Just purchased a 2017 Prime (traded in Prius 2012). I will be driving 42 miles (each way to work), 30 of it on the Long Island Expressway (60+mph) Looking for advice on best tips to get most MPG? (Electric is .20kwh here on LI).
Congratulations! If you can keep speed ridiculously slow, 55-60 on the LI Expressway, you should eventually get to 30-35miles of EV only range (no A/C), and 60-70mpg overall. If you don't want to mess around with hypermiling, just let the car do the calibrations, and you'll still get great mileage! Read other posts here where owners will post tips. Have fun! .
The car will default to EV mode each time you restart it; just leave it in that mode for starters, and watch your range. Learn A/C, radio controls, especially on left side of steering wheel (voice commands, etc.) There's a ton of stuff to learn; early on, I just turned on the car in the garage, with owner's manual on my lap, and started playing with the buttons; spent several hours doing that and learned a lot. Again, have fun, it won't be boring! .
agree with @HPrimeAdvanced ... lots to learn, suggest you download the pdf of the manual. No one can tell you what will work best for you (unless they have the same commute, driving style), you'll have to try things out on your own and see what works best for you, if you get free EV charging at work, that is a no brainer ... I have an even longer commute than you, you can start reading here but there are many many more posts with great advise My EV range story | PriusChat
I've driven the LI Expressway. Don't be that idiot driving so slow below the flow of traffic that you become a problem just to save a little gas. Be safe first. If you're dead, it doesn't matter how much gas you saved.
My commute is a little shorter than yours (~37miles), and more rural highway than expressway, but I get the best gas mileage by using EV on the slowest parts of my drive, especially when going through a town. My last tank I got 89MPG (calculated). Coming from home, it's the fastest part of my drive, so I always start out in HV for about 13 miles, then switch to EV until I run out on my return trip home. I also don't drive any different than anyone else on the road, but if someone's going a bit slower than normal traffic, I use them as an excuse to go slower myself.
Just drive you new car. Start off in EV mode and just drive it. There is a switch that gives your choice of 3 acceleration modes, econ, normal, power. These just give you more acceleration for the same pedal position. Pick the one that best suits your drive. Your choice isn't a big deal. Your ability to safely merge into traffic is a big deal. After you get accustomed to your new car, try different modes. Toyota's engineers did a good job of programing the car, so just drive safely and see how you like things. EV Auto gives you a battery plus gas engine option when you need it. HV gives you gas engine all the time plus added battery power when needed.
Echoing a lot of people here. It’s more efficient to drive in ev mode in stop and go or under 50mph even though it can go up to 82. I tend to drive in HV mode on the highway as the car’s ICE is just so efficient for highway driving.
Charging? In NY - it is .20kwh - is it worth charging or just using the cars technology to save most $ ? How much energy is used per charge?
The Prius Prime has a 8.8 kWh battery. It’s fairly easy to do the math from there based on what kind of mileage you’re getting in EV mode.
Ummm knock it down to about 6.6-6.8 kWh for the true usable part that's rechargeable or usable. Some of it is for HV and the other is the reserve portion that we don't access to protect the battery. According to my logs the most I've ever charged is 6.8 kWh's. After that... calculate away!
Yes, you certainly need to account for your own personal use of climate control, charging loss, etc. I guess in answer to the original question, one needs to measure how much electricity they draw and then balance that against the actual amount of miles you get based on the variables unique to you. (Road topography, how you drive, use of climate control, etc.)
