I have a question about Hybrids

[DainBramaged]

Do the Honda and Toyota get better mileage with air off and the windows open? Real world and not "I get 44MPG" without any real testing on your part. Everyone who owns one is smart (?). I would have checked 6 ways to sunday if I owned one.

And don't use the Mythbusters examples.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear DainBramaged...

My guess would be that the mileage wouldn't be improved by doing those things...

I have a Toyota Camry Hybrid, and the mileage is only fair....28-30 mpg around town with a little freeway driving.

Opening the windows increases the draft, and that decreases your mileage, I think!

:hi:

[DainBramaged]

2. Well. the Mythbusters said it improves it

Driving with windows down as opposed to up improves millage. Of course you'd have to try it in the cooler fall.


And 28-30 MPG is nothing to sneeze at in a larger car than the Preeus.

[jobycom]

14. The Camry's not much bigger than the Prius.

It's got five cubic feet more in interior passenger volume, mostly in width (meaning about three to four inches wider in the seats). The Prius is bigger than it looks.

http://www.carsdirect.com/research/compareresults?cat=6&acodes=USB70TOC161A0,USB70TOC201A0

[DainBramaged]

3. Damn no takers?????

Hybrid community zero. I REALLY thought you hybrid owners checked your millage 6 ways to Sunday.

Oh well. Except for defending them on principle, I guess we have no rocket scientists here.:shrug:

[redqueen]

4. i don't have a hybrid

but i sure do enjoy tracking my mileage.

i'll have to do the windows up / down thing a few times and see what i see. i love driving with the windows down, so i hope they were right

[SacredCow]

5. I don't have one either....

But every fill-up I write the gallons, mileage, and the resulting MPG in a little spiral notebook I keep in my glove box.

Yes, I'm obsessive-compulsive but it's a good way to remind yourself to keep your tires inflated properly, etc... I've never done the windows open test. I'm sorry, but in South Louisiana that's just NOT an option most of the time.

[redqueen]

6. i make a spreadsheet out of it

track my monthly fuel costs, mileage, etc.

ocd maybe, but harmless :)

[SacredCow]

9. Wow....

And I though I was obsessive!

That's basically what I tell those who question my mileage recording- "Yes, it's an obsession but it's a small and harmless one. So have a big helping of MYOB!!!!" LOL

[redqueen]

29. hehehehehehe

if i'm gonna do somethin, i'm goin all out! :P

[La Lioness Priyanka]

15. nice to see you back!

[redqueen]

28. Thank you!

:hi:

Nice to be back :)

[Initech]

7. I've been looking at the Prius and the Civic Hybrid extensively.

I love both cars, but I don't think it will be feasible for me to get one (the quote I got from the Toyota dealer was somewhere in the upper 20's with taxes and fees). As far as the mileage goes, Consumer Reports said that the Prius returned on average 44MPG while the Civic Hybrid returned 37MPG on average.

[Writer]

11. We own a civic hybrid.

My husband averages about 42 mpg. With A/C. The civic hybrid has climate control. :)

[Initech]

31. I like the Civic Hybrid a lot.

But with all the amenities I want (navigation, etc) it will come out to somewhere around $23,000, It wouldn't be bad if I could get a decent quote on it, but so far both the Honda and Toyota dealers I've talked to wont budge on either one's pricing.

[jobycom]

13. Consumer Reports is often not very reliable.

I've worked in industries they've done studies on before, and their recommendations are often very poor.

Our 04 Prius averages around 46 mpg city, 50 highway (driven at 65). You can tank the mileage by driving like a demon. I've driven the Civic. It handles a little better in turns, and has a better safety rating. The Prius beat it in every other category. It's very roomy, has a large carrying capacity, cruises well on longer distances, and has a great service record, so far.

[Zoigal]

8. Get 46-47 mpg on our

'05 Prius not using the AC. Normally use the AC fan instead of rolling down the windows. And yes, we
keep records of our mileage, gas consumption, mpg, etc. Absolutely no problems with the Prius so far.
30,000 miles. Hope this helps a bit.

[jobycom]

10. The Prius has an electric compressor.

Thus, it is not a drag on the engine, only on the batteries. I've never driven it with the windows down, but I've driven it with the vents open instead of the AC (during winter--I'm in Texas, so that's the only time cool enough). I don't notice a major difference, though mileage may go down a small amount during the hottest part of summer.

When it does drop is during the coldest parts of winter, though. When the temp is around forty or lower, mileage tanks. I've heard this is because the cold saps the batteries.

The Prius is very loud and unpleasant with the windows down at highway speeds.

That's all I got. :shrug:

[DainBramaged]

17. THAT'S GREAT and plenty

I didn't realize it has an electric compressor. Also, it gets butt chilly cold here December through February, so winter might not be a good idea on hybrid use. That's an even more important question, winter use and the effect on millage (your millage may vary LOL). Saturn makes a nice Hybrid crossover (shared GM platform, Vue/Equinox and the rest of the brand knockoffs) and I may lean toward one if my beloved Blazer gives up the ghost.

[jobycom]

20. The winter mileage

is still better than any other cars I know. It falls to the mid forties, not the mid teens. :)

[kwassa]

12. in regular cars

mileage decreases with the air off and the windows open because opening the windows creates drag. The car is far less aerodynamic.

[LSK]

16. it depends how fast you are going

If you are just going like 35 mph, the difference has to be minimal. The faster you go, the more the drag is a factor.

The other factor is how much more the engine has to work to get the AC compressor going.

[DainBramaged]

18. Mythbusters (Discovery Channel) proved you (and me) wrong they tried it

better millage windows open with or without air off. Go figure.

[jobycom]

22. Sort of. They tried SUVs driven at 45 MPH on a circular track.

For safety reasons, they couldn't go faster than 45. So the speed was low, and the drag from the windows was less on the outside turn side than the inside.

The computer model, which they did not duplicate, showed that the AC would get better mileage than open windows. So I don't think it was as conclusive as they argued.

They'd have to try several body styles, at highway speeds, on a highway, to get a better understanding. The Prius, for instance, is designed to have a minimal coefficient of drag. Opening the windows on a Prius might create a greater increase in the CoD than doing so on a land barge, which already has a high CoD.

Anyway, I think it's safe to say that most cars would get better mileage at lower speeds without running the AC.

[kwassa]

23. I'm just saying what my daddy told me .....

he worked for GM in management for 30 years, and is a smart, knowledgeable guy.

I was surprised to discover that, though. He was saying that the drag was optimized for 55 mph with the assumption that the windows were closed.

[jobycom]

26. Well, that's why it's called "mythbusters"

:) They try to determine whether commonly held ideas and beliefs are true. Only in this case, I think there were some problems with their tests.

And they used computer models to test the drag on the SUVs before driving them. The computer models showed that the windows up should be better than them down. On their track, though, they got the opposite results.

[DainBramaged]

33. Applause for your Dad, Bravo

:toast: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[Beaverhausen]

19. If you are on the freeway, run the AC- the windows open will create too much drag

but in town, I think not running it will give you better mileage.

I get better mileage in my Prius on the freeways then I do in the city, which is contrary to what the company says about their mileage estimates. So, what do I know?

[redqueen]

27. awwwww

i'm in texas, but i much prefer loud wind to a/c

darnit x(

[MemphisTiger]

21. Doesn't matter what car yo have keep the windows up at

highway speeds and you'll get better mileage with the air on than down without it on. It has to do with aerodynamics.

[Taverner]

24. Strangely enough, AC or Windows have no effect on my Prius

Same mileage, whether the AC is running or not. I also don't take an engine power hit like I did on ICE cars.

HOWEVER, the weather does make a difference. Colder the weather, the worse the mileage.

[DainBramaged]

34. Thanks, best answer for me, thank you

[SCDem]

25. My Honda Civic Hybrid gets better gas mileage with windows down

and AC off - I can stay up in the 50s (miles per gallon) if I drive super efficiently and keep my AC off - but this past week I have had my AC on and my mileage is more 46-48.

[redqueen]

30. My Kia Rio gets an average of 31 mpg

Just wanted to say that... cause I like to. :7

[Downtown Hound]

32. I had a 2005 Prius

I sold it so I could go back to school. I consistently got 48-52 MPG averages. A few times it dipped to 44, and sometimes it would go as high as 56. It was a great car and I miss it, but education is important.

[DainBramaged]

35. But just the fact you got millage in the mid-forties is great

There is not one vehicle in the GM stable that gets high 30's. Even a sweat and shift Aveo in mid thirties. And a better quality up-scale Cobalt with AC matches it. Actually, (now that I think about it) the 185 HP SS Cobalt (non-supercharged) beats it (if you can keep your foot out of the grin pedal).