Its official...

[talnlnky]

My new route to/from work kicks ass. Recently I've been getting 40-41mpg normal driving during the week. Then I changed my route, and the first tank was 44.3, the second tank was 46.6mpg.

I don't know if i'll ever have the discipline to do a 50mpg tank, as it would take forever to empty a tank. I'm happy with the 45+mpg's... means next time I need to buy a plate i'll go for the "45 MPG" plate

Temps right now are around 100F, so I'm hoping to break 47 on this current tank. (this is with everything in the car + a small stereo... + some athletic gear... I'd guess close to 100lbs + 185lbs worth of driver.

I'd never have done this well without buying the scanguage... took 6 months for me to get some real benefits from it... but was worth the wait.

[Woody_Woodchuck]

Congrats on finding a better route! I finally found one that not only cut the commute by 1.2 miles it is also a slower speed limit zone letting me up my mileage. All the little things add up to big savings.

[YarisOwnersDad]

I drive 24.0 miles one way to work and back five days a week on rural two lane roads. There are hills and curves and two stop signs along this route, and I get between 37 and 38 MPG with the air conditioner running and while driving about 55 MPH.

My alternate route would keep me on parkways, but it would increase the distance of the trip to 27.0 miles each way. I just did the calculations and found that I would have to increase my MPG from 38 to 43 in order to break even on gas consumption, considering the extra three miles that I would have to drive.

I might give the parkways a try and keep my speed the same as I drive now, 55 MPH. That would mean that it would take a little over three extra minutes to get to work and to get home. That should not be a big deal.

The biggest problem with that plan is that the coal trucks would go zooming by me, and there is always something falling off from underneath those trucks and bouncing up into the path of the cars that they have passed. I may try it anyway. I just hate to get the front of my car all dinged up.

What should I expect to get for mileage on pretty level terrain driving a steady 55 MPH on the parkways with my 2009 Yaris Sedan with auto tranny and with the A/C running?

Tom

[talnlnky]

I haven't checked the distance on the two new routes, it won't be much different, and in fact, will probably be shorter as they appear to be more direct.

Old route was 11.5miles, the new routes are probably closer to 11miles. One of the routes I think takes about five minutes longer, and the other I think is about the same time. The route that takes the longest I think gets the best mileage, but is also probably the longest of the two new routes.... so probably a wash when it comes to total cost.

[marcus]

37mpg average.."not caring about gas" driving 2700-3200rpm also redline the car once in a while..

45 mpg camping trip average speed 80-90 km/hr 90% hwy

[talnlnky]

37mpg average.."not caring about gas" driving 2700-3200rpm also redline the car once in a while..

45 mpg camping trip average speed 80-90 km/hr 90% hwy

What is redline on our car? I think i've rev'd up to 5k before.... but no clue what redline is... 6k? 6.5k? No stock tach makes it hard to know.

I've noticed that accelerating on a highway balls to the wall once or twice a tank doesn't have much of an impact on total fuel economy... it'll lower it for the trip by a few mpg's... but over the course of 400-500miles on a full tank it is hard to notice.

[Yaris Hilton]

On my stock tach, it looks like 6200.

[Yaris Hilton]

And vigorous acceleration has little effect on mileage IF you stay out of the range where it enrichens the mixture (above about 80% load), don't go any faster (just get up to it quicker) and don't use it to increase your average speed between frequent stops. Zooming up to a brisk speed and then standing on the brakes is stupid; it drains your tank.

[2009Toyotoad]

Just started towing the Yaris behind the Motor home two weekends ago. Mileage has greatly improved. Got 53.5 MPG after the first weekend, and expecting 60+ MPG after the labor day weekend outing.

This surprised me a bit as the tow bracket adds 32 lbs to the front of the car. Added bonus was a genuine improvement in front end suspension. Simply amazing what a 32 pound piece of steel does to stiffen up the body flex at the strut tower. Tracks better in turns with less wheel slippage during hard cornering.

A tad bit more nose dive during hard braking.

Wonder why no one thought this up before.

Roadmaster tow bar components Rock!

[talnlnky]

ok.. so..
original highway route = 40-44mpg, 11.5miles, 20mins
Alternative route #1 = 48-55, 10.3miles, 25-30mins
Alternative route #2 = 47-55, 9.2miles, 22-27mins

Alt route 2 is the most direct, least amount of waiting at stops, usually the least amount of stopping, near best efficiency, and fairly quick. I've got my new route.

Today going to work I avg'd 55.7mpg on Alt Route #2. After 160miles of driving on this tank so far on this tank i'm at 47mpg. I'd like to hit 48 for the tank average... not sure if i'll make it tho.

Weekly gas consumed going to work and back home is approx 1.9 gallons... or $5.22 if gas costs $2.75/gal
Such good mileage makes it very hard to justify buying a bus pass for $45 a month when I will only spend $23 in gas driving my car. I knew there was a reason I chose to drive the yaris rather than bus it everyday.

[gfx3d]

any way my conclusion is better route and slower speed

[YarisOwnersDad]

I drive 24.0 miles one way to work and back five days a week on rural two lane roads. There are hills and curves and two stop signs along this route, and I get between 37 and 38 MPG with the air conditioner running and while driving about 55 MPH.

My alternate route would keep me on parkways, but it would increase the distance of the trip to 27.0 miles each way. I just did the calculations and found that I would have to increase my MPG from 38 to 43 in order to break even on gas consumption, considering the extra three miles that I would have to drive.

I might give the parkways a try and keep my speed the same as I drive now, 55 MPH. That would mean that it would take a little over three extra minutes to get to work and to get home. That should not be a big deal.

The biggest problem with that plan is that the coal trucks would go zooming by me, and there is always something falling off from underneath those trucks and bouncing up into the path of the cars that they have passed. I may try it anyway. I just hate to get the front of my car all dinged up.

What should I expect to get for mileage on pretty level terrain driving a steady 55 MPH on the parkways with my 2009 Yaris Sedan with auto tranny and with the A/C running?

Tom

I think I have just about talked myself out of using the parkway and driving 55 MPH, like I was saying earlier that I was thinking about trying.

Because of the extra distance, I would have to see about a 13% MPG improvement just to break even on the amount of gas used per day. I don't think the MPG gain would be any more than 12% to 15%, considering that I am already getting between 37 and 38 MPG.

So, I would be exposing my car to the chunks of mud with embedded rocks that fall off the coal truck axles as they blow by me on the parkway without really gaining any savings on gas consumption.

Yeah, it would be nice to report higher MPG, but driving the extra distance would wipe out that savings, and I would be no better off.

Tomster

[BailOut]

You guys are definitely on the right track for route planning and selection. :clap:

[Zaphod]

I agree with this, bragging on mpg is fun and all. Oh who am I kidding, it's great when you have a passenger in your car who happens to have a Prius ask, "Holy !@#$, that's the how many miles you put on this tank?"

(don't get me wrong, that Prius is a really cool car)

But you know I would never drive out of my way just for those bragging rights. Then again, I would also suggest balancing wear and tear on the car in that equation, i.e. on particularly rough routes, I might drive a few out of the way.

GPS systems are a hoot though. They just add to the whole fun factor of owning a Yaris.

[indyhairball]

I would not try to compare my Yaris to my Prius. They are two completely different types of cars. The Yaris is great for city driving but it doesn't come close to being as comfortable or energy efficient as the Prius.

[BailOut]

I would not try to compare my Yaris to my Prius. They are two completely different types of cars. The Yaris is great for city driving but it doesn't come close to being as comfortable or energy efficient as the Prius.
They are both fuel efficient vehicles, which gives them much in common. As for energy efficiency, the Yaris wins hands down. It requires so much less resources and energy to manufacture and dispose of, it is a much lighter and less complex vehicle, and it gets comparable MPG (when driven sanely) for half the price.

Most folks that have Prii aren't even aware of how to pilot them properly. They know nothing of how to game the State of Charge (SOC), how to get it into into glide mode, how to control the regen, how to use the EV mode to its potential, etc. Unless you do, then the only qualitative thing you've gained over a Yaris is an engine that sometimes shuts itself off at stops. You can do the same thing yourself by turning the ignition key in the Yaris. Most Prius owners don't even tint the windows and use sun shades, instead blasting the a/c all the time, which means the engine keeps running the whole time anyway. :confused:

It's a sad fact that, for the most part, the Prius is for folks that just don't know any better, who think that a change of car can mask over their poor driving habits. :frown:

[talnlnky]

I would love to see hybrid technology used more in Trucks & SUV's. I think that's where the biggest gains can be found. The torque an electric motor can put out compared to a gas motor from a dead stop is huge. Imagine, a normal v8 pulling a horse trailer... will get 12mpg... now imagine a Hybrid v8 that can shut off 2 or 4 cylinders when cruising at highway speeds (like some newer trucks can) pulling that same horse trailer. I bet you could get in the low 20's with the two combining technologies.

C'mon toyota.... Hybrid Tacoma!

[indyhairball]

I'm sorry if I stepped on some toes. I was only trying to say the two cars are completely different. The Prius is a larger car that uses more technology to achieve better gas milage. The Yaris is more of a conventional car. I have one of both and appreciate driving either one. No vehicle is a panacea every thing for every body.