Any advice for a potential Los Angeles owner?

19.5 miles each way for me able to charge both places. 150 mpg going there, 90-100 back, likely due to having to go uphill back home. It's worth it for the sticker, I save 15-25 minutes each way on the 405. Insane amount of time if you add it up over 2-3 years.

 

My PIP works fine- love the carpool lane and no problems. Dianne Whitmire at Carson Toyota helps you get the license plates fast you you can get the green sticker faster- she supports the OC Prius Club and PriusChat plus she is a straight dealer (hard to find these days) with good prices. Call fast as I know with the gas prices, they are selling fast.
Do not forget the $1500 CA rebate and $2500 federal tax credit...

 

I sure hope you're right.

 

Sorry, been off of the forum for awhile...I was fairly active with engaging the EV mode...I turn it off when going up hills and put it on during the flatter and downhill portions of my commute.

I've got to be honest though, I was starting to obsess a bit about my mpg it and it was driving me crazy. Lately I've been less active in terms of engaging the different modes and worrying less and less about my mileage. I know what the car is capable of but I've learned to relax and accept a lower MPG number....I don't think 65-70 mpg is anything to complain about. Great car, great mpg and I love the carpool stickers...I've owned a Prius since 2005 and I still feel "smart" every time I'm filling it up and seeing how little gas I'm using--and more importantly--paying for.

 

So did active management actually improve your mpg? By how much?

 

For me, the way I've increased my mpg numbers is by googling a route that uses the least amount of freeways.
I get the most EV range by keeping my speed below 35. EV range and thus MPG decreases as speed increases.

 

old posting .....

 

I commute 99.6 miles RT from Northern Murietta to Carlsbad area. I am able to charge home and work and am getting 70MPG on the commute down and back about 75% of it on the roller coaster part of the 15 between Temecula and Escondido. Depending on where you are in the LA Basin you may not have all the uphill/downhill I have and may be able to do even better. I haven't even applied my Single User Carpool lane decals cause I don't need them on my route, but they would definitely benefit you on your 405 commute.

Good Luck...

 

It's only a guess but I think being conscious about my driving habits and active in managing the EV modes it added 10 mpg....again it's hard to measure just my best guess.

 

i'd be curious to see if the EV mode management alone gets you much of an improvement. even then, 70 mpg vs. 80 mpg is pretty trivial…it's less than 4 gallons per 1000 miles!

 

Without EV mode management I was getting about 10.5 miles on a charge. With management I am getting 13.5-14.5 (No MFD, low light MID, no fan, no DRL's, low throttle, etc.

At $4.40, the current gas price in L.A, I am saving about $0.26 cents every charge with EV management (compared to MY previous 10.5 mile result. Most days I use 1.5-2 charges, so an average of $0.38 a day saved by EV management.

Since I am in the car anyways, I don't feel like there is much cost to EV management, and for me it is worth it.

 

Are these numbers actual EV range or the estimated range shown in the MID?
I'd argue that no DRLs and excessively light throttle present safety hazards, but that's a separate discussion.
PS. EV range alone doesn't tell the whole story, since 15 miles EV + 2 miles @ 20 mpg might be worse than 10 mi EV + 7 mi @ 50 mpg (bogus numbers but you get what I mean). My question was specifically about toggling EV/HV modes, not general hypermiling techniques.

 

This is the amount of miles I actually drive on a charge. I measure it pretty meticulously.

ahh, I see, I misunderstood "EV mode management".