Real World MPG Numbers

After reading some of the amazing numbers you guys are posting, I sort of hesitate to post this update-- but here goes.

Through 4685 miles and 11 fillups, my calculated mileage is almost exactly 50 MPG.

Why such a huge delta from what others have posted? Here are some thoughts-- yours are most welcome:

1. Reporting Bias --Underachievers like me might be less inclined to share thier numbers (see first line of this post)
2. 17" Tires on my 4 Touring
3. Colder In New England than where many other 2016s call home. It was a warm winter, but in one bitter cold stretch I managed low 40 MPG at best. Now that it is warming up my MPGs have improved to about 53 MPG.
4. Driving route is mostly highway-- at highway speeds. Only occasional grid lock. Should I appreciate traffic jams?
5. EV percentage averages only about 30%
6. Driving style mimics that of my Massachesetts peers-- and I am not talking about Bisco (who I am learning has no peers )
7. Some cars -- like people -- just do a better job than others (but we love them anyway, right?)

One thing I have noticed is that on cold days I might hop on the highway with the meter showing 20MPGs and it might take 20 or 30 miles for that to increase (slowly, linearly) to pass 50MPG. In other words if that drive only lasted 10 or 15 miles, then my result would be MUCH lower. Likewise, on some weekend jaunts in suburban traffic, I will easily top 60 MPG.

If I had taken better notes (temperature, etc) and paid better attention in school, I might be tempted to do a regression on all the key variables.

Perhaps that has already been done?

 

No, I think we all appreciate your info. We now have dare I say "worst case" cold NE Corridor stats from you especially with the 17" wheel handicap.

It should get better as the days start to warm here shortly.

Plus on the other hand we also have the fellas in "It's always sunny and 72 deg SoCal" reporting in with higher stats with Eco's and other Prii with 15" wheels.

Plus remember we might still have "winter blend fuel" at the pumps up here in the NE? Does any one know when we get "summer gas"?

Also, how are you driving the car? Nice and easy trying to get the best mpg i.e. Pulse and gliding, etc, or simply driving it "normally"? If your still getting a solid 50 mpg driving it like any other car that's still pretty good.

 

Your mileage will improve. Your driving in cold weather, new England gasoline is still in the winter formulation.
Drive the car the way you enjoy it.
You might increase your tire pressure, since snow is probably over.
You might use a higher octane gas to compensate for the winter formulation.
Going down 495 in Ma, some of the traffic jams have sent my mpg up to 72.
Also going down 495 in Ma, I found a route that exits the highway 2 exits sooner, and on the 10 miles of backroads, can get 80+ mpg (on that 10 miles).
Set your navigation for shortest distance, and try the backroads.

 

You lost me when you said "delta."

And at the end, "regression on all the key variables."

I just drive my Prius like a regular car. I wanted a good, reliable, economy car. That's all. Tracking gas mileage after one month, has frankly, already gotten boring. But that's just me. I simply don't believe these people that claim they're getting a steady 75 MPG. They must never drive over 30 mph?

Sure, if I make a couple short trips to the store, my dashboard display says I'm getting something like 85 miles per gallon. But that's not true. The only thing that matters, is when my tank is empty and then I can calculate my true overall mileage.

Anything over 40, is better than 99% of other cars on the road. That's good enough.

 

We (here in NH) usually get the change to summer gas in late March (very soon if not already changed). I filled up over the weekend, but haven't driver more than a few miles yet. My previous fill up was in NJ a couple of weeks ago.

 

Curious - pardon my ignorance; what is "summer blend" versus "winter blend"? I feel like we're talking about beers but what's the difference in the "mix"?

 

Winter blend is "supposed" to help with cold weather emissions. The blend has fewer BTUs of heat energy and therefore we get a bit worse MPGs with it.

For me, the combination of having the heater run, running snow tires on all 4 wheels, and winter gas my MPGs go from about 52 down to 45 - 46.

 

Winter blend has an anti-gel compound.

You don't want you gas to gel.

Opps ... anti-gel is for diesel

What is the Difference between Summer- and Winter-Blend Gasoline? | AAA NewsRoom

 

Some people like other types of car 'bling': paint, audio, wheels. Some of us have liked fuel economy from before the Prius.

Bob Wilson

 

I agree. A couple of other things to add:
- The Prius is primarily designed (and sold) around fuel economy. So why should it be surprising that some people try to maximize that? Would it seem odd that someone who owns say a Porsche Boxster likes to corner fast, or a jacked-up Jeep Rubicon likes driving offload? That's what these vehicles are built for. Of course that's not to say that everyone who owns one of those should feel obligated to drive it like that. Although to ME it seems odd to pay for all that capability and not enjoy it.
- For many, driving for MPG is an entertaining and relaxing game which is far far from the stress of trying to drive fast (as I used to do), which quickly gets frustrating given today's heavier traffic. "Economical driving" converted my 35 mile commute to work into something I actually looked forward to, a sort of competition of myself versus my previous results. Not everyone is wired that way, but it should not be surprising that some people are. Consider people who play cards, board games, amateur or masters sports, or even bet: the gaming instinct is pretty human.
- Personally, what I find odd is that some people add bling to a Prius. Especially given all the negative comments about the Gen 4 styling, it brings "lipstick on a pig" to mind. To me the Gen 3 and Gen 4 look nice from certain angles but neither is an iconic design. Or adding "handling", considering that pushing the envelope generally costs fuel economy. I take a deep breath and mutter "to each his own" and remind myself that it's part of the urge to personalize one's car/home/whatever.

And then there is my niece. Some years ago she traded in her BMW 3-series convertible for a Honda Civic Hybrid on the rationale that:
(1) she could use the HOV lanes to commute
(2) even at 85mph, she would be getting better MPG than most other vehicles going 85mph.
(3) she was far too busy to go slower
Unassailable logic (except for #3), left me spluttering.

 

Why not have a formal contest here for those inclined to track mileage? As a former TDI owner I was always happy to compete, even if I didn't win. It's all done on the honor system, no prizes other than satisfaction. I still challenge myself even in a car that's not exactly a fuel sipper. I still long for a higher mileage car, so had to rule out VW and have been looking at Prius for a while now.
February 2016 Mileage Thread - TDIClub Forums

 

Welcome to our sandbox:

I've visited Fred's a couple of months ago to share info about the Prius:
TDIClub Forums - View Single Post - Visting Prius Owner

Hopefully folks realized I was there to deal with a lot of FUD that had been partially sponsored by VW dealers with possibly the blessing of VW corporate (aka., "Meet the Volkswagens".) Regardless, the thread eventually petered out and I'm not in the business of 'poking the wasp nest.'

We do have some informal competitions for 600, 700, and 800 mile tanks. If you'll use the 'Search' function, you can find them easily enough. Then there was this driving stunt:
Efficient driving for a 1,000 mile tank | Page 2 | PriusChat

I offered to send prizes to anyone who did a 1,000 mile tank on any of the previous Prius . . . <SIGH> no interest. Regardless, the 2016 appears to be easily up to the task.

Regardless, welcome to our sandbox.

Bob Wilson

 

Can I have two prizes?

 

The first one was outside of the window and I don't do 'teams.' My goal was to encourage individuals to explore that end of the Prius performance region. FYI, I'd documented that effort in one of my earliest mph vs MPG charts, the "NHW20 Marathon":

Can you guess who was the 'outlier?'

Was the second one a solo effort? Any published details?

Bob Wilson

 

The 1007 mile tank was 4 weeks of 50 mile RT commute in the summer of 2004. It was on the backroads, speeds in the low 30's, Temps in the 80's IIRC. It was a solo effort and is probably not published here because that was about a year before I became a member. It might be on Greenhybrid.

 

Well that makes two of us who have done solo, 1000 mile tanks. <GRINS>

What I was trying to point out is you can get a 1000 mile tank without having to do a 'butt buster', marathon. I'd rather put the car on a dyno, set the cruise control, and let it run until dry than do one of those marathon efforts.

Bob Wilson

 

I have a pretty good tank going on now but it will take some time to finish it. About 350 miles into it and my range is still at 575 miles. I should have 900 miles no problem, maybe 1000 after adding the 1.9% odometer error. At the rate I m going it will take at least two more weeks. I am in no hurry.

 

Three of us. In the summer of 2008 I had three >1000 mile tanks: 1058, 1042, 1055 miles. They were in an Insight-I, does that count? After all, its tank held only just under 11 gallons, which meant that those tanks all averaged over 100mpg. They were back and forth 35 miles each way to work, mostly on I-95 @ target speed of 50mph. So they included about 30 warmups from cold per tank.

 

<AHEM>This is PriusChat.com. <grins>

I also don't count the Plug-in Prius nor any other Plug-in or non-Prius models. Then there is the challenge of the actual tank volume that is not a problem, yet.

I appreciate the technology of the original Insight but I'm really interested in our 5-seat, Prius performance. These kind of performance stunts are useful because it highlights the factors that govern ordinary Prius performance.

Bob Wilson

 

Is 57 MPG considered good? This is the first time I calculated the MPG myself (567 miles traveled/9.828 gallons filled up on 3rd fill up). I lasted exactly 3 weeks from 2nd to 3rd fill up with about 2/10 on last bar before going on E and this was through heavy rain 40% of the time and in the low 50s to high 50s degree Fahrenheit.