Thursday 24 May 2012

Prius MPG Review 24-May-2012

The mpg is still sitting at the same this week so my recent improvements in fuel efficiency seem to be tailing off.  The weather has been a tale of two extremes.  The past three days have been glorious; the children have had to get their sun tan lotion on plus suffering constant reminders from me to keep their sun hats on.  Before that, I recollect a discussion with my wife about whether to put the central heating back on it was so chilly.  You really never have a dull moment with the weather in Scotland!








7 comments:

  1. Very interesting review. I am very glad you shared this.

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    1. Well, the interesting thing will be to see any patterns that emerge over time. I'm thinking in terms of factors like average outside temperatures and the impact on fuel economy. Thanks for your interest, Sean.

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  2. I don't know what mode you are driving your Prius in sir but your MPG is shocking!!! You can forget worrying about outside air temps it's driving style that is 99% the reason. I have now owned by 60 plate Prius for 2 months. In the first month I averaged 63MPG which was a good mix of town driving, winding country roads and motorways. But I've been refining the way I accelerate which is he major cause of poor fuel consumption. In the last 200 miles of driving I've averaged over 70MPG. On my regular 23 mile journey to work I have actually achieved 76MPG there AND back. I Drive in Eco-Mode almost always too.

    I hope this is of interest to you as I think you there is huge room for improvement to get more efficiency from your Prius.

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  3. Hello Stu, and thanks for your comment. Well, you've given me something to noodle over, I can tell you! However, before I continue, let us make sure we are comparing like with like. I'm blogging about my 2006 Prius - which makes it a second generation Prius. I think I may have Prius envy - you have a late 2010/early 2011 model - which makes it third generation. Nice. On Parkers website, my 2nd gen Prius shows a fuel efficiency of 65mpg - see http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/facts-and-figures/toyota/prius/hatchback-2004/running-costs/. On the same website, your 3rd gen shows 70 to 72mpg (depending on the model). See http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/facts-and-figures/toyota/prius/hatchback-2009/running-costs/. So this is about a 6mpg headstart. Yes, you're correct that there is more to fuel economy than outside air temp; there's the weight of load (including fuel weight), condition of the spark plugs, tyre pressure, length of run, gradient and surface of road, etc., etc. You get the picture. I've been reflecting, and I know most of my journeys are 10 minutes. The engine is just warmed up and then I stop. This is particularly noticeable in the morning on the first trip of the day. I also live in a hilly area, on the banks of the River Tay. On the flat, the roads are congested with parked cars and one is always giving way (yielding) to oncoming traffic where they have right of way. So, little chance to hypermile, or even maintain a constant speed. However, I also take your point about acceleration style, if I can call it that. I read of a bloke who was perplexed about his mpg figure when he took care to accelerate gently, not realising that a more brisk acceleration to cruise speed was more fuel efficient. Pushing the pedal down to about a third way was what he ended up doing, I think. But please, I'd love to know more about what you've learnt and the style you've adopted. Think there is an article there somewhere. In the meantime, thanks again and happy driving! Sean.

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  4. Forgot to say, the 2nd gen prius doesn't have modes like the 3rd gen. There is no ECO mode. There is an EV (Electric Vehicle) mode, but that is somewhat different. Cheers the noo.

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  5. Hi Sean. Oh right well ill give you back 7.4 mpg as the official 3rd Gen mpg is 72.4. But reckon even with your your type that you should be able to get nearer 60mpg. I've noticed too that the Prius (even 3rd Gen) does take a good 10-15 mins of driving before its really performing. And so for you it's even more crucial that you accerlate as lightly as possible in your usual 10 mile journey otherwise I don't expect you will get near that magic 60mpg figure. My 'style' of driving if you can call it that is to imagine there is an egg under the accerlator pedal and go lightly. People are always in such a rush these days but you actually save next to no time at all by accerlating hard. My journey time to work is 40 mins and I can't say it's taking me any longer since owning the Prius and refining my driving style. Give it a go and see how you do!

    Now got my average mpg for the last 90 miles up to 77MPG!! 5 over the official figure. My target is to regularly get 80 :-)

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  6. Thanks for that Stu. I like the mental image of "an egg under the accelerator pedal". I can wrap my head round that image so I'll try and give it a go. I'll no doubt touch upon this in my next few 'MPG Review' type posts so you may wish to check back in a few weeks and see what the progress is. Perhaps you can let me know if you've managed to improve upon your staggerig 77mpg too Impressive and well done. Sean.

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