I got my 08 Prius 3 weeks ago this past Friday night. It was 4-18-08 when we picked her up with 3 miles. Friday and Saturday, May 9-10, 2008, I took my first trip in her. I went from Dallas to Lubbock, TX. My son graduated May 10, 2007 from Texas Tech. I filled up on Friday morning. Before I tell you about my trip, let me tell you what I have gotten in mileage to date. My first tank, I got 462 miles which netted me 47.97 MPG. My second tank I got 332 miles, but I filled up with 4 bars left for my trip and I got 52.65 MPG. On my third tank, this was my Friday fillup. I had to go to work so I filled up and drove 22 miles to work. At 2 PM I took off and headed to Lubbock after picking up my wife. I drove a total of 441 miles on that tank and I received 45.69 MPG. Most of this was done at highway speeds (70 MPH) and running a/c. I filled up in Lubbock just as I was leaving as I was down to 1 bar on my fuel gage. I drove back home again at highway speeds, I used a/c a lot and I still have 3 bars on my tank. I will drive it this week to work until I get down to 1 bar. Once I fill it up, I will come back and update this story. Just so you know, Lubbock is about a 6 hour drive from Dallas. I am very impressed so far with my Prius. I traded in a 1996 Lexus ES 300 on it which only averaged 20 MPG in the city. In the city only, I am averaging over 50MPG. While I was in Lubbock, I had an old man stare curiously at the car and after a few minutes, he came over. He said I want to take a close look at the car that gets over 40MPG. I said, I get over 50! He said OH!. He stared momentarily and walked away. I talk about my Prius quite a bit, but many others ask about it. This car turns heads! I will take another trip starting on May 22. This trip will take me over 3,000 miles, I will go to Ohio, to Colorado and back home to Texas! I hope to take pictures and update this site as I am on the road. That trip will really tell me what I can expect from my Prius. Please check back when I write that trip! Take care and thanks for reading. Go Prius and go Red Raiders!
Some people are saying on various threads that you run a risk waiting to fill up until you are on the last gas gauge pip. I would never wait that long. Good luck on your travels!
Hey Fed: I averaged 47.47 on my trip back from Lubbock. Look for my thread about my latest trip coming soon!
Song lyric...I thought happiness was Lubbock, Texas in my rear view mirror From one Texas Tech Alumni to another!
I find that if I drive on the highways at 55 mph it make a huge mpg difference v. 75 which was my normal driving pattern in the past. Its real relaxing too.
Have you tried adjusting the air pressure in your tire to around 42 front and 40 rear. Your mileage will improve and so will the handling.
