Prius v vs regular Prius mileage

I think the real world difference is about 10%. The v also uses a lower numerical final drive ratio to accommodate greater load capability while maintaining acceleration.

 

If you just consider the tires and wheels, the "v" is closer in size to the Toyota Camry, and the regular Prius is closer to the Corolla.

The "v" has more room and I'd imagine that the drive train is somewhere between the Prius Gen III Hybrid and the Camry Hybrid. I know that the Camry Hybrid takes a hit on the mpg's from it's larger ICE.

 

the final drive on a liftback is 3.0 something ... and on the v-wagon is 3.7 something...
the v will rev more at the same speed - so more revs = more fuel burned.

 

The higher the drive ratio; the more torque generated at the same speed.

 

Not necessarily true - think 10 speed bicycle... 1st gear you're 10:1 ratio let's say... you pedal 10 times and the rear wheel turns once... go to 10th gear... which is more like a 1:1 you pedal once, rear wheel turns once. a "higher" gear is a lower ratio... it's inverse... so the 1:1 is a higher gear than a 10:1 ... you get more mechanical "leverage" or torque - with a lower gear ratio - which torque by definition is rotational work - torque is the twisting force... where horsepower is how "fast" it's done... so if I want more torque - to accelerate or climb a hill, I shift up from 5th or 10th gear on a bike to 1st gear... (the granny gear) ... I might move slow like a granny, but I can climb a steep incline.

take that to a car or in this example a light chevy truck. common gear ratios, are .373 or .411 or like my blazer had, a .349 ... .349 will get you better gas mileage because the motor will turn slower at a given speed -- but it won't have the torque required to tow an rv or boat - switch that to say the .411 rear end - like the classic muscle cars -- and at 35mph cruisin through town, my engine would be at 2500 rpm or higher ... however, i could pull stumps or heavy rv's or i could simply smoke the tires off at will... take that up to highway speed and with my .349 ratio my rpm is about 2200 rpm...
with a 411 rear end -- it would be closer to 4000 rpm...

the engineers with the v - because of the extra 250lbs weight -- and the increased drag (all be it little), and the added wind resistance with the taller profile - the lowered the gear ratio to give it more torque as you mentioned - however the engine has to turn faster to maintain the same speed. so for the liftback lets say at 55 mph the engine runs 2000 rpm... and on the v, it would be about 2250 rpm... I'm guessing - but I don't have a tech scanner to read real numbers here... just trying to explain it.

hope that helps-

 

Prius V curb weight = 3274 lbs
Prius Gen III curb weight = 3042 lbs

The extra weight is equivalent to having two teens in a Gen III Prius. I'm sure the extra 230 lbs plays into the equation.

 

My 2005: 47.73 mpg since new, 49.5mpg last 5 fillups.
Wife's 2012 v: 40.34 mpg since new (4666 miles), 43.6 mpg last 5 fillups.

There's definitely a learning curve to get best mileage out of these things. My wife has a lead foot on both pedals, but is already showing a marked improvement from the first 5 fillups (39.0 mpg). Still, it will always take more power to run a heavier car with more drag, and more power translates into lower mileage, given the roughly equivalent technology.

 

Here's what we are getting so far on our 12 v and 12 hatch below

 

We had a 2010, and now a 12 v. I find the v to be programmed to run allelectric more than the 10. It's hard to pinpoint the exact circumstances, and I doubt this readership--me especially--is accurate enough with descriptions to record the differences. I'm happy when we get 43 mpg and up. Most often we're pushing a lot of air at 78mph and get 39....

 

Total drag is cd times the frontal area.

The v is wider and taller, as well as a high cd.

 

Depends on driving habits...if I drive very conservatively (accelerate slowly, no more than 55 on freeway, etc) I can consistently get 53 to 55 mpg. Normal driving still produces 47 mpg. Drive with a lead foot, oh well...

 

wow.. I can't even get 47mpg on my HB! I'm referring to calculated mpg and not the MFD.

 

Same here.

 

My 2005 Gen II and my wife's v5 are headed toward comparable mileage, thanks to the 2005's gradual drop in mileage over the years. Nobody knows why, but the cumulative mileage-since-new has dropped from just-under-50 to 47.58 as of 2 days ago. The v is now hovering around 40, but rising as she learns how to drive for mileage.

 

My parents have a 2010 Prius and I have a 2012 V. We took them both from PA to NC and saw about a 4 mpg difference. I got about 51 mpg and they got 55 as reported by the car. Actual mpg calculated at the pump is lower by several mpg in my experience. The drive was mostly rural - we avoided I95.

 

One frequent reason for a gradual fall off in mileage in a Gen2 is the 12v battery beginning to fail. Is it still the original?

 

No, I replaced that (it tested good, but was 7 years old) with a yellowtop on 5/20/2013. Mileage is now down to 42.5 (5-fillup moving average). It's getting worse at an accelerating rate, so maybe it will fail altogether soon and I'll find out what's wrong. Other things tried: New spark plugs, cleaned MAF sensor, tires inflated to 38psi all around. Next thing to try is cleaning the bugs off the front bumper cover.

 

Try changing gas stations. I found a significant difference between Shell and Exxon in my area. Shell probably has less octane or more ethanol or both.

 

Is there an O2 sensor? I'm not very knowledgeable about these, just a thought.

Also, check that the brakes are in good shape, not dragging?