I've had four people tell me in the last few days that either a friend or neighbor has a Prius and they get 100 mpg. There is even a silver 2nd Gen running around the south hills of Pittsburgh with 100 MPG in 3 or 4 inch letters on the tail gate. Gee guys how come the rest of you pikers are only getting in the low fifties.
I have most of my tanks average in the 53-57 range, but have had two finish above 60. The best was 63.7 miles for over 600 mile trip. This was just commuting to and from downtown Chicago to a suburb 20 miles away. While I have had trips over 100 mpg (for a few miles I cannt imagine someone driving in traffic anywhere in the country being able to average that for any length of time. (unless they stop traffic everywhere they go)
Maybe THIS was the friend or neighbor ... with his 3 or 4 inch letters on the bumper: There are fleets of plugable hybrids over the landscape, and when average driving trip(s) are say, 20 miles or less ... then yes, 100mpg is not only possible, but even higher #'s occur. There's a whole network of conversion companies now days. The closest to us, is Jungle motors. It's maybe 9 miles south of our O.C. home. Low 50's ?? Perish the thought! Heck, even WITHOUT plug in mods, the Gen II can do low 70's with just a bit of practice. .
There are some that can regularly hit the mid 70's and others who drive slow enough that they hit the 80's. I've never heard of anyone claiming to get more then that regularly without doing the EV conversion or coming out of the mountains. But here is an example of what can easily be achieved with just the right environmental conditions
Erm, obviously because we didn't think to paint letters on our tail gates - one of the Prius' ECUs uses the reversing camera to figure out if it needs to double the MPG. The 100MPG Prius are most likely ones that have had a plug-in conversion added - official or 3rd party.
I can't remember if it's hymotion or one of the other plug-in conversion outfits that actually sells "100+" mpg stickers like you're describing. I doubt there's that many plug ins around though, so you might want to check the (third hand) info you're getting: 1) are all four of the people you talk to friends with the same prius owner, who has a plug in conversion? 2) did they ask about instant fuel economy as read by the gauge, trip fuel economy coming back from tahoe, or for a full tank average over 900+ miles? 3) are your four friends gullible enough to buy a bridge in New York?
No the letters on the back of this silver Prius are those stick on ones you find in a hardware store. Not one of the people I talked to knows any of the others. One car is in New Hampshire, one in SW Florida and two in western Pennsylvania. No one said anything about any of these cars being a plug in. The only common factor is all of these people said their friend or neighbor loved their Prius. All of these people said these Prius owners bragged about the 100 mpg they are getting. What are the odds that four random people all know people that have plug in conversions that were never told anything about the car being a plug in? Think about this board, how many members have a plug in Prius? Out of how many members who post on a regular basis? Understand my point on the original post?
You're already one level of information away from the source. "four people tell me in the last few days that either a friend or neighbor" I would agree that "Prius" invites the creation of almost a surrounding mythology. Plus as you can see owners love to communicate and share the "best" mileage story. But to classify Prius owners as a whole as "fibbers" based on 4 people telling you they had "friends" who had Prius....well don't waste your time. Plus EPA estimates are always available.
That was the reason for the in my original post. From what I can tell the average person that owns a hybrid likes to embellish their fuel mileage to their friends.
ALS- I wouldn't believe it either. I've lived in Pittsburgh most of my life, very similar to Fairmont/Morgantown where I live now. Mid to low 40's is what I get.
I can believe it, but it is inevitible that they will someday reach the bottom of the mountain and stop coasting.
Don't believe everything that everyone tells you. The "I know someone who knows someone who knows someone" who gets 100 mpg with their Prius would be an unreliable source. I live in the suburban Chicago area. My 2005 Prius Gen II got around 52-55 mpg during the "good" weather months...significantly less in the cold winter months. My new 2010 Prius IV Gen III gets better mileage...I have averaged between 57-60 mpg with the same driving habits/commute. People will embellish all sorts of "urban myths". Unless you hear it from the "horse's mouth", I would take the info you received with a grain of salt. BTW, I still have people ask me my mpgs in my Prius...and in the next breath they ask me "where does the plug go"? Incredible.
The 70s is very impressive. I'm still on my first tank of gas in my new '10 Prius. My average is in the low 40s... I've got a lot to learn and a long way to go.
