I was trying to see how low the gas mileage could go, so I kept the car (Gen. 3) in 'B' and 'Power', and drove up and down hills as fast as I could go without being stoped by the police. Started out @ 20 m.p.g. as expected after a few minutes, then it got up to 30 m.p.g. after about 15 min. After about 25 min, it got up to 35 m.p.g. I figured I must be slowing down, so I pushed the car harder, especially on the steep upgrades, and got the averge to drop to 30 m.p.g. again with much effort. When I returned to a more relaxed driving style, the m.p.g. returned to a more expected territory (40 m.p.g.) Very impressive!
Toyota's revamped Prius hybrid gains higher mileage, better interior | detnews.com | The Detroit News got 26.8 mpg after a valiant effort to get the worst mileage possible.
It's very amazing how the attempts to get poor gas mileage, still result in higher numbers than most other vehicles. It really speaks volumes about how good the car really is!
the lowest i've seen is between 25 and 30... but you have to be towing something. once you stop towing, it jumps back up. (for me it jumps up to high 30's) the good thing is... it's really easy to tow someone. i've towed a vw bug about 15 miles on mountain road.. a 74 (not sure of exact year) corolla about 35miles (city then mountain road)... for tank, the lowest i've seen is 29mpg.. really cold outside, high speed transport with a lot of weight.. all freeway. (oh yeah.. towing burns oil... ) (duh?)
RE:Bad Gas Mileage I don't get it. I must have a lemon. I am averaging 33mpg (calculated) I wonder if they used the indicator?
Well, cold temps cause a pretty substantial hit also - nobody really knows exactly why, maybe the inverter temp is too low for efficiency or something. It's more pronounced at higher speeds, so for your next "worst mileage" test, wait for below-zero temps and gun it all the way to 70mph.
A better technique: stomp accelerator at 30 mph, shift into "N" while accelerator held down, takes about 1 second when acceleration stops, stomp brake so ABS engages when stopped, engage a forward gear selection, "D" or "B" repeat (if traction battery gets too low, just stomp brake at 30 mph) You should be able to achieve less than 15 MPG. Bob Wilson
Mine is pretty bad right now too. 25-30mpg. Most trips are less than 5 miles at 35-45mph. Every week or 2, do 20-40mi trip. Temps have been mostly in the teens. Security at work warms everybody's car up, turns on defrosters, cleans off windows, etc.. I'm thinking the car is idling 10-20 min before I leave. Could this be why its so low?
The more time the engine spends running without the vehicle moving, the more fuel is consumed over 0 distance, causing the fuel economy to drop. Short answer: yes.
