oh no I'm further past the smokies to be THAT hilly, I googled the elevation of Knoxville and it said approx. 936 ft. work and home about the same......we have hills but I don't have to climb 450 ft like you. I would just think how worse it would be with a non hybrid.

 

I'd really encourage you to seek someone local to drive your Prius - there is no comparison to another person being behind the wheel as opposed to conversing on the internet (not say it's bad, just not as good as in-person).

I've had a number of people drive my car and learned a lot.

 

Alan, I grew up on the Peninsula where you live and my parents are still there (San Carlos hills at 560' elev.). I never average more than 40mpg when I am down there and I am averaging a solid 46-47mpg here in Sacramento after 6000 miles. My mom also had an early Prius Gen 1 and her overall average before smashing it into an SUV in a final act of defiance - was 36mpg.

I believe there is nothing wrong with your car. Others do not understand just how hilly it is there, not to mention the constant stoplights and stop signs. The Prius regen helps but it does NOT recapture all of the energy in stop and go and certainly not up/down hills, especially if you go DOWN the hill in the morning with the engine warming up. You might try the EV switch and see if it helps.

Cheers, john

 

The problem with communication on the net. The Rockies would be another place getting good mpg would be hard.

If it's severly hilly, anything else is going to get even worse mpg.

 

thanks for the info

that is what I expected and hoped

The best thing that I (or anyone) can do is plan our trips better. Sometimes my wife goes down the hill to run errands and before finishing the down-the-hill errands she comes back home. Usually there is good reason for this, but not always.

And I really shouldn't fault my wife in that regard. She is one of the best "planners" I know, and her errand-runs are a good deal more efficient than mine are, any day.

I'd like to see a piece of home software that incorporates all your errands and then plots a route for you. In a perfect world, my computer would tell me, on Friday afternoon, "Hi Alan, tomorrow would be a good day for you to pick up some stuff from the hardware store, and if you go before 9:00 you can also pick up bagels AND get your dry cleaning nearby. Since it appears that there is only one egg left in the fridge, you can grab eggs at the grocery store near the bagel place."

That sort of planning info would likely save all of us lots of gas.

 

yes, I would think that any car's mpg would suffer if your travels include a lot of significants ups (regardless of how many "downs" you get). But maybe certain setups take more advantage of the downs and suffer less with the ups.

 

Currently have only 3200 miles on my Prius and my home is 600 feet above the places I commute to, which are 4 to 8 miles away. I generally use air-conditioning.

I also take a mountain trip of 40 miles each way twice a week with a 5000 foot elevation gain (and loss).

Over-all mileage is 47 mpg.

I suspect the OP or his wife have more aggressive driving habits than my wife and I do, or their car is not tuned properly.

It might also be worth trying a different brand of gas.

 

You know, this never occurred to me before. I have seen folks saying not to put your addy in your GPS as they can just route to your house but if your registration and insurance card is in the glove box, all they have to do is punch your addy into the GPS..And of course the garage door opener is right there..That threat had never crossed my mind..Yikes....

John

 

Registration and insurance card! <SLAP . . . my forehead.>

Bob Wilson

 

yikes, I was hoping you were getting 37....[yes, misery loves company][actually, was just hoping to get more confirmation that my car doesn't suck]

Primarilly I use Chevron gas, but I could check with my wife. She may be using ARCO. I think she avoids the off-brands, but.....

It is possible that we drive more aggressively than you. We don't drive the Prius any differently than we drive our other cars. My wife does not go above 70 on the highway, but she drives a similar style to me when driving around town, which may not be as gentle as we could.

I wonder if a high percentage of her miles are when the car is cold. She gets off the train, gets in her car, and then climbs up the hill. Maybe one mile at <35 before she starts the climb.

I need to do a flat-land "test" of 100 miles to see how we do.