Love it or hate it

I truly loved my 2005 Prius and am starting to appreciate the 2010's improved mileage and performance. Getting over 50 mpg in the economy mode is a piece of cake and it seriously outperforms the 2005 in the performance mode.

All I really want from a fuel gauge is that it tells me when I need to refill. Depending on the distance between gas stations wherever one is, you refill as soon as you hit one or the other of the two last blocks in the gauge. If it starts blinking, you get gas NOW. I have actually run out of gas, about 500 yards from a gas station (I had to stop at an intersection and make a U-turn) to which I got on battery alone.

The rubber tank problem really isn't an inaccurate fuel gauge, it is that you never know how much fuel is in a "full" tank. In winter, the stiffness of the bladder may reduce fuel capacity; in warm weather, a full tank takes more. This makes it very difficult for people who want to keep track of their fuel use, as you never know if this fill up was to the same level as the last one. I don't care, but a lot of drivers appear to be incensed by that.

Does that mean if your car DID have stability control, you would have taken the ramps at highway speed, and depended upon that to slow the car after it started to slide out of control?

What is the real world Prius highway MPG from your experience? It should be higher than 45, right? I was able to get 44MPG with Camry when the traffic was low in the night. My car is getting old and I'm considering Prius. what is the real-world fuel efficiency from your experience?

THANKS

I averaged 52 over the 40,000 miles I drove my 2005 by paying attention to how I drove. So far my 2010 is averaging 53.8 without even trying to maximize mileage. In the 2010 I use the ECO mode, switching to the PERFORMANCE mode when passing. Don't compare my figures with what you were able to achieve under any particular set of conditions. In my 2005 I once achieved three consecutive 75 mpg bars and in the 2010 I've had three consecutive 100 mpg bars. You want to compare your overall mileage figures with the overall mileage figures I've achieved.

I typically get 48 MPG; the lowest I ever had was 44 (but that was when driving mostly at 80 MPH on the freeway), and the best I ever had was 53; driving from Vegas to Phoenix, mostly at 65 or the speed limit, whichever was lower. (Vegas to Phoenix is about 350 miles with about a 900 foot decrease in elevation.)

It depends on how you drive, how much energy is used for climate control (is it very hot where you are, requiring much A/C? Is it very cold, requiring heat?), what kind of tires you're running, do you drive 55 or

But 45 on a 2004-2009 Prius is about right for an average driver under average conditions.