-in-perfection I found in this new 2012 Prius v Fuel-Sipping Family “Limo & Stuff-Hauler.”

BOTTOM-LINE: Toyota created a fuel-sipping Grand Prii Winner in the Euber-Prius v.

 

I am very sorry to hear of the damage to your Gen II. I had one trip to the body shop with my Gen II and three, so far, with the Gen III. I can't offer the fuel economy perspective you've requested, but I'm responding to your following comments:

I saw the pictures of the Gen III and was in Detroit for the unveiling. I was thrilled with the new look of the Gen III, until I saw the interior "cockpit" Toyota created. I am very sympathetic to your response. I did not like the bridge. I thought it was pandering to a group of people who otherwise wouldn't be interested in a hybrid. Maybe it worked that way, maybe it didn't. I have to tell you, though, I've gotten accustomed to it (though I still don't like it), and I've found there are many other things about the Gen III which make it more comfortable, more useful and just as fuel efficient as (or better than) the earlier generation. Even so, when I saw the redesign as presented in the Prius v, I was thrilled.

All of this to say: Please do not simply dismiss the Gen III. The seats are more comfortable, the ride is more sure-handling, there is more internal space (except for a couple of inches for the rear-seat passengers). I like the display information better, because even though it loses some of the size and color, the information is more useful and is higher up and easier to view -- plus, you can move screens without taking your hands off of the wheel. For those of us in northern climes, I think it performs better in the winter, as there is a quicker warmup time (and the heater works better for improved cabin comfort). On a more practical note, you'll have many, many more Gen IIIs to choose from in the used car market.

There is no need to start a discussion on this point, as there are plenty of old threads which have compared Gen II to Gen III. No doubt, you've considered many of these things before. I'm not going to convince you of anything, but it may be that you'll look at it differently now that a few years have passed.

In any event, I hope you find you can have your car repaired and are able to keep it running well for years to come. If your insurance company totals the car, and you are looking to get a replacement, I would guess the Prius v will make you happy in many ways, except for fuel economy. It appears to produce as advertized, but it is much less fuel efficient that your Gen II or my Gen III.