bunka

I call the battle to meet or exceed published MPG numbers as..."Prius Envy" and it seems that a lot of people have acquired it. Many suffering from this growing bane on society often report their "achievements" based on what a display on the dash shows rather than the accurate model of manually calculating the results at each fill up. This is understandable as those suffering from Prius-Envy often don't think much past the end of their....prius...LOL!

MikeP

I've had my 300h for almost a year now. Getting the highest mileage I could was a challenge that I enjoyed. When the newness wore off, going through the required process of watching for the ev light and releasing the accelerator pedal became a chore. I was not enjoying the car which is actually fun to drive normally.

If I had one request to Lexus, I would ask them to raise the speed at which the gas engine kicks in. On normal roads here, the average speed is around 40mph, which means the gas engine starts. So if I do want to get the best fuel economy, I need to monitor the dash and continually lift my foot off the accelerator to maintain ev mode as much as possible. If the transition speed was set to around 45mph, there would be much less drama in extracting the best mpg's.

Driving "normally", I have been averaging around 33mpg. My trips are usually less than 5 miles with the AC on...........not the ideal for extracting the best fuel economy. I'm pretty satisfied when I consider how few other vehicle choices exist that offer the reliability, style, comfort, value and roomy accommodations of the ES 300h.

CurryPot

Accepted. 12 months of tracking on www.fuelly.com



The temperature in the morning is now below 60F, so the mpg is dropping. Farewell 42 mpg tanks, see you again next summer

Conclusion? 40 mpg EPA estimate is BS. What you see here is 12 months of consistent careful driving. Consumer Reports says to knock up to 20% off the EPA for hybrids making the EPA estimate 32 mpg.

That said, if you still believe EPA estimates, you need a check up from the neck up.

LexBob2

I saw that in CR.

55% of the hybrids tested have missed their EPA estimates by 10% or more.

28% of small turbo engine cars missed their estimates by 10% or more.

10% of conventional (gas) cars by 10% or more.

bunka

LOL - Thanks for the feedback. I don't think that 20% is the common concensus. It is just that SOME only get 20% and some think that "driving like granny" is what it takes to get the highest numbers when in reality, it comes down to the vehicle. We have a '06 HiHy can gets between 25 and 27 depending on who's driving and how far. It NEVER gets below 25MPG no matter how hard you dog it so that is a nice aspect but this time we are looking for the higher mileage so the wife doesn't need to fill up much and are even considering the 100MPG+ Honda Plug-In Hybrid since we are now up in the $40K price range for a car

ElliotB

Conclusion? 40 mpg EPA estimate is BS.

You are right! When the temperature is in the 60s, I easily exceed the EPA estimates on an average tank by 5% or more, and with the majority of the excursions I take that exceed 6 miles travelling distance by 20% or more!

Short trips typically don't give very good fuel efficiency for hybrids and the ES300h is no exception.

yumseyo

Hi all, 6ooomiles / 6 months on our 2013 es 300h now and overall average since we got it has been 37.3. I guess I should be happy from my 17 on my 08 GS350. (still miss my folding mirrors !!). I just got 38.1 on a few runs in an out of San Francisco !! BUT it is only a 12 mile run. Probably would get better if I drove it more and weather were warmer. No A/C on AND anytime I get into the city, I am playing with the EV button. They should have put the EV button on the steering wheel!!. Anyways, just wanted to put in my 2 cents..

video272

I have now gone through a full tankful of gas and got 42.3 mpg! On one trip I did over 50 mpg. Driving habits and tire pressure seem to be the difference. Higher mileage is also more obtainable with highway driving as opposed to stop and go local driving, in my experience. I had an HS250h prior to this car and now have 4 years of hybrid driving under my belt. The more you drive a hybrid the better your ability to increase the MPGs. Just reporting my 4 year experience. By the way, my wife cannot get the mileage that I get . She is in mid 30's so clearly a lot of this has to do with driving habits!

Frank1934

I am now at 10,000 mi and have consistently stayed at an average of 43mph in a wider variety of driving. Often lower or higher on an individual tank but I do not change the "average mpg" readout when I refill and this average continues to hold. I am in Florida, so no cold weather experience to report, and I do stay in ECO.

IS350atWOT

iTrader: (1)

That's great news Frank1934. I have been clearing my average at the start of each season. Over the summer months I averaged 40.4 mpg. I stay in ECO too. I thought that was pretty good considering how hot Arkansas got this summer. I'm looking forward to getting closer to your average over the fall months as it will be cooler.

Fly4u

This mirrors my experience with my '13 ES300h and previous '10 Ford Fusion Hybrid. A long freeway trip with some slowing to periodically engage all-electric drive yields a trip value of 24+ MPG. Short-haul jaunts with sufficient interval between segments to cool the engine/emissions systems realizes a huge penalty - more so with the Lexus than the Ford.

Overall I remain happy with the ES, though it may well be my last traditional hybrid. An electric with internal combustion assist for charging may be my next vehicle.

dfrancis2

I have 1200 miles on 2014 ES300h and I am only getting 32.4 miles to the gallon. I do live in hilly Asheville NC and most of my driving is city. I did have a Prius before so I thought I knew how to drive a hybrid. I use ECO mode. I know the extreme cold could be a factor, but my car is garaged. I have not read all the comments in this forum, but it is obvious that I am not alone. I love the way the car drives and believe that the blind spot monitor should be required on all cars. However in all of my previous cars I have exceeded mpg expectations. For example I would get 37mpg on the highway in my 2002 Volvo S40. I look forward to learning from the rest of you and hope to increase my mpg.

jollick

I have a 2013 ES300h that I purchased in January 2013. I have also experienced lower MPG in the cold weather, my car is also garaged. The engine will run to get to operating temperature and in the colder weather takes a little longer, also the batteries in all hybrids do not perform as well in the cold as in the warmer temperatures. During this colder than normal winter in GA I have been experiencing 32.5 to 35 MPG. In the summer I get 37 to 39 mpg. It is also hilly here which does not help. All in all great mileage for a large car.

Lexusxoxo

My husband and I drive to Vegas quite often and get around 38 mpg we have a 2013 with 6500 miles.
Last weekend we hand a loaner car it was a 2013 with 8000 miles and only got 34 mpg and we drove it exactly the same.. Not sure why one car is different from the other..

jim256

FYI, we also had a Prius (2010 model), over 3 years we averaged 54 on the car's computer, never reset the B counter. For comparison, I'm at 11 months on the 300h and 42 to date, ECO mode. New Bern, NC, not hilly & warmer.