Ummm....I am getting 26-27 MPG......

There you go. Follow your own advise (and that of other posters) and:

1) Get your car out on a sparse, non-gridlocked highway,
2) reset you MFD, and
3) set the CC to 55 or 60 mph and just drive for 20-30 minutes.

You should average near 50 mpg. If not, your car has a problem (even with the AC on and tires at the normal dealer 32/30). By using the CC on an open highway (with little traffic), your driving style and everyday commute have been taken out of the diagnostic equation.

 

You were driving the BMW and the other Prius on the same commute everyday, under the same conditions?

If that is the case, I simply don't understand how the BMW achieved its EPA rating. Did it dramatically exceed its ratings in free-flowing traffic? How can it be unaffected by driving style or traffic conditions?

As I said, under similar conditions in my Prius I got the same 25-30 mpg result, and I know nothing is wrong with my car - getting a 55 mpg lifetime average. I really don't think your car has a problem.

I understand what you are saying about the bike. My commute is only 4 miles, but here in Boston I agree that riding a bike looks like suicide. Even still, there is NO WAY I'd put up with a 45-minute, 9-mile commute everyday. There just has to be a better way than doing that in a car.

Tim

 

Depending upon altitude change and speed, yes.

I don't want a map to your home but could you use "Google Earth" and measure the altitude changes and distances between the peaks and valleys?

What sort of speeds on these slopes?

As a general rule, climb at the lowest practical speed and crest each hill at the minimum you can get away with. On the descent, there is data that suggests you may want to descend in "B" to minimize stress on the traction battery.

Bob Wilson

 

So let's summarize:

Route is 9 miles of stop & go traffic which takes about 45 minutes. Average speed 12mph. Ambient temps are the 80s, air conditioning is on and there are some decent little hills mixed in.

Prius is averaging somewhere between 25-35mpg on this trip.

Z4 used to average 18mpg on the same trip (pulled up specs from 2005 Z4s, all of them are rated 18 city and 26-27 hwy).

Did the Z4 have a fuel economy gauge? Did you really get 18mpg in it? I would expect low teens in that kind of driving, especially if you had a lead foot.

 

This may seem basic but I didn't notice anyone else ask but since you guys taught me this:

Are the defrosters on? Those little buttons are easy to hit and they really mess with the system balance. They got me last fall really bad.


BTW: Spring finally arrived in Seattle this week and I got my first 500+ tank of the season. 53.8 by pump. 56.2 MFD.