Quote:
Originally Posted by phoebeisis
nadabunka,
I'm surprised that you expected to get the city EPA numbers.Very, very few cars get the old city EPA numbers in an actual city with an "average" driver.
Your 25 mpg is about average for the not average drivers on this forum.Did you buy before there was much data here on the HH? I'm not trying to kick you when you are down;I'm just curious why you would expect to get EPA city numbers with the HH when it was well know that very few cars do,and on this forum the Prius was only getting about 47mpg in mixed driving.Once again,this forum has very few average drivers.Most"average" folks don't get 47mpg mixed with the Prius.
I agree that Toyota and all the other car companies "game" the EPA test to get the best EPA numbers possible.In that sense they are deceptive, but once again it is well know that the car companies "game" the tests.
You're obviously a bright guy. How did you miss the obvious? The Prius numbers should have been enough to convince you that the HH wasn't going to get city EPA numbers(it gets maybe 70% with an average driver).It also doesn't get better city mpg than hy-about 5mpg differences for us(43 vs 49(68mph).I took one look at the HH's numbers here on the forum,and then bought the Prius.The HH just wasn't enough better than our AWD Pilot, or than a V-6 Highlander,Lexus whatever.I guessed it would be no better than 5 mpg "better" than the non hybrid versions,and that was generous.
I'm guessing you were an early buyer,and you hadn't spent a lot of time here eyeballing the Prius numbers.You must not have seen the numerous complaints/rips that were written in several Newspapers/online sites etc.
The HH and Lex are great very quick SUVs and they will pay off on their $4000 preminum the way oil prices are increasing, but it will take >100,000 miles to save the 1000 gallons of gas($4/gal). You should save about 100 gallons per 10,000 miles-at 20 vs 25mpg-.You'll break even around 100,000-120,000 and you'll have had a better(faster/greener) car the whole time.Could be worse.
Luck,
Charlie
Suburb of New Orleans-strictly short trips-stoplight to stoplight with maybe 6 complete stops 90 degree turns per mile.
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Charlie - Thanks for the post. I never even considered a Prius so NEVER saw anything on them. Yes, I did buy in the middle of 2006 so much of the current details about FE mis-statements was not as well known then( as it is now). EVERY other prior vehicle we have EVER bought we have been fortunate enough to easily exceed the posted EPA readings (maybe we've always driven more conservatively than most) so we didn't think it was unrealistic to have expected (at least) within 10%-20% of the ADVERTISED (at the time) ratings. Needless to say, 24MPG on a vehicle that advertised 31MPG (City) was...um, startling. After an ECU re-programming, proper oil and oil levels, etc the truck is now getting between 27 and 28MPG which is ...acceptable.
Also for those who claim the high MPG that live in higher altitudes with terrain that is favorable...I too got the opportunity to drive in a similar area, this Blue Ridge Parkway. Spent a day on those roads and WAS able to re-create the 40MPG "averages" over an extended period (3-4 hours). I even took a picture of my NAVI screen (jus tlike Mr. Kites) and it too shows 40.3MPG with big chunks of time (10-15 minutes) with over 60+MPG (on the screen). Of course, this was done driving 35 in certain areas and lots of hills. They TRULY DO make a VERY big difference. However, for most of us who do not live in such areas, such FE is not realistic. However, I was able to see "Mr. Kite's point of view". Good for him but it's not (by ANY means) a TYPICAL experience.