To be honest I am still not 100% on the whole pulse and glide thing. I have tried it off and on where traffic allows but I don't know that I have seen a lot in the way of results. My only real explanation on how I did this was to simply drive the car efficiently focusing on trying to use the battery system to make the higher MPG's. This is what I have been doing on interstate drives as well.

I know that is a very novice answer but I don't keep up with all the "hybrid" terminology.

 

That's exactly the idea. You "pulse" up (read accelerate with engine) ... then "glide" using inertia or EV (battery) mode down ... repeat the cycle as long as conditions and/or battery allow. To get the 72 mpg number ... you were probably in he "glide" portion > 50% of the time.

 

Ah ... got it. Yea thats what I was doing. Works great around town.

 

The one thing I haven't noticed discussed here is the difference between the actual, i.e., computed mileage and the indicated mileage. We've had our HS for almost 3 months and have 5000 miles. 2800 were a trip from DFW to Florida right after we got the car, the rest is around the DFW area. Our HS usually indicates 2.5-3 MPG higher than the computed mileage.

BTW - we averaged 32-33 mpg highway on the trip to Florida with the car very loaded and driving mostly 75-80 mph on Interstate highways. In city driving we averaged 35-36 mph with the car unloaded but usually with 2-4 adults. Once back in Texas we've averaged 32-33 mpg city. Typical mix is 30% highway and 70% secondary roads. Not quite what we expected but much better than our prior cars.

 

I'm getting 40+ mpg in mixed city/highway driving. For this degree of luxury I'm satisfied .

 

That's pretty cool that so many are getting great mpg with their cars! Lots of good tips on this thread too, for us hybrid newbies. My first 1/2 tank is showing 35.3 so far, mix of country roads and highway on a 22 mile commute to work, "normal" driving. I'm pretty happy with that, but hoping it will creep up a bit once the engine breaks in. Though at least for me, with the mpg this car gets, further increases in mpg just don't seem to be worth that much - going from 35 to 40 mpg for example saves less than $10 driving 1000 miles.

Just be careful inflating your tires at/near max inflation. Tires are designed to provide maximum traction at a certain shape, dictated by load/pressure combinations. That shape is achieved at maximum pressure only at maximum load. Since the HS250 puts less than maximum load on each tire, even with a full load of passengers, filling it to 51 psi will give you less traction for braking and cornering. Plus there's the additional danger of overinflating the tires if your gauge is wrong.

For some quick math, each 18" tire's max load is 1356. Let's assume 50/50 weight distribution, since I don't know what it is on the HS, so that's a gross load capability of 5424 lbs @51 psi. But, the HS only weighs ~3700, plus 825 max load, making the gross weight 4525 lbs. That's about 83% of the tires' max capacity. A first order approximation of relation of pressure to load is linear, so the "right" pressure for the gross weight of the HS is 51psi * 83% = 42psi. If you typically drive alone, then it's more like 37 psi.

Not sure why Lexus recommends only 32 psi, other than they are trying to give a softer "luxurious" ride (especially on these low profile 18's). The tires on mine read 36-37 psi on the dash, and they came from the dealer that way (nitrogen fill, which I assume was a local dealer thing rather than from the factory). Personally, I've found that adding 5-6 psi over the recommended rating works best in general on other cars, from improved handling, more even wear, and even temperature across the tread (indicates the whole width is contacting evenly). So I plan to run mine in the upper 30's to maybe 40, but I haven't run a temp check yet so we'll see after she breaks in a bit more.

But IMO putting more than maybe 45 psi in these tires isn't worth the tiny improvement in gas savings compared to the safety risks as well as reduction in tread life.

Be safe out there

 

Hi Magellan55,

Welcome and congratulations on your HS! Your mileage should improve as the vehicle continues to breaks in.

Regarding tire pressure ... this seems to be very much a personal opinion item. There are many opinions and facts presented to support different positions on this topic. What seems to be agreed on is ... don't drive with under-inflated tires.

 

I get about 36 mpg. It's not difficult at all, but then again I naturally hyper-mill. I'm sure I could take it up to 40 mpg if I didn't go 75+ on the highway.

 

Hello,

I now have a little over 7000 miles on the HS. I achieved a personal best in the HS of 47.31 mpg over 430 miles this tank. Previous tank was 46.85 over 557 miles. Life to date is 44.84 mpg ... or ... 128.13% of highway EPA. Mileage is getting better as the temps are warming back up.

Happy Easter to all!

 

I requested a HS as a loaner when I was in for service with my RX400h I drove it about 150 miles played with the power and eco modes I spent 95% in eco doing mostly all highway driving at one point I got gifted and decided to see what power I had in eco doing 65 I floored it and was up to 90 MPH I successfully got 36.7 MPG tires were at 33 PSI

 

Someone asked about accuracy of the mpg gauge - I've only had a few fill ups so far, but I calculate a consistent 1.5 mpg less than the computer. Seems to be in line with 2 previous non-Toyota cars, so maybe these computers are always high? Or maybe there is some evaporation that takes place, such that the computer is taking an accurate measure of mpg at the engine, but there is some other loss between the gas pump and the engine.

mpg on my last tank was 37 (computer reading) in normal driving, mix of highway (75-80 cruise) and back roads. No conscious attempt to drive differently than in previous cars, though I have a natural tendency to conserve momentum. The tiny gas tank means I have to fill up just as often, but only spend $30 instead of $45.

Speaking of conserving momentum, here's an article on it from Motor Trend. Sort of hypermiling-lite, and can be applied to any kind of car: http://www.motortrend.com/features/e...gle/index.html

 

Early results for me is 41.7 - per the car. This is after all of 81 miles of driving. The driving was mostly during rush hour traffic and includes the 30 minutes or so of salesman going over the car with me.

On the tire pressure, the dealership handed the car to me with a psi of 40 in each tire.

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I took my first "highway only" trip. It was 550 miles and 41mpg. Cruise was set at 63mph. Trip was from DFW to Ft Smith AR and back. All in all ... not to bad at all considering the strong winds and rolling hills.

 

how are u guys getting over 40mpg ? I never get over 30mpg.

 

Some are using hyper-mile techniques to get well above EPA results, as KGenaidy has described above, but I think most are just driving gently. Don't floor it when the light turns green, keep steady speeds, don't excessively speed, take your foot off the gas well before you get to a red light, etc. All the stuff that returns better mpg in any car.

Were you getting EPA results in your previous cars? If not, it's likely a driving style issue.