I finally broke 100 miles per gallon!
Due to the high-mileage and age of my wife’s Pontiac Sunfire, we decided that it was finally time to cash in our “saving for a new car” fund. We looked around to find something that would be fuel-efficient, and that we could afford, and ideally ALSO be able to run on alternative fuels.
So, we ended up buying a 2004 Prius, which just also happened to have a Hymotion battery pack installed in it. It’s the new family car – a station wagon that happens to get good fuel economy. It’s got the baby seat in back.
Today, I got to borrow the car to drive all by myself to a study group I’m part of. I forget to check everything over on the way out, but on the return trip, I remembered to reset the trip odometer and scangague, so I could get info on just my driving back from this event.
The whole drive home, the Prius real-time display was pegged at 99.9mpg – the highest fuel economy it can display. Good thing I also had the ScanGauge handy. By the time I got home, it read 130 mpg for the trip!
Interestingly, when I track how much electricity my Electro-Metro uses, and convert it to eMPG, it usually comes to right about 130 mpg!
Anyways, I was pretty excited to OFFICIALLY have gotten over 100 miles-per-gallon in real-world driving!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s unfortunate that Hymotion no longer sells consumer conversion kits, as I have a 2009 Prius myself.
Questions:
1) How long was the trip?
2) What kind of terrain?
3) What was your average speed?
4) How many stops & starts?
Hi Samuel!
The trip was 9.9 miles over a range of 25, 35, 45 mph zones. Most of the trip was going between 35 and 45 mph. The terrain was rolling hills in an area going around lakes, so there are curves and up and down, but no major changes in overall altitude, other than one very large and long hill near the end of the trip.
Average speed was probably about 38mph. I’ve noticed that the car cruises very well on just electric between 25 and 42 mph. Above 42, it becomes harder to keep the engine off. (I believe that the engine physically spins at that point, not using gas, but wasting energy just to move the parts.)
For stops and starts, there was a stop sign as I left the parting lot (right hand turn), but then I had right-of-way most of the rest of the trip. There is one major traffic light that I was on the secondary road of, so that one, a person usually has to stop for. After the large hill, there is a stop sign where cross traffic doesn’t have to stop, and it’s the larger road, and a left hand-turn. After that, it’s just two more right hand turns that only require slowing with rare chance of yeilding, before getting back to my house.
Weather was also nice. It was sunny and 60 degrees. About medium traffic in general for the time and location. I was at the location several hours, but since it was nice weather, and the Prius has that “Themos” bottle coolant tank, coolant was up to temperature quickly.
Overall, it’s a good route, in that it does have minimal stops, medium speeds, and about the right distance. I can get there AND back within the useful range of one charge of the Hymotion pack.
I got 116 MPG driving to my night class a few nights ago. I didn’t have any juice for the return trip, so I only got 71 mpg on the return trip, using the same route.