I noticed in a poll for mileage on eGroups that there are two 'groups', one group that gets mid-40s, and another group that gets 55+ MPG. I remember reading somewhere that there are two electrical systems in the Prius (two seperate electrical service manuals). Could this be the cause for the difference? Is it highway driving vs. city driving? Are some people 'just lucky'?<br><br>Another thing that I wonder is if anyone knows about the expansion ratio for the bladder in the gas tank. The manual says something about 14 degrees F causing a 1.3 gallon reduction in the tank. Does anyone know what temperature it is 'full-sized'?<br><br>Is everyone using the computer when reporting the mileage, or are some people using the fill-n-spill method?<br><br>I have a 120 mile round-trip commute, mostly highway (105 miles or so). According to the computer, I'm getting ~46 MPG. I drive with a 'light' foot, and stay within a couple of MPH of the 65MPH speed limit.<br><br>Just wondered what the 'real' story was with everyone's mileage. I would love to be in the 55+ MPG range, but know that it's probably impossible with my drive.

someone here or at egroups reported that his results were the same for the fill and spill and computer methods indicating that the computer may well be accurate. My own mileage varies from 55-62 mostly in-town- the worst I ever got (once) was 51

My figures are based on gas used and km driven over the life of the car. I am getting 54mpg (U.S. Gal), 45mpg (imperialgallon)<br><br>I have over 3000km to date.<br><br>That is with the AC on normal, climate control set to auto. I also sit in the car with the ac going for extended times while waiting for my wife who is in the mall shopping. :)<br><br>The 'computer' typically reads 5.4-5.5 l/100km.<br><br>The gas tank capacity is 45 liters maximum and it says it could be as low as 38 liters when it's colder.

Re: I am getting 54mpg (U.S. Gal), 45mpg (imperialgallon) ... The 'computer' typically reads 5.4-5.5 l/100km.<br><br>This seems inconsistent since imperial gallons are noticably bigger than U.S. gallons. Also, I tried converting 5.5 l/100km to mpg and got 48 mpg. I used 1 l = .2625 U.S. gal. and 100 km = 62.14 miles. Did my dictionary lie to me?

There's a great freeware converter at <a href=http://www.rocketdownload.com/Details/Home/cnvrt.htm target=new>http://www.rocketdownload.com/Details/Home/cnvrt.htm</a> that saves head-scratching. According to that, 5.5 l/100 km = 42.76 mpg (US) or 51.36 mpg (Imp.) My math agrees, more or less. :-)<br><br>BTW I'm finding that the reported fuel consumption averages around 5/100, but on extended trips (&gt;10 km) improves dramatically, even to below 4/100. I'm now up to 400 km and the tank is still more than half full, at least according to the gauge.<br><br>- Peter

Ok, my mileage sucks! I'm gonna stick to liters from now on. :)<br><br>I was multiplying my Imperial Mpg rate by 1.2 to convert to U.S gallons, should have been dividing. So it looks like I am getting 37.5 Miles per U.S. Gallon!<br><br>45 divided by 1.2 = 37.5 ?<br><br>I got 1.2 by taking the imperial (4.54l) over U.S (3.78l) = 1.2. <br><br>I have got to stop drinking. :)<br><br>End result, my LCD lies?

Trip distance seems to be an important factor. I notice that the first five minutes is always very high (usually off the scale, or &gt;10 L/100 km) then comes down. Unfortunately, lots of my trips are relatively short, and I think this is hurting the fuel economy I'm getting: 6.1 L/100 km over 2500 km (38.5 mpg US). This has been creeping down slowly from 6.96 on my first fill-up --man! that's a Corolla!<br><br>BTW, this reminds me of a minor annoyance with the instantaneous fuel economy rating. When the vehicle is stopped at a red light, it always shows the max (10) L/100 km since the denominator is zero. I think it should show 0 if the gas engine isn't running, 10 if it is.

&gt;&gt;&gt;Trip distance seems to be an important factor. I notice that the first five minutes is always very high (usually off the scale, or &gt;10 L/100 km) then comes down.&lt;&lt;&lt;<br><br>I presume that on U.S. models, which show mileage not consumption, the object is to keep the bars _high_, whereas in the rest of the world we try to keep them _low_. It is odd that the bar shoots to infinity when the consumption is 0/0.<br><br>When the U.S. model is stopped, does the mileage bar drop to zero?

&gt;Unfortunately, lots of my trips are relatively short, and I think this is hurting the fuel economy I'm getting: 6.1 L/100 km over 2500 km (38.5 mpg US). <br><br>I found the same kind of thing -- we were getting 37-39 mpg in Seattle area (hilly, short runs), running in "B" to get the regenerative braking power. Then I found out you don't need to run in B to get regenerative braking, and in "D" we're doing much better. Also, longer trips do make a huge difference: with half my distance on 10-20 mile drives now, I'm getting 49-50 mpg. The last 200 miles have admittedly been "babying" the car to coax the mpg's up, next tank I'll cut loose and see what its mpg looks like in "normal" conditions.<br>BTW, this reminds me of a minor annoyance with the instantaneous fuel economy rating. When the vehicle is stopped at a red light, it always shows the max (10) L/100 km since the denominator is zero. I think it should show 0 if the gas engine isn't running, 10 if it is.

On my US car, when stopped, the mileage bar reads zero, as it should. If the engine happens to be running, the "average mpg" slowly drops, as it should.

&gt;&gt;On my US car, when stopped, the mileage bar reads zero, as it should.&lt;&lt;<br><br>It's logical then, or at least consistent, that the non-U.S. screen, which shows consumption, should max out. I guess it's a philosophical question whether, when stopped, the Prius is getting zero or an infinite number of miles to the gallon; or, to put it in international terms, is using 0 or an infinite number of litres to go 100 km.

I find it confusing that the US LCD screen does not always indicate when the gas engine is running when it is obviously (audibly) running. Perhaps I am imagining this, but I'm pretty sure that the LCD does not indicate, for example, when sometimes the car is first started and the engine is warming up (and not charging the battery.)<br><br>Maybe this is because the design of the LCD display doesn't have a gas engine icon to represent "idling" as distinct from "charging the batt.", "powering the wheels", and so forth.<br><br>I also would like it if on the Consumption screen there was an icon that indicated when the gas engine was running. Although you can usually tell from the sound level or the current MPG bar, it's not always obvious.<br><br>Minor quibbles, but as interactive, multimedia graphical displays are my bread & butter, I am doomed to be annoyed by these little things. :-)<br><br>- Peter

I would have liked an RPM number above the gas engine icon. Admittedly it would not be as good as a real tach, since it's only updated a couple times a second, but at least you could tell when you're engine is off and you'd have a good rough estimate on how much power you're getting from the engine.<br><br>A real tach would be nice too. Has anyone installed one that fits in nicely with the rest of the car?<br><br>Robert Snyder