New Prius owner. This is going to take some getting used to.

Reset your trip calculator A or B, doesn't matter. Run your car for a few hundred miles and then see what your mpg is. If you are a light footed driver, you should get between 50 to 60 mpg. One of the main reasons why the Prius could get such high mpg is that it could glide. Meaning the car is moving while the engine (ICE) is off, not burning gas.

Although Toyota offers luxury options for the Prius, I haven't heard anyone telling me that they bought a compact car or mid-size car for comfort. I normally use the Prius to get to work and run around locally. For long trips, I still prefer my old van.

 

Welcome to PC As you get accustomed to driving a hybrid (I assume it's your first), you will have other questions. Many have complained about the rear view set up and it takes some getting used to. Try folding down the rear seats and that can increase your view a bit more. It sounds like you have a model 3 or 4 since you mention the Bluetooth feature. Did you buy this from a dealer or a private party? If you post issues you might have, we can tell you if it's normal or should be taken back to the dealer for correction.

One thing to keep in mind now that you are driving a low profile vehicle is the vunerability of the lower front bumper. If you perpendicular park anywhere where there is a high curb, be careful not to bump the lower edge of your car against it - it is easily damaged. Someone mentioned gliding and you can use the instant MPG gauge to tell you when you have achieved a "glide". When you see it climb and stay above the 1/2 way mark (over 50 mpg), you are achieving a glide. This is best done on flat roads with constant traffic flow.

 

No doubt that you're saving money on gas if you compared the Prius with your truck. However, if you compare the Prius with another gas-only car similar in size, you may not be saving money yet. It may take you a few years before you're actually start saving money. The Prius is a high-tech car and that technology isn't free. I wish it was though. The way I drive, it'll take about 4 years before I actually start saving money.

 

Winter tires do wonders for the handling in snow.
If you are going through unplowed areas I would definitely go with a 4x4. But for the occasional unplowed street the winter tires are a lot cheaper than another vehicle.

But the big question is, what are you going to do with all the money you are saving on gas;-)

 

TCO means you have to balance future resale value and maintenance costs. You might be saving money sooner...

 

Yes - on the 2010s, the CONS or "average" MPGs are off by at least 3 to 4 mpgs better than you actually get. Also, when you brake, try not to get the CHG or "charge" section of the HSI all the way to the left too soon as that brings on the friction brakes and not the "regen" braking. By staying in the middle of the charge zone, you use mostly regen braking. It takes some practice.

 

Once you get used to it, going back to a full-time ICE vehicle will seem strange. One more thing to consider (we can't tell from your profile where you live), you might encounter some "Prius rage" as other cars and trucks go out of their way to pass you. As you are refining your hybrid driving techniques, stay to the right as much as possible. If you live in So Cal, this should not be as much of an issue.

 

I too made the jump from a V8 Tundra. You do get used to be being lower. Took about 6 months for me. The split window as well. Depending on how tall you are (I'm very tall) you might find it easier if you just ignore the bottom one.

You definitely will find that you do have to re-learn how to drive. The Prius excels as gliding, and it does not have the get-up and go of a V8. After about 1 month, you only miss it a little bit, and it will fade more with time.

You can drive a Prius two ways. You can just drive it, and not care about the MPG. You'll average around 45-50MPG.
Or you can try to maximize it. This involves extreme changes to your driving habits and that's where you see the people with the 60 and 70 MPG averages.

I drive 160 miles round trip on the highway 5 days a week. I just peg it to 65 MPH with the cruise control. (A marked decrease from my pre-Prius standard of 75) and usually average 56-60MPG. When the cold weather hits, you will see a noticeable decrease in MPG, based on the effect of the airtemp on the Prius efficiency. Rain has the same effect.

Have fun with it. The fuel savings I had going from a 13MPG truck to a 50MPG car almost pays my car payment every month. Plus, my truck needed around 3,000-4,000 in repairs when I decided to trade, so it was time.

 

There's no reason you shouldn't be able to get 50+mpg out of the Three, that's a pretty easy goal to attain.

You'll have to re-learn the bad habits many pick up from driving a high-powered SUV...
-Don't punch it when the light turns green.
-Don't panic stop at the red light.
-Don't tailgate the vehicle ahead of you- it wastes momentum.
-Keep it under 65mph.

 

You'll always get more mileage from the top of the tank. After the fuel gauge float stops on it's limiter, you continue to pump fuel until the tank is full. You get added, unregistered fuel after the float reaches it's limit of travel in the tank.

Here's a simple diagram I made. I hope it helps to understand how it works.

 

Isn't fuel consumption determined by injector delivery and not tank level?

 

Don't take it literally that each gas gauge bar is equal to one gallon...or even the same quantity each. It is still an analog gas gauge being approximated on a display with 10 bars.

Mike

 

Just keep your foot light unless you need the power for situations like getting on a freeway or avoiding an accident. Keep the Prius in "ECO" mode unless that's too weak for you. Then try the normal mode. You should have no problem in getting 50 mpg. Keep your tires at 40 psi and park your car in shades whenever possible. The Prius provides a lot of information on the HSI but depending where you're at, you may want to keep your eyes on the road instead looking at the HSI. Trying to get a few more mpg is not worth getting into an accident. Having a light foot will get you really good mpg without too much effort.

 

Yep.
1. The gas gauge, like all analog gas gauges, just gives you a hint about how much gas is actually in there. On the Prius, "Full" means that you've got a gallon or two before you come off of full. 1/10 and Blinking means you've got ~1.5 gallons left (i.e, 30-50 miles, depending.)
2. The MPG numbers and such are calculated by the engine computer. The computer jiggers up how much gas it thinks is going into the engine, divides by the miles, and gives you a report back on your MPG that's (usually) 3% or so too optimistic. There's a lot of variation in the readings, apparently, car to car, so Accuracy Is Not Us.
3. The DTE (distance to empty) on the dash is supposedly the current MPG times the number of gallons in the tank. It's known to be wildly optimistic about how far you can go when the tank is full and wildly pessimistic when the tank is near empty. (I've seen it report -10 miles to empty when there's still a gallon in there.)

Still, the numbers aren't that far off and I like having them.

For me, moving from a Civic to this car was a shock because of all the emphasis on MPG. I drove the Civic like I was driving Indy; on this car, one can drive Indy-ish (it's got about the same acceleration and cornering as the Civic), but all the gauges telling you What A Bad Person You Are tends to put a damper on that kind of activity .

KBeck.