More Hybrid Insanity

[bronsin]

Got 42-44 mpg this summer on a trip at a constant 60-65 mph. Thats the sweet spot for mpg on these cars in my experience.

My manual transmission ECHO would get 50 mpg+ at that speed.

Every time.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

For me, my sweet spot isn't a mph number, it's a throttle %. Even with my mods and my heavy 17's, if I'm driving on the freeway at 24% throttle, I'm getting anywhere from 40-55 mpg. I just let the road determine my speed, be it 55 mph to 75 mph.

Sweet spot for in city driving is 22% when accelerating and dropping to 20-21% when cruising. Once cruising, I'll be getting 50-60 mpg. However, for some reason I hit EVERY, and I mean EVERY stop light I encounter, so with all this, my overall tank drops significantly down to 39-42 mpg average.

[bronsin]

How do you know you are at "24%"?

[Kaotic Lazagna]

^ Oops, should have mentioned that I have a Scan Gauge II. My bad.

[eTiMaGo]

Originally Posted by cali yaris

100% driving technique.

The EPA results are from a very specific test that does not reflect how most of us drive.

Didn't they change the test a couple of years back, to reflect the average driving style more accurately? There was a lot of hoopla here as the next model year Yaris was advertised at a lower MPG, even though it was really identical!

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by eTiMaGo

Didn't they change the test a couple of years back, to reflect the average driving style more accurately? There was a lot of hoopla here as the next model year Yaris was advertised at a lower MPG, even though it was really identical!

Yeah they did and I think it was just after i bought mine. The overall numer went 2 0r 3 mpg lower.

Mine [retty much gets the highway numbers in town. (34-36 mpg)

Except in winter. Last winter there were 28 mpg tanks.

It was cold 15 degrees.

[BEEF]

my yaris is fairly consistantly getting 41mpg. I will say that the onset of winter is bringing those numbers down and I don't drive it near as much as I should. I tend to let the car heat up too so I can defrost my windows (when frost is an issue). my drive is also 35 minutes one way to work so that helps too.

people have always complained about EPA numbers. some say they are way too low some say too high. I look at it as purely a way to compare. the number they say is not what you are going to get but if you are comparing two cars it is more a way to differentiate between them. the one with the higher number is more likely to yield you better results. not necessarily that number but a higher one than the other car.

on my cavalier I consistently get +30% of the EPA rating. maybe I am just weird. I will say that I don't dog it either. during the summer I can get as much as 45% highter than EPA.

this is coming from a guy that drives 500-600 miles weekly. when you log in those types of numbers (and I don't drive for my job, thus no reimbursement) you really do care about efficiency of your vehicles. my stance may be completely different if I just drove 10ish miles to work everyday and that was it.

[A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby]

Originally Posted by eTiMaGo

could really be down to driving style too, a hybrid can help when driven sensibly, but can be about as wasteful as an equivalent engine if you drive like aggressively... *shrug*

drive a Prius aggressively you still get 48mpg. all aggression in a prius is
going to immediately use the battery for added torque.

the only thing that makes a Prius suck gas is extended highway around 80mph
or serious hooliganism

Honda did fail

[MadMax]

Top Gear showed how a BMW M3 got better gas mileage than a Toyota Prius...

BMW M3 against Toyota Prius

The drove both around the track at high speeds, and the hybrid used more gas. That's convincing enough for me!

Note Jezza's comments at the end of the clip!

Cheers! M2

[bronsin]

Yeah sure well...

If you drove both of them around town like normal people do the Prius wins hands down in my book.

I dont think that excercise proves a thing.

Originally Posted by MadMax

Top Gear showed how a BMW M3 got better gas mileage than a Toyota Prius...

BMW M3 against Toyota Prius

The drove both around the track at high speeds, and the hybrid used more gas. That's convincing enough for me!

Note Jezza's comments at the end of the clip!

Cheers! M2

[MadMax]

I take it you've never seen an episode of Top Gear? It was meant as a joke...

And sorry, anyone who would prefer a Prius over a M3 needs their head examined!

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by MadMax

I take it you've never seen an episode of Top Gear? It was meant as a joke...

And sorry, anyone who would prefer a Prius over a M3 needs their head examined!

Oh.

Never heard of it.

They need their head examined if they buy a Prius PERIOD!

[carnageehw]

This lady is insane. I bet she does a lot of hwy, aggressive, and drive-thru driving.
Also, if she bought her car in winter that will make a huge difference.

I don't drive my hybrid super conservative. I slow early, don't accelerate hard when I know I'm just going to slowing down soon anyway and am usually a little above the speed limit. In warm weather I get in the 50MPG range, which is above the EPA, but about on par with the inflated dealer estimates.

The advent of all these technologies that do everything for the driver has left people ignorant to how cars work.

[charles nelson]

I have a 3-door '08 with AT. My dealer still can't believe my average mpg: 41.5!
I have been getting 35-50 mpg since the Yaris was brand new. My father taught me to accelerate moderately hard and then try to do rolling stops with minimal braking. When you accelerate quickly, the AT shifts into higher (more efficient) gears sooner. And in rolling stops, the injectors are usually shut down completely unless the AC is turned on. I tend to watch stoplights ahead for a couple of intersections. If traffic will allow, I adjust my speed so that the lights are green by the time I get there.
Popular Mechanics confirmed this a couple of months ago, by running a large number of vehicles as mentioned above. Versus 'typical' driving habits of slow starts and more sudden stops. A big jump in mpg for fast starts and gentle stops.

[bronsin]

Except for the rapid acceleration I do exactly the same thing.

That sounds like a good idea.

However, that stuff about the injectors shutting off is pure baloney. The engine would stop running if it did that.

[mr_miles]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Except for the rapid acceleration I do exactly the same thing.

That sounds like a good idea.

However, that stuff about the injectors shutting off is pure baloney. The engine would stop running if it did that.

...........DFCO?

[Sparcoboy]

Originally Posted by bronsin

However, that stuff about the injectors shutting off is pure baloney. The engine would stop running if it did that.

No, your wheels keep the engine running

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by Sparcoboy

No, your wheels keep the engine running

No way. If there was no combustion going on in the cylinders there would be an abrupt lurch in the transmission. Especially in a manual transmission car. What happens when you lift your foot off the accelerator and push in the clutch? The engine idles thats what. If the injectors cut off the fuel delivery the engine would die.

Its a nice little story but thats all it is.