Toyota Prius: Prospective owner

"drf" <edu> wrote in message
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I'll drive 75-80 mph all day and report back. Meanwhile, look up the fuel
capacity and EPA highway rating of both vehicles. Using the ratio of these
ratings (division), the difference between capacities (subtraction) and a
simple multiplication you can figure this out for yourself.

I can do this calculation, and I could even use people's reported fuel
consumption in place of EPA numbers. I am sorry that it is too much
trouble for you to simply say what the fuel capacity of your car is,
and you must live in the east to have no idea of your car's performance
at highway speeds.

"drf" <edu> wrote in message
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I live in Minnesota. I drive 55 on the highway even when the posted speed
limit is higher. Fuel economy for all vehicles drops dramatically as speed
increases, which is why I suggested you use a ratio formed from the two
vehicles EPA ratings. You can find Toyota's specifications at
www.toyota.com. The Prius sold in the U.S. has a bladder inside the tank.
Experience has taught most Prius owners that capacity varies with the
bladder's flexibility between summer and winter, and seems to be affected by
the fill rate. I've never been able to squeeze more than 9.5 gallons into
mine even when the fuel gauge was blinking on one bar. To calculate my
range I use a common "rule of 10's" whereby I multiply the mileage displayed
for the current tank times 10 and fill-up before driving more than the
number of miles indicated by that product. My current tank has 70 miles on
it and is displaying 54.7 mpg. Using the rule of 10's, then, I have a range
on this tank of 547 miles. Of course, if I make a couple dozen 3-mile trips
on this tank by the time I'm close to empty it will be reading around 48 mpg
and I would want to fill at or before 480 miles. My range, however, is
meaningless to you, as will be the range of other drivers who might respond.
In order to factor-in your own driving characteristics you really need to
use the EPA ratio and tank capacities.

The tank is 11.9 gallons - I have gotten 50 MPG going 60 70 MPH - tank range
is over 500 miles with two gallons left in the tank.


"drf" <edu> wrote in message
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drf <edu> wrote:
 

I occasionally drive between Jacksonville, FL, and the DC suburbs in
Maryland, and these are the only times when I generally drive in the
75-80 mph range (not counting when I'm stationary on the Capitol
Beltway). On these trips, I average only 41-43 MPG, as compared to my
usual 46-48. I usually fill up when the digital gauge gets down to one
tick, taking on 9-10 gallons. So... that's 360-425 miles per tank.

--
Mike Rosenberg
<http://www.macconsult.com> Macintosh consulting services for NE Florida
<http://www.cafepress.com/macconsult,macconsult4> Mac-themed T-shirts
<http://bogart-tribute.net> Tribute to Humphrey Bogart

drf <edu> wrote:
 

My answer for an 03 Prius, NHW11 model:

http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/

On a recent 14 hour trip to Kansas City and the return, I made it a
point to pull off and take a break every 2-3 hours. Because of the fuel
efficiency, I stopped shopping for gas beyond driving past the first
cluster of gas stations at the exits.

The current 06 Prius gets better performance:

http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/

Come join us when you pickup the car and we'll share the FAQ.

Bob Wilson

"drf" <edu> wrote in message
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Do you find insulting people an effective way to get people to want to
assist you?

Tweecer wrote: 

I just filled my tank with 52 litres of fuel (13.7 gallons) - perhaps
the metric tanks have a larger capacity! ;-)
Driving all day NON-STOP at 113km/h (70.214 mph) my car travelled 920 km
(571 miles) before the fuel indicator started flashing and could have
travelled up to at least 1000km (621 miles) before the tank was empty.

Travelling at 100km/h (62mph) or below however produces MUCH better fuel
economy with a tank range in excess of 1100 kilometres (683 miles)