My one month old Prius has given me a lot of satisfaction. I have enjoyed being able to achieve close to 50MPG here in northern Jersey on relatively short haul trips. While I still view driving a car as primarily a means to get from one place to another, I'm having a lot more fun these days getting to those same places while learning how to appreciate the car's subtleties, and improving upon these already stratospheric MPG values. And I'm probably driving a lot more safely as well. Having said this, I must admit that I have been confused by most of the messages that I have read here recommending Pulse and Glide driving, about the difference between coasting and gliding, and about the value of achieving a 'no arrows' driving state. Not having witnessed it, I was beginning to think that those who wrote about it were driving a different make of car than mine. Until last night. I have been practicing what I thought was P&G driving during most of my driving this past month, which is primarily commuting to and from work. I've been rapidly accelerating to speed, and then trying to maintain a light pedal the rest of the way. I have been taking advantage of long downhill stretches by easing up on the accelerator to obtain very high MPG indicator values. But I have never seen the Energy display on the MFD show no arrows. The problem was that I was doing most of my P&G experimenting while highway driving. Last night I discovered what I should have realized from reading the advice of others here: that P&G driving is most easily achieved at lower speeds. Toying around with feathering the accelerator while driving a local, flat stretch of road with a 35MPH speed limit, I suddenly got all the arrows to disappear. The car started rolling so much more freely that it almost lurched forward. It felt like I had previously been driving with the parking brake on (which I guess in a way is what it WAS doing). I found that after achieving the 'no arrows' state once, it was fairly easy to reach it again - both on that road, and on other similar roads. This afternoon I found myself seeking out opportunities to try it, generally waiting for low-speed-limit stretches where I knew I wouldn't annoy other drivers by gliding. I know this might sound a little corny, but I wasn't doing it to achieve the highest MPG. I was doing it mostly because it brought a feeling of serenity. It was a great feeling to be able to just glide along while maintaining speed for long distances in a silent car. I described it to my wife and daughter this evening (who both undoubtedly think I've gone completely off the deeply obsessive end), why I probably enjoy it so much. It's because I've experienced this feeling many times before while doing a different form of gliding - namely sailplaning (more accurately, radio-controlled gliders of 2-3 meter length). The experiences are surprisingly similar. In both cases you are biding your time, patiently on the lookout for a location where conditions are just right for the vehicle you're operating to be able to glide. For the sailplane it's a thermal; for the Prius it's the right stretch of open flat road. In both cases, you can glide for surprisingly long distances with little noticeable change in state: for the sailplane it's altitude; for the Prius it's speed. And popping into P&G with the Prius is surprisingly like entering a thermal: the slight surge in speed as the wheels turn more freely is very much like the slight jump in altitude that a sailplane achieves when it enters a thermal. Regrettably, I had to give up the hobby of R/C gliders when my two kids turned old enough for travel soccer. I've thought about picking it up again when the kids enter high school (not far off). This experience with the Prius is rekindling that desire. For those who have had the pleasure of experiencing R/C gliding, I think you know what I mean. And for those who haven't tried it - but who enjoy P&G driving for more than just achieving great gas mileage - I strongly recommend trying it. There are few things that I've experienced that are more satisfying and sublime than watching a small hand-launched glider catch a ground-level thermal and soar to a thousand feet. Again, sorry if this has sounded corny. But I can understand now why others have said, "Man, I love this car." Stevejm
BINGO!! That's exactly the way I explain it to people. I tell them that when the regenerative lets loose it feels as though you are accelerating. In fact, my wife once accused me of accelerating towards a red light. And now you understand the zen of driving the Prius. Congratulations, NEO, you are one with the Matrix -er- Prius.
Second that, steve - I'm also a new prius owner that is rapidly dvelping a sense of zen when gliding, and in fact, am also an R/C soaring nut. Forgive me if I'm covering ground you've already walked, but if you're thinking about getting back into soaring, I highly recommend DLGs (Discus Launch Gliders). It may let you get started earlier than you think. These are really neat little machines, usually between 1 and 1.5 meters, that you hand-launch from the wingtip by spinning around in a circle. They then rocket off skyward, with launch heights of over 100 ft, which is high enough to catch the little low-level thermal bubbles, at least with sailplanes as light as these. There's really nothing more zen than sending a sailplane to speck height on nothing more than the energy you put into it with your own arm and whatever you find once aloft. I usually keep a DLG in the back of the car for spontaneous flying - with no support equipment, I can grab it and fly it just about anywhere, anytime. You can take it along with you on soccer trips, and chuck it a few times with your kids while you're waiting for the match/practice. Kids love flight too, and these little ships are perfect to have around them, as there's nothing dnagerous about them. Anyway, keep soaring, whether on the ground or in the air!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Oct 22 2006, 06:47 PM) [snapback]336585[/snapback]</div> Don't look at the numbers. Just do it.
Be careful, trying for high fuel ecomomy (FE), is very addicting. Congratulations on your purchase. I have had my 2006 for 3 months. My first tank was around 46 mpg, but my current tank is at 601 miles at 74.5 mpg on the multi function display (MFD). 800 miles on this tank for sure, 900 maybe. We shall see . . . .
Ah yes, that calming effect. It's quite nice when the roads are near empty, the radio is off and you just glide by.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(VABeachPrius @ Oct 22 2006, 10:56 PM) [snapback]336603[/snapback]</div> Surely that's a typo - and if not it must be a record! I can't believe that you were able to sustain that kind of MPG! How the he.. did you accomplish it?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stevejm @ Oct 23 2006, 07:51 AM) [snapback]336739[/snapback]</div> lol.. you should see the "I Beat The EPA" thread then.
Yes, Tideland, it is sweet with the radio off-- one can appreciate it more for some reason. Zen, perhaps?
