Happy at 61.1 MPG

Correct. There is nothing wrong with the EPA's numbers. If not for short commutes that will kill gas mileage for any car with an ICE, people can obtain numbers tested by the agency.

 

Speaking of EPA mileage tests:

http://news.bostonherald.com/opinion/view....rticleid=121373

Here is some information about how the tests are actually conducted. It also help explain why the results are even more wildly optomistic for PZEV cars than for most cars.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml

Note that the mileage tests are conducted on a dynamometer and the CD is factored in, the car is operated by a computer program, and mileage is computed by measuring tail pipe emissions. This implies to me that cars with very low emissions will do very well in fuel mileage tests. Cars such as the Prius which actually shut the engine down part of the time will do even better. I expect the revised testing procedures will be more realistic.

 

Many people think as you do, but it is not correct. The modeling does not give a positive 'fudge factor' to a hybrid.

The revised EPA testing will hit hybrids more than conventional cars for two reasons:

1. AC will be used on high. Since Prius AC is not that much more efficient than standard cars (particularly on high), it's relative weight will be more pronounced.

2. Aggresive acceleration favors the oversized engine present in most cars.

 

Who said warning?-I am saying information. To post 51/60 and get 25/29, 35/39 on a car marketed for fuel economy is wrong. This car must be driven differently and that should be told to the consumer.

 

Any car needs to be driven differently to get the advertised EPA numbers, why should there be an exception for a hybrid?

 

i guess i've been pretty lucky here in seattle. i drive prius just like i drive my old acura legend which got me about 20mpg. i've been getting about mid to high 40's in winter and low 50's in summer. i didn't really have to change my driving much. i'm usually one of the faster cars blowing by people in the early morning going about mid 70's mph when possible and the same back. my black prius is like a demon and has served me really well. had it for 1yr 1mo and have 41000 miles.

 

how do I know this?

 

you read before you buy

 

read what?

 

One thing to read would be a window sticker which states: "Actual Milage will vary with options, driving conditions, driving habits and vehicle's condition. Results reported to EPA indicate that the majority of vehicles with these estimates will achieve between 51 and 69 mpg in the city and between 43 and 59 mpg on the highway"

 

and I averaged 48-50mpg my first 8 weeks, then crash 35/29/25/16? Didn't see anything in the literature about that and I'm sure an extra sentence by the salesperson or service manager would have been way too difficult for them.

 

I have approx 3,000 miles on the odometer and have averaged 50MPG since day 1. Tires are inflated to 42/40. I do mostly highway, about 70 miles/day, driving AT the speed limit and mostly in the right (slow) lane. I use cruise control whenever possible. I rarely see another Prius on the road, but when I do, they are typically flying in the left lane, well above the posted speed limit. Maybe that explains the poor mpg some Prius owners are getting.

 

It's because people are getting mileage in the 30's and low 40's!!!
And the media loves a story like this. And, as usual, they distort the reality.

I am near the end of my first tank, and I am getting 41.2 mpg. I don't have a lead foot. I do all the 'right' things; moderate acceleration, anticipate stops, haven't exceeded 64mph on the highway, feather the accelerator, etc, etc. My daytime temps are 75-85 degrees. I've read the PC driving wisdom, and I work at it! (OK, I am running 37/35psi in tires; but until I look into it further, I am hesitant to increase tire pressure 20% above the recommended).

My mileage does vary! Do I have a lemon? Was I deceived by Toyota and EPA?

NO, of course not. The sticker says "City MPG 60, Actual Milage will vary with option, driving conditions....".
IT'S THE DRIVING CONDITIONS. I live on a hill, and drive in lots of hilly places. My trips are short, mostly city with lots of traffic and traffic lights. No long commute. The hills and heavy traffic are mpg killers.
Take away the traffic, lights, and hills and I too would be averaging 55+ mpg!
That's the reality!

 

that's good for you!

I'd be satisfied with the 40 range as well. I am talking about MPG's in the 20 to low 30's--that's a different story. At that range, I could have purchased a number of different vechicles. You may feel differently if your MPG suddenly and drastically decreased.

 

We are only on our 2nd tank, so I won't make any judgements until the car is broken in and our regular patterns fully develop, but so far we are averaging 35.5MPG (according to the MFD).

I have taken it out on the highway a couple of times, and while driving smoothly on the highway, MPG is consistently over 50MPG.

But the majority of our miles have been driven in short trips (Jason's commute is less than 5 miles, all the stores we frequent are within 5 miles) with the headlights, wipers, and both defrosters going. That has to have an impact.

I'm not too worried... before deciding to buy, we rented Prii on two occasions, logging over 1,200 miles and getting 45MPG average. (Summer road trip, fully loaded with luggage, driving fast, over mountains, AC on).

I will say though that under normal driving conditions my old Neon 4cly automatic (150K+ miles, anyone want it - cheap!) got much closer to EPA (even as a percentage) than the Prius and exceeded EPA on long highway trips.

I don't care if the new EPA tests take a big bite out of the Prius's estimated figures... I'd rather people ran around exclaiming "My Prius does so much better than the sticker!" than the other way around. I don't think it will hurt sales much and it will give buyers more realistic expectations.

- Bob R.

 

Have had car for 10 days - about 340 miles of mostly short trips of 3 to 10 miles. MFD shows 48.8 mpg and I'm very happy. I may be accelerating a bit conservatively but the speed I drive is about the same I always did - 2 to 3 miles above limit. We'll see how it goes as I get more used to the car and the car gets loosened up a bit.
I do have 42/40 in the tires.

 

And another thing...

If the government ever gets genuinely interested in encouraging conservation, the EPA should mandate that all new cars feature some kind of MPG readout, both a 1 to 5 second "instantaneous" average and a 5 or 10 minute "recent" average. It wouldn't cost much to do (just time the fuel-injector on-time, and the display doesn't have to be fancy, it can even just use the existing "trip" odometer display).

I rented a Volvo sedan last summer that had a simple 16-char single-line LCD below the speedometer that could be set to show various MPG stats. If all cars had this, people would see what they were really getting and quite possibly adjust their behavior like Prius drivers often do.

- Bob R.

 

I don't care if the new EPA tests take a big bite out of the Prius's estimated figures... I'd rather people ran around exclaiming "My Prius does so much better than the sticker!" than the other way around. I don't think it will hurt sales much and it will give buyers more realistic expectations.



I agree completely.

 

Please, no government meddling. That will run up the price of cars that don't have it. You have to figure out for each car how to impliment it and then change the assembly line to accomodate. Any time you increase the cost of doing business, either prices go up or people lose jobs.

Enjoy your Prius and be proud of your initiative to get the knowledge you need.

 

people lose jobs and prices go up anyway and for less functional reasons.

I am enjoying my prius but feeling proud for my iniative just isn't gonna cut if for me. I'd like to be warm while driving and exceed 25mpg's.