Does anyone drive their Prius 'normal'?

I've taken two 400-mile roundtrips since buying the car. I averaged 53 mpg for each trip by simply driving with the cruise control set at 70 the whole time. My tires are inflated to 42/40, but I made no FE-enhancing efforts other than that.

Note that I usually drive in a style which is meant to enhance my FE in daily driving, but the length of my commute (very short) limits the FE that I'm able to actually attain. I get ~51 mpg on my commute.

 

I have a lead foot. I'm getting 44 in the winter and 47 in the summer. I don't do much different than I did driving my Maxima's. I like power and I tend to use it. If I try..... I went ot NYC on Monday from upstate NY and over 230 miles I averaged 53mpg ...... @ 70 mph.

 

Normal here as well.
Real world
Wifes job, stop and go, 350 stops in 35 miles (rural mail carrier), winter 24 mpg spring 35 mpg.
80 mph on the expressway gets me 41 ish. mpg.
60 mph with the cruise on gets me about 48 mpg.
Driving through small towns, and in town, (45 mph) about 55 mpg.

As you stated, still dbl mileage from what we were getting, except for the expressway. Our 2001 Buick Century still gets 30 - 32 mpg at 80 mph on the expressway.

I do notice, that with 4 people in the car, mileage will drop about 7 mpg, vs. driving alone

 

I drive normally and get a little over 47 MPG. Can't stand the type that crawl away from lights and don't keep up with traffic! They are just encouraging road rage.

 

I bought the Prius because I was looking for a hatchback with decent mileage. I set out to buy a Toyota Matrix, but was disappointed in 28 mpg and took the Prius out for a drive. I fit in it well at 6' 1", it drives nice, and I like the cargo space. I set out to drive it like any other car.

The fuel consumption readout does encourage you to modify your habits. I probably accelerate more gently and coast more while stopping but have not tried some of the other techniques listed here on the board.

The only modifications to date were to remove the ugly rear badges and order a cargo bumper guard from the chat store.

(46 MPG through my first 500 miles)

 

I don't hyper mile drive.. but I do alot of HOV (1) SFPlate at 65 mph and I know that takes off about 5 mpg vice dringing at 55.
my last tank was 9.2 gal at 480 miles and the computer had around 48 mpg listed. i was happy..
normal though it's around 45-48mpg.:typing:

this summer the A/C will take of a few MPG too.

 

Driving normal I get about 48 to 50 MPG, my wife gets around 43 MPG when she drives it. It all depends what normal is to you, my Prius only has about 1000 miles on it and I have not inflated my tires to 42/40, so I suspect my mileage will improve over time.

 

I just drive the speed limit and get 52 MPH. In the summer about 54 MPG.
Hope This helps.
PS I use CC on the Highways. Hvae set the PSI in tires to 42/40.

 

I usually drive so that those around me "think" I'm driving normal. I out-accelerate the other cars from the stoplights (it actually bugs me when people accelerate too slow, although that's best for gas hogs). On the freeway I try not to leave too much space to the car ahead. I don't alter routes to maximize FE. Even with that, mixed freeway/city streets, last tank was 59.8, knowing light timings, trying to glide after hitting 41 mph on city streets (with 35 mph speed limit), going with the flow on the freeway, on the long downhill ramps putting the brakes on early and long to maximize regen. So no, I don't drive "normal", but want others to think I am.

 

On highways I drive normally. There are too many cars around here so you have to stay with the flow of traffic and focus on avoiding idiots more than anything else. I generally get about 50 mpg for long highway trips.

On local roads I'm semi-normal. Again my primary concern is avoiding accidents, but I will try to glide when the terrain, speed limit and traffic conditions permit. My worst FE was around 37 mpg during the winter for short (4 mile) trips but last summer it was more like 47 mpg for the same short trips.

 

I drive normal and average 49.5 so far. I don't do much different. But I'm not a speed racer. What's the point in that?

 

I have driven my Prius both normal (like a normal car) and trying to squeeze out as much MPG as possible. The best MPG that I have gotten on a full take of gas is 74.7 mpg for 712 miles total, this was using pulse and glide techniques. My normal driving around town is getting me around 41 mpg.
On the high way I normally drive around 85 to 95 mph, the top speed is only 108 mph in my 2008 Prius, the governor will not let you go over that speed and shuts down acceleration until you are under 108 mph. Cruising around 85-95 mph for a trip from Tucson to Sun City and back again to visit my Grandmother, I get about 42 mpg for the 260 mile trip.
Hope this helps.
Scott

 

I will echo what others have said here and give 47-48 mpg as my "ususal" rate. I have maintained this for the past few months with normal weekday commute driving along with occasional "aggression".

(The pruis can do 107mph on a flat road with no traffic by the way )

When I drive like an idiot (not often, but it happens) I will see my mileage dip by 1 mpg or so overall. And by idiot, I just mean being a little more aggressive. It is funny to see someone looking you up and down when you are coming up on a lane merge and then just take off.

I think you will find that once you are in a prius, your "normal" driving habits will change by instinct. The feel of the car and general interaction is almost impossible to avoid. I think you will find yourself driving a little differently within a month or 2 just by instinct.

 

Im probably one of the most aggressive prius drivers around. I'm usually the fastest on the highway, always the first off from lights, and don't normally ever cruise for MPG benifits. I'm currently averaging high 30's.. the lowest i've ever seen is 35mpg. that's with non stock wheels, and 16 hours of running my car as a 12v generator for camping. (recharging the motor home)

If i cruise (with non stock wheels) i'll get mid 40's. with stock i was at 50+

right now i'm averaging around 40mpg.

 

Whats all this I read about you guys driving 85-95 or more? Dont you have speed limits where you come from?

 

are you telling that that CA-85 is the highway name?! oh my... I won't even go into 101 detail....

 

I have had my new 2008 Prius for three weeks now and have gone just about 600 miles. I have topped off with gas three times to see my MPG and my best run was 43 MPG. My worst was 31 MPG. I only drive 6 miles to work on pretty level roads at speeds of 35-40 MPH and 6 miles back a day so I can just about warm the car up so I suffer from short trip syndrome. My morning commute in Western Mass is at 30 degrees F and home about 50 degrees F. I hope to see some improvement on longer trips and in warmer weather. I would like 50 MPG or better. I will be driving to NYC this weekend and am interested in the MPG.

 

Tom,

what is a cold start?

Thanks in advance.

Annieeee

 

Cold Starts...

if you let your car sit for a few days, the coolant will start to get cool. When you shut off your car, the coolant collects and stores in thermos. It doesn't really collect.. just a couple courts are ran through it, then they close. this helps the car warm up quicker when it starts.. "warm starts" i guess.