Just wondering if driving a Prius makes you a better driver, millage wise, while driving other cars that you own. Also, have you changed your energy use in general since you started driving one? For example, are you more apt to turn the light off when you exit a room? Just curious.
What other car??? My bike and shoes seem to get the same mileage though as before though. And no, I haven't changed my energy use at home since I bought the Prius. I was doing a lot before for electricity conservation and efficiency, and still do those things, though I can't think of anything I am doing now that I wasn't doing 8 months ago - although, I need new X-mas lights for the balcony this upcoming season and will probably buy a few strands of LED X-mas lights (mostly just because I am peaved at the crappy quality and short lifespan of standard X-mas lights) - though, that is still using more energy than having no lights whatsoever, so it shouldn't really count.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MarkMN @ 2007 09 19 12:35) [snapback]514919[/snapback]</div> I could say exactly the same thing. I learned to 'pulse and glide' on a bicycle long before I had a driver's licence, let alone a Prius. I'm sure most people, though, will find their driving habits have changed by watching the consumption screen.
Same answer as above... with a twist. My OTHER car gets 0 mpg. Always has, always will. My OTHER car is what has helped me drive the Prius better. The Prius isn't my big "environmental" move... in fact it is one of the worst things I do - drive a gasoline car. I was saving energy (and growing the energy for my house and car via the roof-top PV panels) long before the Prius came along. Nope... for the me Prius was the big step in the wrong direction, I'm afraid.
No, it's a gas hog and there is no way around it. It only gets used for hauling large loads, which is what it was designed for. Tom
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(OutOfHere @ Sep 19 2007, 02:24 PM) [snapback]514916[/snapback]</div> I rarely drive any of my other cars now, still can't get enough of the Prius, but yes, when I'm behind the wheel of another car, even though I don't have a fuel consumption monitor, I do find myself applying some of the Prius techniques. I release the gas pedal as soon as I see the traffic light turning red and try to coast all the way to it.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(OutOfHere @ Sep 19 2007, 03:24 PM) [snapback]514916[/snapback]</div> I can get upwards of about 30 MPG from our 2005 Sienna using my Prius driving techniques. My wife, who doesn't drive the Prius, can normally only get about 20-22 MPG. The most effective technique I use is to just drive a bit slower. And yes, I am the one who follows everyone around the house turning off lights (usually while mumbling swear words under my breath). Cheers, -- Ian
Unfortunently, I'm too lazy to keep track of my miles per gallon in my other car (which has no mpg meter, and recording milage number every fillup isn't very motivating to me).
Probably but I'll never know. Speedomiter doesn't work, and I only drive it when I have to haul something. The nasty ol 82 diesel dually still runs. Will never care... no computer to tell...
Nope, I still get about the same mileage I get in my Z before and after Prius, only ~21-23 mpg calculated.
I was already using low consumption techniques in my old car and had improved the consumption from 9L/100km to 7 or 8L/100km. I don't drive anything else where I worry about the fuel consumption. My motorbike uses more fuel than my car and there isn't much I can do about that.
The only thing I have notice that has changed, and I barely ever drive the "other" car....that I am little more gentle on the accelerator pedal.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(OutOfHere @ Sep 19 2007, 03:24 PM) [snapback]514916[/snapback]</div> Yes and yes. Strikes me that the single stupidest aspect of traditional cars is idling at stoplights. Read the most recent data and now I do what the numbers suggest. I turn off my other car if I expect to idle more than 10 seconds. My kids call this "Priusing" the car. (FYI a Canadian study of the issue showed this did not result in any more rapid replacement of battery or starter.) And when my old car died I bought a manual transmission car specifically so I could pulse and glide better, now that I understand the logic of it. Buying the Prius started us down a slippery slope of changes. I mean, if I can get from A to B using one-third less fuel than my previous compact car, in a much nicer vehicle, what else have I needlessly been wasting? Up to then I thought I had been doing reasonably well in terms of energy conservation. So my family has: purchased wind-powered electricity from our local utility (in theory, our electricity is now essentially pollution-free and carbon-neutral). Found out about that on PriusChat. Bought local grass-fed beef in bulk, substituting that for energy-intensive grain-fed (grocery-store) meat. And made a number of more minor adjustments (e.g., bought vastly more efficient front-load washer when old washer died, use CFLs, and so on.) The upshot is that I estimate that our household C02 emissions are 42% of what they were pre-Prius. Right now, we're negotiating to buy a house. It's a nice-enough house, though its less than half the size of the typical new mcmansion going up around here. The main attractions are that it has a two big ground-source heat pumps (4700 feet of pipe buried in the back yard), so we could (in theory) heat and cool carbon free, and that it has a garage, so that we'll have a place to plug in the eventual EV/PHEV. If we do this, our household C02 emissions will be about 31% of what they were pre-Prius. It sounds more than a little nutty, buying a house for those reasons, but so far we've been well rewarded for making our long-term purchases with a focus on energy efficiency. With zero sacrifice. Not just the dollar savings, but the trend is moving in that direction again. The best example around here is big houses in the exurbs requiring long car commutes. Those are a tough sell these days. By contrast, we bought our current house 14 years ago specifically so we could walk to the DC Metro. No problem selling our house last month. I'm pretty sure it was the Metro factor. So really, the Prius just got me to think a little harder, introduced me via PriusChat to a number of very energy-savvy people, and got me to realize that there are still easy opportunities for large energy and carbon savings.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Sep 19 2007, 04:16 PM) [snapback]514932[/snapback]</div> Smug alert!
Other car?? No, both Prii get about the same mileage when I'm driving The wife is a little heavy on the accelerator and tends to hold speed until about 50' from a stop. She also does not use the CC (medical reasons) and ends up LOSING speed on the downhill, makes it up and overshoots on the uphill. Not the best practice on the interstate!
