[bwilson4web]

Hi,

I picked up our 2010 Prius from the dealer and here is my initial data:

speed	MPG
50	65.3
60	61.2
65	54.8
70	52.5
75	49.4

Due to traffic, these were fairly short runs, 5.2-14.3 miles, 82-86 F, wind from West-North-West, ~15 mph, steady, Shell 89 octane E10. As I get time to refine and repeat my runs, I'll expand the speed range and accuracy. Raw data:

direction	MPG	speed	distance
E	65.3	50	5.2
N	58.3	60	8.1
S	64.1	60	8.2
N	55.3	65	7.9
S	54.2	65	8.2
E	57.1	70	14.3
W	47.9	70	13.2
E	51.6	75	10.5
W	47.1	75	14.3

To put things in perspective, I get 39 MPG with my NHW11, 2003, at 75 mph. The high speed performance is significantly improved. The lower speed is OK but not as good as expected. After I get a chance to audit the tire pressure, check alignment, and oil level, I'll repeat the tests. Note the higher temperature means these are somewhat 'optimistic' values.

Vehicle observations:

• steering felt like there was a little mechanical friction, not so 'figity neutral'
• road tire noise a little louder than expected
• seats are OK but a little padding would help
• accelerator uses the plastic beam, is different from NHW20
• No evidence of Eco mode having a cruise control effect
• Speed indicates about +1 mph compared to GPS and tripmeter
• Belkin FM modulator for iTouch worked but a lot of volume required

Bob Wilson

[bwilson4web]

Later, I ran some hill climb tests:

mph	MPG	gal
55	19.1	0.0681
65	18.1	0.0718
77	16.6	0.0783
84	15.4	0.0844

At 84 mph, the engine was pretty much running at 5,200 rpm all the way up. But I need another higher speed run to see if the MPG improves as the traction battery supplies the extra energy. But it was dark, 11:30 PM and it was getting just a little too exciting. Maybe Sunday morning.

Bob Wilson

[bwilson4web]

Trying to run out of gas, on flash, it went:

• 122.1 mile
• 56.6 MPG
• 2.156 gallons, 1.6 gallons in handbook

The only indication I got of a problem was "electric steering error" icon flashed up. No sure what it was, I pulled over and put my spare gallon in. The error indication cleared and I was off to fill-up.

I drove to the "Pure" gas station that claims to sell straight-gas and filled 11.287 of 87 octane. Then for the first time, I checked the tires and oil level:

• 39 psi - left front
• 40 psi - right front
• 35 psi - left rear
• 35 psi - right rear
• +0.25" over top pip

I normalized all tires to maximum sidewall pressure, 44 psi. Later, when the engine cools, I'll drain out enough to bring the oil level to between the top and bottom pips.

Bob Wilson

[jdenenberg]

Bob,

What tire model and size came with your 2010?

JeffD

[bwilson4web]

'prius III - 15"

[Jason]

Bob! That's the first time you referred to a Prius by its generation rather than its model number. I like!

[bwilson4web]

Not to cause any grief, they come in four different 'feature sets:'

• Prius II - basic, 15" wheels
• Prius III - added $1,000 for the nicer radio (cheapest version I was offered)
• Prius IV - solar powered, sun roof
• Prius V - everything nicer than but does not include sun roof, 17" wheels

My Prius generations are:

• NHW10 - 1997-2000, sold in Japanese configuration, 1.6L (4,000 rpm)
• NHW11 - 2001-2003, sold in Japan, USA and smattering of others, 1.6L (4,500 rpm)
• NHW20 - 2004-2009, wide-spread sales but really bought in the USA and Japan, 1.6L (5,000 rpm)
• EVW30 - 2010-*, yippie! 1.8L (5,200 rpm)

I prefer to reference Prius by the unambiguous model versus the USA centric Gen. 1, 2, or 3. Although I am computer literate and can handle counting Gen 0, it gets a little ... culturally biased and does not show my respect for the Japanese pioneers.

Bob Wilson

ps. Nice catch on the SPAMer ... I got the e-mail version. Can we setup the e-mail notification to be delayed long enough that SPAM can be caught and not passed on?