Prius has terrible mileage for first 10 minutes?
 

Had sorta decided to go with a Prius next and was doing the usual researching when I came across a thread at Priuschat that stated the Prius gets horrible, 20-30 mpg during the first 10 to 15 minutes after start up. So if your daily commute is around that, mine is 20 minutes, that the Prius may not be a good choice.
I trust the people on Ecomodder, so could anyone give me their feedback on this topic?:confused:

If I were you I would go with the plug-in pruis and go on all electric. I had a chance to drive my mom's Pruis and I achieved 55 mpg on a cold start in an under 15 minute drive in an urban area. I think i could have achieved greater mileage but I hit every red light possible and did not even mess with tire pressure ect. 55mpg isn't that bad for a first drive is it?

No vehicle gets its best mileage after a cold start.

However, hybrids are particularly affected because they will not activate some of the fuel-saving hybrid functions (like automatically stopping the engine while coasting/stopped, or enabling EV mode at low speeds) until the engine coolant is up to a certain temperature.

The solution (whether hybrid or not) is to add a plug-in coolant heater (block heater), partial to full grille blocks, and a belly pan. Some people even add fire-proof insulation in the engine bay. Thermal management!

I'm sure other Prius/hybrid owners will chime in.

is this from the same people who drive a prius like a corvette and expect great mileage? my guess is there is more to the story of that prius only getting sub-30mpg. low tires, bad battery, poorly running engine, dumb driver, etc.

FWIW, top gear did a test a few years ago where a prius would race around the track as fast as possible and a bmw M5 IIRC would follow. the prius couldn't get away, go figure, and got 17mpg, the M5 got 23mpg.

Yes, and the BMW was drafting! But that's another story anyway.

As a Prius owner for the past 3 or so years, I can confirm "terrible" mileage with the first 5 minutes of driving, not 10 minutes though. I say "terrible" because its still above what average people get on a normal basis.

I have a commute that is just under 15 minutes (7 miles). My first bar on the Prius MFD (they're broken down in 5 minute segments) is normally around 25-30 mpg. By the time this bar is up, I've gotten up to temperature and can start EOCing if my speed is still below 40 mph. My second bar (minute 5 to 10) is normally around 75 mpg in summer (I travel a 45 mph road to work and its slightly downhill). My last bar, if it pops up, is normally pegged at 100+ mpg as I'm back into the neighboring town and doing under 40 mph where I can P&G.

So, for a 20 minute commute you won't have any issues.

As Dain said, ALL vehicles (besides PH/EVs) get horrible mileage in the first few minutes. This isn't really a hybrid specific thing. If normal cars had the same MFD as the Prius I'd bet they'd see a very similar thing.

A block heater can certainly help this, but I still rarely see 35+ mpg in the first 5 minutes unless my engine is already pretty warm. The one situation where I have seen high mpg in the first 5 minutes consistently is if I get in the car and almost immediately get up to a decent speed (45+ mph).

You do know how to get really great mpg on a 15-minute commute, don't you? Bike.

Yep! That was one of the perks I thought of when I took the job last year. I plan on doing some biking next year. I have to work up to it since I've had knee surgery, and I can't just go out and bike 7 miles the without a fair bit of pain.

Someone's been spending lots of time over at MMM. :)

(Not that you're not right.)

YeahPete's point is a good one: the Plugin Prius (PiP) would be a great choice for a short commute, as there is no warmup problem for an EV. A short charge at work (about an hour or a little more?) and you'd have a gas-free drive home, as well.