Driving advice

Set it in normal mode and drive it.
Be as fluid as possible and accelerate as progressively as possible, even landing in the PWR zone if so desired or needed. Let the Prius take care of the rest.
When braking start very smoothly and then increase as much as necessary and safely.
Try to glide as much as possible in traffic. Predict traffic lights and drivers' behavior to avoid sudden braking and accelerations.
You will get amazing MPG by doing that.

Key is driving as smoothly as possible. Not slowly like a grandma. That will not work and will be dangerous and annoying to other drivers as you describe.

When you have done a few months of that, you can try to move to ECO mode to see what happens on your routes and driving habits, or follow the ECO drive assistant (the blue bar underlying the HSI that shows how much you can accelerate).

 

Generally - best to accelerate more normally - it won't make a huge difference to your mileage - keep the gentle acceleration to when there's nobody behind when you can maybe crib a little more. Acceleration - you've got to get up to the speed anyway, there are a couple of on-ramp situations near me where it's much safer to floor the throttle for as long as it takes to merge with the traffic, then ease back with the traffic flow.

Staying in ECO mode doesn't seem to make much/any difference to mileage in most driving circumstances either - what it mostly does do is moderate the accelerator pedal so you have to work it harder. I started first tank with ECO, next NORMAL, now PWR - and I'm getting better mileage with PWR, but that could be because I'm getting used to the car. ECO does alter the A/C setting though, but if it's hot, you may not want it to do that anyway.

One of the best tips is, if you're not in a hurry, get in the "slow lane" (if Bellevue is in USA, I think that's the RH lane) and keep up to the slower traffic, rather than keeping up to the fast traffic in the fast lane. Speed does make an appreciable difference to your mileage.

Just enjoy driving it - you'll still get good mileage. In time, you'll learn tricks and improve a little bit more.

 

I am that slow Prius driver. But, I try very hard to be courteous. I stay to the right, but keep up with traffic. But at the same time, I try to find a nice slow truck to follow on the freeway.

 

As far as impatient/aggressive/irrational drivers you contend with:

1. Stay right as much as possible.
2. Get behind trucks/buses.
3. Keep your cool.
4. When someone insists on aggressive/persistant tailgating, and won't quit: try the hazards, just leave 'em on, and gradually increase your following distance to the vehicle ahead (if applicable). If and when safely possible: "reverse pass" them, ie, switch to the left lane, slow down and let them by. If extreme and persistant (and there's no lane change possible), pull over and park, let them by. If it seems warranted, record their plate and report them. Chances are they have a slew of infractions, this might help get them off the road. Do NOT lose your temper, grandstand, gesture.

To improve mpg:

1. Obey the speed limits.
2. Keep a generous space in front, watch for pending slowdowns, and use that space instead of your brakes.
3. Accelerate gently: on level roads aim to keep the Hybrid Synergy Display bar between 1/2 and 3/4, with short jabs higher just as needed.

Road manners:

1. Come to full stops at broad white line, at stop signs.
2. Be courteous/cognisant with other motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians.
3. Always signal.

 

Great advice!

 

You guys know I'm gonna chime in here. And you know the "Rebel" in me is gonna come out.

Except for the very first tank, I've been driving my Prius like a regular, normal car. All those things are good advice, if you enjoy "thinking" about that your driving a Hybrid, and you enjoy concentrating on all those gauges, and dancing lines, and graphs, and numbers, etc.

For me, I find it all those screens too distracting. And you don't want a distracted old dude in the car behind you!

So I'm just driving normally; not speeding around. Just going with the flow, but also not trying to achieve the *ultimate* highest gas mileage. I like the smooth, easy, unrestricted feel of the PWR mode, and that's what I use full-time. My current tank of gas, after 440 miles of city driving, the display shows I'm getting 66.1 MPG... and I'm not even trying.

​

 

Choices, we all have choices My current tank is at 770 miles and displays a readout of 78.5 MPG. It's worth it to me to drive in ECO and drive slow. I am trying to reach the elusive 80 MPG displayed for a full 800 mile tank.

 

What everyone else above has said and set your tire pressure a tad higher. Many here use Front=40 and Rear=38 and achieve very good mileage.

 

78.5??!

I would miss going to gas stations! I can't go that long without getting my 1/4 lb "spicy dog" and cold drink.

I actually didn't buy a Prius because of the gas mileage. I bought it because the driver's door fell off my Camry!

(My "other car" is a Ford F350 Heavy Duty Crew Cab 4X4.)

 

Try a tank with Normal, keep everything else the same? That said, I've read that pedal travel in ECO with the 2016 is roughly comparable to Normal in 3rd gen. ECO in third gen makes pushing the gas pedal a laborious chore.

 

I tried an entire tank at PWR per the Coast Cruiser request. I got 73.9 displayed and 70.3 calculated. I didn't like the "jumpy" and "touchy" feel of the gas pedal, but after a couple of hundred miles I grew used to it and honestly could not tell the difference. I went back to ECO because I like the way it manages the cruise control "catch up" feature better.

 

Yeah I never use PWR, just Normal. But again, there's apples/oranges going on here: 3rd gen ECO pedal travel was really long, Normal is very linear, feels, well: normal.

 

For those newer owners who are looking for advice/instructions on achieving the best gas mileage, Kevin is the MAN! Outstanding record of great long-term results.

 

I'll buy you a burger sometime for all of the compliments. But no, you can't put your trash in my trashcan

 

The Prius has a small and very efficient engine - I have found that acceleration rate (as long as you aren't flooring it) doesn't matter nearly as much to MPG as braking rate does. The more you can glide or coast to a stop instead of jamming on the brakes (especially the friction brakes - if you fill up the CHG bar) the more you can really improve the mpg.

Disclaimer: I have a gen 3 and I'm no hypermiler. But I would suspect the gen 4 is much the same.

 

I just got my first Pri 2 weeks ago and I'm getting about 55 mpg average from the time I got it. Averaging higher on my longer commutes at 60 to high 70s mpg. I'm still speeding 10 mph over the limit (hypothetically of course).

I say drive normal and make your adjustments in other ways, such as those given in the newbie advice thread about accelerating quickly and then pulsing. Learning those beginner tips dramatically increased my averages during my first days.

 

Any air is good air