forget the maximum, what's the minimum MPG?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ May 9 2006, 08:58 PM) [snapback]252527[/snapback]</div>

Yes, wasn't that with the character McBane? Didn't he drive his Hummer up and over a fence? Good episode.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prizzle @ May 10 2006, 11:14 AM) [snapback]252927[/snapback]</div>

Every time they build something idiot-proof, they build a better idiot...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(berylrb @ May 11 2006, 06:34 PM) [snapback]253843[/snapback]</div>

POOP STINK PEEPEE SMELLY DIAPER BOOGERS. All of you SMUG poopers (except berylrb). I just completed a week of travelling from Sonoma County (about 40 miles north of SF) to Malibu and LA in SoCal, with about 1100 miles (making my total on the odo about 1600... ). I have YET to break 40 mpg overall...The 420 miles today was particularly bad--coming up I5 through CA's Central Valley, the temp was about 110 for a coupla hundred of those friggin' miles. I do NOT care how good a climate control system you have--unless you are sitting on ice cubes, it just ain't gonna cut it. THEN, having to stop for potty breaks, due to the amount of liquid necessary to consume, and trying to get back into the car and continue to breathe...well, fuggedaboudid...

Ok, most of my driving, when not roadtripping, is VERY short hops with LOTS of stop signs, but still--you people are depressing the hell out of me. I'm gonna have to go hang out at a hummer site so I can fell better about myself. Darrelllllddddd...I do NOT even WANT to hear from you and your EV fleet, OK???

I mean, all this is bad enough, but you can't even turn off the damn outside temp thingy. Personally, I really believe I would have been MUCH happier not knowing it was ONE HUNDRED AND TEN FREAKIN' DEGREES out there...OTOH, maybe it gives me a bit of an excuse...? Not to mention that I had to REALLY boogie for about 60 miles just before the People's Republic of Bezerkely because my capitalist pig of a husband needed me to stop at his BMW dealer before 6 to pick up an extra valet key for his "new" 2002 5 series (which still cost more than my Prius...however, with my mere 39mpg highway and his 30 highway--I am losing SERIOUS points here!).

So now will anybody try to cheer me up and say that it WILL get better, dear, or what?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jul 10 2006, 02:48 AM) [snapback]283738[/snapback]</div>

Ummm...total on odo is a big 1,566. And 1,071 of that is since July 2, so yes, I know I am panicking early, but I do like to avoid the rush...I have been pretty good with the a/c overall. I have found it a very effective climate control system that I really don't need to run as much as I would have thought (although, I gotta tell ya, hot flashes are a bitch...). BUT, with exterior temp at really and truly 110 degrees for about 3 hours of drive time...and lots of stop time while hydrating and, um, unhydrating, it was REALLY cranked today for probably 250-300 miles. LIGHTS are not a problem--we have LOTS of stop signs. I was checking today as I went. I5 is mostly a long straight flat dull road, so I was trying to see what difference cruise control vs no cc would make and stuff. I THINK not using it probably does work out some better, but I'd go nuts on long drives, so that's a tradeoff I am going to have to accept. A couple of bits of the trip over the week were down long windy hills...LOVED seing the FULL rank of the lime bars! I did push up the tires to the 40/42 I've seen hereabouts. I am not sure if I read your article--I have read lots, but I will look for yours now. No, I do know it all takes time, but it does get frustrating to see everyone else going on about how great blah blah blah and I just want to go throw myself under my car...

Thanks for the encouraging words...I know I'll have to hang in there for a while longer before I get REALLY upset!

 

You are too much Rufaro, thanks for the laugh and reality check!

Hey Efusco, you need to come out here to SF and give it a whirl. It just isn't that simple:
1. anticipating stops - we have a hard enough time anticipating who is going to jump off a sidewalk, or open a car door on our narrow streets, our people haven't heard of turn signals (or common sense)
2. slowing well ahead - it just isn't possible during commute time, you slow and ZIP-BANG, you leave 10 feet and someone ducks in it
3. pulse and glide - come on people, cities are dense, I counted it once in another post but I think we had 26 signs and lights in 3.6 miles, that's a traffic signal every 1/8 mile! (Now out the otherside of my mouth I have accomplished a few but I almost rear-ended someone this morning on a 1/4 mile stretch because I was so elated that I did it, by Kezar Stadium for you SF'ers, woohoo!)

I could go on but it's just different. And it's not just "Well you don't know how to drive!" Like a poster said once. I just came back from a trip to Sacramento streets big enough to turn a bus around in, flat, and 100 degrees to boot, we averaged in the mid-50's piece of cake, and that's fully loaded vacation driving with A/C.

I thank you for your article Efusco, and I use it for a reference all the time, and I've learned a lot from it, but It just gets to me when folks keep mentioning it as a bible for drivers who clearly are asking about city driving. No offense intended, a lot of it just isn't practical for the north bay area - dense, hilly and short commutes.

Bottom Line: Someone needs to come up with a dense, hilly and short commute article! I talk to Prius drivers all the time, especially at our gym, and all of us are routinely 3-5 mile commuters who are in the mid to high 30's while driving the city and routinely above 55 outside of the bay, so we've got skills! Give us a break, eh!

b

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(busyrosy @ May 9 2006, 06:08 PM) [snapback]252499[/snapback]</div>

I got 28.29 once

 

Worst mileage for a whole tank - 40.5 miles per US gal.

Worst mpg for one week - 38.5

Both of these were during sub-freezing temperatures, with an average trip length of less than 4 miles.

 

34 mpg Using E85 and trying to do bad. Maybe I should tow someing?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheap! @ Jul 10 2006, 01:42 PM) [snapback]284046[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(berylrb @ Jul 10 2006, 10:04 AM) [snapback]283897[/snapback]</div>

Yes, I somewhat agree. Living in Los Angeles, and driving 2800 miles a month I sure do a lot of dense city driving! The techniques do vary somewhat. I mostly preach route selection over anything else...sometimes driving further on better terrain yields better results. We all have been conditioned to think that a straight-line route is the best, but with these cars that is not always the case.

San Fran must be a tough place for the Prius. I know that I cringe having to go up hills, because I hate watching the MPG's melt away!

Sounds like you are doing a great job considering...imagine a non-hybrid...you would be better off with a bicycle!

 

with my occasional trips to seattle, terrain very similiar to SF, my mileage will drop about 10-15 mpg. part of it is not knowing the area, the timing of the lights, best routes, higher traffic volumes, etc.

it all takes a piece. plus, i rarely am there without someone else, so passenger weight plays a part as well.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mssmith95 @ Jul 11 2006, 01:21 AM) [snapback]284339[/snapback]</div>

I actually thought about that, but we do the Muni pretty much.

Don't get me wrong though, I really am happy with the Prius and would buy another one if I could justify two cars. That Lexus is looking sweet! B)

It's a challenge I'm more concerned for our prius-mates like Rufaro keeping up the morale! You are so right sometimes I want to shout, "Hey it's OK to get 38mpg in short, hilly, dense places, that's way better than your neighbors 14 in a camry!" (disclosure my neighbor really did say he gets 14)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(busyrosy @ May 9 2006, 08:08 PM) [snapback]252499[/snapback]</div>

I have a 53 mile commute from the mountains to north central jersey every day. 20 miles on I80, the rest is 45 or less. While on 80, I 'm going between 70-80 and not even thinking about mpg -- probably getting high 40's - say 48. Off I80, getting near 60 mpg ,while trying to maixmize mpg while minimizing commute time. Overall , 53 mpg. I'm a newbie, having picked up the prius at the dealer on 7/13. Hope to get better mpg as my driving improves, but I would say high 40's is obtainable without even trying as long the drive is not just 5 minutes.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tempus @ May 9 2006, 06:21 PM) [snapback]252506[/snapback]</div>

Yep. (I don't have the print version in front of me w/the table) Car and Driver at the racetrack got between 16-18 mpg on all the cars in this comparison, including the Prius: http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/84...pics-page3.html.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(berylrb @ Jul 11 2006, 11:21 AM) [snapback]284415[/snapback]</div>

Fret not, berylb, my commute is downhill .5 miles and level the remaining .5, a whopping 1 mile. Of course, It doesn't make sense to sit there and let the car warm up in the a.m., so I don't get max mileage. Going home is even nastier. that last half mile is a hill at 42 degrees. Best I've been able to get going up it is 6.2 mpg.

No matter where I go I have to do the hill to get home. I only get a tank over 50 mpg if I'm on a trip, experiencing the flat world.

 

I am getting my WORST ever mileage right now. I've had the car 6 months, 13,500 miles. I was averaging 49.6, and now with LA's lovely 100+ degree weather, it has dropped to 49.3 for tha past month. I don't drive it any differently than any other car. A/C between 72-76, 90% freeway 70+ mph, 90 miles a day. This is not a complaint, just an answer to your "worst" mileage question. You have to look at long term averages, just one tank won't tell you much. I've seen instant readings of as low as 16 under acceleration. It lasts a couple of seconds. I see 99 mpg much more often, whenever I let up on the gas. Your mileage may vary....

 

My worst over 45k miles so far was 35 MPG while driving with a headwind in windy rural Wyoming. I usually average about 45 MPG.

I think this is a great question to ask too... the fact that hardly anyone has gotten less than 35 speaks volumes about how amazing this car is.

 

Now that winter is here I am getting 38mpg

However I can't be completely sure of that because I change out the factory rims/tires for bigger rims and opted for tires that leave me with about a 1/2 inch overall height gain.

So I have to add a percentage onto that 38mpg, perhaps 3-7% but I can't really be sure.

I've never gotten about 43mpg which really bums me out. I am a slow driver and I anticipate stops, come off slow, etc..

My problem is short trips I think, and we live on a hill.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jbarnhart @ May 10 2006, 01:35 AM) [snapback]252655[/snapback]</div>

Hmmm..33MPG back and forth to a worksite that is a mile away. Assuming 10 gallons of usable fuel per tank you would have to fill up after only 165 days. How do you afford it?

 

Three mpg climbing a very steep rocky 'road' which was really not appropriate for Prius, at 3 mph. Sorry I was too busy avoiding rocks to take a picture of a screen full of tiny mpg bars. By the time I reached beautiful Mahogany Flats (Death Valley) campground at the top, the car was quite unhappy with me. We never did figure out what triggered the warning lights, but based on info collected since then, I may have gotten MG1 a bit too hot.

That was a long time ago, and Tochatihu seems to have forgiven me. I hope...