2006 Prius: MPG ramps up over 20 minutes

[mdarby]

Hello,

I bought a 2006 Prius about 2 months ago. I have a 20-minute commute to work, mostly on a highway doing 70 mph. It seems that the Prius mileage efficiency starts at about 25 mpg and ends up around 50+ mpg. Since this is my major use of the car, I am only averaging 42 mpg overall.

Is this normal? Is this the result of the battery warming up or something else? Can I do anything to improve this? I live near San Francisco so it hasn't really been that cold.

Thanks,
Michael

[Tideland Prius]

42 is okay for something that new but you should be able to get it up to 47mpg at 70mph. That's what I got last year on a road trip - 2 hours of continuous 70mph speed.