Long Termers & Bad Fuel Economy

[wooski]

The latest CAR reports that there long term T Spirit is giving them just 42mpg. Any idea's why it's so bad? I can think of a few:

1. In the article the driver descrives regular 80/90mph dual carriage way cruises.

2. I bet he's in Power mode most of the time.

3. Has he adapted to pulse and glide like the rest of us have who actually pay for their own fuel. You can't drive a hybrid like a normal car and expect to get the full benefits of it.

[johalareewi]

Are the tyres under inflated?

Have they changed the tyres?

Has it been serviced with the wrong oil?

Maybe they have it decorated with those england flags (nice drag!).

Also 80-90 mph driving will give about 42ish mpg.

As will abrupt braking/accelerating (like tailgating).

You can drive a Prius like a normal car and get some benefit.

But you can get more if you try.

[flow]

If you look on Fuelly, you'll see the average is around 45-47 mpg.

The biggest killer of MPG is, IMO, short journeys - Quick short trips etc, not giving the Engine/System time to warm up properly, lots of start/stop trips involving traffic lights.

On an average working day, a typical 6 mile trip to the office (involving a drop off at Nursery and then school) consisting of 30 and 40 mph (heavyish density traffic)roads and 2 sets of traffic lights results in anywhere between 45 and 50 mpg.

Yes, you do have to learn how to drive the car for maximun mpg but alot of it boilS down to what sort of journeys you are doing.

Long = Fantastic

Short = Poor

Have to agree though that 42 mpg does sound abit lead footish.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

He's an anti and thrashes it around to try and prove the Prius is rubbish.

[Sagitar]

Long = Fantastic

Short = Poor

It's all relative. Compared with my last car (a Lexus IS250) I actually make bigger savings on my short journeys, even though the absolute figure for short journeys is less good than the absolute figure for long journeys.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

I'm a taxi driver and we have a reputation of not hanging about (all within the speed limits of course) and I still manage 48 mpg round town!

God knows what these guys were doing to get 42 mpg!! They have had to be wheel spinning it everywhere!

[wizzlon]

Interestingly I have found that on my normal workday routine- a 60 mile up hill and down dale round trip on minor and A roads (takes 90 odd minutes)- I get around 54mpg. As per my other post when I went to Dorset on holiday a few weeks ago(involved 80mph running on A303 etc) I actually got 57/58 over 3 fill ups. I found it easy to get up to speed then back off on the throttle and hold it whilst keeping the mpg as high as possible on the hybrid gauge thingy.

[Chris Dance]

I never understand why there are folk who want to knock a good car like the Prius. My car is a gen 2 Prius and I have never had the fuel consumption as low as 42MPG even on short journeys. I even achieved 60+ MPG on a very hot day last August. I generally find that people who decry the Prius are not full time owners. They are usually test drivers etc.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

The Journo is probably cheesed off he got the Prius instead of the BMW M3, so has decided to thrash it round the place out of badness.

He must be going like some crazy to be getting an average of 42 mpg! Trouble is s**t sticks and if enough people read his report then it'll add coal to the fire that Prius is all hype and doesn't achieve the 70 mpg claimed. Even I have managed a journey average of 72 mpg!

[Sagitar]

If you look on Fuelly, you'll see the average is around 45-47 mpg.

Your note prompted me to go and have another look at Fuelly.

If you look only at the figures available for for the Gen3 Prius, there are 135 listed and showing m.p.g. The average for all of them together is a little over 56 m.p.g (that's Imperial gallons). That's about what I would have expected from my own experience. I get close to it without any special effort.

The chart that Fuelly uses is a bit difficult to see in the round because they disaggregate on a difference of only 1 m.p.g. If you use slightly larger clusters than they do then it is easy to see a normal distribution of the figures with 56 m.p.g very close to the centre.

Again, it is about what I would expect given the range of behaviour from drivers and the range of conditions under which cars are driven. The "Car" test figures appear to be well off the plot and I guess can only result from some abnormal situations.

[cootuk]

Even my GenII gets over 40mpg on short winter runs.

Warmer weather and it's 50mpg on the same routes- just done a run down and up the motorway and got 55mpg average...was 60mpg going south but the Pennines on the way back drag it down.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

If you look on Fuelly, you'll see the average is around 45-47 mpg.

You are looking at UK mpg's and not US? Their gallon is smaller than ours. A

[kevin h]

Just had a 100 mile return trip to manchester airport from Chesterfield. over the tops.

MPG for the journey, as per the computer, which I know will be a few MPG over, shows 72.5 MPG.

Normal driving, using POWER to overtake a few times and keeping to the speed limits.

I think that shows how economical the car is if you drive it properly without carrying a lead foot.

:)

:)

:)

[Fluffmeister]

I have only done a couple of fill ups but don't drive to gently, the last fill up was after a run to and from Edinburgh from home at around 75 - 80mph (indicated). I have not really changed my driving style yet but am still getting what I would class as decent MPG.

He really must be ragging it in power mode pretty much all the time to try and prove a point. I was a hater originally though, but love my Gen 3 T-Spirit.

[kithmo]

The CAR journalist probably carries a 75Kg or more of equipment around with all the time too.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

The CAR journalist probably carries a 75Kg or more of equipment around with all the time too.

So do I - It's called my belly

[Batsran]

The latest CAR reports that there long term T Spirit is giving them just 42mpg. Any idea's why it's so bad? I can think of a few:

1. In the article the driver descrives regular 80/90mph dual carriage way cruises.

2. I bet he's in Power mode most of the time.

3. Has he adapted to pulse and glide like the rest of us have who actually pay for their own fuel. You can't drive a hybrid like a normal car and expect to get the full benefits of it.

I wonder if this car has fallen fowl of the wrong oil in servicing as well. Like most comments here, clearly their is something wrong - probably driving style and tyre pressures.

Having said that, there are plenty of people who see the eco credentials of this car as offensive and something that has to be proven wrong - even if it does mean driving in power mode with the windows open, air con on and carrying a roof box.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

What you think he's reduced tyre pressures to 30 psi to get a more comfortable ride too?

I have just had my oil corrected to 0w20 and it is back to normal.

One thing about the Prius (gen3 at least) is that it is very susceptible to the wrong oil or tyres. I have found that you MUST use 0w20 oil and Low Rolling Resistance tyres. Anything else will destroy your fuel economy. Not by much, but enough to make a difference. If I wanted a car that did 40 mpg, I'd buy a diesel!

[wooski]

Some interesting comments here. I think the guy is thrashing it all the time to average 42mpg. There is just no other explanation. Owners adapt to the Hybrid way of driving and this guy clearly hasn't.

I dont personally think the type of journey you make is that important but the length of it and the weather certainly is. Once you get past the intial warm up the car performs superbly. I do one regular journey that's only just over 2.5 miles at night and in the winter the car only just warms up when I get to the destination and so the engine runs almost the whole time. In this warm weather it shuts down at the first set of traffic lights and so fuel economy is vastly improved.

That's the one thing I think Toyota should improve on for the G4 in 2012 - better warm up performance in the cold by automatically blocking the grille. Its a simple way to get better fuel economy.

[Jolly English Gentleman]

The latest CAR reports that there long term T Spirit is giving them just 42mpg. Any idea's why it's so bad? I can think of a few:

1. In the article the driver descrives regular 80/90mph dual carriage way cruises.

Can you be done for publically admitting that you have well and truly exceeded the speed limit on duel carriageway's? 90mph is probably at the level that an unmarked police car driver would be interested in.

I find that when doing 70mph downhill with the Battery charged that I can coast at the maximum 99mpg that the system will record.

Of course he could have the aircon at full blast along with every other electrical item and perhaps he spends most of his time crawling around the centre of London at 8mph in stop start traffic. That would surely produce a poor return.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

The latest CAR reports that there long term T Spirit is giving them just 42mpg. Any idea's why it's so bad? I can think of a few:

1. In the article the driver descrives regular 80/90mph dual carriage way cruises.

Of course he could have the aircon at full blast along with every other electrical item and perhaps he spends most of his time crawling around the centre of London at 8mph in stop start traffic. That would surely produce a poor return.

Well I spend all day with the a/c on, a taxi meter, a 5 watt two way radio, a despatch data box and the cd player on all the time in start stop traffic where I am lucky to get over 12 mph average speed and I DON'T get the 42 mpg he gets!

He has to be deliberately thrashing the car hard all the time to get these figures to prove a point. He is probably miffed he got the Prius istead of some sporty number.

[Fluffmeister]

Well I spend all day with the a/c on, a taxi meter, a 5 watt two way radio, a despatch data box and the cd player on all the time in start stop traffic where I am lucky to get over 12 mph average speed and I DON'T get the 42 mpg he gets!

He has to be deliberately thrashing the car hard all the time to get these figures to prove a point. He is probably miffed he got the Prius istead of some sporty number.

To back up what Grumpie says, I drove from Warrington to Inverness yesterday, leaving at just after 3am and stuck the cruise control on at a GPS indicated 75mph (sorry officers), then used a combination of normal and eco mode for the run up the A9 to Inverness and got 51mpg.

That was with aircon on, stereo on with ipod docked, phone charging and GPS camera detector charging, suitcase and computer / camera equipment weighing in at 50kg+ tyre pressures at 42/40. I have not adapted (and probably won't adapt) to the Hybrid driving techniques, but 51MPG and the very relaxed drive was pretty impressive. Even used power mode for overtaking in that stint as well.

My previous Superb 2.5 V6 TDi averaged about 37mpg on that same run (but remapped it had a shed load more grunt LOL).

I still drive my Prius as I drive any other car and still got a good return ..... The Journo must be on a mission :)

[johalareewi]

If you look on Fuelly, you'll see the average is around 45-47 mpg.

That's in US mpg!

Their gallons are smaller than ours.

If you look at the top left of the Fuelly page you will see the units selector for US, UK and Metric.

Click on UK to get UK mpg.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/prius/2010

[Grumpy Cabbie]

If you look on Fuelly, you'll see the average is around 45-47 mpg.

That's in US mpg!

Their gallons are smaller than ours.

If you look at the top left of the Fuelly page you will see the units selector for US, UK and Metric.

Click on UK to get UK mpg.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/prius/2010

I still like the fact that I'm one of only three Prius owners out of 146 members who only average 48 mpg!

There again, I'm saying 'only 48 mpg' which is still pretty damn good. Just got back from a week in France and my average was in the high 50's mpg, so there's nothing wrong with my car other than the use it normally gets.

[Fluffmeister]

I am doing my best to catch you up :) I drove to work last night, from Warrington to Cardiff down the A49, got here in exactly the same time as I have in my previous Octavia vRS (running close to 300bhp tweaked) / Superb V6 TDi (remapped to around 210 bhp but over 400ft/lbs Torque).

I thrashed up the overtaking lanes on the hill at hope under dinmore, getting past slow moving traffic before Hereford, and just drove it "normally", it then indicated an average of 53.8MPG. I was really impressed because I was merciless with it on the drive here. What I lost by overtaking in power mode it seems to have more than made up for in gliding down the inclines and in town traffic. That was with the AC on for the whole trip, phone charging, ipod playing. Still running 42 / 40 on the Tyre pressures, but may back off a couple of psi because the ride is a little more crashy.

I have to add that I had a suitcase with a weeks worth of kit, my laptop and a poweredge tower server and the tent, sleeping bags and campbeds because I could not be bothered chucking them back in the shed before leaving.