How to drive a Pruis

Prius owners pride themselves on how good their gas mileage is.  At the Huntsman World Senior Olympics in St. George, Utah, another Prius owner parked next to mine.  “So how’s your gas mileage?” I asked, wondering if mine was better.  “We got about 43 mpg coming here, but we drove from Denver and there were lots of hills.  “I got 44,” I said secretly pleased with myself, “coming down from Lindon, Utah.   

After owning a Prius for a year these are the things I have learned about getting better gas mileage:

1.      If the car has an obvious constant visible monitoring of gas mileage, the driver will get better mileage.  Its human nature to accept a challenge. When one observes what makes gas mileage go up and down, the challenge is on to get the highest possible gas mileage.  A mini-van gets as little as three mpg going up a moderately steep hill.  If a driver accelerates rapidly, the same is true at a stop light.  However, going down a moderately steep hill at 25-30 mph a mini-van can get 99 mpg.  The overall gas mileage of a vehicle is an average of ups and downs and depends on how hard the gas pedal is depressed.  The Prius has an “in your face” tracking system that lets you know the score continually and breaks gas mileage up into five minute increments.  The Pruis also shows the driver when the electric motor is charging and discharging.  When it’s discharging, the gas mileage is better.

2.      If the gas pedal is stepped on gently to accelerate rather than slammed to the floor to beat out the car in the next lane at a red light, better gas mileage is achieved.  In a Pruis, the electric motor kicks in when the gas pedal is depressed slightly.  With total electric motor, there is no gas usage.  When the gas pedal is depressed hard, the gas engine burns fuel like a normal car.  In the Prius, the driver has a choice.

3.      The Pruis has an electric motor that works as the car first starts to move.  A Prius can get 13-15 miles per gallon going up the same hill a mini-van is climbing at 3 mpg.

4.      The Pruis gets better gas mileage after it has been driving for a while.  Driven intermittently throughout the day, the Pruis gets better gas mileage than only being driven once a day for short distances.  When the electric motor charges frequently, it runs more efficient.

5.      When “B” is used instead of drive, the electric motor is charged faster and it is able to put more energy into propelling the car forward.  I use “B” to slow the car going down a hill and driving up to a red light.  When I started using it while driving on the freeway, I found that it charged the electric motor and I got overall better gas mileage then driving only in drive on the freeway.

6.      In cold weather, the Prius takes longer to warm up and doesn’t get as good gas mileage.  Using the heater affects the mileage as well.  When the car is warmed up it performs better.

7.      When my Pruis odometer reached 15,000 miles my car started getting even better mpg.  Of course I did all the required maintenance from Toyota.  My last around town with some freeway driving was 57 mpg.

8.      Short up and down hills affect the mileage.  I drove to Portland, Oregon, from Utah last week.  I got 48 mpg going there and 43 mpg coming back.  But going up and down the short steep hills around my son’s house I only got 35 mpg.  It was a disappointment because the week before back in Utah I had gotten 57 mpg driving up and down the longer hill by my house and then driving flat in the valley.  

9.      The Prius gets the best gas mileage overall on flat ground or roads with a slight grade.  Continual mountain climbing takes its toll on mpg.