[Smilygo]

I drove 2014 Prius v from San Jose to Palm Springs during the Thanksgiving week and noticed interesting thing in regards to the fuel economy. On the way to Palm Springs, I took Hwy 5 and averaged 80mph with only one pit stop. Gas mileage was merely 36mpg. During my stay near Palm Springs, I did city driving with many stop & go. Gas mileage went up to 44mpg. A constant 80mph on Hwy 5 typically generated a better mileage than stop & go when I drive regular cars. Is this normal for Hybrid? Obviously I am new to Hybrid.

 

[Easy Rider]

In a word, YES.

If you had paid attention to the new sticker on the window....(oops, maybe you didn't get it new)....you would have noticed that the "rated" fuel mileage is greater in the city. This is because the hybrid battery features work more and better at intermittent low speeds.

Also the hybrid gains some of it's efficiency by having a very small engine; thus the faster you go, the more the mileage drops off......compared to cars with more powerful engines.

In my experience, you take a big hit when you go over 60.....and a HUGE hit when you go over 70.
This is true of all vehicles; it's just more pronounced with a hybrid.