08 Prius here, on 2nd tank of gas, almost 100% city driving and the computer is showing 40.x mpg. Temps are 70'ish - 85'ish depending on the day. Anyone else city-only driving, what are your numbers?
What city? What distance? What speed? How much traffic? How far b/w stops? You'll get a range from 35mpg to 70mpg (or higher). I typically average in the mid-60s in city driving...but that doesn't tell you anything since you know nothing about my driving style. As new as you are w/ the Prius I think your numbers are on par for normal. They'll probably get better in time.
I'm just looking for averages in "city" driving, not too concerned with the itty bitty details this time. My old 1.6L Nissan 200sx got ~20 mpg in the same driving, so if I'm really getting 40 mpg now then I'm very impressed. My city driving is 95% of trips under 10 miles, probably half under 5 miles, most stops are less than 1-mi apart. Most are probably .5 mi or less apart. It's warm here so after a cold startup the ICE will turn itself off by the time I'm at the end of the street.
Most of my driving is in the city or suburbs. My current tank is sitting at 62 MPG; in the warm weather it can be 75-80 MPG. But this is not the norm. I pay very close attention to driving technique and do everything possible to exploit the Prius' capacity for high fuel economy. With the short trips you describe, I'd say your results are reasonable. Short trips are MPG killers, especially if you start each with a cold ICE. If your situation allows, try combining trips so that after each stop you can begin with at least a partly warm ICE. If you must have a lot of cold-ICE starts, consider an engine block heater. Even in Florida, it will improve fuel economy in the first 5 to 10 minutes.
Hey Matt. You hit on it at the end of your post. The ICE has to heat itself and the catalytic converter before it will turn off. It has to heat itself so that it's at operating temp when needed and the CC to burn off the emissions. When we say that short trips are killers on mileage, what we are actually saying is that you don't have time to average out the running of the ICE. With longer trips, there is time to do a lot of stealthing and gliding with the engine off which will offset the first five minutes with the engine running. This is where most people start seeing their great mileage. In your case, however, the short trips are eliminating the possibility for you to increase your average. What I would recommend - if you have the time and the interest - is to double or triple your drive some day, just as an experiment. I think you'll find that trip will provide perspective.
This is my first post on this neat forum - have had my '08 for about a month now, on 3rd tank of gas, totally city driving at about 5,000 feet AMSL, temps ranging from 40 to -10F...am getting right at 37 MPG - what a fascinating ride this Prius is...lots of learning ahead...
I have a 2004 and for me city driving (NYC - Manhattan) with traffic, and short trips being the norm. I consistanly achieve 40 MPH. It's a realistic number for city driving.
We're doing a lot of small town suburban driving on hilly terrain. Also a lot of short trips, and it is December. So we're averaging about 32-35 mpg. When we drive into Manhattan, about 13 miles away, we've done as well as 59 mpg. So there's a lot working against us in the suburbs. But its ok.
My driving is somewhere between city and highway. My commute is 5 mi with one big hill and a couple of decent sized ones. 13 traffic lights and speeds up to 55 mph. On a commute like this I can get mid 50's in the summer and low 40's in the winter. If there's a decent amount of snow on the ground the MPG suffer badly. My worst tank ever is 42 MPG, but I had a very under inflated LR tyres for much of the tank. I was actually under 40 MPG for the first time every and checked the tyres (always the first thing) and sure enough... Fixed the problem and recovered to a touch over 42 for the tank. Like everyone has said though, it really depends on what your particular driving conditions are like. They have a massive impact on the results. Obviously, they did for your Nissan too. I'm glad to see that you were aware of that and aren't having a wobbly because you're not getting 60 MPG. Though, to be honest, when I see JimboK's posted mileage I often have a wobbly.
I normally run at 4.3L/100km (55mpg) but due to short running around, and high air conditioner use over Christmas I'm down to 4.7L/100km (50mpg) on my last tank. I'll fix that when life is back to normal.
I was consistently getting 37 mpg. About 1 tank ago my mileage started improving. My average for this tank is now 48 mpg. I have only 2780 miles on the car. I do mostly intown driving and rarely get on the highway. On the last tank I have been making slightly longer trips.
