Did the responsible thing and swapped my BMW Z3 convertible for a green family car... having a new child on the way tends to make one do these things... Still trying to figure the car out completely, like the environmental controls. The owners manual ALMOST talks like A/C is both heating and cooling, yet the car warms just fine with it off. Still... it seems like it wants to default to having it on. Also working on training myself to drive efficiently. Kevin
Kevin, Congratulations on both your new arrivals. Yes the AC is both ... guess it should be called something like Climate Control or CC for short. Gary
Heating can still be called 'conditioning' the air, can't it? Yes, it does take some getting used to, and what the manual refers to isn't just cooling. The consumption screen gives great feedback for learning to drive more efficiently. Probably slower, too, coming from a Z3... Hey, welcome to PriusChat!
I don't leave the auto a/c on, because sometimes I prefer just fresh air or nothing at all. If I want to turn the heat on, I press one of the fan buttons and adjust the temp to the appropriate number. For outside air (no heating or cooling) I press one of the fan buttons to turn it on and then press the down-temp arrow all the way to "Lo." Enjoy the car and congratulations on the baby.
Just a tad... Now I feel guilty if I hit 70 mph. In the Z3 I'd start to notice I was going a bit fast at 85 mph, and hit 105 mph passing a truck one day. FYI: 105 mph in the Z3 handled the same as driving 55; they really are "driving machines". Is there a thread on maximum economy driving on this forum? We went for a country drive, my wife (a new driver) managed 42.7, I managed 46.8, but the cruise control only managed 38.2 mpg. I was a bit disappointed in that. Made me wonder if anybody had cracked the programming and modified "cruise control" to allow some flexibility - say setting it for 60 mph would allow it to vary from 55 to 65 depending on load (like going up and down hills) in order to maximize economy. Just seems like the computer aught to be able to do this better than me.
Kevin- Congrats on the car and baby. The question was mileage optimization and the answer is you are required by law to read the following guide by Evan Fusco (though there are no cruise control hacks in it): better mileage tips
Thanks! Pulling the article up now. One clarification: I have a 2008 with the 48/45 EPA estimates. I was actually HAPPY with the 46.7 I got. Ok, now to read on how to get that even higher...
Yes, in days gone by, my "driving machine" was a turbo porsche (shaking head). Of course, the fact that a machine's handlability is excelent really won't help while flinging around that mountain cliff hair pin turn, when you hit gravel . In the Prius, I find I'll never have to regret cornering too hard (as I'm flying over the cliff) under such cirmstances. Welcome to PC, too !
Cruise control's great for maintaining a steady speed, but it's not designed to maximise mileage. You'll have to reprogram your internal computer for that. Not keeping a steady speed, especially on hills, is one way to get better mileage. If traffic allows, try going a little slower on the way up, and a little faster on the way down. Use momentum to your advantage and carry a bit of speed up the next hill.
