Since I've been reading the boards for quite a while, I knew to expect low mileage for my seven mile commute to work. Also, I knew that I needed to learn to drive my Prius for optimal mileage. Well, I had to return some things on Sunday, so I decided this would be a good time to get my Prius driving education underway. When I looked at the odometer, it showed about thirty miles. The A/C temp was set about 78, level 1, around 10 a.m., but by the time I finished at 11:45 a.m. I shoved the temperature down to 77, level 2 (Texas heat sucks). Outside air. Recirc turned off. I only drove the city streets of Dallas--no highway. The area I drove was primarily Garland Rd/NE Highway Lower Greenville Whole Foods, then E Grand Ave. If you know these areas, you'll know that most of these roads have some hilliness. My avg. mpg when I started was about 45/46. By the time I finished, my average was up to 48.1 mpg and my odometer was reading sixty- something miles. In my old Camry, a noticeable portion of the tank would've disappeared. In my Prius, the gas tank is still full and I had a zen feeling after driving my car. Of course, after driving to work, the average is down to 47 point something mpg. Sigh. All that effort seems to go down the drain so quickly. Still, this just means I have to drive some decent distances to get my car back up to a decent mpg. It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. Counting down the days to Prius enlightenment, Esther
I have been picking up a co-worker and carpooling. She was in an accident and can't drive for a couple weeks. Anyway, we were talking about gas prices and Memorial Day weekend. I said that I should get gas mid-week just to make sure the price doesn't go up for me and she noted that after a week of driving and 200+ miles I still have more than half a tank left. She simply couldn't believe it. As for the mileage, she laughs because I'm currently fighting the high-54s to make sure I reach 55MPG. I check every once and a while and vocally excaim either pleasure or disgust. "But" I explain, "54.9 is not the same as 55.1!" It's certainly easier to make the mileage go down than it is to make it go up.
Why not recirculate? If outside temps are that hot, and you are in a clean environment, better to re-cool air that is already pretty cool, than hot outside air.
My coworkers laugh at me also. When normal people are cussing at the driver's cutting them off I am cussing at my car because my MFD mileage meter went below 55 mpg.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DanMan32\";p=\"92650)</div> Dallas . . . clean environment?! Texas was Bush-wacked. No clean environment anywhere in Texas. :cussing: Anyway, I was always under the impression that recirculation puts a hit on the mileage--considerably more so than using the outside air. While I may not ever reach hypermile status (because of my work commute), I want to put as few hits on my mileage as possible. However, if the Prius vets know that it's less of a hit to do recirc, level 1 than outside, level 2, I'll be more than happy to make use of recirc. Thanks, Esther
If the air temp inside is cooler than the air temp outside then use recirc. When the car is new, you probably should not use recirc until the new car smell goes away. You whould also consider indoor air quality when there are several people in the car. If the air outside is less polluted than the air inside, don't use recirc.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ray Moore\";p=\"92870)</div> I'm actually one of those people who love that new car smell. So in that case, I wouldn't have a problem with recirc. As far as air quality, Dallas seems to be pretty bad during the summertime especially. Still, when using outside air, I thought that the filter would ensure that a good deal of the pollution would not enter my car. If that's not the case, I might end up using recirc more. Whenever I drive home from work, it's about 7 a.m. and I'm parked in an underground garage. I don't imagine it'd be too hot then. From what I gather of your post, recirc is recommended at this time--barring any inside pollution. However, if the air is hot inside my car, then I should use outside air? Hmmm . . . I don't think recirc/outside air has ever been explained to me before, but this makes sense. If I didn't like where I lived and the short commute (makes it easier to hit that snooze a few times), I would seriously consider moving elsewhere for the commute mileage. Thanks, Esther
You got it right. That new car smell though is an off gassing and contains oxydized plasticizers. I don't think that is is a particularly safe thing to breathe. After a month or so, you will be able to wipe a layer of it off the inside of your windshield. Yuck.
