This person, mauleskyrocket, insists that Prius will only get 38-40 mpg under normal driving. And you'll only get it higher by driving like a road hazard and turning off the air conditioning. This is simply untrue. Show him your proof here:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/...08&page=7&pp=15

I am so fed up with responding with arguements which he COMPLETELY ignores.

A Prius a day keeps the doctor away!

That mauleskyrocket dude is just a pure idiot, based on the three pages of posts I just read.

I'd say ignore his crap and leave that forum alone - you'll just frustrate yourself even more. Take a few deep breaths and move on dude..... B)

Forums are great for adult discussions, but with all those personal attacks, it just disintegrates into sniping.

Well it all depend on what "normal" means. While the way I drive can't be considered normal, I do move at a reasonable pace relative to everybody on the road. High mileage is more about conserving momentum than moving slowly. The latter is a big misconception. I spend an hour and a half in city streets everydeay. I do not deliberatly do anything dangerous. I'm not that stupid.

Now back to this concept of "normal", what exactly is normal? If you move down the greenhybrid database, xcel or krousdb are not normal, but where is the line that separate the normal from the abnormal? The line doesn't really exist! For Xcel, driving with load is normal. But if you thing weaving a big SUV in and out of traffic is normal (in a way it is because that's how a lot of people drive) then 40mpg is all you can normally expect.

The trouble is people tends to have very rigid concepts and they discriminate accordingly. My normal should be everybody's normal. If not, they're not normal. That kind of thing. Things as they really are, are relative and extremely fluid. In Zen Buddhism, they ask you questions like "What's the sound of one hand clapping?" to make you realize that fact...

Andy

I think on an earlier forum we concluded that "normal" driving means:

1. Not using any Hybrid driving tricks.
2. Ignoring the game gauge.
3. Driving a Hybrid like you did all the previous cars you have owned, meaning not paying ANY ATTENTION to gas consumption other than filling up the tank when it gets empty.
4. ZERO attempts to enhance mileage - JUST DRIVE IT BABY !!

Well in they case, the guy is correct. What's the problem? No problem. Everybody go home happy

By the way, I drove a 5 speed Jetta TDI before the Prius, and a 5 speed Jetta Turbo Diesel before that. I was doing about 800+km on a 55L tank. I'm doing 1000+km on a 45L tank now. Anybody who think a manual TDI can get even close to what a Prius can do is smoking some really good stuff. But as long as they enjoy the stuff, who am I to try and enlighten them eh?

Andy

Hi All:

___After reading through the thread, I came away asking myself, what is the point of signing up and responding …

___In real terms, many of us including myself don’t drive normal and the mileage speaks for itself

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net