Mileage in Southern California

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pkhoury @ Feb 1 2007, 02:02 AM) [snapback]383719[/snapback]</div>

It depends on where you live, where you drive and your driving style.

I only commute 11 miles and I've got hills. I get about what you're getting. I have gotten as high as 52 but I have to really concentrate all of the time. Just regular driving I get in the 44-47 you're getting. I'm happy with that as it's double what I got in my old car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pkhoury @ Jan 31 2007, 11:02 PM) [snapback]383719[/snapback]</div>

Lots of freeway driving on I-5, downtown LA, I-60... very typical speeds (75-80 MPH) - with zero attention to optimizing mileage - we are getting consistent 42-43 MPG based on the MFD display (we don't check mileage at the gas pump).

This is far superior to our previous sedan (20-23 MPG).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(John in LB @ Feb 1 2007, 04:13 AM) [snapback]383805[/snapback]</div>

I've been getting anywhere from 48 - 56 MPG from driving the 405n to the 110n to work and back home.

Try to get familiar with the roads so you know where there are smooth flat roads with no hills and you can

just use the CC. I recommend driving without the CC during most of the freeway commutes though. Glide

during exits of the off ramps and try to pulse and glide when you get a chance. However, I believe it's

all about knowing the roads and understanding when to acclerate and when to release.. good luck!

 

I've been getting around 45. Sometimes around 50. I'm happy with it, didn't expect better, although it might be better in the summer.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pkhoury @ Feb 1 2007, 02:02 AM) [snapback]383719[/snapback]</div>

Wife's been getting 46 mpg. She does freeway commuting 25 each way. She was getting closer to 49 mpg right before the last service, but that coincided with the downturn in recent temperatures. I'm hoping that's the cause.

 

I'm getting between 50 and 54 for 1/2 hour drive from the 605/405 north to the 60. I get about the same mileage all year-round.

 

Commuting between Pasadena and the South Bay on the 710 and 110 fwys I get 53 to 55 mpg but in this colder weather I've dropped to 49-51 mpg.

 

In 1 year, 25,000 miles 99% freeway, I average 48-51, driving "normally". 0 mph when I have to, 85 when I can.

 

I've been averaging 48-51 MPG in almost exclusively surface street driving. Sunset Blvd. from Silverlake to UCLA (sometimes Santa Monica home), and almost daily trips downtown, again via Sunset and then down Grand to Venice. The hills here in Silverlake hurt a little, esp. on shorter trips, but the long flat stretches on Sunset tend to make up for it.

 

I can't imagine the thought process of having to "concentrate" or even "think" about
driving the car miserly, just to get 50-52 mpg instead of 45-47 from just driving the car "normal".

Think of that for a second.

Is it really worth your time, energy, and sanity to have to "think" about being a slow poke, cheap skate and NOT concentrate on just DRIVING but rather thinking about HOW you can drive just to save a bit more gas.

Look at it this way all that extra "concentrating" to get 5 mpg better gas mileage works out to getting about 55 more miles per tank of gas.
That's just over 1 gallon of gas...or about $2.50-$2.70 saved per fill up.

Is it REALLY worth all that to save a couple bucks per fill up???

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pkhoury @ Jan 31 2007, 11:02 PM) [snapback]383719[/snapback]</div>

I'm not in So Cal but my lifetime mileage is so far ~45.4 mpg after ~15K miles.

As an FYI, I'm not sure if you're aware of the EPA test procedure for fuel economy, but if you aren't, go to
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml and http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml. They don't actually measure the amount of fuel consumed either.

I suspect that the blend of gas we have in Cali might be partly to blame. See http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=2...mp;#entry367477 for what I'm talking about.

 

I live in Riverside County and I've been getting about 50 MPG AVG. Initially when I first bought my Prius I was only getting 44-47 MPG. I commute from Riverside to San Diego County and I do get some hills when driving through Fallbrook.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pkhoury @ Jan 31 2007, 11:02 PM) [snapback]383719[/snapback]</div>

I live in SAN, drive in a rather hilly area. My avg runs around 46-47, with a mixture of fwy and surface streets. On a recent trip to PHX (740mi round trip) I averaged 47.5, running the speed limits with air on most of the time.

 

I also live in San Diego. I've had my Prius for 8 months, and have gotten between 43 (worst tank) and 53 (best tank) av mpg. I have a pretty short commute (15-30 min, depending on traffic - about 8 miles), and I have to go up and down steep hills both ways (mixed residential and hwy driving), neither of which really help the mpg. Most of the time, my fuel efficiency is around 48mpg.

When I bought the car, I didn't even really think about saving money on gas ... I just loved the car, the gadgets, and the fact that my 6'3" husband can sit behind me (I'm 6'1") and we both have plenty of leg room ... but now that I have it (and fill up only twice a month MAX), 48 mpg sounds pretty sweet to me. 48, 55, 60 ... it's all gravy.

One question to the other SoCal drivers: does anyone else kind of relish getting stuck in traffic, you know, in the sick "I'm getting infinity miles to the gallon right now" kind of way? I become very "zen" when I'm creeping along at 7 mph and know that I could coast along like that forever and not use a drop of gas. heh heh. Maybe it's just me.

 

OMH86-

I am in San Diego also and I just got my 07 last week. I have to say that all I want to do i see how much gas I am NOT wasting when I am in traffic or waiting at the lights on Mira Mesa Blvd.

I have to say that we took our car to Vegas the day after we got it and the over all MPG is 44.1. When I did the math the whole round trip was nothing more than $35.00!!!!!! We even did a dinner upgrade because we did not need the extra cash for gas!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ohm86 @ Feb 5 2007, 08:32 PM) [snapback]385900[/snapback]</div>

I LOVE creeping along at 5 mph in bumper to bumper traffic...trying to stay on battery power and watch those 100 mpg bars stack up across my screen. Friday night I got 3 full bars in a row!! YIPPEE SKIPPY!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Driver-72 @ Feb 3 2007, 10:27 PM) [snapback]385007[/snapback]</div>

I am not fron So. Cal. but I just thought I'd comment on this. You are quite right that driving for better gas mileage is not for everyone, but once you learn how to do it, it requires less concentration than driving normally. My best tank without any special techniques like pulse and glide was 57 mpg, after trying some of these new "hypermiling techniques" I managed 83 MPG over 600+ for my best tank and my rolling 48 tank average (about a year or 20Kmiles) has improved from 50 mpg to 57 mpg.
A lot of us are trying to reduce our global warming impact that tiny bit extra, or just would like to be able to say "I have been getting about 57 mpg for the last year" when people ask, "what kind of gas mileage do you get?" For me its not the money, its the reduction in CO2 emitted by gettting better FE. It becomes a game to see how high you can keep your MPG, in the grand scheme of things it is kind of silly, but it is no sillier to me than people bragging about how that got from point a to b in 30 minutes rather than the usual (for more relaxed drivers) 35 minutes. It takes far more effort to drive aggresively than to hypermile, at least to me (I used to drive quite aggresively before I had kids), saving 5 minutes here and there by driving faster is just not that important to me. For most people they would rather just drive, which is fine because in a Prius you probably get better mileage than most other cars which is what counts.

 

I drive from the High Desert (Apple Valley) down the I-15 (Cajon Pass) to the I-215 and the I-10 to work in San Bernardino. It is about a 50mile drive one way and after +20,000 miles i'm getting a lifetime about 44mpg. And yea it is good for tall guys. I'm 6'3" , I'm comfortable, and we all aren't over 40 because I'm 27. But i'm also going at speeds between 70-80mph. So if I was going slower I would get higher i'm sure. You are doing just fine in your mileage.