Hi Have 2 small kids and need to drop them to school a lot of the days due to rain etc. I walk when I can. The journey is only 1.2km to the school, turn of car for a few mins drop them off and then 1.2 km home again. The journey never gets above 50 kph and little traffic. I know the Prius has good fuel efficiency especially in traffic etc. However, with the journey above, is the car even warming up enough to achieve anyway decent fuel efficiency?
Your fuel economy will be very bad, but take comfort in knowing it is as good as almost any other gas-burning car can provide. I suppose the engine temperature probably reaches 130-140 degrees F when you arrive at the school, and that your heater is just beginning to blow warm air. When you arrive home the engine is probably close to its normal operating temperature, which you can verify by feeling plenty of good heat from the vents.
The only thing I can recommend is to combine trips. Schedule your other tasks out of the home to use the same trip, so you warm up once. You may get the best mileage if you drive the longest leg first.
Block heater will help a bit. We have similar duties sometime, and one of the school's up a great #%|~!! hill.
Very short journeys are ideal for an electric car, as there is nothing to warm up. The Prime may be worth trying as your next car; it has 25 miles of electric range according to the US EPA, (40 km) but can use readily available gasoline (petrol) beyond that. Mendel Leisk mentions a Block Heater, you may also wish to try grill blocking in colder weather. Newer Prius have built in grill shutters that open and close as needed. Owners of older cars have to remove them by hand in warm weather. Here is an example, a hardware store locally should have them www.amazon.co.uk/Climaflex-Insulation-Length-I-D-35mm-Thickness-13mm/dp/B01BVVDJF4
A block heater fits in a hole for it in your engine and allows warming the engine while parked. One member in Ireland got his from "toyota pentagon sheffield part no is tpz434-g0790-3z del to me was about 113 uk pounds" - UK engine block heater | PriusChat I found a How to for a Prius C, using a North American plug. The details will differ for the Gen 3 with a type G plug, but he was a pleasant man who showed lots of views.
Some info here, I happen to be having troubles with mine: Block heater failed | PriusChat The Toyota style block heater is a little different to what I'm accustomed to with Honda, which are immersed in coolant. The Toyota block heater fits in a core, outside of the coolant, and a heat-transfer lubricant is used to transmit heat. It seems that lube may dry up over time? Not sure. I am going to replace mine, just waiting for dealership to get more in.
