700km on ~44 liters works out to about<br><br>37.6 miles per U.S. Gallon or 45 miles per Imp gallon. WELL below the 63/61mpg Canadian rating.<br><br>Should I expect it to improve now that I am past the breakin period and at ~2200km?<br><br>Also noticed that engine braking 'might be' occurring even when the car is in the 'D' mode. <br><br><br><br>The LCD screen usually reads ~5.6l/100km on regular unleaded (87 octane). We just 'treated' the car to 93 octane and the LCD screen <br>almost immediately went to 4.0/4.1 l/100km reading. I don't believe it EVER read much below 5.4ish prior to this fillup. Manual says 87 <br>octane is fine but if this turns out to get us the 'anticipated' 1000km on a tank of gas we'll pay the extra 11 cents a liter.<br><br>Anyone know if you get better mileage with premium fuel or whether it is just better for the engine?

My experience with a 3-day rental was that the AC seriously reduces city milage (increases city consumption). I would see MPG ratings of 37-38 in the city with the AC on and MPG ratings of 45-50 in the city with the AC off. On the highway at 65 MPH I would see 47 MPG with the AC on and 48 MPG with the AC off.<br><br>I doubt just using higher octane would give a big boost in MPG since the engine was tuned to expect 87 octane. Maybe the premium has a cleaner that cleared out something in your fuel system? Maybe they don't cut the premium with as much water and rust? :)<br><br>The MPG "sweet spot" I found was a traffic jam with speeds varying between 20 and 40 MPH (in a 65 zone :( I went for about 10 miles and averaged 53-54 MPG.

Forgot to mention in my first reply:<br><br>Engine braking (actually regenerative braking from the electric motor) absolutely occurs in the 'D' setting of the "mode selector". The Prius tries to feel like driving a normale I.C.E. car, so when you take your foot off the accelerator, the electric motor applies some regenerative braking to make the Prius slow down some. In a typical car, when you take your foot off the accelerator, overcoming the engine compression slows the car down some.

engine braking in "d". So you can't coast basically like other cars?<br><br>re:mileage. DEFINITELY using the AC in Auto mode 99.9% of the time.<br><br>What I would like to know is how the car 'knows' fuel consumption that is displayed on the LCD screen and if it is 'accurate' why the SUDDEN drop from ~5.6 for 87 octane, to ~4.0 for 93 octane. I know these are the numbers because I check when my wife drives. She tells me "I don't RATE YOUR performance, so don't rate MINE!" :) hehehe.<br><br>Double checked my fuel consumption and for 2200km we used ~139 liters of regular unleaded. (We will assume the tank was right full from the dealer but it dropped quicker on the first tank).

I would think we 'see' a change in the fuel consumption displayed on the LCD when I put the AC on or off if it reduced mileage by 25% in real life. I will check.

"The Prius tries to feel like driving a normale I.C.E. car, so when you take your foot off the accelerator, the electric motor applies some regenerative braking to make the Prius slow down some."<br><br>Hmmm... I would have preferred a new "feel". Just because we're used to something doesn't make it "right".

That is where I think you should have access to internal parameters of the computer running the whole engine.<br>This way you could safely adjust them to your needs.<br><br>Maybe in next version....<br><br>Robert

Robert,<br>The regulators wouldn't look kindly to that type of flexability. The parameters are set to meet specific certification levels to be maintained in some cases for 150K...hence annual emission inspections etc......PM

Priusman,<br>thanks for response.<br>Let me ask you this question:<br>Is that true that there are some maintenence screens alownig service people to change these internal parameters or monitor them?<br><br>Are they available thru "magic screen" or do they have to use special computers to do that?<br><br>How flexible or "parametrizied" is this internal system of managing all pieces together?<br><br>And last question - Is there a place on the TOYOTA website where you ccan enter your confirmation number / mine is: P.R.# 3215733170<br><br> / and check status of your delivery?<br><br>Thanks<br>Robert

Robert,<br>I try to get you an answer.....I kicked off some of the tech trainer sessions but didn't stick around for all the sticky details. I do know that the system has hundreds of failure and operation codes which are recorded based on specific incidences. If my memory serves me though I think that the techs use a hand held scanner with reprogrammable software that plugs into several locations and ECUs around the vehicle. I don't think that the dash monitor is integrated into the core operating/diagnostic systems, but I could be wrong. <br>I'll check on your purchase request status. I would love to have a direct reponse system for you...but its a little more complex than the $1000 programer. I'm never satisfied with the amount of time it takes us to correct err or glitches in the system - its a daily priority.<br>I've also been making headway in better and more reliable answers on cruise and navigation - but i'm not ready to report anything publicly yet. PM <br>I've also