How do you do it???

A lot of material has been posted on this already. You may want to start by readint the posts in the "Fuel Economy" forum.

 

One mistake I made with my new Prius, was trying to go slow from stops and then holding speed once I made it to the speed limit. I got low mpg this way.

After reading a lot on this forum, I learned that it it better to get past the speed limit quickly from stop, and then let off of the accelerator slightly. This increases your mpg (you'll see the bar shoot up quickly) significantly. When you start to slow down a bit, give it some more gas and then let off a little.

Not sure if this is pure "pulse and glide", but I find it works very well for me, and I'm averaging about 56 mpg with everyday driving.

 

Best advice I've heard is to "drive as if your brakes didn't work". Refers to conservation of momentum. I get in the mid 60's by driving the speed limit and "gliding" or coasting as much as possible. Try to cost as much as traffic and time will allow up to every stop, use the brakes as little as possible. I never use the power section of the HSI, but I live in mostly a rural area, and have not gotten on the interstate yet either. I rather enjoy taking two lane roads where the traffic is less and taking my time driving the speed limit and enjoying the scenery. It's relaxing, and I enjoy the Prius that way.

 

Here are two graphics to help you.

The first made all the difference to me. Basically when accelerating from a stop I keep my bar in that "pulse" zone. And once I reach my speed I let off the gas and keep the bar in the "glide" zone (although I go out of the glide zone, but still not past the halfway bar). Also like everyone said, drive like you don't have breaks. If you know you are going to be coming to a stop in a 1/4 mile, let off the gas and coast to the stop. Why speed to the stop then slam on your breaks? Same if you are exiting the interstate, etc. Once you get used to driving like that you'll see how poorly/inefficiently everyone around you drives!

 

As reported in many threads, tire pressure can make a big difference. Try at least 42/40.

 

Same here. When I commute to work it's easy to get over 50 mpg doing this. When I work from home, and just run a short trip to the gym or grocery store, my mileage sinks, because the car doesn't get warmed up enough.

 

Just be patient and have fun experimenting with your driving habits over time. For me, getting better mileage has been intuituive rather than toughtful.

Last summer we took our then new prius from atlanta to chicago and averaged about 45 mpg over the 1400 mile round trip. This summer we made the same trip and averaged very close to 50 mpg. Couldn't tell you what we did differently... Average speed probably about 75 mph on both occassions - sorry y'all, over the years I've adopted Atlanta's drive fast or get crushed mindset.

Totally agree that anticipation is the most important means of maximizing fuel economy. When you see the light up ahead turn red, lay of the gas.

 

To give yourself confidence that you can get over 60 MPG, try this -

- put in in cruise control at 55 mph then reset Trip A or B, and drive at least 10 mi and write down your ave MPG from the MID

- turn around and drive the same section of road the same way

- average your two readings, if not over 60 MPG something may be wrong with the car

You'll also need these conditions while you are doing the test:

tires at least sidewall max pressure
A/C at 78 degrees (not so bad)
ECO mode

Once in cruise, if you have to hit brakes, change speed or get out of cruise becasue of traffic, etc. forget the run and try again when you have time.

Good luck and let us know if you beat 60 MPG :car:

- g

 

Try this technique.

1. When on highway, use the ECO screen.
2. Get to 60 MPH, be reasonable, don't let it go RED.
3. Move the throttle pedal until the meter is in the lower 1/4 of the white area (gas engine on).
4. Use the throttle pedal to keep the meter between 1/4 and 1/3 setting in the white area.
5. The car will settle in to around 60-65 on a flat area, dropping to 55-60 when you climb an exchange and accellerating to 65 when you go down the other side.
6. Compensate for road variations, goal is to keep speed reasonable 55-65 and keep throttle low, allowing car to use its momentum to climb uphills and regain speed on downhills.

I do this all the time to get at least 55 MPG on the highway. Now if only they had an option to have a "throttle lock" cruise control...

 

Coincidentaly, I just responded to the Toyota survey about the DVD that came with the car. I told them that the content should include some tips for how to drive a hybrid for better fuel efficiency. Most of us know the basics of car operation - I wish the DVD helped us get the most from a unique car. 'Specially those that don't know about PC !!

 

Assuming you ride alone with no cargo weight and this is summer, yes, averages bellow 50 MPG are indeed low for the new Prius.

I wonder: How fast do you drive the 30 mile stretch of interstate? Anything after 75 MPH will kill your MPG.

I'm averaging 57.3 so far after 3.5K miles driven, mixed hwy and city. This is what I do:

1- I accelerate slowly. I rarely push the energy meter into the red zone (power zone), in other words, whenever possible, I just take my time to reach the desired speed.
2- I do use cruise control whenever I'm driving faster than 45 MPH.
3- I do not use cruise control bellow 45 MPH because I can maximize my MPG by keeping the energy bar as far left as possible by controlling the gas pedal.
4- I do not rush through traffic lights. I try to control my speed, so I can get as many green signs as possible.
5- I try to be easy on the breaks. Though breaking recharge the battery, the more you let the car cruise where no gas is needed (like going downhill), the better.

Hope this helps...

 

A lot of us have put a lot of time into giving such hints. I have a thread on "You won't get 50 MPG if..." and there are many more threads out there already. There are just too many possible factors to be able to give you a good answer here.

 

I'm not even trying that hard, and on my 33 mi. commute, the computer says I'm getting between 54 and 58 mpg (depending on traffic, etc)... I typically set the cruise at 62 and keep it in ECO mode. About 30 mi. of my commute is highway, although there are some heavy traffic spots.

 

Eventually when I get mine I too will be perusing the mileage threads. My commute is around 82 miles round trip. Its mostly highway so I average around 70mph it will be interesting to see what I get at this speed.

 

I also think it depends if you live in a hill area or a flat area, I would just be happy with the saving you are getting now,
In the future when gas goes up and everyone is complaining that it is too pricey to drive you can wear a smile

 

Maybe Toyota could include the URL for PriusChat on the DVD so people can log on to the internet and find all the good stuff on PriusChat! This way everyone can get the latest tips.

 

I always use eco mode. I accelerate quickly, but never let the eco light kick off. When coming to a stop, I coast for a while, and use just enough brake pressure that the regen indicator on the dash never goes fully green. This requires longer, slower stops. Follow speed limits, use cruise control whenever possible (even at 35 mph). 58mpg is easy for me...

now if I could just get the wife to quit KILLING my mileage whenever she gets in the car.

 

Being a Hypermiler before buying the Prius made a huge difference on my fuel economy for my first tank.

1. From a stop try to use the battery up to 15-17 mph before lighting off the engine. Then take it smoothly up to speed staying out of the pwr range.
2. Leave the car in Eco all the time
3. As said before AC at 78 will help a lot
4. Cruise control on the highway maximum speed of 65 mph. Speeds between 50-60 mph give the best fuel mileage on the highway. Don't be shy about parking yourself in the right lane and driving 60 mph in a 65 mph zone.
5. You have to learn to have a light foot and anticipate what is ahead of you. You don't drive 45 mph right up to a red light, you back off early and coast using the regenerative braking as much as you can up to the light.
6. Tires at a minimum pressure 42 psi front 40 psi rear.

BTW steep hills will kill your fuel mileage unless you really work for fuel economy. With the III be happy with EPA and and anything more is a bonus.