I second drmperalta's impression (about Prius), and add that Prius is not very efficient in short trips because ICE kicks in too easy in the first 5 minutes (even though battery if charged up).

But applying Prius pulse & glide technique on a Honda Pilot (which has decent mileage already because of VCM, variable cylinder management, which turns off 3 cylinders when engine not running hard), I am getting 20% better mileage. City gone from 17 to 20+ mpg, highway from 24 to 28 mpg. That is almost HiHy MPG, and nearly double of most SUV's.

So perhaps Prius should be the new driver's ed car. Training future drivers to drive efficiently and patiently.

our regular driving is purely high speed interstate driving. Very seldom are we in stop and go.Unless there is an accident. Usually caused by one of two things. Some knuckelhead going up the ramp at below optimal traffic speed and causing the accident behind them as they go on their merry way.Totally oblivious to the accident they just caused. Or some idot trying to cut over and not getting up enough speed.
Our Prius does just fine at getting up to highway speeds and at 75 to 80 we have plenty of power to pass without causing people to get backed up or even have to hit their brakes.
They do get this funny look as a hybrid blows by them though.
When encountering the stopped traffic for an accident we have never had a problem going from stopped to getting up speed.
As for the poor partial throttle reponse. we have never ever encountered it.
If cruising with the traffic flow and we need to pass there is no problem of zipping along.
As for the pulse and gliders pout there...
I suggest you avoid the interstates where we live.
You will not be able to keep up with traffic at all.
And if you do pulse and glide please have your insurance paid up in full.
You will get run over.
Or cause road rage.
The average traffic speed in our area is between 75 and 80 on most days.
The beautiful thing is. when we do encounter a standstill it is quite nice to hear the ICE cut completely off. Still having cold air conditioning. And upon takeoff if the traffic speed is below 25 we can cruise along without the ICE coming on.But if an opening occurs we can be on it and go.

Great idea! I've thought this to myself several times. Occasionally someone gets in the Prius with me and says "I don't know - it's just off right now? I don't think I could drive a car that's off sometimes" - referring to the gas engine. And then after a few more times being in the car, they're comfortable with it, and all about the gas savings.

The Prius would be an excellent learner car. The drive by wire system makes it much harder for a beginning driver to do all the terrible things they do to an automatic's transmission (shearing the fluid) or a manual (buffing the clutch plate and grinding gears). And it would make them think about the engine being on at a stop light as a waste, rather than just how it is.

Prius 2006, bought September 14:

Wow... If you don't mind me asking, what is the LEGAL speed limit on your area?


Cheers;

MSantos

Somebody wanted Prius numbers. Current tank 654.1 miles @ 74.4 MPG on the MFD. I still have two pips left. This tank should bring my lifetime MPG to almost 61 mpg. I have been consistently getting 78 mpg during each of my commutes around town. This started about halfway through this tank.

Thanks,

Chris

Thanks,

Chris





Best Tank: 84.63 mpg 1023.3 miles
Best Segment: 103.3 mpg for 62.4 miles (calculated)

5 tanks - 800+ miles
0 tank - 900+ miles
2 tanks - 1000+ miles

I don't know where they're from, but the difference between driving on the East Coast and West Coast is remarkable. In California the speed limit is 75 and the average speed is 85. I've never seen someone pulled over for speeding, though I'm told it does happen. In Massachusetts the speed limit is 55 and people are pulled over constantly - you can't drive for 15 minutes without seeing someone pulled over on the highway, possibly you. That's one of the nicest things about moving out here - people still think of roads as a way to get where you're going, not a thing that needs to be increasingly limited to "protect" everybody. If cars are dangerous (they are), ban SUVs, build more trains and subways, and improve driving tests (Massachusetts' is a joke) - don't just slow everybody down and pat yourself on the back.

Prius 2006, bought September 14:

Wow Chris, 74.4 MPG!! Are you always going downhill? Seriously, that is awesome. How broken-in is your Prius? And what are your typical drives?

No, I just purchased a 2006 Prius (July 1) and only have 2350 miles on the car. 50/48 psi in the tires. Full oil (I am going to go synthetic at 2500 miles). 230 lb driver. 70F-ish weather for 600 miles of the current tank and 50F-ish for the last 100 miles ).

I really concentrate using pulse and glide techniques when I can (so I don't get run over) and several other subtle techniques (from reading here, priuschat, priusonline, and cleanmpg). I believe anticipation of lights, the road conditions, and traffic has boosted my mpg by about 20% for the second half of my current tank.

I have an 18 miles communte to work and I have chosen a route to take roads with speed limits from 25-45 mph. During the first half of my current tank, I was getting about 68 mpg to and from work. On the last half of the tank, I have been getting closer to 80 mpg to and from work.

I accelerate moderately during my pulses (instananeous mpg is around 30 mpg) and glide (no arrows). Just like everyone else, I am honing my timing of the P&G with my road conditions, learning the affects of different levels of SOC, and other variables. I do however have about 24 stops (red lights and stop signs) to deal with. I have acheived brief spells of 90-100 mpg on backroad segments where there is little traffic and few stops.

I am sure I crossed the line of obsession about a month after I bought the car.

Thanks,

Chris

Thanks,

Chris





Best Tank: 84.63 mpg 1023.3 miles
Best Segment: 103.3 mpg for 62.4 miles (calculated)

5 tanks - 800+ miles
0 tank - 900+ miles
2 tanks - 1000+ miles

Soopah, do you have any way to tell the mileage of HCH in the first five minutes? I was wondering if HCH also suffer in the first 5 minutes because of emission (warming up catalytic converter, engine running rich for ignition, etc.).

There it is! As soon as I read that 70mpg+ number I said to myself, "Route planning." That's really how you consistently get a high MPG in the Prius - you devise a route that keeps you below 50, and if you can, keeps you out of traffic (no one to get in the way of gliding or honk at you for going slow at the end of a glide). As Bob's excellent graph has shown here repeatedly (which I leave to him to post or not here), nothing can compete with the Prius in low-traffic, sub-40mph conditions. I have a friend with a motorcycle that gets worse mileage. A motorcycle!

I don't route plan myself, maybe just because I feel like I'd be taking the whole Prius thing too far - but I do plan around avoiding traffic, for my own sanity. That happens to help my MPG as well.

I've only rented the Civic Hybrid a few times, and the first five minutes is kind of indeterminate for it - the Civic's big mileage is on the highway. You're usually not moving at highway speeds in the first 5 minutes, so you're going to get low numbers but that's to be expected. If I had to make a comparison, the drive from the highway to home did have better mileage than the drive from home to the highway. But again, the Civic likes fast-moving stretches of highway if you want to see it hit its best numbers. The Prius likes to take it easy.

Prius 2006, bought September 14: