Return of warm weather

[Catlover]

So nice to feel the warm weather again, makes you feel good whilst trying to get head around this virus thing.  With the warm weather comes better mpg too.

Sunday did a 50 mile return journey and averaged 75 mpg dead on, last night did a 18 mile return and averaged 77.6 mpg.

What are others getting?

[RUToyota]

Nothing like that for sure, Joe...lol..but then I don't expect it.

3 litres of Toyota's finest pulling 2 tonne is not compatible with high mpg...but that's my choice and as I drive only about 5k miles p.a. it really isn't an issue for me....if it needs fuel...it gets it.

I guess it lives it's life betwen 20-30 mpg...I'm happy wih that...and I enjoy the luxury it provides.

[altocumulus]

I've been getting those figures even with winter wheels on.

Sadly it now looks like our Skye trip tomorrow is off, with further ramifications for a 2 weeks Summer hol on Lewis scuppered.

It must be bad when the Grand National is cancelled / postponed.

Stay safe all....

[Catlover]

47 minutes ago, altocumulus said:

I've been getting those figures even with winter wheels on.

Sadly it now looks like our Skye trip tomorrow is off, with further ramifications for a 2 weeks Summer hol on Lewis scuppered.

It must be bad when the Grand National is cancelled / postponed.

Stay safe all....

With a PHEV I would expect you to get good mpg, how do you charge at home, how long does it take?

[TP49]

Never really worried about mpg even when I had old Land Rovers, I towed caravan to Portugal and back with a 3 litre Hi Lux Surf throughout a nine year ownership never bothered about mpg. If I enjoy driving a car I put fuel in it. That's my logic anyway.😀

[altocumulus]

56 minutes ago, Catlover said:

With a PHEV I would expect you to get good mpg, how do you charge at home, how long does it take?

The figures I meant were those using the HV mode, which is similar to the 'normal' Toyota hybrid running.

As to charging - I've only charged at home and the time taken is just over 2 hours from empty to full charge. I've used the drive charge-mode twice, both from Clisham to Stornoway and even then I achieved 85MPG on HV mode. So lugging a heavy Battery doesn't seem to cause too much!

[TonyHSD]

9 hours ago, Catlover said:

So nice to feel the warm weather again, makes you feel good whilst trying to get head around this virus thing.  With the warm weather comes better mpg too.

Sunday did a 50 mile return journey and averaged 75 mpg dead on, last night did a 18 mile return and averaged 77.6 mpg.

What are others getting?

Hi, I think you are getting the best fuel consumption from all forum members, you definitely know how to get the best out of your car. 👍

I wish I can get something similar but it’s just impossible with my motorway journeys, 50mpg currently. 
Regards 

[Wayne2015]

On 3/17/2020 at 2:38 PM, TonyHSD said:

Hi, I think you are getting the best fuel consumption from all forum members, you definitely know how to get the best out of your car. 👍

I wish I can get something similar but it’s just impossible with my motorway journeys, 50mpg currently. 
Regards 

50?  

C'on Tony, if I could get 60mpg in my old 2012 Auris Hybrid in my 56miles of mostly motorway

And 63.5mpg in my 2013 Yaris Hybrid (mostly motorway again)

Surely, you can get around the same ballpark figure (you not a secret born again boy racer are you)? 

[QuantumFireball]

I only get about 50 MPG in my 2012 Plug-in on motorways too, that's with the cruise control stuck at 120 km/h (130 indicated), just under 75 MPH. It's closer to 60 if I slow down to 100 km/h, but sometimes I just couldn't be bothered :)

[Wayne2015]

3 hours ago, QuantumFireball said:

I only get about 50 MPG in my 2012 Plug-in on motorways too, that's with the cruise control stuck at 120 km/h (130 indicated), just under 75 MPH. It's closer to 60 if I slow down to 100 km/h, but sometimes I just couldn't be bothered 🙂

How far before the Battery runs out juice and the petrol engine kicks in?

How many miles left to go on in hybrid mode (petrol+electric)  for remain journey? 

I drive at max 60mph...

[TonyHSD]

18 hours ago, Wayne2015 said:

50?  

C'on Tony, if I could get 60mpg in my old 2012 Auris Hybrid in my 56miles of mostly motorway

And 63.5mpg in my 2013 Yaris Hybrid (mostly motorway again)

Surely, you can get around the same ballpark figure (you not a secret born again boy racer are you)? 

Nice one Wayne, make me 😁 again,  I actually drive relaxed too, 60-65mph, sometimes 70-75mph for a short time only. For me personally weather hasn’t changed yet, I am a night driver not a boy racer 😉, and I still keep the car in ready mode for few hours while I am waiting. In the cold months I can’t get any better than 50mpg but summer time I am 60s all the time. For me MPG it’s crucial and the Auris saves me an average of £1000 a year fuel bill in comparison with my previous car that I used for my work therefore I am happy with anything 50 + mpg. 👍 

[Wayne2015]

3 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Nice one Wayne, make me 😁 again,  I actually drive relaxed too, 60-65mph, sometimes 70-75mph for a short time only. For me personally weather hasn’t changed yet, I am a night driver not a boy racer 😉, and I still keep the car in ready mode for few hours while I am waiting. In the cold months I can’t get any better than 50mpg but summer time I am 60s all the time. For me MPG it’s crucial and the Auris saves me an average of £1000 a year fuel bill in comparison with my previous car that I used for my work therefore I am happy with anything 50 + mpg. 👍 

You right, Tony!

I used to get 50+ on my Auris in summer and was chuffed to bits but, get 45+ in winter!

So my 60+ in Yaris should drop to 50+ in winter then! Would winter wheels of 15" out me back to 60+ in winter 

I tend to drive just under 60mpg (56 is ideal I think) to get the MAXIMUM MPG on the motorway - though I find driving at ANY speed as long as the gas pedal is LIGHT is best  

[Wayne2015]

Another money saving expert tip (Wayne, not Martin) - use petrol prices.com to find cheapest fuel 

But, some hide their prices , so u literally have to go to the PUMP to see the prices  

I actually find COSTCO prices REALLY competitive - from experience, Costco in St Helens cheapest! But NOT as cheap as Leigh a few miles away (if u are passing)

Costco near Trafford centre, CHEAPEST in the area - but again , check places further away that u are passing 

[TonyHSD]

I usually don’t  bother to look for cheap petrol just try to avoid the overpriced one on the motorway services, 1.18 neighbourhood Tesco , 1.21 BP near me and 1.49 BP near my office at services, the last one I never go obviously. Smaller wheels especially with winter tyres there may not be any difference in fuel consumption, or something like 3-4mpg +/-. After I cleaned egr, cooler, throttle body and intake manifold last week and saw what’s inside, honestly I will always look for the best quality fuel, oil, filter and additives, savings from all those it’s not working in long term imo,  the saved money may well go for repairs, parts change. I want the best for my car and expect the best in return, so far so good. Just gave to my car some afternoon tea and see how it goes in the next two days.

[Wayne2015]

So, you think better to fill up with quality fuel every time (Shell normal) or

 

Better to use cheap supermarket petrol, then every 4th tank use Shell V-Power

 

Or

Use just cheap supermarket fuel, and add an additive each year? 

[TonyHSD]

Better to use quality fuel ( not v power or higher octane petrol) and once in a while use some petrol additives to clean injectors, fuel lines, valves. Shell not necessarily is the best, BP are good too and some small garages also do well imo. There is alway a difference between one garage and the other but when you fill up regularly you will notice from which one the car perform best and try to use that garage more often. This how I build my opinion for the different garages. In general the cars like longer journeys to reach working temperature and burn the soothe and rubbish out. If you use the car for short trips, once every two months put some additives in the tank and get the car on the motorway for a 60mile trip at least with 60-70 mph. 👍

[Wayne2015]

Thanks for Tip, Tony  

 

I thought all premium petrol had additives added (so no need to put in additional separate bottle of additives) hence we pay more, no? 

 

 

I read somewhere too, whilst higher octane petrol does not much for European cars, it seems to give a boost to Japanese cars , what do you think?  

 

 

As my commute miles will increase significantly from April, it would be good to know as the fuel costs will also be impacted significant ly  

[TonyHSD]

Hi, 

the higher octane fuel I have used few times did not make any change in performance or consumption where some additives did with noticeable effect. I think using a standard petrol and put the additive you like is better option, as you don’t actually know what additives are in the higher octane petrol, but you can make your own choice add it to the tank yourself,  if you want to achieve better performance, fuel consumption or to clean the fuel system. Last time I used a higher octane petrol was a big mistake, the petrol quality was so poor for some reason that the car didn’t want to go at all, felt like I have all 4 tyres punctured. Just find which garage your car likes the most and fill up mostly from there. General rule is that lower powered cars are more sensitive to fuel quality and additives. When additives are used and there is no change that means there was no need of the additives at first place., perhaps same for the higher octane fuel. 
Regards 

[John Walton]

I use my car mainly for short local trips (shopping etc) last summer l was getting around 75mpg in the winter I dropped to around 55/60 , at the moment it’s doin high 60,s

[QuantumFireball]

On 3/19/2020 at 12:17 PM, Wayne2015 said:

How far before the battery runs out juice and the petrol engine kicks in?

How many miles left to go on in hybrid mode (petrol+electric)  for remain journey? 

I drive at max 60mph...

EV speed limit is 85 km/h, so the engine's already running by the time I'm on the motorway :)

I get about 9-10 miles on a full charge, which suits my short commute fine - back when I had a commute!

Besides that it works pretty much the same as a Gen 3 Prius, same 45 litre petrol tank.

[Wayne2015]

45 minutes ago, QuantumFireball said:

EV speed limit is 85 km/h, so the engine's already running by the time I'm on the motorway 🙂

I get about 9-10 miles on a full charge, which suits my short commute fine - back when I had a commute!

Besides that it works pretty much the same as a Gen 3 Prius, same 45 litre petrol tank.

Only 9-10miles on a plug-in? 

 

So, if it was a normal Prius Hybrid, would you get better mpg (less weight as no plug-in battery)? 🤔

[PeteB]

4 hours ago, Wayne2015 said:

So, if it was a normal Prius Hybrid, would you get better mpg (less weight as no plug-in battery)? 🤔

I former member of this group (who now has an EV and no longer contributes here) had a first gen plug-in Prius (a 2012 I think) and he reckoned that it still beat the equivalent Gen 3 Prius ordinaire on a long run using Hybrid almost entirely.  He put this down to his belief the LiON HV Battery in the plug-in was more efficient at driving the electric motor and receiving regenerated power than the NiMH of the standard Prius.

I believe another small factor was that when I parked my previous Prius (all four generations) at the end of the day the HV Battery would show between 3 and 7 bars, so there was always some unfilled portion.  If a plug-in was charged overnight (or any other time) it filled the usable part of the entire Battery, the portion designated for EV use and the prortion for Hybrid use as well.  It was like being able to plug in an ordinary Prius and fill the remaining bars so you started the next journey with a maxed out HV battery.

[QuantumFireball]

According to US EPA tests (which reflect reflect real world driving better) and experience of others, the difference in fuel consumption is negligible and that extra 100 kg or so doesn't really make a difference. I've never noticed a difference in fuel consumption between driving on my own vs. with one passenger and luggage either (adult+suitcase would easily be 100 kg).

And by 50 MPG I mean measured at the tank, because the trip computer will say slightly better ;)

[HSDish]

First two days with moore than 12 C degrees here at my place in Sweden.

Nice to be able to drive our Prius PHEV 2015 in EV mode, quite direct from start, and to be able to avoid the ICE kicking in to heat/warm up the car.

[HSDish]

Waiting for Your Brittish summer weather to sweep/blow in ower Sweden. 

More outdoor hours and improved EV mode driving.