Our family of three just finished a 2,600 mile trip in our 2012 Prius III with navigation - the car was a disappointment. At 75 MPH, now permitted in many states, economy drops to 38-40 range; the engine is a reluctant performer keeping 70 MPH over Pennsylvania hills ...it groaned and moaned once the battery provided torque is exhausted, about a mile into the climb. Tho the car is very aerodynamic front to rear, but very unstable in brisk cross winds. Toyota installed navigation is totally useless - it's actually dangerous, unnecessarily sending us over narrow and potentially hazardous roads even between points along an interstate! On the plus side, the ride is smooth and quite and the seats supportive enough for rides up to one day but not longer. I bought the car believing the Generation III addressed all the shortfalls of the earlier models...I drove my 2007 Touring model for 90,000 miles; the 2012 model is a big improvement, but still essentially a good commuter car ....no match to a VW Jetta or a Ford Fusion.
LOL I just did 80-85mph for 389miles and got 45.6mpg through rain and freezing temps. The Fusion nor the VW Jetta will top that. They are more comfortable, however. At least until the fuel pump goes out on the VW.
I remember taking a highway in Pennsylvania (i believe it was I-80, i dont remember clearly), it was constant hill > downhill > hill etc... and literally felt short of power while on that road.
It is the hills and cold weather that killed the MPG. I can get 48-50 mpg on flat warm FL roads between 75-80 mph.
I have lived in Pa for 53 years, my 12 Prius had no problem with Pa hills. Been on I-80, I-81, turnpike 76 all over Harrisburg, and out to Ohio, seriously no problems, naturally MPG drop going over the Appalachian Mountains, and what car gets 50mpg over 70mph? Hell, my motorcycle only gets 38 under those conditions. We got an overall 48-55. Now we live in Florida and just bought myself a 2013 so I'm very interested to see what I get down here.
Which route did you ask for: Fastest, Shortest, or Ecological? All the navigation applications I have used -- Toyota, Garmin, Microsoft, USGS paper maps -- have been known to select or show inappropriate routes. User judgement is required. Nearly every year on this coast, some unprepared person makes a poor choice of route for the current conditions, gets stuck in a lonely area, and dies from exposure to harsh elements. This has been happening as long a people have been traveling. I have not yet seen anything that is completely accurate, completely up to date, and fully understands the particular user's needs / intentions / capabilities / limitations.
Get rid of it. That's the beauty of a Prius, at least the car will have decent resale value. As time passes, give us some feedback on your next car.
No match for a Jetta? From personal experience, there's no rear seat legroom in a Jetta. Most uncomfortable ride in years. If all you can get is 38-40mpg in a Prius I doubt you'll be able to do better in a Jetta. I don't drive as fast as you so I'd expect at least 48-49 but won't be happy. Best you can do is to winterize the car, inflate the tires & block the grill. Let the momentum build up the speed on the downside so you have something to use on the uphill. If you set the nav to avoid highways and you get on the Turnpike it will direct you off every exit. When it gets too annoying just cancel the guidance. The old roads through the small towns can be fun but they aren't fast. In the winter when it's snowing "fun" isn't quite the adjective. When I was your age we didn't have Interstate class highways through western Pennsylvania. Even US220 was only a couple of lanes. You can thank Murtha for I-99. This month I've got a chance to put my money where my mouth is as I've got trips to Totowa, NJ, Sterling, VA, & Louisville, KY these next three weeks.
I would suggest a 2012 Camry hybrid for the OP. It actually looks a little spicy now too. I'm tend to agree a bit with OP also. 3rd gen liftback will never match up to a Camry or Accord on road trip not counting fuel economy. Prius, 70 mph and hills don't mix too well from my limited experience. I settle for 60 MPH up the grades, but I've only been over Dublin and Altamont pass. I need to get out more But look at Ford. They probably tried Really hard to build a more powerful, robust highway, 'Prius killer' C-Max and what's happened - 39 MPG average. What, 37 or 8 on highway trip? I would also have suggested Prius v for the OP. Toyota will 'inch' closer to Cam, Acc (sales) in 4th gen. Sooner the better.
There's no intelligence in machines. In the case of a piece of nav equipment, it's all about the programming. Our Garmin nuvi we like very much.....but we've had it a while, and taken the time to understand its ways. Basically, it can be set for shortest time, shortest distance, and it can also be "manually" set (set route points). Anyone who uses a machine, be it a car, its nav unit, a chain saw, lawn mower, or a pistol, their lack of understanding of that particular tool is generally going to come back to bite them at some point.
I am guessing you might be thinking about the PA-Turnpike I-76 west of Harrisburg. Really steep PA mountain hill is Rt. 40 National Highway outside of Uniontown. We have no problem going as fast as we want with our Prius up that hill. Yes when the Hv battery is depleted then the small ICE engine takes over and it sounds like it is straining. I put in Mobil-1 and assume the car can handle it.
Is this a legit complaint? I heard that on some reviews, but didn't think Prius brain would be so dimwit to dip into battery reserve at hwy speeds. Don't have decent hills here to test it myself.
I go through the PA hills (Rt 15 from Rochester to MD) often. On the divided highway parts I usually cruse at 75mph with Cruse Control on. I NEVER have any issues with the car failing to maintain speed within 1MPH. Regarding the NAV, I wonder if it has been set to avoid Interstates. I had someone once diddle with the settings and the NAV was really giving me weird directions (similar to what the OP stated). My usual problem with the NAV is that it wants to go WAY out of the way inorder to take an Interstate.
Theoretically. Yes, it does. At any point you're in the power zone it will be ready to use battery to try and keep the engine running more efficiently. In truth it can use battery assist any time it likes, but the zones represent the typical pattern when there's no excess. If you think it's odd to use battery in the power zone, just remember that what goes up must come down.
OP hasn't answered which route was selected: Fastest or Shortest or most Ecological. All my nav choices -- current Toyota, older Garmin, and even older Microsoft Streets & Trips -- can happily select an extremely gnarly 'Shortest' route across a rough narrow mountain road that would add hours to a trip, or is closed in winter. MS-S&T can be set for preferred roads, the Garmin can be set to avoid unpaved roads, but the Toyota has no equivalent setting. Thus I usually ignore its 'Shortest' route, selecting either of the others. The Toyota nav can be set to avoid only freeways, toll roads, tunnels, ferries, and border crossings.
After one of those incidents, a rural Nevada Sheriff had some good advice. He said "When navigating with a GPS, it is a good idea to occasionally look out the window." I assume there was an implied "and think." at the end of his comment.
