Not new here, but traded my new car, for a different new car. (Impreza -> Prius)

[Drive Stick]

Hello, I'm not new here I was active a while back, and have been reading occasionally.

I bought a 2011 Subaru Impreza 2.5i last year, but I was only getting avg of 25 mpg mixed. 30 of a best with really babying it, all highway. A few years ago I was a passenger in a car accident that to make a long story short has made it painful to keep operating a clutch pedal until I get some sort of corrective surgery. That being said, I wanted better MPG, more trunk space, and a payment relatively the same.

So, yesterday I traded my 11' Impreza for an 11' Prius leftover. I hope to double my gas mileage, and hopefully this car lasts over 200k miles. All my Subaru's did, so I hope the Toyota does also. I will miss my AWD but for the amount of days I actually needed it, it's not worth dealing with the frictional loss on a daily basis in the form of reduced mpg.

I don't know much about Hybrids, this is my first so it will be a learning experience. Any tips from Hybrid users, or knowledgeable people on maximizing my fuel economy with this car would be grateful.

I used to enjoy neutral coasting, engine off coasting, and shifting at 2k rpms with my stick cars, but this one is so different I can't immediately figure out what can be done to make sure I get high mileage.

Generic picture of the car, I pick it up Friday. Blue

[MetroMPG]

Wow, congrats. You're going to have fun!

Toyota's HSD drivetrain is the only "automatic" transmission I enjoy driving as much as a manual. The Prius is a rolling video game.

There are plenty of Prius drivers around here to give you tips. If you're planning to start a new thread looking for advice, make sure to use a descriptive thread title to get their attention. (Hope you don't mind I added a few words to this one.)

If you had fun coasting your Subie, you're going to love the "automated" coasting & engine-off coasting ability of the Toyota, just by modulating the accelerator.

As for reliability, everything I've read about the Prius says they're pretty bullet-proof - maybe Toyota's most reliable car? (Don't quote me on that.)

[Daox]

Congrats on the Prius, it really is an amazing vehicle right out of the box. Of course its still fun to play with it.

If you were getting 30 mpg out of your Subaru you shouldn't have much trouble hitting 50+ with the Prius, especially in summer.

I would suggest getting a scangauge II. The info it provides along with the x-gauges are quite helpful for driving the Prius and giving you more info to work with.

[Drive Stick]

Sorry I posted in the wrong section, and the title is great I don't mind thank you!

MetroMPG little do you know, but following your project is one of the big things that got me interested in hybrids, and lead me to my current vehicle purchase.

Thanks for reminding me of the Scangauge also Daox, is there a good place to buy one?

[MetroMPG]

Which project? The Insight pack refurbishment? That's great - I think there's probably a ton of cross-polination of projects & car choices all over EcoModder.

Shameless commercial plug: you can get a ScanGauge here. (Feel free to shop around, and if you find a better price, let me know.)

[Drive Stick]

The forkenswift metro, seeing an electric motor go into a car made me think real hard about what I am driving and what I'd like to be driving. I realize that was an EV but its what made me think of getting a hybrid car to utilize both for distance, and mpg combined.

[kurzer]

just drive and enjoy, the slower, the better. but if u want to squeze out the last drop, there is a lot to do. i´ll try to make a list of things to learn, in reasonably order:

1. understand the hybrid stages, if u have to drive a longer distance, head for S4 asap

2. accel fast, go slow

3. long, light braking is better than short and hard.

4. keep it warm

5. drive ultra short trips without cold start all elektric

...

[Drive Stick]

What does S4 mean?

Unfortunately I don't live in a city, all my drives are between 7-200 miles so it's mostly a highway car which should be great for longevity (I hope.)

Does anybody have a baby seat in the back (rear facing?) Wondering if it's gonna cause the passenger to be smooshed up front because I'm tall the baby seat won't fit behind me in any car usually. lol

[Daox]

There are warm up stages the Prius goes through when it is turned on. Each different stage allows you to do slightly different things and effects if the engine stays on or turns off. Here is an explination:

http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/five-stages.txt

[Drive Stick]

You guys are the best thank you for that link, I have a lot to learn and I'm eager to do so.

Another funny thing, since I test drove the Prius, I have noticed there are a lot of them on the road, something that happens to all people once they have a car in their mind they see it everywhere. I'll post a picture tomorrow after I get home though I know all of you know exactly what it looks like, lol.