I have a question specifically for "average" Prius drivers who previously owned the Gen II Prius but now have a Gen III (average meaning you get about 45-55 mpg like myself rather than the super-stellar hypermile mpg numbers). With the Gen II bladder in the tank, you could not get a consistent volume of gas in the car because the bladder would not hold the maximum volume of gas. I assume with the Gen III tank you can pretty much get the full amount. Do you indeed find that the gas gauge and the number of miles you can drive per tank is more consistent with the Gen III? For example, if you have ~12 gallons at 50 mpg, do you consistently get ~600 miles, so that you can consistently drive 500-550 miles without concern that you're about to run out of fuel? I realize the question has been asked already about total mileage per tank, but my question is geared more toward whether or not the Gen III Prius is more consistent like most other cars with regard to how much gas has been used, etc, over against the Gen II -- is there a noticeable difference? I just don't want to assume that it is.
john1701a is the best person keeping track his lifetime mpg on his Gen1 through Gen3. John's Stuff - Toyota Prius and more Ken@Japan
Thank you, Ken. Your answers are always very helpful. In this case, though, these graphs really appear to show how the 2010 gets better mpg than the 2G. My question is really whether or not you can get a full volume of gas in the Gen III tank (upward of 11+ gallons per tank consistently from empty), and whether you can accurately/consistently measure mpg based on how much gas used in the tank in the absence of the bladder. In other words, is the volume and mileage calculated per tank more consistent in the new Prius without the bladder. I realize the assumption is "yes" but I would like to know if that's the real-life experience. Thanks again, Ryan EDIT: I need to read the link first -- I just looked at the graphs. Sorry about that.
Ryan, My JP Gen2 Prius didn't have the bladder, but the US Gen3 tank is now same as ours. The Gen3 tank data is very consistent , and the displayed mpg always shows 6% better than calculated. I always see the blinking pip at approx 40 liters (10.5 gallons) used point, and the remained gasoline seems to be 7 liters (1.8 gallons). Ken@Japan
Yes, people are able tp put more fuel in the tank of a GenIII more reliably than the GenIIs. Yes the GenIII is more fuel efficient but so far it appears that the computer calculated and hand calculated MPG vary more widely than it did on the GenII over time. I.E. we seem to see a larger discrepancy between computer and hand calculated MPG on the GenIII. e.g. the GenII is generally within 2% of the MFD vs. hand calcs. The GenIII seems to be greater than that (approx. 5%) so far but we are trying to weed through all the information to qualify that statement. I have a feeling that it won't for another year or so, when our resident experts have enough data on their own cars, that we can answer that question accurately.
Less than 2,000 miles on my G3, but appears to be about 2 mpg better than my G2, and yes, refills seem more consistent (only 4 so far).
My 2010 Prius: - shows the same 6% better fuel consumption than in reality - the first blinking pip is well before 40L for me; my last tank last Saturday was after 20km of the pip blinking and tanked only 38L....my biggest refuel has always be 38L so far...
