Prius MPG

Latest Toyota Prius MPG Data

This page contains regular updates on the fuel economy (mpg) of my second generation, 2006, Toyota Prius. Readers who have visited this blog before will know that I used to publish individual posts, sometimes weekly, sometimes fortnightly, on the mpg I had recorded for the period. Looking to the future, I will be updating the content of this single, dedicated web page with my latest fuel economy figures and data.

Method of Recording MPG

With hindsight I realise the method I previously used was flawed. At the end of every week I would press the "Consumption" button on the Prius LCD panel and note the Average MPG figure displayed. I would then plot this on a chart in my spreadsheet, alongside other relevant data like temperature range, tyre pressure, etc. After doing this for many weeks I questioned why, when I had taken off the roof bars, did I not see a step change (improvement) in recorded mpg? Only then did it dawn on me that the Average MPG figure displayed on the Prius LCD panel was a cumulative figure spanning the time frame since it was last reset. Clearly this time frame could cover a huge variety of driving conditions. Needless to say that after this realisation I changed tack and here is a summary of my new method for recording mpg:
  1. Run the fuel tank down to one bar on the Prius fuel gauge then refuel.
  2. Immediately after refueling press the "INFO" button on the Prius steering wheel to display the" Energy Monitor" screen on the Prius LCD panel.
  3. Press the "CONSUMPTION" button on the LCD panel
  4. Note down the "Average MPG" figure displayed at the bottom of the screen.
  5. Press the "RESET" button at the bottom of the screen.
  6. Record the data in a spreadsheet and plot mpg over time.
  7. Repeat the above sequence once the tank of fuel has been used.
 I hope that is clear.  If not then please comment below and I'll respond.

Prius MPG Results (Updated on 15-Apr-2013)

MPG Table

The table records the related data to put the mpg figure in context. The latest row of data is appended to the bottom of the table.


MPG Chart

The mpg chart plots the recorded Prius mpg against time. Perhaps some trends may appear over time. The latest mpg data is plotted on the right-most part of the chart.

2 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading your commentary on the Prius, but was puzzled by the "mpg" numbers. I guess they make sense in the UK, but they're confusing to us who live in other countries. Do you have anyway to standardise the numbers so we can figure out what they mean? "Km/litre" would likely be the most useful. If not, then a simple hint on how to convert the UK values to metric would also help, especially since we have no way of knowing what kind of "miles" or "gallons" you're using. Thanks!

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  2. Hi and thanks for your comment. I have now added a new page called "MPG Converter". You can click on it from the menu under the header. You can see how to convert the UK mpg that I use here in Scotland to metric km/l. For my USA readers they can see details on converting UK to US gallons. Good point though - appreciated!

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