76.1MPG-New Record Tank after 5 1/2 years of driving

I can probably do 76.1 MPG in a trip... but for the entire tank? Wow! That's very impressive.

 

My record after 50k miles of driving is 50 mpg for a tank. I could maybe get 55 mpg by driving the speed limit and doing pulse and glide but not 76. Congrats to you, Evan!

 

Congratulations! I have to say I don't think I'll ever be dedicated enough to work this hard at driving a car. Maybe I need a little more kool-aid!

 

Nice job, Congrats.

 

That's awesome and something to boast about (to everyone that will listen)!!!

Love how the mpg bar just keeps getting higher and higher...80 mpg next...good luck!!!

 

That is awesome, after 2 1/2 years of driving mine (50,000+ miles) I still haven't been able to finish a tank over 70 MPG I have had some close ones that I have had in the vicinity, but a few bad days of weather or bad luck in traffic can wipe it out in a hurry.
I took this picture of a good start of a tank I had last year, I was able to hold onto 70+ for about 250 - 300 miles on this tank, but I had lots of bad luck and it ended with me barely holding 65.

 

Tony,

In a word, Battery Charge Management. Or was that 3 words? I got that crappy crawling traffic when only the battery is needed, and it kills it. You gotta allow the engine to start for brief periods to help maintain the battery when you are trying to gain a little speed. If your battery gets low, it is impossible to get good mileage. You gotta keep the battery charge in the good range. You gotta be proactive. You gotta bite the bullet. You can't borrow yourself out of that situation.

When you hit that section of that road that is crappy everyday, make a better plan and attack that section with your battery in good shape ready to go. I think my goal then becomes having 3 pips on the battery when traffic resumes to a reasonable speed.

55 mpg is pretty good by the way. My Prius computer likes to lie to me in an attempt to make me happy. But when I add gas and calculate the mileage, it is always lower.

Art

 

I assume you are calculating this over a large number of tanks and not just when the fancy strikes you right?

 

That is tremendous! Congrats!

 

That's the longest down hill grade I have heard of !! Just kidding....I just got 62.1 thru N.Nevada ...no wind ,62 mph, about 60 deg, air off, Shell's best gas .....so what kinda gas and grade did you use??

 

What are the conditions .....in other words , why now so good?

 

While I am anal enough to create a spreadsheet to show my tank average over time, for some reason I don't do it. I tend to fill up after 400 miles or so, and I am between 58 and 63 mpg (miles driven divided by gallons used). My last tank I got 67 mpg and I figured that I didn't fill it all the way up.

And that tank consisted of 400 miles on the interstate (two 200 mile trips) getting 60 mpg, 5 miles of erand running, and two trips of 80+ miles and I got 69 and 70 mpg on those trips (according to the computer). This was the first time the actual mpg (67) exceeded the computer.

I thought I read that the computer reads a few percent higher. Regardless, while driving, I am trying to maximize what the computer reads.

Efusco,

I drove like you used to. When looking for a car, I almost bought the Saab Aero. A buddy has a Prius and he came by and let me drive his. I was addicted right from the start.

It makes the crappy traffic around here more enjoyable. I greatly enjoy the Prius and I am waiting for battery prices to decrease so I can get some and plug them in. I am not an environmentalist nor some green person, I just want to make the number on the computer screen to be bigger. I want the Prius to read 100 mpg.

Everyone that I have shown the Prius to and made them sit in the front AND back and I open the hatch and show them the additional storage in the back were amazed at the Prius. They thought it was small and slow and were suprised.

Congrats on your record tank. You are a better man then I am (and I am really trying hard to get numbers similar to yours).

Art

 

CONGRATS ON YOUR NEW PERSONAL BEST, efusco !!!!!

The best I've done over a more-or-less entire tank thus far -- I usually fill up with 2 or 3 pips remaining ... if I don't fill up at least that frequently, I'm afraid I'll forget how to do it! -- was 58.7 mpg over 356 miles; mostly highway driving at mostly 60-63 mph with myself and 2 adult passengers -- about 520 pounds total -- and moderate A/C use.

I might just top your 76.1 next summer, though. I'm planning a trip out west and plan to fill up / top-it-off in Salida, CO, which is about 8000' above sea level. I'm REALLY curious to see what sort of mileage I can get driving 60-65 mph from there to Kansas City, MO, which is only about 1500' above sea level.

Now THAT'S a long down-hill !!!

 

I expect 70 - 75 mpg after the car is warmed up when I drive carefully in non-congested city routes and temperate weather, so Evan's results mirror my own. A couple of months ago I hit 80 mpg on a single round trip -- my best result ever. I find it curious that 75 mpg is reproducible, but 80 mpg is so difficult.

Anyway, I sent a picture of the result to a family friend who just bought a Prius and was content that his fuel economy of 40's was about par for the Prius. One morning I took out his car from a trip to the city and back with him as passenger, and showed him 75 mpg for the trip. The most satisfying thing from my standpoint was that he immediately accepted that the difference was in his driving habits, not a limitation of the car.