As we slide into winter and the MPGs start to drop, I have a month's-worth of November driving experience to help keep the MPGs up. In November, I covered 2,386 miles, and over the 5 fill ups in the month, I was able to average 40.8mpg. Here are some tips I found to minimize your MPG drop in addition to the standard hybrid techniques of pulse and glide, not gunning it at red lights, recognizing early and coasting to a stop, keeping speeds in check on the Interstate (if practical), etc.:
- Use ECO mode. This will help cut down on jack rabbit starts but it will also put your heater in ECO mode so it will (presumably) have less draw on the ICE. If you're worried about lack of power in ECO mode, don't be; you still have plenty of power if you put your foot down.
- Minimize use of the heater fan. This might be the biggest item to save gas. What I found that works well to keep the cabin warm is to turn on the fan to the lowest setting, set the temperature to 70 or 75, and then turn the fan off. Make sure the recirc is NOT turned on so you have air flow into the cabin. You can direct the air how you want (the defrost/floor combo or straight defrost works best for me), but I found, at least at any speed above 40mph, I have enough warm air coming into the cabin to keep things warm. EDIT: Pop your moon roof up and that will allow more warm airflow through the cabin. It will also help prevent your windows fogging up on the inside when it's really cold as your exhaled breath will be whisked out through the moon roof.
- Speaking of warmth, use the heated steering wheel and seat heaters (if equipped) to help keep you warm. That will draw power from the battery and not the ICE.
- Use pure, ethanol-free gas if it's a viable option. Pure gas is only $.05/gallon more than 10% ethanol gas here which is a 1.8% increase in price for an 8.9% increase in MPGs, so it makes sense economically for me.
- Minimize weight in your vehicle. If you don't need it in your vehicle, get rid of it.
- If you don't need snow tires, use your stock tires if you can get away with it. I've been through 5 or 6 snow storms since I purchased my Rav4H, and I found the stock Dunlops that came with the car and the AWD system have been able to handle everything I've encountered.
EDIT:
- Speaking of tires, keep an eye on your tire pressures. Make sure they're at least at the recommended setting if not a bit higher. If you set your pressure in a heated garage, remember to take into account the drop in temperature the moment you leave. In other words, set it higher to account for the drop when you head out into the cold.
These are things that have worked for me. My overall average since purchase is a little over 42mpg, but I've only seen a drop to 40.8mpg since the cold weather has set in...
- Use ECO mode. This will help cut down on jack rabbit starts but it will also put your heater in ECO mode so it will (presumably) have less draw on the ICE. If you're worried about lack of power in ECO mode, don't be; you still have plenty of power if you put your foot down.
- Minimize use of the heater fan. This might be the biggest item to save gas. What I found that works well to keep the cabin warm is to turn on the fan to the lowest setting, set the temperature to 70 or 75, and then turn the fan off. Make sure the recirc is NOT turned on so you have air flow into the cabin. You can direct the air how you want (the defrost/floor combo or straight defrost works best for me), but I found, at least at any speed above 40mph, I have enough warm air coming into the cabin to keep things warm. EDIT: Pop your moon roof up and that will allow more warm airflow through the cabin. It will also help prevent your windows fogging up on the inside when it's really cold as your exhaled breath will be whisked out through the moon roof.
- Speaking of warmth, use the heated steering wheel and seat heaters (if equipped) to help keep you warm. That will draw power from the battery and not the ICE.
- Use pure, ethanol-free gas if it's a viable option. Pure gas is only $.05/gallon more than 10% ethanol gas here which is a 1.8% increase in price for an 8.9% increase in MPGs, so it makes sense economically for me.
- Minimize weight in your vehicle. If you don't need it in your vehicle, get rid of it.
- If you don't need snow tires, use your stock tires if you can get away with it. I've been through 5 or 6 snow storms since I purchased my Rav4H, and I found the stock Dunlops that came with the car and the AWD system have been able to handle everything I've encountered.
EDIT:
- Speaking of tires, keep an eye on your tire pressures. Make sure they're at least at the recommended setting if not a bit higher. If you set your pressure in a heated garage, remember to take into account the drop in temperature the moment you leave. In other words, set it higher to account for the drop when you head out into the cold.
These are things that have worked for me. My overall average since purchase is a little over 42mpg, but I've only seen a drop to 40.8mpg since the cold weather has set in...