I... am... so... HAPPY!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: When I bought my car in October, I already knew about the lack of accuracy in EPA estimates. I figured I would get around 45MPG, considering the rolling terrain here and my frequent short trips (15-30 minutes, about 20 of them each day I work). Still, 45MPG is a vast improvement over my old car. At 100+ miles each day in the city, I was saving a lot on gas. Around 8,000 miles, I must have broken-in the car. (And I think it also broke-in me.) I went from a 47.6MPG tank to a 52.6MPG tank!! Those were tanks 19 and 20, respectively. I'm now on tank 26, just over 11,000 miles. I've driven over 400 miles on this tank, and my current average is at 54.1. This is one prideful Prius person!!! Thanks to everyone who has posted tips, from tire pressure and full-synth oil to handling rolling hills (accellerate on the decline and let the car just ride the incline). I still get a kick from seeing 99.9 with the ICE running! PS - I've missed you fine folks. I've been off the board since Christmas because of this project I'm working on (and still not finished). I had to stay away... this site is way too addicting!!
Way to go on the improvement! I can still remember cracking the 50mpg barrier. What's great is when breaking 50 becomes easy, then you shoot for 55, then 60...and on and on. I'm with you, I was sure that it was partly the car and partly the retraining, but aren't the end results nice?
And when you can predict the mileage based on weather, conditions, routes, etc. I agree that anything sub-55 has to have a good explainationg and I push hard for 60 (though rare to see it in all but the most ideal weather and commutes.
Your report is encouraging Brian. I've got a new '06 with about 1300 miles on it. I've been pleased to see the mpg steadily creep up. I'm at 44.7 now, which I feel is great, considering it's cold and were burning winter gas. This is a huge $ improvement over my 5.4L F150. I'm looking forward the bigger improvements that summer will bring. It's fascinating how my driving habits are changing in response to the real-time fuel consumption data that the Prius provides.