I took a used 2014 Prius C (27000 miles) on a test drive of about 4 miles highway and 1 1/2 city driving...when we got in car , salesman said battery was to low for EV mode. I think he put in (non-eco mode) power mode... after drive we averaged 47 mpg .... Does this seem right? My concern was the battery might be weak, it seems it should of been higher. The A/C was on the entire time.
You were dealing with a salesman, what do they know. If he put it in power mode he did so to make the car feel peppy rather than a little sluggish, sluggish don't sell. EV mode is only for parking lots, you never use it anyhow, and at 27000 the car should still be under factory warranty.
People tend to worry about the traction (larger) battery a lot but there's really no need. You're covered by a 100k warranty IIRC - and the battery for the C-type is probably even cheaper than it is for the adult-sized Prius - which tends to run about $2K installed. Also...don't overthink the battery's role in fuel efficiency. It's really just a convenient way to reduce idling and a piggy bank for scavenged coasting and braking energy. I always hand calculate my tank MPGs. Some of the geekier hypermilers use completely different metrics. (gallons per miles) Besides.....the C-type has been around for a while now, and premature battery failure hasn't been a problem for this type. As far as mileage is concerned, don't worry about the display. It's going to bounce around like a politician's polling numbers depending on a lot of factors. I can drive my V8 pickup on a 5 mile route that would give me bragging rights to the world's most efficient truck. It's a YMMV thing, and yours WILL vary. Remember. The "C" in Priussy stands for "city" and while the pint-sized Prius certainly has enough grunt to pull interstate duty, interstate mileages might be different than they will be for it's larger sibling. Good Luck!
47mpg seems good for a short trip, I'm actually surprised it was that high for a test drive.The battery is not going to have degraded in 27K miles.
prius are selling like cold cakes. take another drive, without the salesman. you can try ev mode after the ice warms.
The milage improves as the car warms up, 47 MPG is pretty good for a short trip. As you get to know how to drive the car, as they are different from a normal car, you will be able to average 50 to 55 MPG. I have seen my MPG from the high 40's to high 70's. Also in the winter months your MPG will be on the lower side, as these cars prefer to be driven in warmer climates to get high MPG.
The stated mpgs from the Toyota are about right. You can make it better or worse, depending on your driving habits and skills. They do take a while to get the hang of, but you get used to it. I wouldn't worry about the battery...EV mode isn't for anything but creeping through parking lots and neighborhoods. It helps, but is very limited.
That mileage sounds about right for a short trip. On short trips the car will not get its best mileage as when you start it it has to warm up the cat converter so most of the first few miles will be on the gas engine. It will also get lower mileage in winter if you are using the heater/defroster as that system needs hot coolant to provide the heat. As the coolant cools the ICE will start to bring the temp back up, whether it is needed or not to propel the car. I live in coastal Washington State and get about 4 miles per gallon less in winter than summer. But it is still pretty good!
Well, In my experience the MPG or Km/Liter reading from the 'Trip average' meter is questionable, read this thread I posted, Low mileage after a lot of idling with ac on all the time | PriusChat
