Toyota Prius: 8 Freeway Miles

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The Prius has a little onboard computer that calculates what your current mpg is and displays it on the touchscreen. It also has a little graphical representation of your current estimated MPG.


During lunch today, I had to run an errand. It was the perfect excuse for me to take the Prius up on the highway and see if I could get EPA's estimated 55 mpg on the highway. I got 64.3 mpg. The trick is to use the electric battery and coast. Tap the accelerator give it gas to get it up to speed, coast a little, give the car a little gas, coast, give the car a little gas, etc. If you keep the speed at about 55, you can easily do 60mpg. Most California freeways are 65, so doing the accelerate-coast method can't be done unless you're in the slow lane. If you can keep it under about 35 mph, you can also just use primarily the electric motor. The car sips gas, so we'll see how much of a fuel up I'll need at the end of the week.

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