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Does your hybrid get the gas mileage promised?

Posted by admin in Monday, February 23rd 2009

Mark in Time asked:

Honda has claimed that the EPA mileage tests are invalid for hybrids and the numbers supplied by the government are grossly overstated.

A quote from Honda customer relations:
“I can understand his complaint/concern that his actual mileage differs from the mileage estimate provided on the Monroney Label. Advised client the tests performed were developed over 30 years ago and do not reflect real driving situations, let alone driving habits of consumers in the modern day. advised additionally these tests do not take Hybrid vehicles into consideration, and Hybrid vehicle estimates are inflated based on the test procedures. Advised client Hybrid vehicles are more dramatically affected by outside influences such as air conditioning, driving habits, windows up/down, and vehicle load than normal combustion engines. Advised Hybrids require a particular driving style in order to be fuel efficient, and short trips penalize hybrid efficiency more so than regular cars.”

What’s the deal?
NOTE: The EPA is changing the way it calculates gas mileage for 2008 models. The Prius EPA MPG combined will drop from 55 to 46. That’s a 17% decrease! (of couse all vehicles’ mileage will drop.)
Check here:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorSelectEngine.jsp?year=2007&make=Toyota&model=Prius

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9 Comments

paula B said in February 25th, 2009 at 3:37 am

We bought a toyota prius and love it, we are getting 45 mpg right now. Yes everything will effect the gas milage we have noticed. I highly recomend this car though it is comfortable as my husband has a bad back and very good on gas.

A L said in February 25th, 2009 at 7:31 pm

I have 2 friends with Priuses, and they get around 45 mpg overall as well.

A friend with an Accord hybrid gets 30-32 mpg.

dana1981 said in February 28th, 2009 at 4:30 am

The EPA estimates which say, for example, that the Prius gets 60mpg city and 51mpg highway are done in ideal conditions, so real-world mileage is not as good. My Prius gets about 48mpg on average.

kato outdoors said in March 2nd, 2009 at 11:53 am

All the MPG ratings on vehicles is not true since tests are done under perfect conditions. One way to get more MPG’S is to run synthetic oil in your engine, trans, and rear. I run Conklin in my Ranger and get 3 more MPG’S on the highway, yes it works that good plus you get twice the life of the engine and don’t have to change your oil as much

Jeffrey B said in March 4th, 2009 at 9:16 pm

Yeah, the Environmental Protection Agency didn’t take into account the “normal” driving routines of people, such as speeding on the highway (going about 70 to 75 MPH, rather than the 55 MPH they used for the mileage tests), using the air conditioner, and rapid braking (slamming on the brakes instead of gradually slowing down). So, instead of 61 MPG, the Toyota Prius gets a little over 40.

However, you can get closer to those magic MPG numbers by rolling down the windows on a hot day, going the speed limit on the highway, slowly braking, putting your car in neutral – while still holding your foot on the brake – at a red light or stop sign, not “flooring it” when the red light changes to green, and turning your engine off if you anticipate waiting more than 30 seconds at a stop sign or traffic light (it costs less gas to restart your engine than to idle that long).

Otherwise, you could get an electric car (or convert your gas-powered car to an electric car). That way, you don’t have to worry about mileage.

Bach T said in March 4th, 2009 at 10:08 pm

The way you drive is a very large factor in the resulting fuel economy, this applies to any car. EPA numbers can be accomplished or even exceeded depending on how the car is driven. That being said, under typical consumer driving habits, EPA numbers will not be reached in any car, hybrids or otherwise. However, the hybrid tells you how much MPG it’s getting while a non hybrid does not – therefore all the controversy.

dude said in March 6th, 2009 at 3:51 pm

i don’t have a car yet but they sound great!
is it great to have a car like that?

Tater1966 said in March 9th, 2009 at 8:49 am

I own a Ford Escape hybrid. My driving style gets me 28.5 mpg. Driving habits and distances have a great impact on the mpg. I have noticed that if I drive with the windows down the mpg goes down. It actually goes up driving long distances with the A/C on. The sticker called for 33-36 in the city and 29-31 on the highway. I am perfectly happy with the mileage I am getting, particularly since gas is going up every time I pass the station.

Of course this applies to all vehicles not only hybrids.

Drive PZEV said in March 10th, 2009 at 6:18 pm

Absolutely not! In 2008, EPA estimates will change and lower dramatically!