Ok, it's become much easier to get trips in the 70+ mpg range with the gen 4. Also, at the end of the trip you get a score card. For the past week, I've been playing the acceleration game, doing rabbit starts, experiencing what the car can do (now that I've got 3k miles on it). When I get up to my cruising speed, I go back into being more conservative. I'm trying to get my acceleration score to go as low as it can go, while keeping the rest at near max. Haven't got a 0.... yet. Guess what, my overall mpg is still 70+ !!! Yahoo
Based upon the Gen-4 ad hoc maximum acceleration test and regression testing of our Gen-3, this makes sense. You'll have to exceed ~78 mph in a Gen-3 before seeing a significant drop. The reason is the car reaches maximum 5200 rpm. Above this speed, the car has to do inefficient things. Keep trying! Bob Wilson
High ICE load at moderate RPMs is typically the most efficient way to get power from the ICE, which explains why hard acceleration isn't hurting your fuel economy. Is there a BSFC map available for the 2016s, out of curiosity? (It's worth noting that the Prius's transmission will almost certainly keep the engine at the best BSFC for the requested power demand, within emissions constraints.) Here's the BSFC map for the Gen 3, for what it's worth: Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC) Maps - EcoModder So, on the Gen 3, it's most efficient to stay between about 11 and 31 kW (about 15-41 hp) of power requested from the ICE (more can be provided by the battery), but still reasonably efficient well past 40 kW (53 hp), maybe even up to 50 kW (67 hp). I'd guess that the Gen 4 would be fairly similar, but possibly broadened in range.
I think I have already got the lowest I'll see from it. I've never seen 70 MPG. Soon enough, I'll be below 41 MPG for the life of the car.
