OK, I know EPA figures are not perfect and don't reflect realworld driving. I also know when they say city they really mean small town / suburban not New York city bumper to bumper traffic. That said, if I recall the EPA ratings on my '02 they are 51/45 (city/hwy). My mileage is always better on the highway than the city. Based on MFD read outs I typically get 52-57 on the highway while local is closer to 48-52, this seems to confirm that the car works closer to a normal car in highway being better than city. Has anyone else noticed this or are both or my pri's strange?
It's all about driving style and conditions...the numbers aren't 'reveresed' per se, but certainly "your" highway driving may be more efficient than the EPA's highway (read my article for the link to how the EPA does it's testing), likewise the city. The EPA test methods are outdated and unrealistic in today's world. With my '04 Prius I can always get better 'city' mileage, under ideal conditions, than I can highway mileage under ideal conditions.
I have pretty much the same experience, but it's more a function of my particular commute. I drive 80 out of 100 miles a day on the highway. A good portion of my non-highway involves the warmup phase. Plus the local roads I take to work take me a little higher in elevation. I also benefit from heavy traffic on the highway where I can use no gas but not stop dead. If you're doing shorter trips in the city/burbs than the highway, I would think it's natural for you to be doing better on the highway.
I guess I'm one of the rarer folks. I do get better city mileage than highway although highway trips usually mean heading down south and you folks have 70mph speed limits which means a dead-on 5.0L/100km (47mpg). Around town, I can easily beat 4.7L/100km (50mpg) in the summer. I'm usually 4.4-4.5L/100km range. Although, once I did refuel then went on a 100km round trip to the eastern suburbs. The highway speed limit was 90-100km/h and that round trip netted 4.0L/100km or about 57mpg.
