yep, mostly short trips. 10 mins each morning and 10 mins each night (generally) during the week with longer trips on the weekend
I drive my 2008 9-10 miles to work, takes 20 minutes. At first I drove freeway 1/2 the trip. i also transverse a 1 mile very steep hill each way, and I averaged 46-48. I then changed my route to avoid the freeway, most streets are 35mph, and my mpg have jumped to 50-55. I'm not a lead foot, I coast to a stop without interfering with traffic, several streets allow me to use cruise set at 36mph for 1-2 mile stretches. The point is it doesn't take much of a change to driving/thinking to increase your mileage without resorting to hypermile techniques
One more suggestion. Next time let your tank get down to one pip, then refill about 4 gallons each time, testing several different gas stores. Sometimes this can make a 3-5 mpg difference. Also for summer driving it makes a huge difference watching your a/c usage. It's tempting on really hot days to leave it on LO all the way home. You want to try to notice when you feel like you're cooling off and begin turning the a/c warmer a notch at a time. Learn to keep it only as cool as needed. Always use a good windshield sun shade and always crack your windows on clear days to vent the cabin. Might help to change into shorts, t-shirt, and sandals for the drive home, which also contributes to better mental health upon arrival! Exactly my experience documented here: http://priuschat.com/forums/fuel-ec...your-mpg-move-your-office-dfw-route-maps.html It also will make you feel better if you stop and realize how good it is to get over 40 mpg and not be polluting at the same time. I owned two VW diesel TDIs, a New Beetle and a Golf. I never got 45+ in town – ever. The Prius is also more forgiving if you have to stomp on the gas every once in a while.
