Prius Mk 4 Mpg

[nellsey]

I have had a Mk 2 for six years and averaged 53mpg over that time. 80% being local driving and not trying particularly hard either.

Just wondering what sort of increase in mpg I might expect with the new one doing the same?

What sort of averages are you guys getting and what type of journeys are you doing to get that mpg?

 

 

 

 

 

[ian rooke]

Hi the MK4 is a totaly different  car to the MK2, fuel consumption is in the 60/70 range over the tank, 80/85 on a 60mile journey, acceleration in ECO is as good as the MK3 in sport.It is a much better drive however the SAT Nav, Radio,USB in fact all to do with the media is faulty due to sound levels changing ,switching off on its own, resetting on its own, the road sign recognition is useless speeds range from 5mph to 130mph.Cruise control can turn off in use and take 80 miles to switch on, as does pedestrian collision (both linked through camera).I am hoping a software update will cure the issues (it should come out in march) Love the car hate the software.  

[nellsey]

 

My BE is due in Feb. I have not bothered with the Sat Nav.

I really hope the software improves by then.

My father recently boght a VW Tiguan with all the similar software which works very well indeed. I was expecting the same from Toyota to be honest.

[birdseye]

I've had my Gen 4 about 5 weeks and so far really pleased with it,  average is 65mpg  but I can easily get over 80 mpg+ on some trips but less on the return of the same journey  simply due to the lay of the land. We have a nearby short hill to climb and then it's a long steady downhill run to the next village about 8 miles,  the first week i had the car in mid November was quite warm and we got  89 mpg going but 65 coming back! 

the car will run a lot longer on the Battery and using the lifting foot technique can be coaxed to use it a heck of a lot more. The only bug in the software I've seen so far is the satnav appears to lose the signal and turning it on and off relocates it instantly, this morning after a frosty start it appeared to show us going parallel with the road but not actually on it! switched off and on and it ran properly.

[PeteB]

My calculated average mpg stayed above 70 from June until the recent cold weather, when coupled with shorter journeys it has dropped to 66 (still much better than my Gen 3 [both on 15" wheels]).

Like others, I've seen over 80 mpg on longer journeys in good weather, and I find the driving dynamics better than any previous version.

I've had no trouble with the software, apart from Auto headlights, auto dip and Road Sign Assist (latter is only about 80% accurate).  My SatNav, when used, has been fine (apart from hopelessly out of date maps), although my TomTom is a zillion times better.  My Radar Cruise Control has been faultless and USB music perfect too (but I've not updated the software at all).

Generally, I've been getting about 100 extra miles out of (a slightly smaller than Gen 3) tankful - over 600 miles for just over £40 most of the time!

The parking assist has been amazing, most of the time, getting into and out of spaces I would never have attempted.

I've done almost 9,300 miles so far and think it's the best Toyota Hybrid yet, by far.  1st service next month.

[thecaretaker]

I've had mine for 9 months now and averaging around 60-65mpg. On longer runs and a careful right foot, I enjoy the challenge of not letting it drop below 100mpg. However, the cold weather has prevented me from maintaining that, more like 90mpg. I usually have it set to normal mode.

Agree totally with the software and maps which are hoplessly out of date. 2 years on and they still dont have the A2690 on the map. I have no hope for the massive new A21 improvements which are currently under construction. That's likely to be way out of the 3 year free map updates before that gets added and I'm not going to keep paying for updates to discover it still hasn't been added.

[Falconmick]

Guys I'm new to the forum, bought a new Business plus edition Prius in May, 17'' wheels, during summer average around 62 mpg, however in winter months down to averageish 50mpg. I live in pennine area so plenty of uphill/downhill routes, although mostly on flat on dual carriageway in valley bottom. I'm advanced driver and ex ADI, so consider my driving to be competent and no boy racer, but am disappointed with MPG so far. I previously had a 300bhp Golf R and managed 35mpg when driven in same manner and was impressed with that considering the  power. My car has only done 5K miles, so MPG may get better when engine loosens up?

[birdseye]

7 minutes ago, Falconmick said:

Guys I'm new to the forum, bought a new Business plus edition Prius in May, 17'' wheels, during summer average around 62 mpg, however in winter months down to averageish 50mpg. I live in pennine area so plenty of uphill/downhill routes, although mostly on flat on dual carriageway in valley bottom. I'm advanced driver and ex ADI, so consider my driving to be competent and no boy racer, but am disappointed with MPG so far. I previously had a 300bhp Golf R and managed 35mpg when driven in same manner and was impressed with that considering the  power. My car has only done 5K miles, so MPG may get better when engine loosens up?

That does sound a bit low even for winter,  how high do you set the heating and fan speed because that makes a surprising hit on the mpg simply because the engine has to keep firing up to keep up the temperature if you set it high. We find 17.5 comfortable .  What mode are you driving on and do you still get bad mpg on eco mode?

[PeteB]

As you got yours a month before me and have only done 5,000 miles, I wonder if you're doing lots of short journeys on cold starts?  That won't help, and the 17" wheels won't help either.  I'm still mostly getting 60-65 mpg (calculated on tankfuls - computer is about 5% optimistic) on mine, despite doing a lot of short journeys myself.

I keep mine on ECO Mode almost all the time and the Climate on Auto ECO too.

Since being on (so called) blood thinning drugs, I actually use my heated seat (something I've despised in the past!) on low setting, and keep the climate control on 22°C (18°C before), neither of which are good for mpg, especially on a Prius which generally runs the engine colder than most cars - it will have to run some of the time just to heat the cabin).

The big difference between us is my locale is very flat, but I still got superb mpg from Gen 1 & 3 Prius in trips to very hilly parts of Scotland in the former and Devon in the latter (Gen 1 averaged 58 mpg on two 2,000+ mile tours of Scotland).

A key to getting good mpg on the Gen 4 is, while accelerating, to try to keep the power indicator inside the darker blue band on the HV System Indicator as much as possible, at the same time as trying not to get the drivers behind to take out a contract on you with a hit man!  On longer trips I tend to cruise at 60 mph on the speedo (about 56 in reality) if I'm not in a hurry.  On any Prius/Toyota Hybrid, letting the speed fall off slightly on uphill stretches and turning off Cruise Control while climbing helps, but I must admit I leave mine on most of the time these days (at least the Gen 4 moderates acceleration under CC when increasing speed in ECO mode [but less so uphill]).

My most recent long (250 mile round) trip on a cold day in December (sticking to 60 where permitted) saw over 70 (true) mpg.

[birdseye]

Falconmick,  there are simple techniques you can try with a Prius , things that won't work on normal cars but can help mpg considerably.

Often on a level or downward slope you will see the Battery is quite full but it's not running on Battery alone, simply lift your foot off and replace it and it should continue to run on the Battery alone - quite a long way in fact.  The ca r will do that itself eventually but you can easily encourage it to do it sooner and much more often.  The pulse & glide technique works even better on the Gen 4  accelerate to speed then lift off your foot and replace to glide along on the battery alone

  Even when your running on the electric motor the battery is still being charged from the small generator, the electric motor that powers the car also doubles up as a generator when you are braking so the battery fills up quicker than earlier versions

 

 

[Falconmick]

Thanks for the replies, few useful tips I'll try. Got to admit I do not use 'Auto' on ventilation as I find it directs airflow to vents I don't want airflow from and in winter have it set around 23 degrees and heated seat on until car warmed up. I tend to drive the car in the same manner as I would any other and find that the readout on the dash on the Prius always gives me good marks lol and tells me to maintain my driving style, so possibly it is the use of heating that pushes up consumption. I feel it is 'mischievous' for want of a better expression for Mr. Toyota to claim mpg far better than is actually achievable in real world, have a look at Honest John real mpg figures and the new Prius is one of the worst offenders at only 66%  http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/toyota

[johalareewi]

For more real world MPG figures, check fuelly.com (make sure you set UK units otherwise you get USA mpg).

Things that hit Toyota hybrid MPGs are:

The cold (only source of heat is the petrol engine) [heated seats and HV Battery heat excepted]

Tyre pressures.  Even slightly underflated makes a big dent in the mpg. Also the type of tyre has an effect.

Wrong type of oil (fairly rare these days).

Driving style.

 

 

[PeteB]

You probably know these, but just in case, two other things:

• try to brake early and light so the bar in the CHG area of the HSI goes close to but doesn't pass the bottom of the scale, then you're getting maximum regen and minimum (wasteful) friction brakes
• try to keep rolling as much as possible while approaching traffic lights, roundabouts etc. having slowed early, trying to anticipate when cars ahead will move so you don't stop, and keep your speed as high as possible (e.g. approaching for some distance at 15 mph and keeping moving is better than doing 25 longer then stopping and restarting (true of almost any vehicle type, but helps a lot in Hybrids).

The mpg figures are produced from a test specified by the government, and manufacturers are only allowed to quote these.  I have found it is possible to achieve them in ideal conditions, but not all the time as cold starts, short journeys, traffic jams, spurts of acceleration amongst other things all take their toll.

[PeteB]

11 hours ago, Falconmick said:

...during summer average around 62 mpg, however in winter months down to averageish 50mpg...

This does show how far things have come though - in the 1970s I had a 1.3 litre small automatic which managed mid 20s mpg, then switched to a 24 hp, 600 cc tiny Fiat (126) to save money - in a competition (and using extreme techniques) I managed 61.9 mpg, but my overall average trying to keep up with traffic (0-60 in 60 sec - only reached 60 if no headwind!) was 42 mpg.  The Prius is more than twice as heavy (and twice the size).

[birdseye]

9 hours ago, Falconmick said:

Thanks for the replies, few useful tips I'll try. Got to admit I do not use 'Auto' on ventilation as I find it directs airflow to vents I don't want airflow from and in winter have it set around 23 degrees and heated seat on until car warmed up

I think that there lies the answer to your low mpg,   23 degrees must be like driving in a sauna   and  your engine must be running almost endlessly trying to maintain the cabin heat, try lowering it to 18 and see the difference and the car will still be plenty warm enough

[Falconmick]

Thanks again for the replies, In response to birdseye, I'll try using the 'auto' mode and see what happens regarding temperature, I wonder if not in auto mode it does not maintain selected temp as 23 degrees just feels acceptable (agreed by family) 18 which I have tried is far too cold (aircon off).

Out of interest how many of you keep auto mode on?

[PeteB]

I keep CC on auto (ECO) all the time, with A/C on all the time.

It will try to pass through air at the selected temperature subject to how much heat is available from the engine and the cabin temperature.

After the system has been in Auto, manually selecting a fan speed will make fan speed stay manual until Auto is pressed again, but distribution will still be automatic.  Adjusting distribution only will similarly leave fan speed on automatic.  Altering both leaves only the temperature controlled by the system.

[kithmo]

On short journeys where the engine hasn't really reached full operating temperature, compared to 23 degrees, Auto Eco at 21 degrees will get you easily another 5 mpg, possibly up to 10 mpg IMO.

[johalareewi]

I rarely use AUTO.  I set the fan speed to the lowest, set the desired air flow direction and use the steering wheel controls to set the temperature (warmer or cooler as necessary).   I leave AC enabled and if things mist up a lot, I use the front screen demist until cleared then drop back to manual.  I like things cool so cabin temp of 17 or 18 is fine for me.  Front seat passengers can use the heated seats.  Back seat passengers get some heat from the HV Battery. Or they can ask me to turn the heating up. ;)

[birdseye]

35 minutes ago, johalareewi said:

I rarely use AUTO.  I set the fan speed to the lowest, set the desired air flow direction and use the steering wheel controls to set the temperature (warmer or cooler as necessary).   I leave AC enabled and if things mist up a lot, I use the front screen demist until cleared then drop back to manual.  I like things cool so cabin temp of 17 or 18 is fine for me.  Front seat passengers can use the heated seats.  Back seat passengers get some heat from the HV battery. Or they can ask me to turn the heating up. ;)

I agree 17 or 18 degrees is fine, we have our heating at home set the same, can't stand  too much heat even though I'm 70.   the Gen 4 does not have that steering wheel button for heating however so you end up groping down to the controls if you have no passenger

[kithmo]

You can adjust the heating from the steering wheel via the menus, but TBH it is quicker and less distracting to use the controls IMO.

[barrycoll]

I am hoping to try out my Gen 3 techniques on the new car, come next March.

I usually try and leave my(now sold) G3 to warm up to the point of engine switch off, before driving away. The Battery usually charges to one bar more than normal-running' when doing this

Counter-intuitively, I try to keep the car from going into Ev mode when in stop start traffic, by leaving a gap to the car in front, and then accelerating firmly enough (without using the Power section) for the ICE to come on, before Gliding to the next stop.

In open road driving. I again firmly pulse the loud pedal up to traffic speed, and then very slowly ease off to find the sweet spot where the (G3) mpg horizontal bars go up to 100mpg, and then,  as that slips away, repeat the pulse up to National Speed Limit or traffic speed......sometimes the 100mpg will hang in there for mile after mile despite small amounts of throttle pressure, and is very rewarding, and far better than 0-60 in 6 secs

A 25 mile mixed route from LOndon out to St Albans, usually mid 60s to mid 70s mpg (less 5-10% for instrument + or -)

Heating set to 22' (wife), lowest fan setting

 

[PeteB]

3 hours ago, kithmo said:

You can adjust the heating from the steering wheel via the menus, but TBH it is quicker and less distracting to use the controls IMO.

Yes, the Gen 4 heating controls are simpler to use by feel alone (driver's temperature is the toggle nearest to the driver's knee), and as you adjust a setting the MFD next to the speedo shows what you're doing - becomes second nature quickly, and hardly distracting at all.

[GreenJuice]

I do miss the quick access to the 'recirculation' button from the steering wheel though.

Hypermilers on earlier generations used to over-pressure their tyres to around 42-44 psi (some even more). Apparently the ride is harsher and there might be risks with road grip, but I did it for several years in my Gen2 and experienced no problems in the driving conditions of the London area.

I have my Gen4 currently set 3psi above recommended. On earlier postings there is apparently a small gain and an approximately linear relationship to fuel efficiency up till the tyre sidewall pressure limit.

I try to hold off heating the cabin (using heated seats if needed) until the car naturally gets to around 40-50C. I monitor this with ScanGauge. That way it is possible to maintain the fuel efficiencies as in the summer, so the advice given above seems correct; it is almost certainly the set cabin temperatures on shorter trips which is a significant culprit in the impact on mpg.

[johalareewi]

The recirculation button is really handy.  In summer (well pretty much all year) there are numerous bonfires round here so being able to quickly shut the vents when driving through smoke is a real boon.  Also great when following smokey vehicles.  Like that the plugin displays the circulation status on the MFD (my gen3 didn't).