Avg MPG not as advertised

Is she rolling coal?

Yes, driving style does matter.

 

Short trips in winter?

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Here is the prius v on Fuelly
Toyota Prius V MPG - Actual MPG from 1,050 Toyota Prius V owners
As you can see 33 MPG is on the low side of the bell curve.

New tires often get better MPG after about 10,000 miles. If the new tires are not Low Rolling Resistance, they will never do as well as stock. I tend to run 40 PSI in the front and 38 PSI in the rear.

Speeds over 70 will lower my MPG a lot. On the freeway I stay right and follow (not draft) semis.

I squander a certain amount of MPG by running headlights all the time, I like being seen in traffic.

Where I live it is flat. So for me, Cruise Control saves gas. On hills, you are better off using the pedals.

 

First, that "advertised" figure is NOT a claim of actual results.
It is an ESTIMATE only, to allow for comparing various models against each other.

Three important factors:
You need to reset the displayed MPG so you aren't looking at a long term average.
You can't really rely on those displayed figures though. You need to manually calculate over several fillups.
Are those new tires "Low Rolling Resistance" type ? If not, that can be a big factor. Adding a couple of pounds of air might help......but don't get carried away.

And yes, driving style and SPEED are the two most important factors.

 

Mine averaged right on the EPA average figures. Lots of 5 mile trips, weekly 50 mile trips at 68 MPH, quarterly 250 mile trips at 70 MPH.

 

check the oil level, pump up the tires, check the air and cabin filters, test the 12v battery

 

My wife's 2012 Prius v Five is at just over 45,000 miles and has been averaging between 30 and 36 mpg on tank refills this winter with an overall average of around 33 mpg. It's riding on Bridgestone Blizzak WS70 16 inch winter tires which are far from having low rolling resistance. Tire pressures are set at just above what's shown on the door jam to allow for falling temperatures. Most of her driving is on fairly level roads at no more than 45 mph which means that it doesn't get into EV mode very often. There's not many traffic lights and traffic is usually light at the times she drives which means less regenerative braking. The longest regular one-way trip she makes on a regular basis is 3.8 miles after which the car sits for two hours until she drives back home. The engine may not be getting up to an efficient operating temperature.

Fuel economy is a little better when the "summer" all-season tires are on but they are not LRR tires either - usually 34 to 37 mpg.

The car got better fuel economy on its original 17 inch Toyo LRR all-season tires but not that much better - 2 to 4 mpg. The original Toyo tires had a horrible ride and poor traction.

We didn't buy it for its fuel economy - mainly because it is a relatively small wagon that my wife was comfortable driving and that it has automatic braking and adaptive cruise control ... and because its a Toyota.

 

2013 v with 250,000 miles.... 42lbs. front 38 back..... in town 43 mpg... on the highway at 70 mph 40.2
Michelin Defender tires. I do live in SE Texas and haven't been using the AC and the heater minimally.
And I have a fairly recent NEW traction battery.
Can't say much for the 3rd Gen Toyota.....

 

One thing to be aware of...especially if you have driven a Prius liftback, is that the Prius v (wagon) is a heavier vehicle. I can 'feel' the extra weight when trying to 'glide', etc...vs our 2010 liftback. I can 'glide' quite a bit further in the liftback.

Prius V curb weight = 3,274 lbs
Prius liftback weight = 3,042 lbs

 

who believes advertising?

 

What would the cabin air filter have to do with it?????
Unless so plugged the ac or heat ran more???

 

To the OP - how old is the 12v battery?

A weak battery, and one that is more than 5 years old, have been known to contribute to noticeably lower mileage in the Toyota hybrid systems. Plenty of threads in these forums about this.

 

We've got a 2015 v and the mileage can vary a lot. As others have mentioned, winter driving is a lot lower. Speed also seems to make a big difference. For example, we live in Illinois and when we head east to see our kids, we can frequently average over 45 mpg (according the car's reading). We probably average 65 mph and we aren't carrying a lot. When we head west to Colorado, we get in low 30s but car is fairly loaded, has two bikes on the back, two on a roof rack and we're probably averaging 75 mph with a lot of stretches at 80.

 

That variation in trip MPG and tank-range with use-case is common to all, including a pure BEV (which would see it single charge range).

 

I still contend that fuel economy averaging in the low 30's mpg can be pretty typical for a Prius v depending on tires and how and where it is driven.

Our experience is similar to the OP's. Our Prius v didn't get great fuel economy on winter tires since the beginning and 3-season fuel economy got substantially worse when we punted the original LRR Toyo tires in 2016. I've documented fuel economy on all my/our vehicles for over 50 years - I'm not using the SWAG method. Like the OP, our Prius v tires are always inflated to about what's on the door post for comfort. The car isn't driven in any way that could help it maximize fuel economy. My wife's frequent "lead foot" tendency probably isn't helping fuel economy - not much of problem when driving a Prius but humorously scary when she test drove a Porsche.

Only short trips where the ICE doesn't warm up doesn't help. Winter where the ICE is running more often to provide hot air for the heater doesn't help. Driving routes where the road is level and there are few stops doesn't allow much regenerative braking. My wife's driving doesn't allow our Prius to get into EV mode very often.

I've been amazed at the high fuel economy some people get with the Prius v but it's obvious that many Prius drivers are working pretty hard to achieve that ... pumping up tires to very high pressures, driving gently and using pulse and glide techniques.

I've often thought that our Prius v would have been a much more enjoyable vehicle if it had a traditional ICE and a "normal" multi-speed transmission. The main reason we don't take it on road trips is because of the engine roar that the CVT causes on hills.

 

I drive my Prius v for mileage and my average for the last 10 fill ups (since Oct 24 - Minnesota winter) is 42.8 MPG with the lowest being 37.6 during some below zero F weather. My lifetime average since I got the car new in Jan 2015 is 46.7 MPG witch is about 6 MPG above EPA estimated.
Driving style and short trips are the biggest factors that affect mileage.

 

Got a Gen 2 hatchback; I carry nothing usually and drive locally I get about 33-35 miles on a gallon and about 45 miles on highway. The EPA mileage estimates for this car are 60 City / 51 Hwy and I've never gotten that close, especially in the city and even when the car was new. I understand mileage will depend on many factors but in general these EPA mileage estimates are really unrealistic.
Still, I've got 200k and the car's pretty reliable; I've changed the 12v battery once, front brakes once, transmission fluid once, the hybrid battery once at 170k miles in early 2020 for $1500 from GreenBeanBattery (Green Bean Battery | Reconditioned Hybrid Battery Company), changed the fuel injectors once in addition to regular maintenance like oil change and spark plugs. I've done all the maintenance myself except for the hybrid battery since the company came to my house to remove the old battery and install the reconditioned one with a lifetime warranty. Hoping to get another 50k-100k miles on it. All that and even w/o the advertised EPA mileage estimates, the car still runs and feels great and beats most other hybrids at the gas station.

 

Yep..I'm about where you are at. Overall, the Prius v (wagon) gets far worse MPG than the Gen3 liftback and the Prius C. Look up the curb weight of each....that tells the tale. And then look up Fuelly.com averages. Anyone who says the Prius v ( wagon ) gets 'just as good' MPGs as the liftback is just spouting BS ( and that has happened around here ).

Of the three, I really like the Prius C...really fun little car. The daughter has it now though...sigh.

 

The issue discussed here is generally not ‘better than [comparator vehicle]’, it is owner’s comparison to the v’s EPA rating. We still get around 42 MPG combined, with 225/50R17 98V Continental ConstantContact tires.