Mileage question

It will never be that good. The EPA figures, which the manufacturer is required to quote regardless of their accuracy, are a lie.

Your dealer doesn't know what he's talking about.

Keep in mind that short trips, especially with long periods of parking between trips, kills gas mileage. Don't expect to get better than 30 MPG during the first five minutes of any trip. If trips last less than five minutes, that's probably the biggest mileage killer.

Good point. I'd say the second biggest mileage killer is high speeds. I have averaged just under 48 mpg for the first 10 tankfulls. I have gone about 3500 miles in my 2005.

Al

Your Prius is normal. Cold temps, windy conditions and stop and go traffic will decrease MPG and it is very rare to achieve 60 MPG on a regular basis.

As others have said, the first 5 minutes have the worst milage since the engine runs constantly to heat the catalyst.

If you were to actualy drive it 60 miles in town without parking, you may in fact achieve the 60 MPG. That would be closer to the EPA test cycle.

I lost a cat and spent two to four hours a night cruising through the neighborhood and calling out the window. I did get better than 50 MPG those days.

Oh. We found the cat too.

• Where did you find the "quoted 60 mpg"?

The EPA mileage tests (60/51 in-town/highway) result for the '05 Prius are the results of standardized dynamometer tests that allow us to compare mileage among several vehicles.

After 15,000 miles in my '05, I average just about exactly 50 mpg. This represents about 2/3 highway and 1/3 in-town driving.

earle

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My wife and I just returned from a coast-to-coast round trip across the southern United States in our 2004 Prius. We drove 5666 miles and averaged

44.1 mpg driving mostly at around 75 mph. Our per/tank MPG varied from a low of 33.8 mpg crossing (low) mountains between San Diego, CA and western Arizona with a considerable headwind, to a high of 55.6 mpg in the flatlands between Talahassee, FL and Livingston, LA (presumably with a tailwind). Considering the windy weather and the high speeds, I was very pleased with the mileage.

Before the trip, my wife had talked about trading her Honda in for a second Prius but she had some reservations about comfort during long trips. She felt that although she had never been uncomfortable in the car, the seats felt that they had the potential to be a problem over long periods of driving/riding. The trip put an end to her reservations and we ended up ordering a second Prius by phone during our return trip.

Although I definitely knew that the wind was blowing at times, I never felt that I was in danger of losing control of the car. Other than wind we had good weather for the trip except for two short rain squalls. In both cases we had to slow down, not because of any handling problems in the rain, but because of low visibility. My wife and I both felt that the car handled well. I enjoyed making good use of the navigation system and learning to use the voice controls ("Detour", says I, "Restaurant icons are displayed", replies the lady behind the dashboard).

Kari

That must be the new ESP feature - the Nav Lady knew you were hungry!

Mike

That's useful feedback. Other motives for having kept my Passat thus far, besides wondering about winter driving, are:

1. Comfort--esp. rear seat comfort on longer trips. This is rarely a factor though.
2. The Prius, being a hatchback, gets really hot in the summer. Ugh. And I can't say I am getting use to its being a hatchback. The hatch door is pretty high for me to close, too. I tend to put everything on the floor in the back and not use the hatch at all. I am debating about whether to just try leaving the seats down....

I know this much: She pushes Thai food, no matter what I say.

On a couple of occasions I've had adult rear seat passengers for two-three hour trips. They commented on the surprisingly good leg room and moving the ash tray from the front cup holder to the back cup holder. :-)

The Prius IMHO is a bit of an illusion, possibly because mine is black. It looks bigger from the inside than from the outside.

Well, for the short amount of time I sat in the back seat, it seamed uncomfortable--stiff, with the seats too upright, and too short a seat (and I am only 5 feet tall!).

BUT it is seeming more and more silly to keep my other car--esp. since I know someone who wants to buy it (and knows all about its woes).