Poor Yaris Hybrid Mpg?

[OorWullie]

Having travelled 275 miles since last fill-up on my Yaris Icon+ on rural roads, same garage same pump, the arithmetic shows the consumption of 45.8 mpg while the cars clock shows 50 mpg. It looks as if the clock is showing, approximately, a consumption of 4 mpg more which has been consistent over three fill-ups. The previous car, a Corsa, produced 22 mpg in the same environment so I am not complaining, indeed, I am delighted. In the Yaris's first 500 miles the consumption has risen from 35 mpg to 45 mpg which is consistent with what others have been saying on this site about hybrids. I noted that petrol prices have risen by 10p since my last garage visit which means that currently I am saving approximately £110 per month on changing cars with the indication that this saving may increase through usage.

[Alan_B]

My Yaris has a 'hybrid system indicator' which is a type of rev. counter; I presume all the other hybrids have the same. In the centre of the 'eco' section of the indicator there is a wider notch. You must keep below this notch to stay in EV (electric) mode; more revs and the petrol engine switches in. To achieve better than around 60mpg (according to the indicator) I need to keep the revs between this notch and the next one up. I can do this at speeds up to around 60mph on the flat. So on motorways if I am content to follow a lorry I seem to achieve mpgs comfortably in excess of 60 but if I drive at 70mph then I get less than 60mpg.

I wonder if the Yaris has been tuned towards more urban-style driving, tweaking the mpg up at lower speeds at the expense of the higher speeds?

[Grumpy Cabbie]

All the hybrids have something similar; a divided display where the left is electric, the right is economical petrol engine and the far right in red is power or performance with reduced economy.

But you should NOT try to keep the car to the far left electric only section, but just right of the divide so that the engine is running. It seems counter intuitive but keeping the car in electric causes higher consumption. At first you'll get 100 mpg+ as no engine is used but when the Battery is depleted the car works harder to both propel itself AND charge the Battery and this uses more fuel than if just driven carefully from the word go.

With a 20% reduced HV Battery I fear the Yaris has been tuned purely for official fuel economy figures and nothing more. The examples you quote for getting less than 60 mpg at 70 mph is ok but not great. I think it's probably more to do with the Prius having better aerodynamics than it being tuned for one sort of driving or another.

Whatever it is, you'll still get great mpg's in town and stationary or slow moving traffic with the benefit of having your a/c running when stationary. You don't get that with the crude Start/Stop systems many European manufacturers are using.

[Alan_B]

I have to agree with GC. I kept my Prius T Spirit for three years and averaged C54 mpg overall for every mile that I did. This included lots of short winter journeys where the warm up period pulled down the mileage and I regularly exceeded long-journey summer mileages in excess of 70 m.p.g. while doing motorway speeds. Always drove the car in a quite ordinary fashion.

Thing is, I seem to be shaping-up to get a similar average m.p.g. to Sagitar but I have never yet made a trip where I got 70 mpg or more. So what I am losing on the swings of summer motorway driving I must be gaining back on the roundabouts somewhere else.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Do you have a long flat road where you can safely stick at 50 mph? Construction zones on the motorway string to mind?

If so, take the car out, stick to 50 mph where it's safe etc and then reset your mpg trip. Take it steady for 10 or 15 miles and see what mpg's you're getting. If it's 80+mpg, then your car is fine. If it's 65 or less, then there's a problem. Even my old knackered Prius will still return a reset trip average of 85/90/95 mpg in the above ideal 50 mph cruise.

I appreciate it's not a true reflection of real life and it isn't meant to be. It's a way of seeing if your car can actually achieve top end mpg's in a controlled (almost :) ) environment.

[OorWullie]

Fortunately the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen is not so far away but it is not so flat but it is the flattest road in the vicinity and it may be worth testing the consumption by taking a drive along it in the manner you described. Where I reside it is about 350 feet above sea level and at the foothills of the south-eastern part of the Grampians so encountering hills or risings on the road is a regular feature; it is part of life. Being rural the roads are either winding or narrow which reduces the average speed considerably.

[timberwolf]

Zero'ing the mpg mid-trip will produce an additional exaggerated mpg reading on what is usually an exaggerated car mpg display.

[Cowdenite]

I've had my Yaris HSD since the end of Feb this year and thought I'd post my MPG to date. The car has now done 2732 miles and I've have never had less than 60 mpg during this time. When trying for high mpg I've managed 71 and 73 mpg on runs of 30 miles of urban A roads.

After reading this forum where the accuracy of the car economy metering has been questioned I thought I'd do a "full tank to full tank" test and the results were as follows. Milage 363.1 calculated mpg 63.59 mpg and indicated on car metering 64.2 mpg. Not too much difference to bother me.

Personally I love the car particularly the eCVT it's as good as any auto box I've had on other cars. We are of on holiday up to Pitlochty tomorrow so I'll see how it goes on longish run up there.

[Parts-King]

Maximise your Hybrid fuel economy

http://blog.toyota.co.uk/10-tips-for-maximising-your-hybrids-fuel-economy#.U7QqpJRdVrM

[OorWullie]

Hope you enjoy your trip/stay at Pitlochry. On a coolish overcast day as it is today it will not be so enjoyable. If you have not been there previously then the theatre restaurant usually provides a good dinner otherwise the village is a tad over-commercialised these days. The Hilton at Dunkeld just south of Pitlochry does a fair to average dinner at a reasonable price and is set in beautiful grounds. I reside 30 miles away to the east but it takes an hour to travel the back country lanes to get there as they are so narrow and windy.

Back to the topic; it is interesting to note your car's consumption but I would question whether measuring a full tank would be accurate. I do the 100 mile test; same garage, same pump, and stop at first click. The difference between this check and the metre reading is somewhere between 4-5 miles which is okay if one knows that this difference exists.

[orangezorki]

Just to add to the data:

A couple of weeks ago now, I did a 210 mile London-Liverpool return run. On the way, I wasn't in a rush at all, so kept to 60mph on the cruise, apart from the town and 50mph restricted parts in roadworks. At the end the trip computer showed about 69mpg. And that's with the larger wheels of the Trend.

On the way back, I really wanted to get back, so kept up with the faster traffic, and still returned about 52mpg. If anything, that was more impressive - I can do almost anything in this machine and get over 50mpg.

For comparison, I also have a 500cc 3-wheel Piaggio scooter. Now, it may be much quicker on acceleration and (sorry guys) much more fun, but lets face it - it's a few bits of bent metal attached to a lawnmower with me clinging on for dear life. And it only gets me about 60mpg around town. In comparison the Yaris is a living room on wheels, and I'm sure that emissions are better as well.

David

[Ethanedwards]

Well 39,100 miles and the final two original tyres (used to be on the back now on the front) are nearing the time to say goodbye. I've ordered from Blackcircles two Falken ZIEX914 EcoRun tyres. (195/50 R16 88V) thats the size on my Tspirit Yaris HSD they are C rated for Fuel, B rated for wet grip.

This choice is based mostly on what GrumpyCabbie says about Eco tyres - my never having bothered with them before. I had some Falken Ziex912's on my old Nissan Note and I really liked those..so hope these 914's will be half as good. I intend to leave the Kumho's on the back and stick the Falkens on the front.

The OEM Conti Premium Contact 2 are E rated for Fuel and B rated for wet grip so the Falkens should do a little better on the gogo juice? I also have two Kumho Ecsta KH31's on the back.

I just checked the ratings and today B/C says the Kumhos are E for fuel and C for wet grip. Well I've had these two since May and they seem OK to me.

Whats been concentrating my mind is the rapidly declining tread depth on the Conti's on the front..so next Saturday ..they're off....! I hate those Conti's. Nissan fitten them to my Note dreadful things.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

You can even get low rolling resistance winter tyres!?!

Will you be popping the older tyres on the front and the new ones on the rear? Not sure why but I always do that. I'm sure I've heard that the new tyres should go on the back for winter.

I got some A/A rated Bridgestone tyres last time for my Prius and they're actually really good. They handle great in the dry but importantly you can just chuck the car into corners on wet or damp and even greasy country roads with confidence. They're much better than the ER300 Ecopias I had on before and also give much better mpg's too. So even with LRR tyres there is a noticeable difference in mpg's.

I don't wonder how long these new ones last though. The ER300's were pretty good. Time will tell, but so far I'm happy (for once).

[FROSTYBALLS]

Industry recommendations advise that where two tyres are fitted, they should go on the rear axle - regardless of the time of year.

[Ethanedwards]

Yes I understand that the new ones usually go on the back and old to the front. But the Kumhos on the back have only been there since may and the backs don't seem to wear that fast. So they're still as new.

[kithmo]

So it can be done with the Yaris. I'm still wondering if people are tempted to use electric rather than just drive. Just seems strange the larger Prius appears to be getting the higher mpg's.

We'll get to the bottom of it though :)

I think it's down to the shape, the Prius probably has a lower CD. The early Auris was the same, smaller car but lower mpg than the Prius (even though the quoted figure was similar).

[hybi]

I have just bought a new Yaris Hybrid. It is quite new just drove for around 200km on several occasions. I set ECO on as default for all scenarios. It is still new,

I need to observe for another 1000km to come to better results, but my initial thoughts & drive scenarios below:

initial thoughs

- driving habits can vary mpg around %50.

- environment & acc impacts consumption (if outside is cold, engine runs for heating support. rear defrog can make engine to start, ac ca

- to get closer to actual mpg, you must slow down and drive extra defensive.

Scenario 1:

- Traffic: ~4km congested city, ~7km @~80km

- Envirionment: Night, Outside temp@13 degrees.

- Driver: me

- AC off, Defrost off, Heating set at 22.5 degrees, Ligths on & Radio on.

- Consumption @ 53mpg

Scenario 2:

- Traffic: ~4km congested city, ~7km @~80km

- Envirionment: Day, Outside temp@15 degrees.

- Driver: my wife

- AC off, Defrost off, Heating set at 22.5 degrees, Ligths off & Radio on.

- Consumption @ 35mpg

Scenario 3:

- Traffic: ~10km congested city, ~20km @~80km

- Envirionment: Night, Outside temp@15 degrees.

- Driver: me

- AC off, Defrost off, Heating set at 22.5 degrees, Ligths on & Radio on.

- Consumption @ 53mpg

Baris

[MEP's Yaris GS]

You must make the most of regenerative braking, not to fill the recharge segment to full, and use the eco band to maximise MPG.

[YarisHybrid2016]

Due to driving patterns lately I haven't been able to adequately check the tank-to-tank economy, but according to the computer, just lately the best I've been able to achieve is mid to high 40s. This, after having a period in October/November where I was starting to find it relatively easy to obtain a computer reported 60-ish MPG (my car now has 3500 miles on it).

I did a good motorway run last weekend, where 48 MPG average was reported, but that was a bad result due to the very high winds (at times, the power needle was in the bottom part of the POWER band to maintain 60 MPH!). I must say the car handled very well despite the winds! :D

Is it normal to see a 5-10 MPG drop in efficiency during winter? I've figured out how to get the cabin warm without running the heater so much (turning the temperature up actually makes no difference, except to prolong heater usage as it attempts to target a higher temperature). Closing the blind of the skyview roof also seems to help.

[johalareewi]

Is it normal to see a 5-10 MPG drop in efficiency during winter?

In a word. Yes

See my fuelly stats.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/prius/2010/johalareewi/30847/fuelchart

[Wayne2015]

I have just bought a new Yaris Hybrid. It is quite new just drove for around 200km on several occasions. I set ECO on as default for all scenarios. It is still new,

I need to observe for another 1000km to come to better results, but my initial thoughts & drive scenarios below:

initial thoughs

- driving habits can vary mpg around P.

- environment & acc impacts consumption (if outside is cold, engine runs for heating support. rear defrog can make engine to start, ac ca

- to get closer to actual mpg, you must slow down and drive extra defensive.

Scenario 1:

- Traffic: ~4km congested city, ~7km @~80km

- Envirionment: Night, Outside temp@13 degrees.

- Driver: me

- AC off, Defrost off, Heating set at 22.5 degrees, Ligths on & Radio on.

- Consumption @ 53mpg

Scenario 2:

- Traffic: ~4km congested city, ~7km @~80km

- Envirionment: Day, Outside temp@15 degrees.

- Driver: my wife

- AC off, Defrost off, Heating set at 22.5 degrees, Ligths off & Radio on.

- Consumption @ 35mpg

Scenario 3:

- Traffic: ~10km congested city, ~20km @~80km

- Envirionment: Night, Outside temp@15 degrees.

- Driver: me

- AC off, Defrost off, Heating set at 22.5 degrees, Ligths on & Radio on.

- Consumption @ 53mpg

Baris

Just read this

Ha ha ha - blame the wife!

[Alan_B]

I bought my Yaris on 10th October 2013. For the first six months (i.e. winter) I averaged 53 MPG and for the whole year I averaged 56 MPG so in summer I must have average 59 MPG. That's a 6 MPG difference. And my year 2 average was exactly the same as year 1 so no change in my driving style.

[YarisHybrid2016]

I'll stop worrying then! :D I noticed that for certain speeds the power needle is slightly higher up the scale when it is very cold (been down to +4 C here the last few nights I went out). I did wonder if it was dragging a brake (they've been sticking on sometimes after rainfall) but the car didn't feel to be pulling, and otherwise seemed fine.

Thank you! :)

[YarisHybrid2016]

Well this is strange. Did 130 miles with computer reported 48 MPG. Over half tank remaining. Other journeys were short, with at least 60 MPG reported each time. Filled up last night - based on milage driven and fuel put in the tank, I averaged only 45 MPG!

Surely this can't be correct?!

This time I'm not resetting the average until I fill up, so I can compare.

[Wayne2015]

Well this is strange. Did 130 miles with computer reported 48 MPG. Over half tank remaining. Other journeys were short, with at least 60 MPG reported each time. Filled up last night - based on milage driven and fuel put in the tank, I averaged only 45 MPG!

Surely this can't be correct?!

This time I'm not resetting the average until I fill up, so I can compare.

Take computer read out with a pinch of salt

There are times when it read 99.99mpg for miles for me!

And dependent on when u reset the computer will skew your average too

Then there's a million other factors like type of driving , road conditions, weather etc etc that affects it too

Unlike petrol or diesel cars, our hybrids are very VERY sensitive when it comes to effects on MPG - eeeek!

Best to do as exact driving as possible and calculate from each full tank (several)....