There is an old saying about saving gas while driving. "Pretend there is a fragile egg between your foot and the gas pedal"
This is a great article, thanks for the repost. I have been trying these techniques one at a time from different articles, but I really like how easily it's laid out in this one. I've only had my Prius for 500 miles, and this tank has 300+ miles so far - I'm averaging 57 mpg combined, and am definitely trying! Excited to see what I can get once I master all of these skills but even if I got 57 all the time, I'd be absolutely content. I live in Florida - hot & flat, so I don't have a lot of the problems it talks about but it is still very helpful. Thanks, Brittany
I would have to agree. I found that when taking longer to get up to cruising speed by accelerating slowly, I actually averaged less MPG than getting up to cruising speed briskly and pulse-glide to maintain cruising speed when possible. It of course depends on a lot of factors like conditions, terrain, traffic, etc. Driving slowly was my initial strategy but then I lost the MPG competition to my wife who kind of naturally pulse and glided. ;D
Curious but true! I'm new to the Prius Hybrid and have been generally cruising around serenely and sedately. The other day, I had a spirited dash through London to work and discovered my mpg was actually better than usual . This Prius Padawan has a lot to learn
About to pick up my prius in two days time, let's see if I will fall into the "sedated" category, LOL!
You will find contrary to normal advice, with the Prius if you accelerate briskly then take your foot off the accelerator then reapply the mpg gets better. John (Britprius)
You're quite right John . I discovered this quite a while ago and have been using it in part to achieve some great MPG. It's turned much colder now in London, and I'm averaging about 56mpg at the moment - down 10mpg from the summer months, but methinks that was entirely to be expected. I'm still very pleased with my 2008 Gen II T-Spirit, and I'm still learning new things about it on a regular basis. I now refer to it as "The Spaceship" iPad ? HD
Data Daedalus, The mpg drop is normal, but can be mitigated by blocking the front grill with lengths of foam pipe insulation pushed into the grills just leaving a small area clear if you are driving in London traffic. If you see the outside air temperature going up to say 18 or 20 degrees on the MFD and it's cold outside you know you need to remove a strip. John (Britprius)
