Fuel consumption, Yaris Hybrid

[G Ponting]

Our 2018 Yaris Hybrid Automatic (our first non-manual hybrid car) does not achieve the sort of petrol consumption figures some sites suggest - supposedly between 85 and 100 mpg.

We are both pensioners, careful drivers, low mileage, mostly local leisure driving, with the occasional 40 or 60 miles on motorway.

We rarely achieve consumption as high as 63 mpg and often an average lower than this.

I thought a hybrid should go to Battery if you take your foot off the accelerator, or if going downhill, but this does not happen.

Is the 85mpg figure wildly optimistic or are we doing something wrong?

Many thanks for any advice

[Mojo1010]

85 mpg is false, what you are getting is normal for this car, I had it for 5 years. Only if the traction Battery has enough charge then it may go into Battery mode. If cold weather and heating on, engine run to keep you warm. 

The best I had achieved on a 15-20 miles run was about 74.2mpg. The MK4 from late 2020 is a different story, recently on a 20 miles return leg, achieved 89.9mpg, minus 5-7 % as trip mpg are over exaggerated. 

[flash22]

mid - high 50s in the winter up to mid 70's in the summer, the most I ever saw was 84 with the mk3, hybrids do run a lot better on E5 premium fuel - E10 95 ron supermarket fuel tends to give lower mpg

but that is a can of worms for a different thread

[FROSTYBALLS]

Presumably the figures you are looking at are the official fuel consumption figures. These are obtained using a standardised laboratory testing regime, and are only intended to provide a comparison between models which have undertaken the same testing. 

The figures do not represent, and aren't intended to represent, what owners may achieve in the 'real world'.

Topic moved to the Yaris forum.

[MikeSh]

2 hours ago, G Ponting said:

We are both pensioners, careful drivers, low mileage, mostly local leisure driving, with the occasional 40 or 60 miles on motorway.

We have the same car and same sort of use, and same climate:-

[Cyker]

If those are the figures for the old NEDC economy ratings they're basically a work of fiction.

The Mk3 was generally good for mid-50's/60's mpg in the real world - Respectable but partly why I skipped it as my diesel could beat that. Of course the Mk3 wasn't subject to ULEZ... .

The car will only run on electric-only at speeds below 40mpg (IIRC) - Above that, one of the electric motors can't spin any faster so the engine is forced to spin too. It's one of the things they fixed in the Mk4, which can run up to 80mph without the engine turning.

 

[G Ponting]

Thanks, that's very helpful. So the current average of 63 mpg is fairly respectable after all.

[Cyker]

I believe so - I've seen Mk3 owners get into the 70's, but it usually requires very favourable conditions and road combinations or some serious hypermiling techniques   - Difficult to sustain under normal safe real world driving.

TBH 63mpg is pretty good in general - Certainly well above the country average!  

[MikeSh]

1 hour ago, G Ponting said:

Thanks, that's very helpful. So the current average of 63 mpg is fairly respectable after all.

Based on my chart - particularly the red line - which is based on fill-to-fill quantities at the petrol station and not the car's systems, an average of 63 over a whole year is very good. It's very season dependent as shown by the blue line - I have the climate at 21.5 through winter, 22-23 or more in warm weather.

You can get better figures if you turn the heating off in winter, but I'm afraid I'm not that much of a 'person who likes to be tortured' * and given the miles we do per year the savings would be peanuts.

( * To get round snowflake filter. Seriously, this is getting stupid.)

[Chas G]

Whatcar magazine June 2024.

Best cars for fuel consumption.

Yaris 2nd place

Yaris 1st place

 

 

[Hadrian1]

Our 2021 Yaris is also averaging 63mpg. This is virtually all done

on short local trips.  This is the reading on the display.

[TonyHSD]

If you follow the posts here from all members about mpg figures you will notice something interesting that I come to a conclusion. 
The hybrids are ultra efficient in certain conditions only and more efficient than pure petrol or diesel in general. , however not by that much. 
The reason is simple, there are limitations to what internal combustion engine can do as efficiency, just a physics. 
The latest models including Yaris , Corolla and Chr 24MY are way more efficient in town driving or relaxed B roads and country lanes as a result of newer batteries, newer electric motors, weight reduction- mostly the electrical part of the drive train. However once on the motorway and at higher speeds the efficiency will drop a bit as petrol engine will be engaged most of the time similar to previous generations so the overall average fuel consumption will not be so much better. 
I have Auris hybrid from 2010 with 275000 miles, recently fitted new batteries in and this car delivers over 75mpg in town , it drives like the  latest models in these certain conditions and hybrid Battery last long, totally different from before. However the average mpg is very close to before and currently is around 59mpg , on display 58mpg, this will go slightly up with weather warms up. Conclusion if you want to sell gen4 hybrid to buy a gen5 thinking the aberration mpg will be so much better, it will not, unless you drive exclusively in towns and then it might be a good reason to do so. 
I like how Toyota slowly and steady progress in their hybrid technology over the years. The best cars money can buy in 2024. 👌

[1.33]

22 hours ago, G Ponting said:

I thought a hybrid should go to battery if you take your foot off the accelerator, or if going downhill, but this does not happen.

It usually does unless you're running the HVAC fans, demister, or other high drain accessory. Switching any of these on prompts the engine to start immediately. The EV indicator should illuminate and energy monitor show likewise (green arrows) when running on Battery power.

22 hours ago, G Ponting said:

We rarely achieve consumption as high as 63 mpg and often an average lower than this.

Sounds about right for this model. I usually get between 58-65mpg in my 2020 Mk3 hybrid on mainly town driving with the odd 50mph road. The average does drop to around 50mpg if you keep flooring the accelerator at the lights. I sometimes intimidate other road users of mainly German car brands with the deceptively quick acceleration from rest, and try to goad them into getting flashed by the speed cameras when they roar past at high speed. It's suprising how many other road users are intimidated by the little Yaris.

[Cyker]

The new ones can still be surprisingly efficient on the motorway just because they can keep the engine off at higher speeds, and if I keep to a speed the car can still use the electric motor to hold that speed (Just under 60mph usually; It's one reason I wanted to try the new 130HP one because it can hold electric mode easier at higher speeds!) I can keep it in the 70mpg's without too much effort, but even when going faster than the electrics can sustain, the engine can still run in its maximum 41% efficiency zone almost all the time thanks to the CVTness which can help keep it at the low-mid end of diesel mpg territory.

Short acceleration bursts are effectively for free because you tend to build up so much excess charge the car will be almost desperate to dump it into a burst of acceleration, but longer and harder pulls (ooh err!) will drop the mpg very quickly as the engine will dump the Battery charge into the wheels as quickly as it can and also switch to Otto-cycle mode and guzzle fuel like a real 1.5L engine!