Some further reading:
http://www.toyota.com/html/hybridsynerg ... ng2004.pdf (near end of Spring 2004 newsletter)
* Prius Fuel Economy: Explaining the EPA Ratings
Toyota explains what the EPA ratings actually mean, and lists ways
to improve your MPG
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/toy ... sage/71431
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Pri ... ssage/2742
http://www.priusonline.com/viewtopic.php?t=1079
A brief description of the EPA test cycles is here:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/info.shtml#estimates
* Can I expect to get over 50MPG in the new Prius?
(see question #6):
http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/2005/prius/faq.html
* Prius Fuel Economy Factsheet:
http://www.toyota.com/images/vehicles/p ... conomy.pdf
More MPG tips are in the Prius User's Guide:
http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-userguide.htm
Gas Mileage Tips from the EPA:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml
There are also more MPG tips in your Owner's Manual.
I also suggest reading the following article (with plenty of citations
for source data):
http://www.bluewaternetwork.org/reports ... ehood2.pdf
"FUEL ECONOMY FALSEHOODS: How government misrepresentation of fuel
economy hinders efforts to reduce global warming and US dependence on
foreign oil" by the Bluewater Network, 2002
(BTW: it's more helpful if you tell us what your tire pressures are,
when you last had service (and how that went, i.e. what grade of oil
and how much did they put in), what the weather is like in your area,
the terrain, speed, and length of your usual trip, how much cargo you
usually carry, and what your temperature controls are set to...
along with your driving style, and how your previous vehicles fared
against their EPA numbers. there are a lot of factors. and dealers seem to like setting the tire pressures too low...)
There is a Prius MPG calculator for the Classic Prius, but
I don't think anyone has recalibrated it for the 2004+ Prius
yet, but it should give you some ideas where you might be losing your
fuel economy:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/toyota-prius/message/6299