If you only get 35MPG then you probably have a heavy foot, but do not think you do.
Most people do !!
If you drive on roads with a lot of hills that will lower your MPG. See my last post from 6/5/13.in this thread.

I found the mode EV, Normal, or Sport did not do anything to change my MPG.

 

[QUOTE=MY100thcar;7984718]If you only get 35MPG then you probably have a heavy foot, but do not think you do.
Most people do !!
QUOTE]

I agree. I'm 3 months into the 300h and still holding at 41 mpg indicated on the display. ECO mode all the time. This is my third hybrid (RX 400h, Prius before) and it really takes time to learn how to best use the powertrain. If you keep the needle in the lower half of the eco gauge, aside from short bursts to get to traffic speed, you'll get the best result but you will not beat everybody to the next stop sign or intersection.

 

I have found my fuel consumption is influenced most by the length of trips I am taking, then secondly by the type of driving (streets vs. highway).

When I was driving my car for 25-30 minutes or so each way to work, I was getting 38 to 40 miles/gallon. That trip was a mix of 70% highway and 30% local streets.

Lately I have been working at a location that is less than 10 minutes from home and that requires 7 or 8 additional short trips per day . Even with a mix of highway and local driving, I am now getting 35-37 mpg. The hybrid engiine seems to be less efficient on shorter trips (even when the engine is still warmed up).

On long trips (100 or more miles) that involve freeway speed driving, even with hills I can usually get more than 40 mpg without trying too hard.

(These are REAL milage numbers calculated at each fill up on a phone app I use that records actual gallons and odometer readings to calculate milage per fill up. I have found the Lexus display mpg to be fairly optimistic. )

 

You seem to have cracked the code for hybrid efficiency; these examples mesh with my experience with both the ES300h and previous '10 Fusion Hybrid. My best possible circumstance is a 50+ mile trip beginning with surface streets leading to a highway jaunt at 65mph, a smattering of slowing due to congestion, one or more periods of electric drive due to gridlock, and a sub-25mph Eco-mode jaunt to find parking. This will yield 43 to 46mph depending on a/c use, ambient temperature, and night driving.

 

kepper nailed it.

short trips don't allow much coasting.


- its all about feathering the throttle.

 

"You seem to have cracked the code for hybrid efficiency"

Everyone's 'code' is different, and based on driving style and route. My trip to work is 9 miles and I typically average in the high 40 mpg range. I have another location I go to on a regular basis that is 14 miles away and generally average in the mid 50mpg range. Both are 100% city streets.

 

Elliot, you're absolutely right. It all depends on your style of driving and ability to modulate the throttle. I'm doing a combined 15 miles city and highway to work with lots of stop and go traffic. I'm only getting around 38 mpg, going easy on the throttle. Then again, you're pretty flat in Florida unlike Calif.

 

Having had an HS250, I learned how to accelerate in maintain speed in pulses as to keep the RPMs low and thus maximizing fuel economy. I can drive my ES300 all day and easily get 38-40MPG. However, having come from a GS350 FSport... pulse driving just isnt fun so I prefer to drive my ES in Sport Mode and as aggressive (well not exactly the same) and get only 34-35MPG. I love the fact at stoplights I can leave some of those big old, high wheeled "racing" 4x4 trucks in the dust with a Hybrid!

 

Seriously - you regularly achieve high 40's to mid 50's in an ES300h? Care to describe the techniques used?

 

"Seriously - you regularly achieve high 40's to mid 50's in an ES300h?" I do not average that but I have certain routes that I take on a very regular basis and I do consistently achieve those amounts.

South Florida's comfortable temperature, flat roads, and hybrid friendly speed limits are part of the equation. Brisk acceleration to cruising speed after the engine comes on, a steady foot at cruising speed (speeds at around or just below 42mph are probably your best bet) and coasting to stops whenever possible for either a traffic light (timing the lights so you don't get them is a good idea if you can) or stop sign would be the best tips I can share with you for city driving..

 

Thanks for sharing! Unfortunately I live in a moderately hilly area with impatient drivers precluding some of the benefits you suggested. At least we have moderate temp in SoCal. That helps to explain my personal "best" mileage on the previously posted highway trip with periodic slowing.

 

Hi,
I just returned from a weekend trip from San Jose, CA to South Lake Tahoe. I was blown away by the 44mpg average for the entire trip. I verified by filling at the same pump at the end of the trip as I filled at the beginning of the trip. Odometer read 473.7 miles for 10.75 gallons. So the car calculated mpg was spot on. Key to the mpg was coasting as much as possible on the downhills and driving the car on cruise on the freeway.
On regular driving to work I can get > 40mpg but my wife only gets 36mpg ... she has to face a lot more stop and go traffic.
Overall, I am happy with the mpg and feel that Lexus has done a fabulous job of developing a very comfortable, efficient vehicle with the ES300h.

 

Nice job ysharma. I can only get around 39 mpg from SF to SJ, on the fairly level freeway. I can't imagine what my mileage would be going up to 7,000 elevation and coming back down, even coasting as much as possible.. Anytime I go up hill, the mpg drops like a rock (down to the 20s), I never can recover the mpg coming back down.

 

I in San Diego, CA and drive my 2013 ES300h like a 90 year old man. I've owned other hybrids before this one, and always coast to traffic signals and accelerate so slowly (trying not to engage the gasoline engine) that drivers behind me get pissed off. I am averaging 35 MPG's overall, with about a 50/50 mix of city/highway driving, and again that's with driving the car as gently as possible. I drive approx. 60-65mph on the freeways. I am disappointed that I'm not getting the 40MPG's touted on the window sticker, but a lot of my driving is up hills so I'm sure that is affecting my mileage. Oh, and I have approx. 6,000 miles on my ES.

 

" ....drive my 2013 ES300h like a 90 year old man"

The ES30h (as do all Toyota hybrids because of their design) gets its best fuel economy when driven a little more aggressively. Once the ICE comes on, accelerate briskly to your desired speed. You will see an immediate increase in FE.


Toyota hybrids get their worst FE when accelerating, even slowly.

I generally (when I remember) drive in sport mode. This helps the car get up to speed quickly and like others, I find you can get the car into EV mode more easily/quickly with sport mode.