Real World MPG Numbers

some of same thoughts here

 

New Prius owner. So far I've filled up twice. 54mpg or so the first fill up. 56mpg on my second. Working on stretching it out on the highway some. My commute is 37 miles one way, mostly on the highway. I haven't driven exclusively in "Eco" mode yet. But I'm gonna start tonight. Gotta say I love the car. I'm coming from a 2004 Silverado that got 16mpg. So I'm loving life right now. However, I have noticed my hand calculations have been lower than the trip meter for that specific tank, 4mph less on the second tank.

 

I only had my Eco 2 for 3 weeks and filled it up once before I traded up to this 4 ATP/PCP model.

Just a casual observation from the short time with both cars is that the Eco you could get super high MPG numbers more easily, but the 4 (as I've been getting used to it) will get 65-70 mpg on short in-town drives as well.

Here is the only stat I have on the Eco 2:

Miles: 666.9
Gallons: 10.645

Fuel Economy (calculated) = 62.65 mpg

Either the 4 or the Eco will beat the pants off my Gen 3 Prius II.
Toyota has drastically improved this car!

 

May have found your ex: Used Cars for Sale in High Point NC | Vann York Toyota Page 1

So this is what I'm seeing:

	model	price	auto-brake	EV	ICE	HP	ft{3}	Odo.
1	i3-Rex (used)	$29500	no	80	Y	168	99	7000
2	2016 ECO (used)	$23000	no	-	Y	121	118	850
3	2016 Level 3+ATP	$30000	yes	-	Y	121	118	0

It is good to have choices.

Bob Wilson

 

Someone will get a nice discount.

It should sell fast because it has the heated leather and black shifter area.

Does that mean Prii don't hold their value well?

 

It's the new car screw. Standard with every make / model.

 

Got to say Toyota delivered another fine product. If I was on a limited budget the cheapest new Prius I could find will be the best value. Especially you young folks. I need the safety stuff so I can continue to collect my retirement check.

 

Warmer weather, summer blended gas, more BTU's per gallon, and 60+ mpg, calculated of course, will be quite easy for the 2016 Prius, especially the ECO2. Even our 2010 Prius with nearly 300 miles on the tank is indicating 63 mpg, 59+true calculated mpg. A 10 mpg improvement over the winter is quite easy, now with warmer weather and summer blended gas, more mpg is easily obtainable...

 

I just picked up a Prius Two Eco for my commute. My daily round trip is 225-235 miles, depending on whether I run any errands during lunch or on the way home. It's almost all highway...the first 4 miles are in town, the next 15 or so are 2 lane highway with rolling hills and 55 mph speed limit, then other than the last roughly 5 miles of 23-35 mph going uphill, the rest is all highway with typical speeds of 65-72 mph. There's a net elevation gain of several hundred feet on the way to work. In the morning the winds are usually calm, but the way home sees headwinds of 20-30 mph, and lots of lane changes and occasional heavy throttle to get around the farm trucks.

Today was an indicated 54.6 mpg. If the display reads 5% high like everyone says it does, then today I averaged 51.9 mpg. That's using the AC most of the way home and using cruise control on the faster stretches.

Since I'll be putting about 1150 miles per week on the car, I'll be able to post up a solid mostly-highway average for anyone who is interested, obviously in the above conditions.

So far so good...comfy, quiet, and it dealt with the headwinds very well. Now if I could just find that annoying dash buzz that happens at low engine RPMs....

 

Guess my 8 mile commute to work on public transit isn't so bad after all. Would definitely like to see numbers since my future plans would probably involve a fair amount of highway driving. Maybe you could join Fuelly to help with getting numbers for those interested. Is road noise as bad as some complaints say on the highway?

 

I'm on fuelly, but haven't filled up yet....still on the dealer fill, going off the 1-day readout for today. I'll add the fuelly link to my signature once I start putting gas in it, and I always do hand calculations when I fill up.

As far as noise, to me it's quiet. But perceptions of noise depend on road surface, speed, wind speed & direction, etc. Digging through Car & Driver's test data sheets provides a more objective measure. The 3rd generation tested by them came in at 71 or 72 dB at 70 mph, but the current Two Eco comes in at 66 dB at 70 mph. Assuming they were both tested on the same surface, the 4th generation is quieter. On smooth surfaces I get very little road noise; on rough surfaces I get more, but it's subjectively quieter to me than other compact cars I've ridden in. There is some wind noise around the A-pillars, but it's not objectionable to me. And there's almost no engine noise.

 

110+ mi per leg commute?! Yikes that's a long one! How long does it take you? How early do you need to get on the road? You are going to "finish" this Prius faster than a taxi will...!
My 23mi/36km overall commute pales in comparison....
52mpg is quite good!
What do you mean by "dash buzz at low engine RPM"? Some vibration of the plastics?

 

Congratulations and welcome!

If you get a chance, record your route with a GPS and load it into Google Earth. Then pull up the altitude trace and look for flat, constant speed sections of about 10 miles length.

These flat sections are the ones that can help us understand the vehicle performance. Just set the speed to a constant value; reset a trip meter entering, and; record the MPG and speed at the end. Temperature and wind effects help but the best practice is to make two passes, same speed, same route opposite directions and average the results to take out altitude and wind effects.

Bob Wilson

 

It's a long drive, but not a difficult one. Every morning I leave between 5-5:30, depending on when I need to arrive at work. If I don't stop along the way, it's just under 2 hours on the way to work, a little over2 hours on the way back...there's more traffic on the way home. But even with seeing more traffic on the way home, I'm still driving opposite of most of the commuter traffic in the area, so it's not a stressful stop-and-go type of commute.

On the buzz: It sounds like it's coming from the steering column or the dash area down low, directly in front of me. It only happens when the engine is at a particular RPM....playing with the gas pedal while the engine is on can make it come and go very consistently. I think the steering column or something down low is most likely; when I move the steering wheel to the lowest position, the noise still happens, but sounds like it is partially blocked, like something has moved in between the source of the buzz and my ears. This coming weekend I'll probably stick my head under there and see what I can find.

It's strange though...even though the Prius is not an exciting car to drive and I've only had it since Sunday, I'm really enjoying the dash displays, and already find myself getting all nerdy about the battery charge, driving in such a way as to keep the engine off, using momentum to my advantage, etc. I think I might get some mental enjoyment out of driving to maximize MPG.

 

I know it made my commute much more interesting and pleasant. But beware, it's a slippery slope. Before you know it you'll be hypermiling.....

 

2 hrs is a LOT! And I complain if it takes me 30mins instead of 25 But it seems you have a mostly pleasant drive. I drive in horrible city traffic where you can never get your eyes off the road, otherwise you kill somebody looking in his mobile phone either walking, on the bicycle, or driving even....

Seems to me there is some loose piece of "something" that resonates at a specific RPMs of the ICE. I hope you find the cause and that is something that is simple to fix!

I actually enjoy getting in the car now and "play the game" of fuel consumption - each time, even after 6 years of Gen3, I still want to try to do my best for the current type of route (I have a feeling now of what to expect when with which ambient temperature) - I like to surprise myself and try things out.

 

4 hours solid, day after day, is going to be hard on you: back problems, all sorts of stuff. That's life I guess.

(I should talk, can barely get my socks on, lol.)

 

Four hours a day is a lot, but it's a fantastic job...I look forward to going to work every day, and the money is rewarding. My husband and I are continually evaluating the situation...because he's back in school to get a master's degree and goes to a fantastic school 10 minutes from where we live, one or both of us is going to have a commute. As it is, there's nothing in-between where we live and where I work that makes either one of us want to move...just some small farm towns. We just spent a ton of time and money renovating our house and love it. And even if we did move, then all it would do is transfer some of the commute to him.

Oh I found the buzzing panel. Directly below the steering column, there's a textured piece of plastic. below that is a smooth piece that's likely there to shield something from your feet. The smooth piece is the one that's buzzing. I'll get under the dash this coming weekend to put some foam tape in there to quiet the buzz.

Back on the fuel economy. Yesterday I filled up just before getting home. 51.6 mpg, almost all highway in the conditions I described above. So slightly less than the EPA ratings, but the conditions are truly not good...elevation gain on the way to work (but no wind), and some typically strong headwinds on the way home from work (20+ mph headwind is the norm). Given the headwinds, the AC use on the way home, and the average highway speed sitting just under 70 mph, that's great mileage to me. I'm happy!

 

OT, but when I was first married my wife had a 2 hour commute (train) each way to work in NYC. We couldn't afford to live closer, and besides I commuted 45' the other way. We didn't realize how much of a strain it put on our relationship, because on the weekends she (naturally) didn't feel like trips, whereas I was ready to go places. These days, telecommuting for a couple of days a week can be an option, or perhaps working longer hours 3-4 days and getting 1-2 days off each week. Saves energy for both you and the car.

 

Careful with the panel, I think that there is an airbag down there.