I just thought this to be untrue. I bought my '09 back in May and am now on my third full tank of gas. My most recent fillup, I ran the calculations myself, since the MPG calculator in the car is a bit off. 574 miles on barely a scratch over 10 gallons of fuel (10.2). That comes out to about 56 MPG, which I thought was sick. The original car EPA rating is barely that high!!! Prius=Ninja
Hand calculations are no good for the 2004-2009 Prius unless done using a large sampling rate. I.E. because the Prius uses a bladder system you are never guaranteed to get the same max amount of fuel in at each fillup so hand calculations can vary wildly. The MFD is not usually off by much so if you are not going to start a fuel mileage spreadsheet and make caculations over the next 20+ tanks then you will be closer to an accurate measurement using the MFD. It's not off by THAT much.
Congratulations, NorcrossPrius, you qualify as a hypermiler, an individual who repeatedly exceeds the EPA rating for their vehicle by at least ten percent. Here's your trophy.:first: To remain in the ranks, all that is required is that you keep it up. Well done. There are two things that you will notice from now on: 1) you will never even consider owning a conventional car again 2) 56 mpg will no longer be good enough
How do you know that the mileage calculation is off? If you have only used three tanks of gas, there is no way to know unless it's WAY off, or if you have installed a precision metering system in the fuel line. Your MFD should be good to about 2%. As F8L points out, the variability in tank capacity render any short term calculation useless. You need at least ten tanks to get anywhere close, and more than that is better. Tom
I bought my '09 back in March. At first I was getting in the mid 40, but for the past 5 tanks of gas I've averaged 50 mpg (according to the MFD). I haven't done any hand calculations as I haven't been sure I've gotten the same fill level each time. I have even taken long trips that require me to drive up & down some lots of hills on the highway. I think if I lived closer to my parents in Little Rock I'd get way better mileage because it's mostly flat. I agree with Tony - I don't think I could go back to a conventional car again & each time I drive I try to get better mpg. Hope you're enjoying your new car as much as I'm enjoying mine!
You started off at mid 40's and are now up to 50 because the Prius MPG's go down a bit in Winter ... gas engine must run a bit more to warm up, stay warm and to run defroster, etc... Just so you know.
My miles are mostly highway for my last tank I was averaging 58 mpg. It can be done. Congatulations though! It has taken me about 6 months of learning to come up with that kind of mileage. Best of luck and continued success.
