Want to get the very best out of your ground-breaking Toyota hybrid? We’ve gathered a number of hybrid driving hints and tips that will help you to get the best from the system, improving fuel consumption and getting you further for less.
Whichever Toyota hybrid you’ve set your heart on, the following tips and pointers should maximise the range and fuel economy of your Toyota.
The basics
It’s not just hybrids that benefit from the first seven tips – these will help to improve any car’s fuel efficiency:
- Clear out the boot! Keeping the boot free of unnecessary weight will give your car and immediate boost in performance and economy.
- Check your tyre pressures – dig out your owner’s manual, and do a weekly check to ensure that your tyres are correctly inflated in line with Toyota’s recommendation. Or read our handy tyre pressures article here.
- Think ahead – by planning your journeys, you can avoid traffic jams and minimise the likelihood of getting lost.
- Shut up! Closing the windows and sun roof at speeds above 45mph will reduce drag, reducing fuel consumption.
- Remove unused roof racks, boxes and bike racks – they’re a real drag too!
- Steady as she goes – maintain a steady speed and don’t go over the speed limit.
- Smoothly does it! Try to avoid sudden braking or acceleration.
Hybrid driving: hybrid-specific tips
Sorry everyone else, but these tips are for hybrids only:
- Become familiar with the hybrid information display so you can know how much energy is being used.
- EV does it! Keep the car in EV mode as much as possible by using the accelerator gently, pressing it lightly but consistently.
- Improve efficiency with ECO mode, which reduces aggressive throttle response.
- Harvest time – braking gently and early helps the regenerative braking harvest more energy, which means EV mode can operate for longer periods.
- Keep an eye on the dials and gauges to fully understand the hybrid system and manage the charge levels in the hybrid’s high-voltage battery.
- If you’re in stop-start traffic, don’t put the car in neutral (‘N’) when stationary, as electricity will not be generated and the hybrid battery will discharge.
- Consider using cruise control (where fitted) to maintain steady speeds.
- When using climate control, Re-circulate mode reduces energy usage.
- Think about the environment! Constant or heavy use of systems like air-con, lights and wipers will increase energy consumption.
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Hybrid driving: drive modes
Toyota hybrids have four drive modes: Normal, EV, Eco and Power. When you first start your hybrid, the car defaults to the ‘Normal’ drive mode, which automatically manages the most efficient use of both the engine and the battery.
Drivers can also select one of the car’s on-demand drive modes to achieve better fuel consumption in certain settings.
These drive modes are: EV Mode where the car is powered by the battery only during city driving, running near-silent and with no tailpipe emissions; Eco Mode that reduces A/C output and lessens throttle response to limit harsh acceleration; and Power Mode which boosts acceleration by using the hybrid battery to assist the petrol engine.
The shift lever offers four positions: R (Reverse), N (neutral), B (engine braking) and D (drive). For normal driving, D (drive) is absolutely fine, but should you need it, position B has the effect of engine-braking handy when descending a steep hill, for example. It’s not recommended to leave the car in position B for normal driving, mainly because you’d end up using more fuel than necessary!
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Hybrid driving: read the road ahead
Another great hybrid driving tip is to use the car’s battery whenever possible.
Another great hybrid driving tip is to use the car’s battery whenever possible. You can do this in town and urban driving by accelerating to your required speed, easing off the accelerator and then gently easing the accelerator on again. By doing this, you can activate EV mode – indicated by the dashboard light – which means that the engine has switched off and you are using the electric battery.
Try to maintain a constant speed and, as always, it’s important to read the road ahead. By doing this, you can reduce the amount of unnecessary braking and accelerating, using less fuel. Braking slowly and gently also maximises the amount of energy recovered by the regenerative braking system on the car.
Other factors to consider
Bear in mind that there are many factors that can affect a car’s performance, hybrid included. On cold days, your car will use more fuel as it warms up, but once it’s reached its optimum temperature, the MPG figures will increase.
Also, during the winter, you’re more likely to be using the air-conditioning, lights and wipers, all of which will use some electrical power from the battery. If you regularly travel the same route, don’t be surprised if you get better MPG figures during the summer than in the winter!
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If you’d like more hybrid driving tips or want to discuss your driving technique with other hybrid owners, it’s worth visiting the Hypermiler website.
As a final note, please remember that these hybrid driving tips are published as general guidance on how to get the best fuel economy from your Toyota hybrid. Toyota encourages and supports safe driving at all times – please adhere to the rules of the road.
Read more: Toyota hybrid – how does it work?
Hi Guys.
I have just purchased a 2012 Auris and has nearly all the mod cons.
However it has the touch screen but no sat nav, Can this be upgraded using a disc?.
Hi Cyril,
Thanks for getting in touch and it’s great to hear that you’ve got a new Auris, it’s a great car.
The upgrade would need to be done by a Toyota Dealer. To find your nearest Dealer visit: http://bit.ly/16WmR5P.
Hope this helps!
Hi, Thinking of part-ex’ing our two cars to get an Auris Hybird. Just a quick question though: My Octavia 2.0TDI gives me between 57-62mpg and our Mini 1.6 somewhere near 41mpg. When people quote figures of mpg on this forum – is the ‘mpg’ calculated as a combination of combustion engine miles per gallon with motor drive, or is is purely as a mpg rating of the combustion engine?
So that given that one may drive 50% of the time on engine power @ 50mpg, and 50% of the journey on 50% motor drive this would give a combined fuel use of somewhat more than 50 mpg – as of course mpg is relating to only petrol usage. So if I were to drive a journey of 50 miles on country roads with a diesel car giving 60mpg over the whole journey through towns and open road costing say..£8 per day in fuel, do you thing the auris hybrid would exceed the economy in energy usage given that mpg only relates to the petrol engine fuel consumption – not the drive provided by the electric motor?
By this I mean to say that if one could convert the mileage covered by the electric motor to MPG then would one save money covering the same mileage from using a hybrid over that of a conventional diesel?
Hi. Thanks for getting in touch.
Your question covers two points so we will start by responding to the first part of your question regarding hybrid technology and then reply regarding fuel consumption figures.
To clear up your main point, when we quote fuel consumption figures for our hybrid vehicles this represents the performance of both power trains (petrol engine and electric motor) and not just the petrol engine. The way that our full hybrid system works is by allowing the combined output of the petrol engine and electric motor to always drive the vehicle in the most efficient way possible. Using full hybrid technology, at lower speed (when in traffic for example) generally the electric motor only will power the car as this is the most efficient way, but when more power is needed the petrol engine seamlessly cuts in and provides this. A screen within the car will display where the power is being sourced from and the level of battery charge. Regenerative braking helps keep the battery level charged. A test drive of a hybrid car at your local Toyota dealer will be the best way to experience this technology and help understand this more. I have attached a link to help locate your nearest dealer. http://bit.ly/16WmR5P
Turning to fuel consumption, the figures which we have to quote in our sales materials are from an agreed standard test, the same for all vehicle manufacturers, set by the EU and Vehicle Certification Authorities (VCA). More information regarding this test can be found at the following link, http://www.dft.gov.uk/vca/fcb/faqs-fuel-consumptio.asp. Because this test does not represent ‘real world’ driving conditions, (it is undertaken inside and on a rolling road for example) the figures may not represent your actual driving experience. What they do allow though is for the consumer to make like for like comparisons knowing that an identical test is undertaken on each car.
Hope this helps with a bit more background for you.
i just bought a 2010 prius. l live in pakistan. my problem is with its japanese language on its control pannel which i cannot understand. Is there any way to change the language from japanese to english?
Hi Sabir,
Thank you for getting in touch.
Our technical team do not believe the language can be changed however, they suggest visiting your local Toyota Dealer to see the vehicle and advise further on this. To find your local Toyota Dealer please visit: http://www.toyota-indus.com/find-a-dealer/.
Hope this helps.
When I first got my Auris Hybrid three months ago I was getting 54 miles to a gallon. The same driving now gives me 39 miles to a gallon. This is mainly town driving. It seems strange that it should go down so much?
The ambient air temperature has dropped. The temperature has to be above 20C to notice any improvement in consumptio.
please inform me about at how much mileage the 1:spark plugs,
2:engine oil and
3:transmission oil
should be changed in 2010 prius.Please reply with all the specifications/kinds of spark plugs and oils. Thanks
Hello Sabir
Reccomendation for spark plugs is 60,000 miles, transmission oil level should be checked at 40,000 miles and engine oil is every 10,000 miles (or one year). With regard to specifications these will be in the service book or if this is a general trade enquiry then more information can be sourced from http://www.toyota-tech.eu but this is chargeable.
Hope this helps.
I am only getting 50 mpg with all the recommendation you have made. please can you explain how you managed to have official above 80mpg . I am not the only person complaining on forums
Hi Adnan
Our hybrid driving top tips is meant as guide to help with economy and figures will still vary for individuals. The purpose is to show that you just need to adapt your driving style slightly to help get the best from your hybrid vehicle. With regard to the fuel consumption figures which we have to quote on our marketing material, this is a standard EU test which has to be undertaken by all manufacturers and may not be representative of real world driving conditions. The purpose is to provide a level playing field for consumers to judge one vehicle against another. More details about the fuel consumption test and how this is undertaken is on the VCA website and this link will take you straight there. http://bit.ly/19uZUkY
Hope this helps clarify.
Me too with a Auris (Exel model) and I would agree with the majority that the fuel consumption published and used by the sales staff to sell the car is very misleading. More often than I get between 440 and 460 to a tank, the best being 510 weeks after I bought it, however the latest fuel consumption is looking at 425, which would explain the drop in the ambient air temperature. I nurse the car about, using the throttle gently so all in all I am very dissapointed. I could have purchased a diesel car at a lower price and I would have had a similar performance. Never again Toyota unless you can offer some words of wisdom how the fuel economy can be adjusted to offer 65-70mpg which in my opinion is acceptable.
Hi Chris
Thanks for post.
Our hybrid driving tips is meant as guide to help with economy and figures will still vary for individuals. The purpose is to show that you need to adapt your driving style slightly to help get the best from your hybrid vehicle. With regard to the fuel consumption figures which we have to quote on our marketing material, this is a standard EU test which has to be undertaken by all vehicle manufacturers. This may not be representative of real world driving conditions and the purpose is to provide a level playing field for consumers to judge one vehicle against another. More details about the fuel consumption test and how this is undertaken is on the VCA website and this link will take you straight there. http://bit.ly/19uZUkY
Hope this helps clarify.
hi
I have a toyota auris hybrid 63(1.88cvt) plate which i purchased new about 2 months ago.
Does it qualify for no congestion charge?
I read from somewhere before i purchased the car that it does but i seem not to be able to find the on the website for congestion charge.
Can you provide the current situation for congestion charge with regards to the toyota Auris Hybrid?
Hello Kay
Thanks for your post.
Earlier this year, the emission levels for entering the Congestion Charge zone were reduced by Transport For London to 75 g/km of CO2. The attached link will help give a bit of background and more information regarding this. http://bit.ly/cgUt5f
Hope this helps
I have a prius gen3 T4 with 17 inch alloy wheels.
Can I fit 195.15.65 winter tyres on steel rims?
Hi Richard
Thanks for your post.
Our advice for winter tyres is to fit the same size of tyres as the original equipment fitting (check the handbook if you want to confirm the size or consult your Toyota dealer if you have bought the car second hand and are not sure whether these could have been changed).
Assuming your vehicle is on 215/45 R17 87 W summer tyres, the winter tyre should be the same 215/45 R17 tyre. The changes can only be in:
The speed rating – one or two speed ratings lower,i.e V or H
The load rating must be same, or can be slightly higher (i.e minimum of 87)
As always please advise your insurance company when fitting winter weather tyres. Toyota Centres have access to a suitable Yokohama full winter weather tyre (w.drive) tyre 215/45 R17 91 V.
Hope this helps.
I have a set of Four, almost brand new Winter Tyres for sale.
Only been used for two Winters, less then 1 months each year.
I brought them from Toyata, I am a first hand owner.
I sold my Auris Hybird T-Spirit now, no longer need the tyres… anyone interest?