who is averaging 50 MPG true?

well, i have been doing 47-48 for the winter in much colder than normal temps. now the last week has been above average by nearly 10 degrees and my mileage is up... only half a tank so far, but display says 55 mpg which means i should get around 50 mpg on pump calculations. will know more when i fill up, but looking good so far

 

DaveinOlyWa, congrats on the good mpg. I am a bit north of you. With all the hills, my mileage (heavy share of city driving) is usually 42-ish. Not sure anyone traveling up and down the Seattle area hills could realistically expect much better...but Oly has its fair share of hills as well.

 

hills are a killer for sure. i have driven the Seattle area a lot and my mileage dives as well. not quite as bad as yours, but only because my Pri is warmed up by the time i get there. but downtown Seattle hills i am lucky to get 45 mpg even in summer.

i have actually tailored my around town routes to be optimise the hills i travel by simply arranging when i go if making multiple stops. although the elevation changes always amounts to zero net change, there is a best and better way to do it.

now, doesnt work if the option is not there, but i usually go downtown (which requires driving to sea level or near it) on the gently sloping roads which just gives me better overall mileage and sometimes boosts SOC... then come back on the real steep much shorter hills. (also slower speed limit as well) and find that i can gain a bit if i get a little lucky on the lights.

now, the past week or so, the weather has been warm and that is the biggest reason why i am hitting 50 mpg this tank...now, just got back from the Portland meet which was a RT 240 jog, my MFD reading for the trip was 56.8 MPG... overall tank was 56.6 before the trip, so not much impact, but was at 58.5 MPG going there... so apparently its either lower in Portland or driving with the wind. all of it does make a difference

 

Dave, as a hybrid newbie, I wonder:
What's the best way to optimize hills? I got a bunch of them here in Ark too. Some of them I don't have a choice about what order I take them in and some I do.
Do you prefer long up and short steep down or vice versa? How much do you find that it matters?
Would you rather get the hills out of the way while you are warming up and getting bad mileage anyway, or go for the flat then and do the hills later?

 

well, like i said, it all ends up being even right, but it never seems to work that way... i found that going down a gentle longer slope than going back up a steeper shorter slope worked best for me. now i dont know if its the route i take or what but because of where i live, i am going down when engine is cold (or colder) and going up after its warmed up most of the time.

also posted about a "mode" thread... kind of applies here

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-weather-car-eco-mode-normal.html#post1041572

 

Just filled up my first tank. Calculated MPG 50.6 Displayed MPG 50.2. Since I don't know how full dealer has filled the tank up, calculated MPG may not be accurate. But it seems interesting that my calculated is higher than displayed. Will see how my second tank fared. Of course, my Prius is still being broken in and I saw my displayed MPG keep improving. Now it is at 51.5. I am happy as long as it is above 50 mpg.

 

Please refer to "Detailed Comparison" tab of the following page.
Fuel Economy Test Schedules

The EPA highway test is done with warm engine and the city test is done with cold engine.
However, the ambient temperature is 68-86F.

Ken@Japan

 

start a spreadsheet. track every drop you use. reset on of the trip meters to get accuracy on distance to the 10th. i am VERY interested in the fact that the difference bet calculate and computer mileage is insignificant.

i have one of the first 2010 build date april 2010 and as you can see by my sig... i am 10% off consistently

 

My first dealer filled tank was 50 mpg actual with 49 mpg MFD estimate. I was very pleased because it was Feb driving in northern VA, so cold weather. My last two tanks were 56.2 mpg with MFD read of 58.8 and then 55.02mpg with 57.4 MFD. As the weather warmed up my mileage went up. I've been trying to improve driving style and I set tire pressure at 42 front 40 rear. My MFD read on the tank is currently reading about 61mpg, and I am about to fill-up so interested to see that result. Overall I am at 52.8 actual mpg with MFD average of 54.3. I am ecstatic with these results given the prius odometer is just over 2000 miles and car still breaking in. Driving conditions here are some hills, stop and go commuter traffic, average trip speed about 27 mph.

 

sounds like you are making great progress. keep in mind that the displayed mileage is probably optimistic. track the amount of gas you put in at the pump as well.

 

I live not far away from you in washington and I have gotten above 50mpg calculated on every tank I have commuted my normal rounds with. The only time it dipped to around 40 was on a long road trip to eastern washington in which there were more than a few hills, and an average speed of 82mph.

That being said, during that trip I was driving as i would have driven any normal car, and when I daily drive, I try and optimize my driving technique to maximize my mpg. You dont have to putt around everywhere to do this, in fact, ive found my best mileage in power mode when I get up to speed quickly and then use the cruise control to maintain my speed or use pulse and glide.

So I dont think toyota needs to change their advertised mpg.

 

Over the five year life of my 05 Prius, I averaged nearly 55 MPG (54.8). I am, though, in FL. Just picked up my 2010 last evening, so we'll see how it does.

 

I am, and we havent had that much warm weather. My current tank is at 62.

 

I just aired up my tires from 35/32 to 41/39 and I got a huge boost in mpg. I was stuck at 42-44, now in the first 5 miles of stop/go driving I am at 95mpg!

My question is does the grill block really make a big difference?

 

Not me. Once in a while, but not regularly. I could set up a special route and then post a brag about it, but really, it is very unusual for me. High 40's, yes. 50, not really except once in a great while.

I just don't go slow enough on a regular basis for the ICE not to be on fairly regularly.

 

RE: "who is averaging 50 MPG true?"

I now have 2400 miles on my gen 3 and I've been averaging 53 mpg.

 

So close, three fillups, a little over 1200 miles and getting 49.9.

Interesting that married guys say they get better fuel mileage when they drive. With me it's the opposite. My wife points out that the dash mpg reads higher when she drives. Makes sense. She is more likely to poke along at or below the speed limit, I drive a bit more aggressively.

 

1400 Miles, last tank was 49.7 true

 

I seem to raise it by .2-.6 mpg when I drive 12 miles round trip to work, and my wife seems to lower it .2-1.0 on her 10 mile round trip.

The funny part is I work 6pm to 6am, and she works 7am to 4pm, so when she heads to work, I already have the car warmed up, and when she comes home its warm enough outside that it doesn't need much warming.