My Latest Mileage - 32.5 Mpg (long Post)

[jrober]

Here is my mileage for the last 2000 miles on my 2008 Rx400h – 32.5 mpg.

I think my mileage success is related to having hybrid-friendly driving patterns and also to good driving technique. This 2000 miles included about 75% city driving and 25% highway - freeway driving. I use the cheapest, lowest octane gasoline that they sell.

My work commute is about 20 minutes on country and city roads with a maximal speed limit of 55 mph. I only have a few stop signs and stoplights so I don’t have a lot of stop and go driving. I rarely need to take 5-10 minute trips, which reduces mileage considerably. My usual 20 min commute is ideal for getting the battery charged up and then being able to maximize the use of the electric motors for the last 10 min at the end of the ride.

My driving technique is quite different now than it was in the past with non-hybrid vehicles. You definitely have to earn good mileage with a hybrid. The dealers won’t tell you this.

For example, I almost always have the energy screen on and am conscience of maximizing efficiency. I would guess that I am able to spend about 15-20% of the time running entirely on the battery system (with 99 mpg on the monitor). I always try to run the battery down as far as possible at the end of every trip. My goal is to get the battery charge indicator down to 2 bars (the 2 purple bars) when I park the vehicle. When you restart the vehicle the next time, the engine is going to run anyway for the first 5 minutes so it might as well be charging the battery also. I can usually get 1-2 free miles at the end of every trip by forcing it onto the battery system as much as possible before I park the vehicle.

I also just try to drive the speed limit as much as possible. Anything over 65 mph is a mileage killer. I live in central Wisconsin so the traffic is usually pretty light so I rarely need to speed just to keep up with traffic. I also rarely have anyone behind me on my routes (if I do, I increase my speed to about 5 mph over the speed limit). Driving the speed limit is a big change from how I drove in the past. From a practical standpoint though, on any trip under 2 hours, I only spend a few extra minutes and it makes a dramatic difference in mileage.

This summer, I only needed to use the air conditioner for a few days (fairly cool summer in WI). The AC reduces mileage quite a bit. On hills, I also try not to use the cruise control. It reduces mileage when the engine revs up to maintain speed on the uphill and then doesn’t take maximal advantage of the downhill. At stoplights, I accelerate at a normal, moderate pace up to speed and then try to get on the battery as soon as possible. I don’t do any of the more advanced “hypermiling” techniques – pulsing, etc..

There are a couple advantages to “hybrid-friendly driving” that I would have never anticipated. First of all there is the fun factor. It is kind of fun to try to manipulate the car to maximize efficiency. It makes driving more interesting for me to watch the monitor and try to maximize the time I spend on the battery.

I also am much more relaxed driving a hybrid. I use to be the aggressive driver – trying to get there as fast as possible, pushing the speed limit to the limit, aggressively passing slower vehicles, fast starts from every traffic light, trying to always be in the fastest lane, etc.. Now I have a much more relaxed attitude about driving. Maybe I get there a few minutes later but I don’t care anymore. I have a fast paced, hectic job. Driving can actually be relaxing. It took a hybrid to teach me this.

The bottom line is that it is definitely possible to get very good mileage with the Rx400h is you drive it properly and if you have hybrid-friendly driving routes. Knowing what I know now, I would not buy another hybrid if I spent most of my time on the freeway. I would also not buy a hybrid for my wife because she wouldn’t be interested in driving it properly. I bet the dealers get lots of complaints about poor mileage from people that haven’t figured this out. Even for me, the financial payback for the hybrid is pretty long with current gas prices. My mileage also drops to about 26-27 mpg for about 3-4 months in the Wisconsin winters. I will be very satisfied though with the vehicle if it remains dependable and if the batteries last 10 years or so.

[cduluk]

holy! Congrats!

I'm averaging about 22mpg- i am a lead-foot driver though...

[RX400h]

Congratulations! Those are some excellent tips. While we average only 24.5 MPG, I have to take some of the blame when I blast past X5s and Cayennes every now and then. Still, a new Volkaswagon Rabbit averages 24 MPG with just 170 HP and a lot less weight, so I don't feel too bad.....

[timecop]

Pretty cool summary.

Just last week I was able to get 13.5 km/l (31.7mpg) by driving mostly highways @ local speed limit (80kmh), and crap roads (~50km/h) 98% of the time on cruise control.

I also noticed using cruise control really helps mileage (there are no hills here, so that part is not a problem).

But I guess I didn't go the extra mile of trying to kill the battery down before parking - thats a nice observation.

Totally agree with relaxed driving - I used to do the same thing, now it doesn't really matter :P

[removeum]

Just remember that the traction battery like in the Prius works best between 70 & 80 degrees. I am currently averaging between 27.8 & 30 mpg here in El Paso, TX. If you just set your a/c to auto, recirculate, and between 74 and 76 degrees you should not see a hit IMHO. B)

[SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME]

Just remember that the traction battery like in the Prius works best between 70 & 80 degrees. I am currently averaging between 27.8 & 30 mpg here in El Paso, TX. If you just set your a/c to auto, recirculate, and between 74 and 76 degrees you should not see a hit IMHO. B)

+1

... and way to go jrober !! Yes, we too have achieved over 30mpg (AWD version) in our 400h. The peculiar thing imo, is how Lexus drivers think about mpg. Most don't care about that, compared to power ... comfort ... amenities, etc. Yes, lots of gripes when EPA estimates were over stated, but (unlike many Prius drivers) it's not so high on the list, in comparison.

[removeum]

SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME.

From your picture it appears you have either an 04 or 05 Prius. I also have AWD Rx 400h and a 07 Prius.

[SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME]

SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME.

From your picture it appears you have either an 04 or 05 Prius. I also have AWD Rx 400h and a 07 Prius.

Nice combo, eh?

;)

Our next door neighbors have a Gen I (2002) Prius, with the Highlander hybrid for a 2nd vehicle ... and yep, your right, our Gen II Prius is the 2004. Here's a picture of my best tank full of gas (from just last month) ... showing both the range, as well as average mpg:

http://usera.imagecave.com/w4abj/HybridStuff/9-14-09mpg.jpg

But in the 400h, the best tankfull average was 31.0mpg

[subdewd]

Great post and I concur,

How does one go about running the traction Bat down as you stated?

Been trying my best but rarely does it get below 1/2 or so.

As stated fro a vehicle this size and weight it's good to see

anything over 20mpg much less 25-30.

I niotice the "wife effect" as well. One more way

we creatures differ!

[lemon]

In the summer I was getting 8.2 l/100km (28.68 U.S. mpg). Since the cold weather has arrived (and the winter gas at the pumps - ugh) my mileage has dropped (or increased..??) to 9.8 l/100km (23.9 mpg). I also find it much harder to keep the vehicle in electric mode with the cold weather. Just a little push on the gas pedal and the ICE seems to want to kick in. Oh well, 23.9 is still pretty good all things considered.

[aus_rx400h]

In the summer I was getting 8.2 l/100km (28.68 U.S. mpg). Since the cold weather has arrived (and the winter gas at the pumps - ugh) my mileage has dropped (or increased..??) to 9.8 l/100km (23.9 mpg). I also find it much harder to keep the vehicle in electric mode with the cold weather. Just a little push on the gas pedal and the ICE seems to want to kick in. Oh well, 23.9 is still pretty good all things considered.

My Better Half drive conservatively and she is getting 7.3L/100km which is equivalent to 32.22mpg. I'm getting a touch higher between 7.5-8.5L which is excellent economy for the size and weight of this vehicle.

[vinovelo]

Here is my mileage for the last 2000 miles on my 2008 Rx400h – 32.5 mpg.

I think my mileage success is related to having hybrid-friendly driving patterns and also to good driving technique. This 2000 miles included about 75% city driving and 25% highway - freeway driving. I use the cheapest, lowest octane gasoline that they sell.

My work commute is about 20 minutes on country and city roads with a maximal speed limit of 55 mph. I only have a few stop signs and stoplights so I don’t have a lot of stop and go driving. I rarely need to take 5-10 minute trips, which reduces mileage considerably. My usual 20 min commute is ideal for getting the battery charged up and then being able to maximize the use of the electric motors for the last 10 min at the end of the ride.

My driving technique is quite different now than it was in the past with non-hybrid vehicles. You definitely have to earn good mileage with a hybrid. The dealers won’t tell you this.

For example, I almost always have the energy screen on and am conscience of maximizing efficiency. I would guess that I am able to spend about 15-20% of the time running entirely on the battery system (with 99 mpg on the monitor). I always try to run the battery down as far as possible at the end of every trip. My goal is to get the battery charge indicator down to 2 bars (the 2 purple bars) when I park the vehicle. When you restart the vehicle the next time, the engine is going to run anyway for the first 5 minutes so it might as well be charging the battery also. I can usually get 1-2 free miles at the end of every trip by forcing it onto the battery system as much as possible before I park the vehicle.

I also just try to drive the speed limit as much as possible. Anything over 65 mph is a mileage killer. I live in central Wisconsin so the traffic is usually pretty light so I rarely need to speed just to keep up with traffic. I also rarely have anyone behind me on my routes (if I do, I increase my speed to about 5 mph over the speed limit). Driving the speed limit is a big change from how I drove in the past. From a practical standpoint though, on any trip under 2 hours, I only spend a few extra minutes and it makes a dramatic difference in mileage.

This summer, I only needed to use the air conditioner for a few days (fairly cool summer in WI). The AC reduces mileage quite a bit. On hills, I also try not to use the cruise control. It reduces mileage when the engine revs up to maintain speed on the uphill and then doesn’t take maximal advantage of the downhill. At stoplights, I accelerate at a normal, moderate pace up to speed and then try to get on the battery as soon as possible. I don’t do any of the more advanced “hypermiling” techniques – pulsing, etc..

There are a couple advantages to “hybrid-friendly driving” that I would have never anticipated. First of all there is the fun factor. It is kind of fun to try to manipulate the car to maximize efficiency. It makes driving more interesting for me to watch the monitor and try to maximize the time I spend on the battery.

I also am much more relaxed driving a hybrid. I use to be the aggressive driver – trying to get there as fast as possible, pushing the speed limit to the limit, aggressively passing slower vehicles, fast starts from every traffic light, trying to always be in the fastest lane, etc.. Now I have a much more relaxed attitude about driving. Maybe I get there a few minutes later but I don’t care anymore. I have a fast paced, hectic job. Driving can actually be relaxing. It took a hybrid to teach me this.

The bottom line is that it is definitely possible to get very good mileage with the Rx400h is you drive it properly and if you have hybrid-friendly driving routes. Knowing what I know now, I would not buy another hybrid if I spent most of my time on the freeway. I would also not buy a hybrid for my wife because she wouldn’t be interested in driving it properly. I bet the dealers get lots of complaints about poor mileage from people that haven’t figured this out. Even for me, the financial payback for the hybrid is pretty long with current gas prices. My mileage also drops to about 26-27 mpg for about 3-4 months in the Wisconsin winters. I will be very satisfied though with the vehicle if it remains dependable and if the batteries last 10 years or so.

This is an excellent post and accurately describes conditions vs results for this vehicle. Myself I have gotten as low as about 22-23 hot footing it in stop & go traffic or at high highway speeds and as high as 33.5 once when caught in terrible traffic over a 100+ mile trip where there was not a lot of stop and go but very slow and rolling speeds. Yes, short trips kill mileage just as a non-hybrid vehicle.

You are right about the feeling as well. The combination of the CVT tranny and the engine switching off does indeed have a calming effect under bad traffic conditions. In my other vehicles I get steamed knowing I am grinding my tranny up and just wasting fuel in traffic. There are some things that bother me about the hybrid system such as no economy mode, but it does give reasonable fuel mileage and the smooth power delivery is very good.

I have nick names for my vehicles. My Miata (old 94 HIGHLY modified) is named Sparky, the RX400h....Prozac.

/Steve

[Jim Clark]

My wife was using the RX400h in her commute which was the great majority of the miles being put on the car. It is a combination of highway and city/town driving, mostly highway but often a slow speeds due to traffic. We were getting about 28 mpg according to the car's computer. But you need to do a manual calculation, the computer calculation on our Prius tends to be higher than the manual calculation.

But even if it was only 25 mpg actual for the RX, that's quite good for a big SUV with lots of power.