Alternate route leads to better MPG

Half of my 40 mile one way commute is like your new route - speeds between 25 and 55 mph on mainly rural roads with a few stops for lights and left turns. This is where the C really shines and I can easily get in the 60s and even 70s on this section. Mix in the other 20 miles of highway at speeds between 60 and 70, and my average for the commute is right around 60mpg. Amazing little car.

 

Good stuff, as your route is shorter! Taking a longer route can both improve MPG and use more gas, a false economy.

 

Using less fuel is always a plus in my book. Sometimes saving money costs time.

 

I own a 2012 Prius GenIII but I thought my following post applied here.

I've been toying with getting the best mileage to/from work and focusing on the best routes to work here in the metropolitan Phoenix area and staying off the freeway(18 miles). I use A/C all the time, have the tires at 40/38psi and have installed a ScanGuage2. I'm pretty much driving speed limit or about 2 miles under when no traffic behind me. P&G technique is not intentionally being used. I am using the ECO mode as it limits the throttle response to help maintain the position I want to be. Normal/PWR causes too much erraticness.

• Using the freeway at 65mph, my avg mileage seems to be about 52mpg. Any slower and it proves to be unsafe with these freeway drivers.
• Using 45mph roads in the morning, I've managed to get a consistant 60-61mpg. The A/C is drawing only about 0 -200w (xguage ACW) in the morning. Braking is to a minimal and timing the lights is a focus.
• Using 45mph roads in the afternoon rushhour traffic, I've managed to get @57 -59mpg. Too many unanticipated stops, many red lights, cars turning right on right lane. The A/C is drawing about 800w (xguage ACW) during the trip, but the A/C starts off initially at 1800w as it cools the cabin in 100f heat. Its fustrating too try to increase the mileage but better than the freeway.
• Using a 35mph to 45mph roads in the morning, I've managed to get a much better 67.1mpg. The crusing at 35 -40mph in EV mode really got the mileage up to the 60mpg quickly. I did find myself with the traction battery below the 1/2 remaining and tried to utilize the brake recharge lightly as much as possible as I coasted toward lights. I found myself coasting more than 1/2 the time between stoplights spreadout 1/2mile apart.

Speed no doubt is critical in gaining the upper hand on mileage. Sure my travel times have gone from 20-22 minutes to 30-35 minutes, but the ride is enjoyable and eventful managing to keep off the ICE. The ScanGuage is worth its money in gold. A good investment.

 

Yup, you nailed it. Slowing down can be rewarding.

I discovered that years ago, even before getting a Prius. Back then, it was less about efficiency and more about simply keeping a steady pace. A fast speed-limit gives the impression of better, but that often doesn't work out that way. Turns out, going slower is much more appealing than the ever-changing variety you encounter from big highway congestion during commutes.

Having a display in Prius clues you into the MPG benefit from exploring alternative routes, even when there's a few stoplights thrown into the mix. It's worthwhile to try other roads. Efficiency gain can sometimes be counter-intuitive.

And yes, with a plug you notice the same type of efficiency bump. Of course, the advantage of an electric motor becomes more pronounced at higher speeds with that extra electricity available. But the gain from drives through the suburbs is obvious regardless of Prius model.

Have fun continuing to discover the advantages the hybrid system has to offer.

 

We've got a biggish hill between us and some of our destinations. You can go up and over it, or skirt 'round either side, depending on the destination. Even though descending the hill yields good coasting stretches and recharges the battery, I suspect it's a net detriment to overall mpg.

 

It depends. On my 1k trip to Florida, we went through West Virginia and it was quite hilly. It was also where my efficiency was the best on the whole trip (except for in town driving, of course). If it is stop and go, I could see it being more difficult, but if the road is steady going, you may be surprised at the MPG for the route. I was! MPG for WV area was around 53-55 MPG, while the steady highways were more around 49-51.

 

My commute has a mandatory hill in either direction - there is no practicable route that goes around it. One way to do it is to start straight up one part of the hill from my apartment. It seems, by the time I reach the end of the trip, this is actually more fuel efficient than going straight right after starting the car.

I suspect this is why: The car takes a few minutes with the gas engine on until everything is warmed up, so no matter where I am driving it will use gas and put the excess energy into the battery. But if I start directly up a hill, the engine is putting most of that energy into climbing the hill rather than into the battery. By the time I get to the top it's able to do stretches of EV mode. And gravitational potential energy is a much more efficient way to store energy than a battery... so I get an instant bonus in storage efficiency.

The other reason is - I can take it easy up the hill at about 30-40 km/h as it's a residential street, whereas if I go straight onto the gradual uphill of the main road, I have peer pressure around me to be using more gas the whole time to accelerate into small amounts of space ahead of me.

 

I do the same. I drive about 28 miles to work, no highway. If I took the highway, it would be the same distance anyway. Google Maps has been great.