You won't save much money by hypermiling

Back in the old days....fabled and tinted in tones of sepia....when I owned a Prius...
I use to tell Newbies to "Just Drive".
Because I think the whole HSD design and software of a Prius is focused on returning fantastic gas mileage, while allowing drivers to actually ignore "hypermiling" techniques. If they wish.

Also especially when new to a Prius, I think trying to balance all the feedback The Prius provides PLUS think about a whole lot of hypermiling philosophies and techniques potentially dangerous.

Admittedly however, I was never a "hard core" hypermiler. The most I ever do or did was some pulse and glide, and simply learning to look ahead and try to predict future stop lights and maximize momentum.

However, I was impressed with how much even this simple adoption seemed to impact the fuel efficiency not so much of The Prius, but of the Non-Hybrid vehicles I drove....and am now driving.

But yes, my philosophy always was pretty much "Just Drive It".
And the core justification was that I felt The Prius is efficient by default, as well as I think simply driving it as per normal in traffic, is also safer than focusing on hypermiling minutia.

 

i was gonna compare 44mpg vs 68mpg which I get with my 2010, and compare further with 78mpg which 2016 owners are getting.....but the calculator can go up only as high as 50mpg

 

Simple:
If the average vehicle gets 20-25 mpg, and my Prius get 45-50 mpg... I'm spending half as much on gas, for the same gas price/miles per unit time.

 

We're talking AVERAGE MPG not,freaky hypermiling or best mpg attained!!

 

agree with the o/p, but i would pay them to be able to hyper mile, so the hundred bucks is a bonus.

 

should have bought a corolla, who knew?

 

Let's say you don't hypermile and got 45mpg and 60mpg when you do hypermile.
Now, I think most people would go insane if they had to hypermile for the life of the vehicle. However, If they combine normal driving and hypermile here and there, they'll probably get 55mpg.
55mpg will save you over $1,000 per 100,000 miles vs 45mpg over the same distance assuming gas is at $2.50 average.
I do agree with OP that driving a Prius will save a lot of money vs driving a pickup or an SUV.
Imagine how much money this guy would have saved had he driven a Prius Million-mile Toyota Tundra owner given brand new truck - Autoblog

 

On the highway I just drive. Around town I try to play the maximum MPG game.

I do get several people angry with me on the highway due to how much space I leave, even though I am traveling the same speed as the traffic in my lane. I think the stigma of the Prius amplifies it. I live in Massachusetts where it is customary to drive 5 feet behind the vehicle in front of you when travelling 80 MPH. Coincidentally, I see accidents involving 3-5 cars roughly once a month on my commute. There would be a hell of a lot less traffic if drivers left more room and weren't constantly lighting up their brakes.

I try to focus on using regenerative braking as much as possible and save the friction brakes for emergency/unexpected stops. I am curious if I can make the friction brakes last for the life of the vehicle. If I cannot slow to a stop using mostly regenerative braking (provided the car in front of me brakes semi-normally), I do not consider myself to be at a safe following distance.

Other MA drivers seem to get angry that I'm not tailgating the car in front of me. Usually I will pick up a "buddy" or two who see what I am doing and follow suit. It's a much less stressful way to navigate my commute. Interestingly, my "buddies" tend to be other hybrid drivers or guys in really nice cars like BMW 7 series or a Porsche.

 

Not sure why an online calculator is needed for such simple math questions.

I started hypermiling in a car that was previously giving 25 mpg normally, 27 if I was very careful. When gas shot to about $4.50/gallon, I discovered ScanGauge, then Uncle Wayne [Gerdes]. Between the gauge and Wayne's methods, I saved enough fuel alone to recover the ScanGauge's full list price ($175) within 6000 miles. Then more savings in maintenance, tires, and blood pressure medication started materializing later.

The later change to a Prius was not enough reason to quit doing what was learned previously.

I disagree. Drivers should be spending their time on driving activities, not personal or income-producing activities. Those distractions are likely the major reason behind the 18% increase in traffic fatalities in the past two years.

Proper hypermiling technique is also focused on maintaining and improving safety, not distracting from it.

For those of us who were salaried, and are now retired, that time behind the wheel was not subtracting from income-producing time. The same applies to the majority of the population.

 

Fortunately, being retired, I can avoid the stress of the Freeways by choice. (It's a nerve-wracking rat race!)

Enjoying my new "Pre-Eye" more & more as the months pass. Just driving normally, allowing the hybrid system to do what it does... and very happy and thankful for any MPG over 40!

I'm not counting calories. Just enjoying the drive.

 

Math is pretty simple and yours is pretty flawed.
1) Many Prius drivers get sub 40 or 30mpg tankfulls taking (short trips, using heaters or air conditioning).
2) Gasoline has only recently come down to $2.50/gal. Average price for the last 5-10 years has often been $3.50 or $4.00.
Plug that into your calculator. multiply it by 10-15 years, and then it does add up!
If every driver had a Prius, did a little Pulse and Glide, our air would be cleaner, we would import less oil, and we would all save some real money.

 

Silly numbers to start with 40-50mpg

On my gen2 I got 52mpgs
On my gen 3 I got 62mpgs
In my gen4 I'm getting 66.5mpgs and I don't hypermile

BTW what is the OPs definition of hypermiling?
I don't

 

Those numbers arent silly when you're in a stop and go traffic with red lights that last up to 2 minutes and it's 110f outside so you have run the AC.

 

I don't hypermile keep it 75 mph and under, gas is cheap atm. Take too much time to get there if it's a long trip! Not worth a few bucks! I do hypermile my truck best I get maybe 12 mpg if not 7-9 mpg!

 

Speeding doesn't get you there much faster:
Does Speeding Really Get You There Any Faster?

 

Maybe not..... but it certainly does feel like it's quicker. And the mental satisfaction is not inconsiderable!!!

 

55 MPH on DRCC pretty much for almost all of my last 3 tanks for me on my commute... Yup....on I95

Doesn't take any effort, I get where I'm going safely and fast enough and I burn less gas in the process! I've been doing this commute for 5 yrs now and driving like a jackass gets me home maybe 2-5 mins faster. I have Sirius XM and really enjoy it so the extra 2-5 mins does not bother me, I sometimes even sit in my car post commute and finish listening to the talk radio segment or the song I was listening to..


Edit: Plus I have to attempt to repent for all those 12mpg tanks with the old HEMI Ram....