Two weeks ago, five guys took a stock Toyota Prius and drove it for 1398 miles on one tank (12.78 gallons) of gas –- about 110 miles per gallon. Considering that a stock Prius going with the Interstate flow gets about 53 mpg and that a even a careful eco-driver going 55 mph can only get eke out something over 60 mpg, there might just be a lesson here. How did they do it?
“Pulse and Glide” is a technique worked out by Prius enthusiasts in which the car is first gently accelerated to 40 mph then permitted to coast back down to 30 mph while keeping the Prius’s electricity generator disengaged.
For those of you without Hybrid experience, it is helpful to know that on a Prius and similar vehicles a battery recharging generator is activated during deceleration. While this recharges the battery, it also cuts down on the distance one can coast by converting momentum into electricity. In the case of pulse and glide, the gentle acceleration does not require any electricity so allowing the generator to cut on during coasting simply wastes gasoline.
Related Comments (1)
This is totally great. I just bought my 2004 Toyota Prius Hybrid/Electric Vehicle, and I’m getting from 58mpg’s up to 74mpg’s, but now I will try your Pulse and Glide technique, I can’t wait. This is soo exciting. Have a great day!