80-85mph highway mpg?

There is a difference between a long distance driving set compared to the shorter commute hops that most of us have. For a 20 mile drive, the time difference between 85 mph and 55 mph isn't that great (assuming one could even GET to 90 mph with traffic). Figure in a typical 20 mile commute, a driver will spend about 4 miles on surface streets (getting from their point of origin to the freeway and getting off the freeway to their destination, including on and off ramps). Assuming they don't hit any bottlenecks, road boulders, or other things that may cause then to purposely or non purposely slow down, they are looking at 16 miles of clear sailing.

It would take a driver 17.5 minutes at 55 mph to cover that distance.
It would take a driver 14.8 minutes at 65 mph to cover that distance.
It would take a driver 11.3 minutes at 85 mph to cover that distance.

Seriously, what will you do with the extra 3.5 minutes of time when you get there? Or even the extra 6.2 minutes?

I know it FEELS different/faster, but it isn't, the math doesn't lie.

 

You could chow down a donut in 6 minutes or grab a quick smoke if you smoke. That's good for people who don't eat or smoke in their car

I buy my donuts and bring them home & I don't smoke so that could leave me an extra 6 minutes to sit in the driveway listening to music if I didn't stop for donuts that morning

Mike

 

mmmmm donuts, my one weakness......

 

Custard or Bavarian Cream filled with chocolate frosting

Mike

 

I'll never understand why people buy the best economy car on the planet & then want to use it like a sports car or make it look like some pimped-out street racer.

If you want to go fast, buy a car that's meant to do it. Besides, I'd bet money that a Corvette gets better mileage at 85mph than a Prius.

 

I think there are many on here that own a very fast car and also a Prius. My fast car is in a storage locker as I got bored with it

Mike

 

Mine too!

 

I must clarify my post. I'm driving between 80 and 85 MPH on I5 between the end of the Grapevine up to Stockton. If you know this area, it's rather empty, basically farmland. Many of the accidents occur due to people falling asleep at the wheel. The other group of accidents occur because of people driving in the 100MPH range meet up with somebody driving 50MPH and making a lane change.

And by the way, if you are driving between 80-85 MPH on I5 in those open areas, you will not be the fastest person on the road.

While on the Grapevine, you have to be careful because the CHP are watching (there's a CHP office at the top of the Grapevine and at the bottom). If you are in the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles County, don't be exceeding the speed limit by anything more than 5 MPH. However, if I'm driving 70MPH in my Prius on the Los Angeles freeways, the CHP will pass me by without looking at me. Just don't be weaving between lanes.

I make no representation that I always follow all speed laws. I admit that is my fault and not very nice of me. So, I don't throw stones when somebody does exceed the speed limit. But I also admit that I've slowed down a little, too.

Mike

 

I have noticed Troopers don't even lift an eyebrow when a Prius is running a bit fast on the Interstates

Mike

 

I'll never understand why people think that just because I bought a Prius, I should drive it 10 mph below the speed limit. Or why anyone, for that matter, feels like lecturing me on what speed I should be driving at.
And I hate to break it to you, but no, there's no fast car that's going to get 48 mpg while driving 75-80 mph. None.

 

My favorite cruising range is 72-73mph, but mainly based on the speed limit being 65. The car gets good enough gas milage for me not to worry about increasing from 45 to 50 mpgs

 

It's not the 20 mile journey that needs high speeds. Let's face it, it will take a mile to reach 85 mph, a mile and a half to slow down and with traffic you're down to 15 and change.

In Northern Territory, Australia until 2007 there was no speed limit outside built up areas. At 1.3 million km^2 (522,000 sq.mile) it's almost twice the size of Texas with a population of only 230,000; so there's quite a lot of open space to cover. Darwin to Alice Springs is 1500 km and you still haven't crossed a border. One of the GPS directions on that route would be "Keep right on Stuart Highway. Continue 1,462 km." Driving at 160 km/h (100 mph) would make a big difference.
And if you have to overtake a 3 trailer road train, which could be 53.5m (175 ft) long and travelling at well over 100km/h, you'll need to be carrying some speed. Of course, if you were driving a Prius you could be 3 seconds behind and get such a draft you'd have your brakes on.

The introduction of speed limits has done nothing to reduce accidents caused by unregistered, unroadworthy and uninsured cars and unlicensed, untrained and unconscious drivers.

BTW, there's a bunch a Prius taxis in Darwin (and Cairns, for that matter), so the heat doesn't seem to bother them.


Northern Territory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Northern Territory was one of the few remaining places in the world with no speed restrictions on public roads. Since 1 January 2007 a default speed limit of 110 km/h applies on roads outside of urban areas (Inside urban areas of 40, 50 or 60 km/h). Speeds of up to 130 km/h are permitted on some major highways, such as the Stuart Highway.[23]​

Since the introduction of a universal 130 km/h speed limit in 2006, together with the introduction of demerit (penalty) points for speeding, the Territory's road toll has risen markedly.[24]​

 

They don't. I had one and the fuel economy was good for the type of car but at 75mph the iMPG was around 28mpg. Average was about 26mpg if I could stay off the throttle. I bet I could have hypermiled it to low 30s but that is a far cry from a Prius driven hard.

I've come to the conclusion that a Prius driven for fun will still get much better fuel economy than almost any other car with exception to some of the sweet new turbodiesels like the Passat TDi.

 

I drove mostly in 70s last night in Sandy's rain and wind just to see what Prius can get, I got around 49.4MPG with temperature at 31F, wind speed 10-15 MPH. SO YES if it wasn't for cold wind and rain situation, my Prius can do 51MPG in 80s....

That speed shows in 65mph because I have to drive a few miles in town as well, now I need to figure out how to make that picture bigger...

 

Owning a diesel comes with having to handle those greasy, spilled fuel all over, fuel pumps. Gotta be fun stepping in that goo in front of every diesel pump and wiping off your now stinky shoes on your floor mat. I suppose a person could wear gloves like a big truck driver does when fueling but then where you gonna stash those dirty stinkin gloves as you don't have a side storage compartment like a big truck has. Gotta smell nice inside that interior of that VW Never understood why people pour so much fuel on the ground in front of every diesel pump.

Mike

 

You have to knock about 4 mpg off that trip meter as it is on the generous side verses tank calculated mpg's. Still it shows trends which is useful.

Mike

 

You're talking about driving 20mph over the 65mph limit, not 10 under.
The Prius is designed to maximize mpg. That's its super-power. It's NOT a fast car, despite having a "power button". It's an entertaining car to drive, but if you think it's fun to drive it like a sports car, you'd be blown away by what a REAL sports car can do!

As for lecturing you for what speed you should be driving at, there are many many people with badges and red lights on their car that would be happy to do that anytime, me included.

 

Nice to have an input from a police officer that also has a Prius.

 

Aren't you concerned at all about the safety of driving that fast in those conditions? While you may have supreme confidence in your abilities and equipment, you are placing yourself and the drivers around you in an unecessary risky position. And I'm not even talking about something that is "your fault".

Example Scenario,

You could have a driver merging onto the road

Forcing a trucker to hit his brakes to allow him in

Causing the car behind him to suddenly move into your lane to avoid rear ending the truck (following too close).

Now you're closing speed is way too fast because you opted to drive 75 mph instead of 60 mph (assuming people slowed down for conditions) and you have to hit the brakes hard, just as you hit a patch of standing water that you might have circumvented but couldn't see due to spray off of the car in front of you.

You now skid across to the right lane but manage to hold onto it and straighten out.

However, the young driver in the car in the right lane hit the brakes hard when you skidded into their lane.

They don't have your skills, lock up their tires and skid off the road into a ditch, showering themselves and the occupants in their car (their two younger siblings) with metal, glass, and roadside debris.

Yes, the guy merging didn't do so safely.
Yes, the car behind the trucker was tailgating.
Yes, the same car cut into your lane.
Yes, the young driver over corrected and wrecked their car.

But it was your speed that connected the merge error to the car crash. While, in other conditions, no accident would have occurred, in this scenario, you had a direct impact on the incident.

Cold comfort to those who got hurt, who's only crime was being buckled up in the back seat of a car driven by an inexperienced driver who was trying to drive safely.

 

I agree with Codyroo.

I personally know many people whose lives have been forever changed for the worst because of speeding. I personally don't know anyone that could say that because they drove too slow.