Check out this fun article in the Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/arti...ge_out_of_this/ before they archive it (I'm a cross between "The Gas Gauger" and "The Geek") P.S. Oops, just noticed this article is already posted in the "News" section :roll:
I do have to admit though when I took my Prius to a club recently the valet did my make my head swell alittle by gushing over my Seaside blue beauty.
Great article, but again, this misconception: "Unlike standard cars, the hybrid does better in the city, where the electric motor is used more than the gas engine." If the electric motor were used more than the gas engine, the battery would become depleted. Since charging is less efficient than discharging, depleting the battery is not the path to improved mileage. The savings comes from augmenting the low-end torque with electric power, therefore not having to use a larger ICE. Why would the Prius get better mileage in the city than cruising on the highway? Does it?
Not in my experience. In fact, I think one guy in the article said he's expecting to get 60 MPG in Boston. Good luck to him. I hope he posts a way to do it if he does!!
It is for me, though some of you would consider my "city" driving to be more of a moderate highway. On the highway, I do get upper 40's to low 50's, depending on speed, which can vary from 55-70. On US19, a traffic lighted main route, average speed is 45, some parts I can legally do 55. I get my higher numbers on it.
In the city, due to the lower speeds, I get much better mileage. This affect is cancelled out if I spend alot of time stopping at lights and then accelerating back up to speed. Timed lights, either by the city crews or by me allow me to minimize my nuber of complete stops and allow my mileage to soar. As I've said before, find a loop where you can maintain 35 mph without stopping. On a dry 70 degree day, drive this loop for half an hour. Your mileage should be in the 80s. To beat even that, do the same loop but get up to 40 mph and put it in neutral. When your speed drops to 25, drop it in drive and slowly take it back up to 40. Repeat this process for half an hour. This is what the Prius is capable of in the most ideal of conditions.
City driving in the Netherlands means a lot of stop and go traffic. Lots of traffic lights, speed bumps, mini-roundabouts etc. It's hard to find stretches of road of more than a few hundred meters without having to break/stop. On the other hand, I have found a few routes to and from work where I can combine 'country lanes' (max 80 km/h) and small towns (max 50 km/h). I can charge the battery on the stretches of 80 km/h and use electric in the 50km/h areas. :mrgreen:
I voted even tho I am not an owner yet. BUt I guess since I visit here so often and am interested in such things ( technical,electronics,PC's ) I am a "geek". :lol:
Hmm... i purchased the prius because of it's value. after about 8 months of looking and compairing.. the prius was found... it blew away all other competition. Well.. the civic and insight were left.. but the prius still beats the civit.. and the insight doesn't have the reliability track record the prius does. the maintence cost almost seem to increase with the insight. Prius was cheaper in many many ways.. except for the nav system and such. Now.. it's all about the geek factor... gas is becoming more of an issue. I see prices here hitting over 2.50. some as high as 2.63 for 87 octane. I've almost seen the higher octane break 3.00.. i'll make a post when i do.
My spouse, who purchased and drives the Monday silver Prius Pkg# 2, is neither the techie nor the cheapie but she does live with me and I am both.
Primarily a techie. I liked the idea that the Prius can be 'modded' to an extent (still looking into that), plus its neat to basically 'boot' the car with a button. But I also liked the idea of having better MPG, even if the core of my driving is a two-mile round trip to 'stage' it at one office in case one of the others has a server problem (working 3rd shift helps here). But it does get its time driving I-95 back to my old hometown sometimes.
