hachiroku

Interesting...you'd think such an aerodynamic - looking car would not be
affected by the wind as much. The only guess I have is that with such an
underpowered gas engine, any extra load takes a toll on it.

I had a '95 Tercel with the same gas engine, no electric motor, obv!
But I did notice I had to press the gas harder to 'keep up' in the wind
than I did with either my Supra or my Corolla GTS.

Tercel STILL got over 40 MPG, however!

dbs__usenet

Actually, you did not have the same engine, since the Prius used a
modified Atkinson cycle engine. The Tercel uses a conventional Otto cyle.

Second (I know, there was no first) the wind forces always make a
difference no matter the aerodynamics of the car. Even streamlined
land speed record holders fight wind resistance.

Third, you can't really compare since none of us listed the average speed
nor wind speed. In my case, it was a heck of a storm and I had about
a 30 MPH head wind. Add that to the 65 MPH I was travelling and you'll
see that it's like driving 95 MPH. That's very significant wind pressure.
Dropping from 65 to 55 saves 5 to 10 percent. Going from 65 to 95 can
eat away at yor milage quickly.

Fourth, if you had to press the pedal further and noticed it, you used
significantly more gas. You are stating that your car gets significantly
better than 40 MPG? Good for you! On the other hand, it must be running
mighty lean so you should have it checked.

Take care,

Dan