Real World MPG Numbers

I'd sure like to know HOW you guys get that high MPG into the 70's & 80's. How slow are you driving?

Short trips are one thing, but how about going thru a full tank? What is your MPG then? I'm still stuck at 60. No better, no worse. And that's about 95% city driving.

 

Thanks, Kevin. I guess I don't quite have the patience for that. (I just keep up with the flow of traffic.) But it's nice to know those high figures are achievable. In my heart, I guess I'm secretly a Corvette driver.

 

Well you would think they would check the dipstick and go hmm this is way over... So you're saying they don't check the oil after they fill it...

Back to the MPG stuff..

First tank so far was the best, 2nd tank where 200+ was going back and forth over a mountain (35 miles one way) which drug the tank average down where I averaged about 56. Right now on the current tank it is saying I'm averaging 66 or so...

For me the trick is keeping my distance back, this allows me to coast and accelerate, often only with EV downhill using minimal throttle... The thing rolls so easy, coasts like crazy. I did fill the tires to 40 PSI, I checked and the tires only had 32... I think it has made a difference but the temps have also been down. The AC uses a good bit of energy so you might want to turn that off or adjust it to minimize the compressor speed. What you'll find with the AC, if you have it running you will hear the buzzing noise the compressor makes, turning it down the buzzing gets slower.. I think most folks who have a Prius know this noise but if you're new the AC, power steering and 12V system all gets its power from the HV Battery (hybrid vehicle battery, high voltage battery, traction battery... all one in the same).

Terrain is a big thing too, you kind of want some wavy hills, where you can accelerate down a hill to help carry you up to the next without using much of the ICE. Sometimes if things work out right you can regen enough downhill and maintain enough momentum to just drive in EV for several miles, doesn't always happen.

 

last year, I saw a Tesla driving aggressively with oil cap dangling out when the car waited at a red light

 

^ This.

^ The simplest way by far to get better mpg is by lowering your speed. The "flow of traffic" (the herd) are invariably speeding, a lot. And rushing from one bottleneck to the next.

 

That's true. Certainly nothing wrong with slowing down a bit. I'll just stick my arm out the window, and wave the tailgaters around me,

 

But I'm also very happy and satisfied with 60 MPG. I get that without really even trying; driving my Prius like a normal car (and in the PWR mode no less. ) In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would ever see great gas mileage like that.

I'd like to shake Mr Akio Toyoda's hand.

 

Oh geez I hate that: I'm hypermiling my buns off to get near 50 mpg in a third gen. I'll blame the 17" tires.

 

Nothing wrong with 60 MPG...

Generally speaking, yes the faster you go the worse fuel economy...If the Prius C is any indicator (since I had one) anything over 70 MPH will probably get you sub 50 MPG... That means sustatined speeds over 70...

I'll sometimes hit 70 MPH going down hill just to get over the next hill without dropping below 55... Probably ought to dig my radar detector back out. Having it was necessary in the Dodge.

Basically I'm saying you don't have to drive slowly in all cases... There's not a whole lot of wiggle room on an interstate, but city driving, if you increase the distance between you and the car ahead substantially you will start seeing results. For me out where I'm at it is all about anticipating and knowing when to apply the throttle, when to allow the ICE to kick in and so on.

One thing I have found that seems to go against the grain of what most suggest. It seems to work to my benefit using electric only with the HSI to the Eco line, just before the ICE starts. I use that until I start losing speed....

Perhaps I should do a video explaining some methods... even in the Prius C I could achieve over 60... Once was close to 70...mind you it wouldn't do EV very well over 45 MPH... I mean it "would" do EV but you pretty much had to be going downhill slightly to keep 55... This Prius well I know it will do EV at 70...don't know the maximum speed yet.

I think rural driving is unique since you're not stopping and going and not always driving fast.

 

Kevin (krmcg) continues to record and post excellent (full tank) gas mileage data with his Gen4. A very good example of what kind of great MPG is achievable. Pretty amazing what he's accomplished. A strong testament to the improvements in the 2016 Prius.

 

tbh, adjust initial acceleration based on speed limit and steady speed control at speed limit or whatever flow of traffic is all I did to get high MPG.

there seems to be some optimal acceleration speed vs duration that charges battery really well while you start going
CVT's shift from accelerating to maintain steady speed also has impact on how much Prius is willing to use battery output to drive at steady speed

 

I don't know. All I know was that it got that lid dangling and flapping in the wind when the car is moving

 

Maybe a charge socket cap???

 

That is true and where I was driving was a good example. Battery temperature must be a key because while the battery was one bar from full regenerative braking was minimal and the regular brakes would engage, I could also tell that the EV wasn't pushing as hard. So operating temp makes a difference... Under more normal conditions it seems EV will pull well enough until you get to 3 bars remaining. The trick is to maintain a certain level of charge without running the ICE so much and my commute it varies but I can pretty much hit 70 no problem but I love it when I can get 80+

All I can say someone who bought a 2016 Prius and was a 1st Prius owner might have been like 82 MPG, it this sh-- for real?

One thing about MPG, once you hit a high number like 82 for instance it isn't mathematically that much better than say 60... but still going from 52 (EPA) to 82 MPG is still a larger difference in savings than going from 20 to 30 MPG. The higher the MPG the bigger the gap becomes to make the same savings in fuel. I'm most reading are like duhhhh, but not everything thinks in those terms. I don't always I usually look at how far I can drive on one gallon of gas and 82 miles almost gets me to a mall! (Yes, I'm that far out in the woods)

 

I noticed the same thing Coast Cruiser. Sure, I can hit 70 - 90 MPG short trips and is amazing, but do a 30 mile commute 1 way and once in a while on one of my commutes, I'll hit 70+ MPG (max ever was 75) but mostly 60 - 65 for my trips. I even tried driving no faster than 52 MPH on the way home one day and only got 68 MPG. As a side note, I do use AC but have it on ECO around 72 degrees with low fan speed (live in florida). I don't trick my battery to go into EV constantly like other people might do and I take off, as much as possible right below the PWR indicator unless I have a tailgater pushing me faster, then I take off slightly faster.

 

.....and this is with the AC blasting at 65 degrees, and doing 80 miles per hour in the PWR mode.

 

This is my first Prius and I truly am amazed at what I'm getting. I was hoping to get 46 MPG because I live in rolling foothills of the Sierra and all of my driving his on the highway. I'm doing 20 miles better than that for my normal driving.