Ok, so after about 3 weeks of meticulously watching the mileage, I decided to be a little more aggressive on various back roads near my house, and WOW, was I surprised! It can take corners at decent speeds and hold pretty good. Funny thing is, when I threw my "MPG" attention to the wind, my average actually went up to 60.3! I'm beginning to think the "key" is to not really keep it on only electric for as long as you can, but more like keeping it in that "synergistic" zone where both motors are running and you get a lot of 75.6, 65.4, 70.1's... anyway, just another little surprise from the car that keeps on giving... :mrgreen:
suspension is great. even better when i had my 17" low profiles on the best mode for driving is to have the gas engine run. when you battery charges, it will start to assist. this will give you the reall high numbers. Besides keeping it charged, it's about not using gas when not needed. a light up ahead, coast.. a hill? coast... so on.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid\";p=\"96653)</div> What speed do you drive and get these mileage readings? I onlys see this going down hill, or when I do a lot of electric only mode. Cruising along on level ground at 55 mph I generally get max of 54 mpg. Maybe I have that bad code rev!
around 55mph i am able to get a constant 60 to 65. higher if the road/highway has a slight rolling to it or slight downhill. i've once achieved about 80 for an entire 40 mile highway trip.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tomdeimos\";p=\"96670)</div> What speed do you drive and get these mileage readings? I onlys see this going down hill, or when I do a lot of electric only mode. Cruising along on level ground at 55 mph I generally get max of 54 mpg. Maybe I have that bad code rev![/b][/quote] Surprisingly, around 70mph on my way to work (which is like 20 minutes city driving, 30 highway)... I even spiked it to 85 yesterday, and ended up with a 60.3 vs 60.9! I think V8CobraKid has it right, when both are on you get the really big numbers... I was driving, like yourself, relatively conservative, taking advantage of hills, milking the electric as much as I could, and would manage to get mid 50's like yourself. Then I started to get a little more aggressive, and my averages started going up. I think the term I'll use is "maintaining the momentum".
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(V8Cobrakid\";p=\"96668)</div> Hey, are you the same "CobraKid" that had a website for a white Cobra in which you had shots of your detailed engine?
it should feel like a roller coaster when you drive. well.. not as agressive.. so.. a mild one. little boost when needed.. but you cruise to your stops.. over hills.. just cruise. i feel like i'm re phrasing what i said and what Mystery said. basically.. you shouldn't feel like your playing catch up all the time.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(V8Cobrakid\";p=\"96677)</div> Thanks for the info, I've seen this for a few seconds here and there but can't get it like you do. I think it is a combo of my short commute, cooler temps, traffic, and more hills. Maybe my technique but I'll keep trying it. I get 100 mpg often coasting down the hills, but like 40 going up them. The flat areas are mostly too short to get in the good mode (over drive I assume) for long. But my best is still battery power on back roads, going under 42 mph. Then I can often stay at 70 to 75 mpg and once I got around 80 that way. Today I went out to lunch and we had one of our first days at 90 degrees and I saw a bit more of the 65 mpg you describe going 60 mph but then the hills got too steep. So maybe with summer finally getting here I will see a bit more of ths at highway speeds.
Wow, I just noticed... "Lexington"... I work in Wellesley, always going up and down 128 between the Pike and 3... ...anyway, back to your regularly scheduled Prius chat program... :mrgreen:
