This Prius Just Did 93 MPG From LA to NYC
Fifth-generation hybrid demolishes previous record, earns Guinness World Records title.
Add another achievement to the list for the latest Toyota Prius. Earlier this summer, hypermiler Wayne Gerdes drove the hybrid car the 3,211.7 miles (5,168.7 kilometer) between the city halls of Los Angeles and New York City. Gerdes extracted a remarkable 93.158 mpg (2.525 L/100 km) from a 2023 Prius LE, enough to earn him and the Prius a Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption driving coast to coast across America.
Needless to say, that is significantly better efficiency than the official figures for the Prius. According to the EPA, the LE FWD should be capable of 57 mpg, which makes the record-holding car roughly 63-percent more efficient. Put another way, at current California average gas prices* the entire trip would cost a hair over $164 in fuel.
Gerdes credits plenty of pre-trip planning for the success of the record attempt. Nonetheless, on a trip that includes high elevations through the Rockies, scorching triple-digit temps in the Mojave, and all sorts of other weather-related challenges, being fluid is equally important. “You also have to be able to work on the fly,” explains Gerdes. “So, if things change, you have to switch up your plan. Reroute. Figure out what you're going to be able to do to achieve that goal.”
Looking to boost your own road trip efficiency? The new record holder has some simple tips to stretch those gallons. Slower starts are a good, er, start, and Gerdes recommends even pressure on the pedal for maximum efficiency. Another tip we’ve heard often: when you see a stop ahead, easing off the accelerator is a great way to improve mpg too. There’s no point hurrying up to stop, after all.
Toyota is keen to tie this record to its messaging of a multi-pronged approach to carbon neutrality, offering a mixture of hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and full electrics. It’s more than a marketing angle: hybrids do offer a significant emission reduction and fuel efficiency boost over pure ICE, with little cost penalty. Toyota America saw 38.6 percent of sales include electrified powertrains in June of this year; Canada does even better, with a whopping 60.8 percent of August’s sales being electrified.
As for the Prius, we like it quite a lot, especially the plug-in Prius Prime. It’s pricey, but should most of your trips stay within its 44-mile (71-km) all-electric range, it could go weeks without gas. And should you need to do a road trip in it—from coast to coast or not—Gerdes has provided you with a new fuel efficiency target.
*- $4.758 per gallon as of 09/12/2024, according to the AAA.
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Kyle began his automotive obsession before he even started school, courtesy of a remote control Porsche and various LEGO sets. He later studied advertising and graphic design at Humber College, which led him to writing about cars (both real and digital). He is now a proud member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), where he was the Journalist of the Year runner-up for 2021.
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