I'm interested in the C 4 for many reasons. One being mpg. However, I read recently that it wouldn't be a good highway car. I've been looking with the intention of improving my gas expenses for my daily driving. I'm not in the "city" but do a lot of driving within a limited radius but it isn't all stop/go traffic. Meaning - I probably cover an area of 11-15 miles in either direction on any given day with multiple stops within that area. (Sometimes more but...) Of those miles, some are highway - 2 miles to highway, then on highway about 4 miles, then 2 miles to school, etc. So my question is - am I wrong to that of that as "city" driving for mpg expectations? (I've been asked to consider the Fiesta again too so I'm hoping the 50 mpg can come in to play)
I don't think it's going to be a big deal at the distances you are talking, though out of interest what kind of speed do you do on this 4 miles of highway? A bigger concern is not so much the city/highway mix but that you have a trip of only 8 miles. Any shorter than that and you are battling the warm-up cycle. Short trips are what hold this car back - I commute 4.5 miles each way to/from work during the week and generally consider it good if I do better than 47 mpg indicated on the dash... but then combined with my longer weekend driving, my calculated lifetime average consumption is 55.6 mpg.
IMO, "city" involves traffic, lights, & intersections. "Highway" is non-stop high-speed motoring. The Prius C seems to do best with suburban driving with limited stop lights in 25-45 MPH zones. Once you get out on the Interstates the fuel economy rarely gets better than 50 MPG unless you're on summer fuel or lucky [?] enough to be in a state where 55 MPH Interstate speed limits are the norm.
This is a good article on the Prius C Mileage. City mileage is better than Hwy but both are exceptional compared to Hybrids. 2012 Toyota Prius C: Real-World Gas Mileage Test
Speed limits are 65-70 with some 55 (construction) on the route - 25-45 on the surface streets. 47 mpg sounds great - the Subaru averages 20-23 no matter what!
This Video is a great one to learn how to increase your MPG. Although the tuturial is with a 2010 Prius the techniques apply accross the Prius lineup. It is worth the time investment to view.
I was expecting 50mpg combined as I drive mostly secondary roads. In 2600 miles I'm approaching 54mpg average. I suspect of that 2600 miles 700 or so was at 65-70 mph. I may be benefiting because I drive 150 to 200+ miles per day. I suspect once the engine gets warm it never cools completely down. Hope this helps!
I would say a Prius (any model) fares best in a suburban environment where it can do 25-35mph. Traffic jams will drain the battery (if the jam is long enough) so the engine comes on to recharge. But 25-35 allows you to pulse and glide to gain maximum mpg and the speeds are low enough that aerodynamics aren't the major factor. For me, I get poorer mileage on the highway because I'm able to achieve my best results in a suburban environment (53-55mpg city vs. 47-50mpg highway). As with any car, a warm engine = best mpg so a Prius with an engine at operating temperature will net you the best mpg so plan your trips so that you take the longest/farthest one first to allow it to warm up. The best thing about a Prius once it's warm is that every time you start up, the hybrid system continues "where it left off" as if you never made the stop (if it's cold, the engine will run its warmup cycle hence the reason why you want to warm it up first with the farthest destination). With a regular car, you're always burning more fuel starting and stopping the car at each errand destination.
I looked at the fiesta too. The way I drive, the Prius C uses $1000 less gas per year than a fiesta would. But the Fiesta is $4,000 cheaper. I will break even after the 4th year. The prius is worst at very short trips of about 1 or 2 miles. It uses gas simply to heat the engine. It you are only driving a few miles a day the Prius might get about the same mileage is the Ford Fiesta. But if you drive 20 or 25 miles the Prius C will get about double the Fiesta's mileage. Try this. Gues as how long you might own the car, say 6 years. Figure out how much gas each car would burn in 6 years. Add that to the price of the car. Subtract the re-sale price of the car. That is your total. In my case the Prius C won.
Also consider that the Prius retains it's value and has better resale value than a Fiesta. Prius is also more reliable and you get 2 years of free maintenance. Prius also attracts and keeps better quality girls.
I was chatting with a couple of young single guys the other day. They were asking me about my hotrod Vdub. I advised that I had a new "lady getter" . They doubled over laughing when I took them outside the store and showed them my C. Life is good in a C Dan
