Had an interesting experience last night. My boss is out of town for the week, and the alarm monitoring company called to say that the intrusion alarm was going off at the business where I work. We've been broken into before! They dispatched the cops, and I jumped in the FFH for a quick trip to work. It's usually a 20 minute drive, but I **shortened** it a lot for this one! Several marginal, if not blatantly unsafe and discourteous, segments to that drive in...

When I got to work, a quick drive around the building showed no broken glass or other obvious signs of a break-in. The cop was on his way out of the parking lot, so I guess he determined the same thing.

I shut the car off, and couldn't help but look at the dash as I usually do. Force of habit, or curiosity for "worst possible mileage". Hmmm. 31.9. I can live with that. Worst possible mileage is as good as day-to-day mileage in my 2006 (pre-Peugeot motor) Cooper S.

Bob

 

I had the same type of bad MPG's. Yesterday went to the Getty Villas museum. It is awful LA traffic. Everyone is in a hurry and cuts you off and if you slow then there is the rude honking. So I had to be like everyone and rabbit start and stop. Turned off and looked 45.8mpg. WOW!!!
This was without AC but still, not to shabby.

I learned that if you start out on the aggressive side or more like a normal start for LA this makes folks happier. The trick was when you get close to the set speed perhaps 10mph below posted and you let off of the gas and let it pop into EV mode that last 10 mph can crawl up on EV which in turn bumps the MPG's way up. If it looks like a red light to red thing I try to coast in N which gains a bit of mpg's as well. Remember to drop it back into D just before braking to gain regen from the brakes.

Also found that my lightest foot on the freeway at 65mph is about 38mpg without AC. Same road same speed with cruise control is about 50mpg. This one I just don't get but I can bet you which one I will use at every possible opportunity.

This FFH LOVES NEUTRAL AND CRUISE CONTROL. Max the tires to sidewall and get, without AC, at 65mph about 48.9 mpg for over 100 miles in LA land. Sweet!

 

Like you, I find that cruise gains mileage, but only if the road is flat or downhill. I do a better job (mileage) if it's hilly or uphill, as I am willing to give up a few miles-per-hour as I approach the crest. Cruise won't do that.

I've not gone above 40psi on the tires. 40 is all the ride quality I'm willing to give up. I now have about 6500 miles on it, but have only had it 3 months! The warranty is not going to last many months!

I've not gotten good at the pulse and glide. I hear that it's easier to do in the Prius. Like you, if I want to do that, I just click into neutral. If you do that over 47 mph, though, the engine continues to run. Huh! I saw somewhere that there was no problem towing these cars with all wheels on the ground, so it shouldn't hurt the tranny.

I'm dreading winter mileage.

Bob
PS. The weirdest option available: "remote start". WHAT?

 

I think I read somewhere in the manual that putting it in neutral is worse, you loose the ev mode, or glide charging or something...

Don't know why you would bother anyway, my engine shuts off at any speed, even 85 mph, for a glide.

 

That's true: you don't get any charging effect in neutral, but sometimes you really don't want that drag from charging, don't need to slow down. I've found that the car does roll really "free" (easily).

Apparently the Prius is easier to "glide" (modulate the gas pedal so that there's neither charging nor discharging) than is the FFH. When I've tried it, I've found that there's a very narrow throttle position "window" where that works. It's easier to just pop it into neutral if I want neither charging nor discharging.

As for going into EV mode at higher speeds, that's not my experience.

Bob

 

I don't see any difference in the economy with the a/c on or off. I read in the manual that if the "auto" is on, the car will shut off the a/c as needed. The electric air conditioning doesn't make as much of an impact as a belt driven one does apparently.

 

good to know thanks for the 411. looking at the mpg ratings it seems the numbers are the same for the 09 Vs the 10... Keep us in the loop so we can see if your real world number are diff.

Enjoy the ride!!-)

Ha! sorry guys i posed this in the FFH not the FEH!!! silly KC

 

My experience is that it drops mileage by 2, maybe 3, mpg. Considering mileage we're getting, that's barely pennies! (Small percent.)

Bob