I wanted to start a thread to see if there are any other Prius owners out there using their Prius for delivering a newspaper route. I purchased my 2013 Prius C3 about 3 weeks ago(Aug 15, 2013) and have been using it on my paper route almost every day since. My previous car was a 2010 Yaris 5-speed. The Yaris would get 40+mpg driven normally, but on a paper route it would usually get around 28mpg. The Prius C is getting around 54 I had a couple of misconceptions about the Prius before buying. I thought that it was primarily driven by the electric motor with a supplemental gasoline engine - completely the opposite of course. Since the Prius gets a higher mpg rating for city type driving, I figured it would be even better for the severe stop and go driving on a paper route. This turns out not to be the case. It still gets fantastic mpgs on the route and has cut my fuel expense in half! If the electric motor was stronger and there was higher battery capacity, it would work much better for this. So I'll update this thread from time to time with my delivery experience using the Prius, but I'd really like to hear from others with their experience driving the Prius on a delivery route.
Actually the larger electric motor MG2 is geared to the driving wheels and runs all the time; the ICE (internal combustion engine) is called upon from time to time to boost the traction battery charge that MG2 uses, and to supplement the power to the wheels. A stronger electric motor would be heavier (as would be increased battery capacity), and use energy faster - the ICE would have a greater workload and fuel consumption would worsen. It's all compromises. You could consider a plug-in for deliveries, but you would have to cost the regular charging; there's no free lunch
It is well proven that "stop and go driving" in heavy traffic is where the Prius hybrid system really shines. I have a neighbor, who has used her 2006 Prius for newspaper deliveries for the past 7 years. For the first hour or two, the PIP might save gas, but I see very little advantage to having to carry the battery and having to charge it every night. Then, the battery takes up extra space and adds extra weight. My neighbor really makes out when claiming the Income Tax mileage deduction.
I've looked at getting an engine block heater since I don't have a garage. Regardless of what's connected to what, it's the ICE that gets me moving up to speed from delivery to delivery. The electric motor is too weak. I only use EV this way if the next delivery is a few feet away or significantly downhill. There is a time constraint. Some of these papers need to get where they're going by a certain time. Delivering newspapers is not quite like any other kind of driving. You are constantly accelerating and stopping without much gliding time - depending on the customer density. I have a mix of tubes, driveway tosses, and around 150 that I have to stop, get out, and bring to a door or porch or even inside a building. Using the Prius c takes me about 30 minutes longer. I try to keep the ICE out of the PWR zone. So far the little c is working great!
I'm puzzled by this - are you babying the c? What mileage do you get if you drive it exactly the way you used to drive the Yaris?
It's brandy new and I'm trying to get the best mpg from it, so yes I'm sort of babying it. Why are you puzzled? I haven't driven it that way yet. The next day that I get to use the Prius on my route is Saturday. I'll try driving it that way then. Thursday and Friday I have to use my RAV4.
I was wondering how it could take 30 minutes longer to do the route. The general consensus here is that it's best to just start out by driving a Prius like any other car, then refine your technique once you have a baseline on its performance. Look forward to seeing your results on the next run!
You'd be surprised how many people still want a newspaper delivered every day. Especially a more local paper with greater local area content. That being said, the customer base is decreasing year over year while the price increases and our pay is stagnant.
Too bad that newspaper have degraded to the point of shortened stories with very little detail that began with USA Today. The days of in depth investigative reporting appears to be gone, with the exception of a very few. If you don't have internet access, and the written paper article refers to an internet connection, you lose detail. Sadly, most newspapers today are advertising mills.
It's not just newspapers that have a lack of journalistic accountability. Just turn on the tv to any of the news channels. Fox, CBS, NBC... take your pick.
Well, I am also a fairly new owner, and I have never started out by driving a Prius like any other car. I get great gas mileage using pulse & glide and driving with load. Why would I want to drive it any other way? I have tried driving it like I used to drive a couple of times just to see the difference, but that's it. I think it is an ideal car for stop and go driving.
It is, but to a point. It has a range where it gets its best gas mileage. Above and below that, the mileage drops.
I use mine for running deliveries, a bit longer each than running a route like you are though. It's the perfect car for the job. It is better for the severe stop and go driving, energy is recovered from the regenerative braking at each stop and energy is conserved at each stop as the ICE turns itself off rather than idling all day long. Now, I'm not saying that this style of severe stop and go doesn't still have a negative impact on the C's overall MPG, just less of an impact than the same driving style does on a non-hybrid. Note that your brand new C will get better mileage after a few tanks, mine was in the 54 range after the first few tanks as well and now it's more like 58, including tons of AC usage over the summer.
So this morning my papers were a bit late which gave me the chance to drive the Prius harder. Accelerated in PWR zone mostly. Through the part of my route where my customers are close together, my mileage dropped into the 40s, but then recovered at the end to about 53. Not bad
Thanks for the update - in your original post you said you were getting about 54 on the c, and I assume that was when it was taking you about 30 minutes longer because of the way you were driving. it. Getting 53 with normal driving sounds very good.
PWR zone isn't just gas guzzle mode, it is less efficient drop for drop of gas than staying in the more efficient lower range, but you do still get increased output with the increased gas consumption. Use the PWR are when you need it, but not excessively and you may not even notice a net drop in your MPG.
If the route is say about 50 miles so at 3.50 a gal it would cost at 54 mpg it would cost $3.24 in gas. At the faster pace with 53 mpg it would cost $3.30 a difference of 6 cents. If it took me an extra 30 min to get the job done and the difference was so little I would be all over the gas pedal.
