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Driving Skills:

Without sacrifice to your need for speed, for assertiveness, to get to a bathroom quickly, other comforts, or whatever else you are afraid you will loose, you can easily add between five and ten miles per gallon to the already good gas mileage your Prius gets. 'K, keep your pants on ... for a moment: we have to do a little reading (read: "work") to get where we're going with this ... but really ... only a little.  The Prius, while tailored to look, feel, and behave more-or-less like a non hybrid car, is in fact an entirely different device. A few minor changes in our dance step -- our driving style -- can be easily adopted to get you to hybrid Zen, and let you relax, one with the machine-thing. Since these are skills, and differ from what you are used to in 'normal' cars, a little practice will be required at first, but soon the techniques will become second nature (and you'll have trouble driving your mother's Buick anymore).  This is not about tricks -- no hypermiling  goo-gah .... it is ............... just time to drive with our own particular, sensitive style!

•  SMOOTH AND PROGESSIVE operation of the pedals. This is as opposed to incremental or notchy application or release of the brake or the accelerator (throttle). This car knows the speed with which you push the pedals, and overrides all the hybrid's special conservation abilities if it thinks you're in an emergency situation. This is the most important, yet simplest of the Prius Driving Tools.
• Use the brake pedal the same way you use the gas. We have all learned that the auto's brake pedal has a non-functional region at the beginning of its travel; we subconsciously push briskly through this range until we feel resistence, and only then begin to modulate pressures. Not true in the Prius. As soon as you touch the pedal the regeneration ("regen") of electricity begins. The brake pedal can be smoothly and progressively modulated even through a yellow-light stopping maneuver once you get used to it.
• Accelerate briskly to minimize the time it takes to get up to speed. Not full throttle or anything, but use perhaps half when possible, because the bad gas mileage associated with acceleration isn't much worse if you push hard. So get that nasty bit over with as soon as possible.  The "consumption" screen can be used as a training tool for this:  keep pushing harder if the instant-mileage bar doesn't go down much more.
• Know when you want to coast - and how to. This may actually require planning ahead a little bit, but after a while it doesn't hurt so much. The reason this is important is that taking your foot completely off the gas actually applies the brakes a little bit. That's fine if you're headed for the brake pedal anyhow, but if you just want to coast down, contrary to common sense, you must keep the gas pedal pushed just the tiniest amount.  As you develop the sensual relationship I propose here, you can feel the difference when you think about it. Now you can utilize this feel to your benefit when you want to slow but have no intention of using brakes.  The "energy " screen can be used as a training tool for this:  when no arrows show, you are truly coasting.
• Don't assume that all braking goes into your batteries. It is the safest bet to consider any braking as waste!  Any excess electric power generated by stopping (regen), once the hybrid battery is fairly full, is spent as heat by the radiator. (The 'consumption' screen is not conclusive: don't trust the bastard it in this regard.)  Consequently, bleeding-off speed by coasting is always a better technique for maximizing the use of the energy you've already spent to get going ... than is any sort of braking.
• Neutral is your friend. In the Prius it is soooo easy to forget that there even is a neutral gear!  But neutral is cool.  Neutral can be selected for true coasting, for example, instead of barely touching the accelerator (a technique which many find difficult to suff with or learn). But more importantly, the "creep" function -- the ability to creep along without pushing the gas, just like any non hybrid with an automatic transmission -- uses valuable energy for that push. At any full-stop you can use Neutral or remember to push the brake pedal about half way down to turn off the electric motor. BTW, you can select D (or reverse) from N without pushing the brake pedal at all. Important note: Regeneration / elecric braking is disabled in N:  Select D for any and all braking.

• Avoid full stops when you don't need them.  It takes extra [gasoline] energy to re-start the gas engine ("ICE").  Usually it will turn off once you are at a full stop.  The power needed to restart the engine for acceleration can be saved every time you can roll a little ("California stop") at otherwise potential full-stops that will ultimately last less than a few seconds anyway. Keep the Prius rolling whenever you can.

Optimum Conditions:

Unfortunately we can't always control when and where we need to drive, but given our druthers it might help a little to know what the Prius likes and what it doesn't. Here are some general factors that can dramatically affect fuel efficiency.

• Cold starts at the beginning of the trip. The first five or eight minutes of driving, after the Prius has had a rest of several hours or more, will give very poor gas mileage; even worse with the heater on. Don't expect good numbers when commuting if you live ten minutes from work.  Prii need extensive stimulation -- daily -- to get warm, and this foreplay is neither optional, nor can it be rushed.  Once warm, many short cool-down stops don't consume extra fuel.  If you need to stop at eight stores, for example, it is better to do all them today than saving two for tomorrow, and a few more for the day after.
• 33 to 53 MPH. Here is our magical range. Many think that driving really slow saves fuel, but Prii are not optimized for 15 MPH communities. If you can plan a route, even a mile two longer, that permits this speed range, you may well find it worth your while. Both the onboard computers and hardware controlling the car are set for this speed.  Faster highway driving isn't all that bad -- parking lots are the worst. Above about 55 for a while and the Toyota Prius is no longer using its hybrid systems: it's become just a really fuel-efficient gas car (47 or so for a Gen II).
• Air conditioning off. Of course the A/C uses extra fuel, and of course we will turn it on whenever we like. But when in heating or fresh air modes, periodically check that the A/C button on the Climate display is not yellow: the car will sometimes turn that one on by itself, and you have to go switch it off if you don't need the cooling. Just because you switched it off yesterday does not mean it didn't override you today.
• Heating off. Prius heater sucks gas, especially for the first ten minutes from cold, unlike a non hybrid. Consciously and intentionally turn it off when you don't need it, otherwise the gas engine will burn fuel just in order to maintain some heat for your legs.

Care and Feeding:

While these critters are perfectly happy on a diet of regular fuel and 5000 mile services, a few maintenance items should be kept in mind as peculiar and especially important, to your Prius hybrid. Be very skeptical of dealer service. Their pompous know-it-all attitude is a deceptive cover for (profitable) institutionalized ineptitude. Whenever possible use an independent shop which specializes in Toyota hybrids for your service and repair needs. Here a few key maintenance items related directly to good gas mileage.

• Tires, type. Use a top quality tire with a "low rolling resistance" rating. We recommend the Michelin 'HydroEdge' at our repair shop, Falconworks. Your dealer will sell you the junk Goodyear which came on the car from the factory, and make you think that's the only thing that will fit your magical car: Toyota must have some deal with the manufacturer - kickback or such - because that tire is far below Toyota's otherwise high quality standard. Have the Prius tires rotated as SELDOM as possible: unnecessarily rotating tires is bad for gas mileage and markedly shortens the life of the tires too.
• Tires, pressures. Keep these as high as possible. Check them monthly. Have your shop record and monitor tread-depths at Services (if they don't already), and ask them to use those to come up with the highest possible pressure-recommendation for your driving habits, tires, and conditions.  The higher the pressure the lower the fuel consumption.
• Fuel and additives. Hybrids seem to need fuel system cleaners a little more than conventional cars. While using a brand of fuel with cleaners may be helpful, inquire with your repair garage keeper about brands of in-tank injector-cleaners, and frequency of use. His/her experience with your particular Prius and your driving habits, if you are a loyal customer, will give good basis for a recommendation.
• Motor oil. Use only top quality semi-synthetic oil from a sealed container (no "bulk" oil), 5w30 weight, or less. There are only 3.8 quarts of it in your Prius engine: don't be cheap -- don't become rushed!  We have found that with gentle driving there is no harm, and a little mileage gain by using an oil blend of half 0w20 Moblie One and half 5w30 Castrol GTX.
• Hybrid drive oil. Use only top quality full-synthetic oil of the lightest grade your mechanic recommends. Change this no less often than each 30k miles. BEWARE:  of Toyota Dealer 30, 60, and 90k miles so-called 'Services' that DO NOT include this! (neither do they air-up your spare tire!)
• Whenever the engine races.  I ask you to push hard on the gas and get done with acceleration real fast, but that hard acceleration is bad for the gas engine when it is cold (first eight minutes after overnight sleep), or when the hybrid battery is low. But again, you can tell!  Sensual you! You can feel this in your partner when you hear its gas engine working unususally hard, even though you know you're hardly pushing it at all.  Just back off the gas and be gentle ... for a little while ... during recovery.  Soon it should stop racing.  If not, consult your mechanic/doctor.  This is recommended for engine health -- not for Prius gas mileage.

Features built-in to fake you into thinking it's not electric:

In review, here are the items you use all the time that are unique on your hybrid.  An appreciation of them helps us all to benefit fully from this highly advanced car.  For each of these four items Toyota knew what you'd expect, and feared it might freak you out if it behaved otherwise.  We understand ...

• Brake pedal feel is artificial.  It should actually look and feel like a gas pedal, since that's how it works.  Ultra-smooth gentle progressive application will overcome this (and more).
• 'Engine braking' from decelleration with your foot off the gas is actually braking, not coasting.  It should automatically go into coasting-mode when you let off the throttle: the engine is neither running nor hooked up.  Use neutral, or just barely touch the accelerator to overcome this.
• Creep from a standstill (like with both feet on the floor) is unnecessary.  Bogus feature.  There should be no pull forward when sitting at a red light, but it is there, and uses fuel, and you'll have to push the brake pedal about half way down when stopped, or select N to overcome this.
• The gas-guzzler starts up any time you accelerate more than a little.  It should wait til you're at 3/4 throttle then kick you in the butt.  Overcome this defect with [smooth] heavy throttle as soon as you feel the engine sneak in.

Using your EV Mode button (if fitted):

There are many parameters which need to met for the Prius to be driven in an all-electric state.  The most important of these is that the 'Electric Vehicle Mode' button has been fitted to your car.  Most Prius specialist independent repair shops can do this for you.  Then there are three parameters over which you have control which permit actuation (and many more which only the on-board computers manage):

1. Vehicle speed must be less than 34mph.
2. Accellerator must be less than 1/4 throttle.
3. Battery must be above 50% indicated.

You can select EV Mode at any time, and if it is accepted by the car a single beep will acknowledge.  If it is declined a three-beep error tone will result, and you can try again later.  Once EV Mode has been successfully entered, if the car boots it out later on (like if you speed up too much), you can attempt to re-enter EV Mode:  it will either accept, decline, or completely ignore your request.  No, the button is not broken.  But it will pretend to be for the duration of the "drive cycle", that is: until Ready Mode is exited and re-entered.

EV Mode is only beneficial to gas mileage at the end of a trip (or to take a very short trip, like moving the car out of the garage).  Since it prevents the gas engine from running, it eliminates the possibility of it starting the minute you reach up to hit the Power button to turn the car off, for example ... a time when you would never need it running.  Otherwise the car has no way to know when you're about to park and shut down, but the rest of the time the hybrid control systems manage the electric car aspects of operation far better than we mere mortals can.

I push the EV button when I enter the parking lot, get into the neighborhood on my way home, or about two or three minutes before I get to work.  For repositioning the car it is good too, push the EV button within seven seconds after the Ready light comes on, and (if all parameters are met!) the gas engine won't start, like while you move the car from the garage to street-parking.

Aero modifications:

Aerodynamic mods, like the perfectly contoured fender skirts seen above on my Gen2, are only of benefit for fuel efficiency at continuous speeds above about 60mph.  Many devices are available, and most unquantified by testing.  I assure you that few will pay for themselves during their nomal lifespan.  As example, I find my 75mph freeway mileage with rear fender skirts is 46.9, and 46.7 without.  It'll take a whole lot of highway miles to pay for those puppys.  For most folks' driving, the bone-stock car, driven properly, is the best bet ... even if my Prius is prettier than yours ...

If you'd like a pair, click here to order.

Bottom line:

Most all of us enjoy being touched in a gentle sensual way.   Even those who like it rough are angered by ambush from their partners:  Our Prius feels the same way -- dislikes surprise contact -- and will behave compassionately when approached with warning, respect, and rhythm no matter how hard or fast the action needs to be.  Gentle progressive release is every bit as important as is gentle approach.  I know this ... so do you ...

We have some footwork to learn.  A new dance.  That's really all.

So take off your boots ... do it ... and your pants;  Put on a skirt (or a kilt) ... or not;  turn off the display (Display>Screen Off);  move your seat back by exactly one click;  and enjoy life again.  If you then still aren't 100% satisfied (or are?), or have any car-question in the world, please post to our Facebook tips page ASAP, or drop me an email.