My observations on our C

Iam getting 60 mpg in the city and 53 on the highway,,, i live in wisconsin, temps have been in the 60 to 70 range.... make sure you drive in eco all the time in the city, when you get up to 35mph,,,,,let your foot off the accelerator and make sure your car says ev mode on the energy monitor..... and keep doing this and you will get exellent mpg.... try it

 

I just took home a Prius C Three about a week ago and I've been getting 50+ mpg right out of the gate! My daily commute is 40 miles each way, which involves fairly steep grades, declines, lots of freeway stop and go, as well as a decent amount of city driving. I just keep it on eco mode and everything works out in my favor.

 

Being an ORIGINAL 2001 Prius driver, I mark the real shifter as a plus. (911 calls notwithstanding). Also, not a beeping backup fan, in general. I did not now Prii did that. Yes, I think the view in the c compared to the more traditional car design of the original (2001) Prius is very much constricted, and unnecessarily so, imo.

I also don't like the rear scalloped seat bottoms/cushions. Makes it a pain for middle passenger/kid. The flatter the better. VW Bulli comes to mind as the perfect interior.

--> six passengers on two very flat seats.

 

What was the average for the 2005 Prius, not just the outstanding tanks?

The 2011 is a bit low but not far off what is expected for a model v or Five because of the 17" tires.

Have you considered that you just have a non-ideal commute? How many miles is your commute and what are the general conditions? I'd almost be willing to bet it is either short and/or fraught with non-ideal conditions like heavy but fast traffic or steep hills etc.

 

Perhaps you should try not thinking about your mileage as much and see where that gets you. I've noticed in a lot of situations I get better mileage if I don't try to baby it as much. I hope your mileage improves, I'm sure it's very frustrating.

 

Need to get a tire pressure number. Correct pressure doesn't mean too much. I would try inflating the tires to 39 to 40 PSI up front and 37 or 38 PSI rear if the tire max cold inflation printed on the tire side wall will allow that. Never inflate above the max cold inflation value.

If the engine is cold, and you're taking only short trips, try to plan the longest one first to get the engine up to temperature as much as possible first... and then do the shorter hops back. Short trips with a cold engine will turn out to be low MPG excursions every time.

I would also check to see that your parking brake is releasing all the way. Even a little drag can cause lower MPG. Lift the rear wheels off the ground and spin them. They should spin easily. I know I'm grasping at straws here, but just trying to eliminate sources that could drop your mileage.

My wife, son and I test drove a c one in March, urban/suburban loop 14 miles in light traffic, fairly flat terrain, in dry weather and temperatures in the upper 30s. We did have several traffic light stops. Started out with a pretty dismal MPG number on the display, and ended up with a stellar 69.7 MPG for the shortish trip. The engine was warm when we got into the car. Two of us got to drive about 7 miles each.

The odometer showed 270+ miles on the c we drove that day. You may have to let your c break in a few more miles/tank fulls and then worry about MPG if it doesn't improve.

You need to take it on a 30 mile non-stop drive (reset the trip MPG) to see what kind of numbers that generates?

Hang in there. It should get better!