I’ve owned my 2007 Toyota Prius for 5 months now. And, it still (mostly) makes me happy. The GPS NAV system is the biggest disappointment. The car does have more "pep" than I expected, so I guess it all balances out. Everything else is about what I expected.
In 5 months, I have driven about 7,500 miles. The electronic MPG gauge tells me that I get about 46.0 MPG on average. I drive about 80% Highway miles and 20% City miles. I have never seen a whole tank get either of the two EPA stated values for the car (which, I believe, are 51 MPG Highway and 60 MPG City).
What you are seeing reported here are real-world MPG numbers. I drive the car hard, just like I would drive any car. I do end up speeding more often than I would like. And, just FYI, the car was once running smooth for a brief moment at 91 MPH. Performance is excellent for a car with so little horsepower.
Don’t get me wrong, though. This is a commuter car first and foremost. It does not handle well in the corners (but, my other car is a Porsche, so there really is no comparison). When you get in it, you should be in fuel-conserving commuter mode.
And, with the HOV car-pool sticker, I am even more pleased with my purchase.
In other reading…
- Wired Magazine: Hybrid Mileage Comes Up Short
- ConsumerAffairs.com: Prius Owners Question Mileage Claims
- KickingTires: 2007 Toyota Prius: Real-World Mileage (great comments)
- Lawrence S. Gould: LSG’s Prius Gas Mileage & Reserve Gas Tank
- PriusOnline.com: What kind of Mileage are you actually getting?
There is a really simple solution to gas prices, and the major car companies are finally starting the ball rolling. The answer = Hydrogen on Demand. Ford, BMW, Honda, and More are already rolling these out, but wait who wants to spend another $21,000. I want to drive my hummer and my mustang. And now I can. I got a easy to install Hydrogen On Demand Fuel kit from PASS, check out their website, it installed in an hour, and was 1/3 the cost of other HHO hydrogen on demand systems. I now am getting 42% better gas mileage in my hummer, and 38% more MPG in my mustang. See thier website. http://www.passonfuel.com