1.5 mile commute. Expected MPG?

Less than 2 miles I would walk. Hell my runs are 6- 10 miles depending on what I feel like doing.

However that being said there are plenty of reasons to not walk if you have health problems that prevent it etc. would a small ev that had a short rang be all that expensive. Heck with a 20 mile range you could drive all week on one charge.

 

When I Lived in Rochester NY, I got tired of the snow and battling my way home form work. Moved about 1.5 miles form work and WALKED in all kinds of weather. If it was too awful I would take the bus.
Even now , I try to walk if practical... ZERO carbon!

It's very sad to think that some one MUST drive 1.5 miles to work... that there is no alternative......

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Highly ImPriused @ May 3 2007, 09:29 AM) [snapback]434797[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for the nice words. It sounds funny calling it a "lifestyle." My daily routine is no different than that of the others who live in my neighborhood. I travel as much, take my kid to school and activities. Shop in town. Use appliances as much, etc. I just have a hobby of doing it all with quite a bit less energy and pollution. I honestly don't think of it as the "alternative" way. I just think of how many stupid, wasteful things I still do!

You'll get no argument from me. As with most improvements, not "everyone" has to do it for it to help. We only need to enlist the help of millions of folks who *can* do it. I often say the same thing about EVs to the people who tell me that IF they only have one car, and IF they live in an apartment with no garage and IF they travel long distances... an EV won't work for THEM. Well, that may well be true. Yet there are still many, many millions of people who's situation would be improved with an EV... Those are the ones I want to target. There is no one perfect solution for everybody. I'm after the low-hanging fruit! In my neighborhood, there is an SUV parked in at least every other garage. They head out of here to Tahoe quite regularly. They go skiing, camping, biking, hiking. All that great "back to nature stuff." But when the shool day rolls around, that same SUV is driven by Mom for 1.25 miles to drop off the kid at school. It then returns home and parks back in the garage. How do I know this? Because my daughter and I bike past them leaving the neighborhood, we're locking up the bikes while they hunt for parking in the school lot, and then I bike past them again when I head home. Some people can't walk 1.5 miles. I'm here to say that there are WAY the hell more people who can (AND SHOULD) than can't! Many of these people drive to the gym and work on a stepper. Wow, I'm rambling....

Again... no argument here! Don't even get me started! Problem is, the same folks doing the short gasoline trips are the ones doing the lawn mowing, right? We just have to whittle away at the easy fixes one at a time.

Yup, you're probably right. Didn't stop me from answering the question "my way" though! If we also figure our national problem with health and obesity into the equation, then that 1.5 mile commute creeps up the list of importance.

Oh, and I wanted to touch on one more thing that I didn't quote above. The one about traffic and safety on bikes. I get this one all the time since I bike in traffic every day (I don't let my daughter do this on her own bike, though we have a tandem due to arrive any day now, so she can ride with me while I'm in control). The whole concept of people choosing to take a car instead of a bike because of dense and dangerous vehicle traffic is a self-fulfilling situation when you stop to think about it. It is much like the driver who decides that he must have a bigger SUV to be "safe" around all the other bigger SUVs. And then the next buyer sees TWO big SUVs and decides he needs to buy himself a bigger one, etc. Turns out that if NOBODY had these big cars, we'd all be safer, eh? If we all choose to drive cars because traffic is so bad and dangerous, what have we solved?

I have this odd situation where I've become a big EV advocate... yet in the bottom of my heart, I'd rather see fewer automobiles of ANY description. The idea of powering a 3,000+ pound vehicle just to move a few hundred pounds of human flesh just seems silly. For a the most part, a machine that weights more than me is a pretty waste of resources! When I drive, it is usually in an EV, but I don't even drive the EV much (Usually just on weekends for trips to see family and friends. My wife drives it every day, for her 40-mile commute - and the Prius is normally parked in the garage getting dusty).

Thanks for listening. Believe me - I know that I'm not the voice of the majority. While my life seems normal to me (would you believe that I feel odd and guilty whenever I'm in an automobile?) most people think of me as some fringe oddity. My goal isn't always to save the world... I just like riding my bikes!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(1x1 @ May 1 2007, 03:43 PM) [snapback]433412[/snapback]</div>

Hi 1by ~ We have a 2mile commute to drop kids at school, engine off, then another 2 miles to office, return from office to house is 1.8 miles, all in town 20 - 40 mph with lots of lights. First tank was 45mpg ish, 2nd tank 48, this one we're hovering at 51. Almost all driving is this commute. I'm working on the surge&glide, but not much luck as we have so many stops.

Will you wife's be similar? Depends on the conditions and how she drives. Pretending there's an egg under the accelerator and brake helps. And hey, whatever, it'll beat the pants off the Caravan's mileage.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(screaming red @ May 4 2007, 10:09 PM) [snapback]435902[/snapback]</div>

Can you imagine being able to do this at the equivalent energy use of about 170mpg? At a cost of about five cents for the whole commute? If this is the bulk of your driving, then you are one of those millions of people who would benefit immensely from driving an EV. Even a neighborhood EV.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ May 3 2007, 12:08 AM) [snapback]434520[/snapback]</div>

Darell, you mean you didn't give them the benefit of the doubt? . . . they're obviously all quadriplegic
Oof. Ok, off my humor box.

Actually some of our streets are very high speed, and even though I can fly on my P-38 recumbent . . . it's a scary proposition.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(1x1 @ May 1 2007, 12:43 PM) [snapback]433412[/snapback]</div>

Your wife sounds like the perfect candidate for a ZAP Xebra.

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The stock model has a 12 to 15 mile range on a charge, and will go perhaps 35 mph. Cost is around $11,000. For a few thousand you can have it modified by the addition of more and/or bigger batteries for ranges up to around 40 miles. But with a 1.5-mile commute plus a few miles to pick up the kids, the stock Xebra would be more than adequate. It seats 4. The back seat is a bit tight, but for kids it is very roomy.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(avdavsim @ May 2 2007, 08:45 PM) [snapback]434497[/snapback]</div>

NOT!!!
The EV switch is great when you occasionally have to move the car a very short distance. However, since all the energy ultimately comes from the gas engine, and 1.5 miles in EV will take the battery from its maximum allowable charge to its minimum allowable charge, using an EV switch to do one direction of a 1.5-mile commute in EV mode is extremely inefficient and would reduce your overall mpg.

The EV switch is at its best for fairly short periods when the ICE ought to shut off but does not: Very high SOC, very low power demand, such as steady slow speeds, when the ICE is warmed up but does not want to shut down, perhaps because the car has not gotten into Stage 4 operation.

For someone who does so little driving, a Prius is far too much car, and far too much money. While I agree with everything Darell says, and think walking/bicycling is a much better solution in your wife's case, I recognize that many people will simply refuse to combine healthy exercise with transportation. Therefore, I recognize that your wife will demand a car. But a Xebra or a used Civic would fit her needs far better than a Prius.

The Prius is a fantastic car. But your wife does not need a fantastic car to drive 1.5 miles. And at under 5 minutes per trip, the Prius has no advantage over a Civic, other than its great cargo space, which it sounds like your wife does not need either.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(1x1 @ May 1 2007, 12:43 PM) [snapback]433412[/snapback]</div>

I'd guess you'd probably get in the low to mid 30s at best.

Regarding your "'96 Dodge Caravan averages 24 mpg" you SURE it gets that high a mileage on THAT commute? I really doubt it. A 4 cylinder 96 Caravan depending on the transmission is EPA rated at either 20/26 or 18/25. When Consumer Reports does mileage tests, their city result is ALWAYS FAR short of the EPA city #.

Examples: 06 Civic EX (non-hybrid) w/auto is EPA rated 30/40. CR's result 18 city/43 highway
05 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.8L EPA rated 18/25. CR's result 11 CITY/26 highway

FWIW, my 350Z is EPA rated at 19/26, and when I had lots of short trips and idling when I lived in WA, I'd get ~16 mpg. Now it's 21-23 mpg w/my commute that has ~8 mins of city/expressway + ~20 mins of highway.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cwerdna @ May 5 2007, 01:23 PM) [snapback]436129[/snapback]</div>

That's a good point, and I hear this a lot. People take the "stated" mileage for the other car, but want the *real* mileage of the Prius for some reason. In fact, that's what the press has done in many, many instances. They'll take the EPA number off a compact car and compare it to the real-world numbers of the Prius to make some sort of point about how the Prius is over-rated.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ May 5 2007, 10:22 AM) [snapback]436064[/snapback]</div>

Just to play devil's advocate... there is one advantage of the Prius over the Civic in this case. And that is evaporative emissions. The Prius is VERY good this way (due in part to that annoying bladder fuel tank) while the Civic is... well... not as good. So when NOT being driven, the Prius will be cleaner. Might not be a HUGE deal, but it is a deal nonetheless. And is the "partial zero emission" in ATPZEV. (no, don't even get me started on "partial zero!"

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ May 5 2007, 01:35 PM) [snapback]436130[/snapback]</div>

Okay. You've got me there. But with apologies to the OP, I think it's just nuts to spend the money on any new car, when it's only going to be driven maybe 800 or 1,000 miles a year!

It's a perfect fit for an EV, such as a Xebra or a GEM, or any one of the other makes. Nobody's selling a new freeway-capable EV today, but a number of companies are building NEVs.