2007 Toyota Prius: Real-World Mileage

Tell someone you drive a Toyota Prius, and they might conclude you also enjoy tofu scramble and "West Wing" reruns. Rest assured, I have no idea how tofu ever got scrambled, and I’m no "Wing"-man either. But I did get considerable seat time in a 2007 Prius Touring Edition last week.

The Prius has been praised for bringing hybrid technology to the masses, but many have criticized its real-world gas mileage, which is nowhere near EPA estimates. I averaged just 34 mpg in a 104-mile week of frugal, A/C-free driving. That’s a far cry from the car’s window sticker, which reads a lofty 60 mpg in city driving and 51 mpg on the highway. New EPA regulations for the 2008 model year are reportedly going to lower mileage estimates on hybrids by roughly 30%.

The engine switches on and off almost seamlessly, and it takes an alert driver to detect it. The only indications are the noise level, which goes from eerie silence to a light drone, and the fuel consumption gauge, which drops from 99.9 mpg to a more believable 25 or 30 mpg.

I found enough electric propulsion to accelerate to about 10 mph. The Prius can do 20 or 30 mph on battery juice alone, but that requires lots of patience — and a complete disregard for the cars behind you because you have to milk the accelerator. For all intents and purposes, meaningful oomph beyond 15 mph requires the engine.

Returning to electric mode is tricky. Oftentimes the engine shuts off on its own during deceleration, when the vehicle’s braking friction recharges its battery. With a light foot and low enough speed, I found it possible to pick back up in electric mode afterward. But other times — especially in cold temperatures, when the car’s heater was active — the engine remained on after deceleration. It took a complete stop and a few seconds of waiting for the Prius to transition back to electric mode, if it ever did. Try doing that in heavy traffic.

Over time, I found that city driving did not give me the best gas mileage. As careful as I was noting the traffic around me and planning my acceleration to stay as long as possible in electric mode, my hard-earned mileage gains were quickly erased every time I needed to make a yellow light or merge with faster traffic.

If you get a Prius, drive it lightly — but don’t become obsessed with the electric motor. Clock lots of time on the highway at 55 mph, and the engine will yield gas mileage in the mid-40s. Around town, a prudent stretch or two in electric mode will balance out the times you need to accelerate quickly. And with any luck, you’ll achieve respectable gas mileage — not 50 or 60 mpg, but something you still couldn’t dream of in another car.

Update: Over the course of the week I commuted 4.5 miles to work — in downtown Chicago, from Lincoln Park to the Loop — and drove a mix of short (less than a mile) and medium (12-15 mile) distances at mostly sub-highway speeds in varying traffic conditions. Weather ranged from the mid-30s to mid-50s, and apart from a few parking garages, elevation changes throughout the week were minimal. The air conditioning remained off almost all week. The Prius Touring Edition I tested features 16-inch wheels and tires, compared to the standard model’s 15-inch combination.

Comments

[marcus]

I have a 2005 prius with 45K on it and easily average 50 mpg and thats with the ac and traveling 70 mph. Trust me the prius is well worth the money.

[Kelsey M]

Marcus,
Impressive. What's your secret -- do you sweat the EV mode or just drive normally?

[Matt]

I have a 2006. I upgraded the tires from the dounuts that toyota gave me to the same ones that come on the new touring edition and my average gas milage dropped from 45 to 40. When I first got the prius, I was only getting 35, and then I found out about tire pressure. 45 psi in the front and 43 psi in the back is what I have found that works best for me, and it really does make a difference. Also, if I only drive long distances my average goes up. If I only drive for 10 minutes at a time, my MPG is killed because of the warm-up time. For instance, driving from Atlanta GA to Destin, I averaged 55 mpg, averaging 70 mph.

[DaveInSoCal]

I had a 2005 Prius, and now have a 2006 model, and on both I average 48-52 mpg, depending on how "badly" I drive. I am not the easiest on my car's, so it is impressive for me. Only 34mpg? What the heck were you doing? Even on my worst weeks, I have never EVER gotten less than 42 mpg.

[Craig Van Degrift]

I have driven 87,000 miles on my 2003 Prius and have averaged 48 mpg after correcting for the 1.5 to 2.0 mpg optimism of the Prius mpg readout of my particular Prius.

In the summer, I average 53 mpg with a mix of 55-60 mph freeway and 30-40 mph mountain driving. On cold days in the winter it can drop down to 44 in the mountains. If you only do 5 minute trips, the mpg will be much less because the engine must warm up the catalytic converter.

It seems clear that the author's comments are so off base that either he has not driven the Prius enough to evaluate it or has an alternate agenda. I do not believe the 2007 Prius gets less mpg than my 2003.

Also, when there is an elevation change, it is important to report the round-trip mpg, not the one-way mpg. Gravity matters!

[shane]

I also own a 2006 Prius that I purchased a couple months ago. I too am amazed at the review. The best tank I have gotten was 54 mpg with mostly highway driving. The worst I have gotten may be my current tank as temperatures have dropped significantly. As of this morning, I'm getting 48 mpg. Maybe the reviewer had the emergency brake on the whole time.

[Dave Hoffner]

I've had a 2006 Prius for about 2 months, and I have to say that this review really surprised me. I can drive like a maniac and still get 45 mpg, and my usual conservative driving yields an average of 55-60 mpg, with some 30-mile trips getting as high as 64.5 mpg. One thing that this reviewer didn't realize is that you don't have to accelerate slowly to drive efficiently in a Prius. The car is much more efficient when accelerating briskly.

[Rodger]

I've got a 2005 Prius and I live in Alaska. During the dead of winter, even with a block heater, my worst mileage ever (including the short commute penalty) was 34. During the summer I get 50 MPG pretty easily. Sounds to me like the 2007 that was tested wasn't broken-in yet. The mileage has steadily improved throughout my ownership.

[Vince Dee]

I just bought a 2007 Prius almost three weeks ago. I'm hardly a fanboy, so I can tell you that the mileage figures that the reviewer got with the car are totally BS. There is no way that you can get those mpg figures in this car. One thing I can agree on, for sure, is that the Prius doesn't even remotely get 61mpg in the city. After 600 miles I'm averaging about 45mpg with mostly normal driving.

When you post such erroneous information your credibility goes down. Now I wouldn't be able to trust your reviews on other cars, since you clearly screwed this one up.

Vince

[leigh]

are you serious? 34 mpg? i've never gotten below 40 in my 05, and that was with a 3-mile highway commute (think: hard accel right away, then a quick .5 mile coast to the parking lot, car never even warmed up!)

in cooler weather it's in the upper 40s and with nice temps i top out around 57 mpg, which is above the epa combined estimate.

you can usually pop it back into electric only by completely removing your foot from the gas pedal, then lightly putting it back down for a "coast" at constant speed. people who accelerate like a grandma in their prius piss me off, especially when i'm behind them in mine. get up to speed, foot off accelerator, foot back on accelerator lightly to coast.

after 104 miles my tank mpg is often still in the lower 60s.

[Marc]

I'm approaching 45K miles on my '04 and my lifetime mileage over the 2-1/2 years is right on 55 MPG (calculated by actual fuel used not the computer). It will vary up and down as weather and gasoline formulations vary, but it averages out. I haven't had a complete tank lower than about 46 MPG since the second tank ever filled on the car. There's a website that allows people to post tank over tank info for cars and the Prius users are averaging around 48 MPG with the usual expected bell curve on either side.

That being said, variables do affect the Prius mileage more than other cars. There was a recent DOE study that showed hybrids being more variable.

[Mark]

You're a liar.

[GreenDrive]

I have an 05 Prius and tried all the tricks but the best I can get is 33 mpg combined. I also had a minor wreck when the car stalled while turning. That cost me $5,000 and took 3 hours to clear the accident because the fire dept was afraid of the batteries leaking.

A coworker of mine tried adding more air in the tires and she wiped out because of the lack of traction, luckily minor damage from a very shallow ditch and alert oncoming traffic.

All in all this car has been very disappointing considering I paid several thousand dollars premium over MSRP for it, it doesn't deliver, I can't trust it and worst of all my wife gets slightly better mileage in her ZX3 Focus which cost $7,000 less and has a 100,000 mile warranty. Even with the generous tax deductions, this car is costing me more than a mid-sized sedan to operate.

Never again.

[Thomas M Wetherbee]

You averaged 34 mpg driving a Prius?!? You must have been dragging a safe behind it, or driving with the parking brake on. I have a 2006 with 7000 miles and I average about 55 mpg. I get 50 mpg on the highway at 70 mph with the A/C running. Around the county on the 55 mph country roads i have had mileage up to 60 mpg. Perhaps you made a number of short trips. That will really hurt mileage, since the engine has to heat up each time. Anyway, it's a great car.

Tom

[SimonT]

I have had an 06 prius for 9 months and 36,000 miles. I average 33 mpg, 35 on good days. The tire overinflation tip didn't work for me as the car became way too unstable. I can't believe that I paid so much for this car. There is no way I will ever get my investment back. I would have been better off moneywise with a small Cobalt or Mazda3 and I would have a fun small car. Believe me, my Prius is anything but fun. After an hour those seats just kill my back.

Tom Simon

[Brandon]

What the heck are you talking about? I've had a Prius for two years and consistently average 50+ miles per gallon. Have you tried releasing the emergency brake?! Honestly, I don't know how it is even possible for you to obtain 33 mpg without something being seriously wrong with that particular Prius. Did you have it checked out? Surely your driving habits can't be THAT horrendous.

[Thomas]

My car has 3k miles on it. I'm averaging 53 mpg in extremely hilly driving conditions in Salt Lake City. Best tank was 60, worst was 44 (which was my first when I suspect the dealer didn't fill the bladder properly). I'm 27 years old and don't drive this thing like a grandpa. I drive 5 mph over the limit wherever I go, and my commute is 6.5 miles on city streets each day (10 minutes). I think to get 35 mpg I'd have to take the car on 500 yard trips, or leave the parking brake on while driving it.

[Zoe]

I just purchased on '06 in March of this year and my average mpg is 51. This impressive mpg is accomplished with little more than coasting to lights. Anyone that's getting less than 45 is either doing something terribly wrong OR there's something wrong with their car.

[Thomas]

I love the email addresses of the naysayers. Toyotasucks@aol.com
totally different names then the ones they're posting under.......

Pathetic.

[Dennis]

I've had my 06 since March (21k miles so far) and have been averaging 51.6 MPG. I drive aggressively and most of the time at 70 mph @ 55mph zone. When I need to pass, I would go to 80-85 mph. This car is fun to accelerate and pass on highway because it is so responsive. I get great mpg because I use the power wisely -- minimize braking, the same way I drove Celica.

This car is a blast to drive and there is no way I can go back to automatic tranny car. Prius also have precise control at low speed due to 295 lbs-ft electric motor torque -- no, none, zero slipping like the fluid torque-converter.

Dennis

[Randall Henderson]

Another very happy Prius owner chiming in... in fact when my wife bought her 2005 I was not that enthused, but after driving it a bit I said "I have to get me one of these!" and now we're a two-Prius family.

I've never been much of a car person in fact... get me from point A to point B in reasonable comfort and I'm happy. But I love this car! The great mileage is only one reason -- it also has great acceleration, is comfy and roomy, and the large hatchback and fold-down seats give it great utility.

Interestingly, my wife's 2005 seems to get slightly better mileage than my 2006 regardless of who's driving it, but nevertheless I'd have to drive a lot more agressively (or sloppily) to get less than 45mpg, even with my relatively short commute of around 12 miles.

I wonder if the reviewer is in a particularly cold or wet climate? Temperature makes a difference, as does wet pavement. Nevertheless it's hard to figure how one could do as poorly as 34MPG.

[Dennis]

Title (fixed)

2007 Toyota Prius: Fantasy-World Mileage by Toyota Hater

[Kelsey M]

For the record, no the parking brake was not on. And with temperatures in the 50s or higher, the car started right into EV mode without having to warm up. What killed mileage was colder days (30s and 40s) when the engine needed to heat up. I took shorter trips in the city in a low-mileage car and relatively colder temperatures. Not a lot of elevation changes either. And when the week was over, the average mileage readout read 34.0 mpg.

But cheers to everyone who's weighed in with stories of much higher gas mileage -- that's the kind of extra perspective we're looking for.

[Brandon]

Hi Kelsey,

Okay, so if those were the problematic factors (and they shouldn't have that great an impact - I drive short distances in cold weather all the time during the winter and still average 46-48 mpg), imagine how low the mpg averages would be in a conventional vehicle under those same conditions. All vehilces perform worse in cold temps when the engine isn't warm; it's just more noticible when the mpg average is usually 50 instead of 18 and when there's a screen in the dash telling the driver about the vehicle's fuel efficiency.

Kelsey,

How many miles was your trip? And why was it titled "Real-World" when you have only tested under one extreme condition?

2007 Toyota Prius: Cold Weather Short Trip Mileage

That title is more suitable I would think.

Dennis

[Joe]

I highly suspect that there is something wrong with your car and it should be checked out. I would think that a dealer tech can compare your car to a more normal one and find out where you are loosing efficiency. I consistently get almost exactly 50mpg and I drove 60 miles every day and I cross over the Santa Suzana pass(So. Cal) each way. The Prius is in now ways a perfect car but yours should be must better than that.

[leigh]

warms right up into ev mode? um, the engine is programmed to invariably kick in 7 sec after startup and run until warm to warm up the catalytic converter. will usually run at least a minute even at comfortable air temps. the only way to start up straight into ev mode is with an ev switch, which is an aftermarket install and far from a mainstream thing.

if all you wanted was mpg numbers you could have checked out greenhybrid.com's database.

[L Taquino]

I gave up my Chev 1500 HD ( 15mpg Hwy )and my ImpalaSS 04 ( 28 mpg Hwy ) and got my 2006 Jan 1. Love my Pri and I don't know how you can't get 40+. I have almost 30k and my life time ave is 60.1mpg. I live in Houston and am by no means a slow driver. My worst was 42.3 and best is 52.6. I know for a fact that even if you start off low in the 40's becouse of hard driving it is very easy to recover 10-15mpg even after 200-300 miles of driving. I can't wait to place my order for my 2009.

[Ken Cooper]

If my Prius mileage was in the 30s I'd take it in to Toyota and demand it be fixed.

I've driven my Prius in every imaginable condition including very cold, very hot, high elevation, low elevation, city driving, highway driving, mountain driving, hard driving, easy driving, or whatever. The worst mileage I've ever experineced with this car is about 44 mpg (best is 55 mpg, average is 48.5 mpg). This on a 2004 Prius having 34,200 miles on it.

What amazes me is that articles like this get published at all. Don't you folks have any kind of peer review process? Do you even check to see if the writer of an article such as this is maybe being paid by some competing car manufacturer?

Shame on you. I'll never again look at one of your articles without pre-setting my thought process to 'extreme skeptic mode'.

[Chris]

I put a K&N drop-in filter in my 06 and am now getting 61 vs 55 before. What's more- it cost about $45 and I never have to pay for another filter. If you are having trouble achieving windowsticker MPG contact your local Toyota Dealer and ask for the Delivery Specialist familiar with the car. In Colorado- Burt Toyota seek advice from Aaron Brown. I will end up saving some $3000 in fuel this year over my old Acura CL I traded in not to mention the state and fed tax incentives. We are so happy we'll buy a Hylander Hybrid for the wife in 2 years.

[Dennis]

I think I figured it out how 34 MPG was achieved. Start up in EV mode and use the battery to run the heater. Then the engine is fored to recharge the battery. Drive 7 miles and turn it off and repeat the process 15 more times. Oh and that's the real-world.

Dennis

[Dave T.]

Please remember when we say "city driving" we're talking City of Chicago. Meaning downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, so when you leave a stoplight you basically get going fast enough to kick off the motor, kick on the engine and back again. This is not suburban "city" driving.
Also this is the all-new Touring edition with larger wheels/tires (16 inchers versus 15) which usually also equals lower mileage. We're preparing an update to the post to point out these issues.

[Dave T.]

50 degrees is also not what I would consider cold weather.

[Bluto]

Take it back, you have a lemon. I avg 48 MPG in my 06. In my 18 mile one way commute I spend about 15 minutes in city driving and 10-25 minutes in freeway driving. Lots of different situtations - 2 Blvds with multiple stop lights, freeway at speed, and freeway at slow and go. The area I drive in has some hills, so I get lousy MPG going up, but great MPG going down the other side.

[john]

Let me guess ...... the 104 miles were all at the local drage strip. What is your motive for posting a bogas review?

[Donee]

Hi Kelsey,

I cannot believe your mileage. I took delivery of a 2006 Prius 390 miles from home on a 15 degree F day last Febuary. The fuel economy for that trip was 43 mpg, with heavy cross and head winds with the cruise control set to 70 mph. Since then my best tank mileage has been 63 mpg in a 23 mile suburban commute, and the car typically delivers right at the EPA combined of 55 mpg, even with the AC on.

Most people do not know this, but piston engines have better efficiency at higher RPM and Torque levels. So, accellerating at a low engine output results in poor mileage. In regular cars there are extra fuel delivery mechanisms (called enrichment)that come into play if you quickly push the pedal to the floor. The Prius does not have an enrichment mechanism, it just brings the engine up to speed gradually under computer control and relies on the motor for initial torque. So, trying to accellerate ever-so-slowly will waste gas in a Prius as the engine has to run below its good efficiency zone and for longer, until the car is up to speed.

In a standard car, one can stay out of the enrichment by pressing the accellerator pedal ever-so-slowly, but for best mileage one should get the pedal up to nearly full throttle.

There is more to getting good mileage in the Prius, but this is already a long post.

My thing with the Prius: Their average selling price is around $26,000. You can get a comparably sized and equipped vehicle for 8-10 thousand dollars less than that and be paying $160 to $200 LESS a month for it (or even less than that if you're financing for less than 60 months). So how long would you need to keep a Prius in order to start breaking even? Probably longer than most people will even keep the car.

[Angus]

It sounds like one of two things may be going on here:

1) Some Priuses (or is that Prii?) are way better than others. That is, there's a bunch of defective ones on the road.

2) A bunch of tree-huggers are deluding themselves into thinking they're getting better MPG than they really are. And are then displaying absolutely "Bushian / Rovian" behavior by suggestion that anyone who claims the Prius doesn't get 50+ mpg in all conditions is a liar and maybe even a terrorist. You ALL crack me up, to be honest.

[Jennifer]

I have a 2006 Prius with no performance mods other than upping the tire psi to 40/38. I don't drive special and in fact tend to have a bit of a lead foot especially when accellerating. I'm still averaging 48mpg without hardly trying.

Although I must admit that I do try to take advantage of driving on electric-only when in slow traffic on the freeway and on roads with 35-40mph speed limits. I can't go any faster than 40mph without the gas engine kicking in, unless I'm travelling on a downward slope.

The lowest mpg I've gotten in 8+ months of driving the Prius was while driving a very steep mountain grade (6% 20-mile grade at a 4,000 ft elevation) in 35 degree F weather. And that mpg was a dismal 34.3 for the duration of that leg of my journey.

http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/car/2107.html

this is pathedic are you people really that cheap on gas? You do realise that everyone behind you will eventually run you down by pulling that "slow acceleration" crap- society is fed up with these damn remote control cars. You're killing the environment!!

[PS]

I got my 2007 Prius about a week ago. And my experience has been quite different from yours. I've averaged trips of 40-50mpg all week. I can stay in electric mode up to about 40 MPH. And I'm enjoying everything about the car. Most people know that the EPA mileage ratings are merely for comparison to other vehicles - they don't indicate the actual mileage of the car. Other Prius owners I know are getting an average of 49-50mpg over an extended period.

[Lanny]

"my hard-earned mileage gains were quickly erased every time I needed to make a yellow light.."

A yellow light isn't for speeding up to "make it", its to advise you to come to a stop so you don't T-bone another driver that will be coming through on a legal green light.

And to another responder, if you really read what is being said here, most Prius drivers are saying that they don't do that "slow acceleration" crap because its not the best way to get good mpg. I notice a lot of non-hybrid drivers that do that "slow acceleration" crap all the time.

[Godiva]

Trying a Prius out isn't the same as owning one.

I've got a 2005 Prius package #1 and average between 47 and 52 mpg. The only time I got lower (high 30s) was when I had a flat tire and didn't know it. Like any car, tire pressure is important for good gas mileage.

If your commutes are from 1 mile to 12-15 miles, that's a problem too. Like any car a Prius needs to warm up. That takes about 10 min. So...your trips are too short to get really great mileage.

I recently did a rally with the local Prius club. I averaged 59.4 mpg. That was both city and highway mileage.

Can you beat the EPA? You bet. There are hypermilers that can get over 100 mpg in a stock Prius solely by driving techniques.

But it sounds to me like you're trying too hard and don't really know how to drive the car yet. That takes ownership. Not borrowing it for a week.

[Douglas Grove]

I liked the prius so much I bought two. Mileage always averages about 48 miles per gallon on each tank. Maybe a little less in winter 45. I bleieve the mileage is great but no one ever considers the amount of oxygen these standard cars are consuming while idling in the city. Has anyone ever calculated what a difference the air quality would be in the cities if everyone were driving a hybrid? Gasoline engines basically run on a 16 to one ratio. 16 pounds of air for one pound of gasoline. A gallon of gas weighs 6 lbs. If you do the math that is 96 lbs of air for each gallon of gas. How much oxygen do we have left on the planet? Does anyone know?

[Camry Hybrid]

I have a Camry Hybrid and consistently get between 35 and 40mpg. I don't drive slow either. I don't know what the reviewer is smoking.

i dunno considering your damn batteries will eventually cause more harm that good

[Kurt]

I drive an '06 Prius. Worst tank was was the first tank at 44mpg. I consistently average over 50mpg without doing anything besides driving the car. In fact, the cruise control and AC are on most of the time. Better mileage is possible in town by accelerating to the speed limit and coasting. I'm guessing the reviewer's trips were so short that the car didn't have time to warm up. We save about $100/month on gas over our prior compact car's gas usage. Sounds like the Prius may not be the best fit for the reviewer's driving needs. Does fine for us.

[john1701a]

Doing all the wrong things, that's typical. The hybrid system wasn't designed to be babied. In fact, that causes reduced efficiency.

JUST DRIVE IT!

Brisk acceleration, which is quite normal for much of the population, will yield the most efficient results. When you reach the desired city cruising speed, like 35 MPH, the engine will automatically shut off. There's no special driver behavior required. You'll see it happen just through routine driving... in other words, following the usual flow of traffic.

That 34 MPG wasn't representative of real-world in any way. On the other hand, my 62,500 miles resulting in a 3-year average of 48.6 MPG is. My worse tank ever was 36.4 MPG, carrying 2 kayaks on the roof on the highway. I averaged 55.1 MPG for an entire month once. So a tiny sampling, like that reported here, is most definitely not what owners experience normally. It was a worst-case scenario, an extreme, not an expectation.

[IAP]

I own a 2005 Prius, bought new, which I have driven for 26,000 so far. I have rarely averaged under 50 mpg per tank, after the first six months of ownership. Even then, I got 46-48 mpg. I recently drove up and down I5 between Southern and Northern CA. At speeds of 80-85 mph, I only received 45 mpg.

[Michal]

Is this issue--where real-world gas mileages are apparently much lower than EPA estimates--present in previous-generation Priuses and the Honda Insights?