Wondering why people complain that Yaris' cant get good mileage?!

[bkrownd]

Originally Posted by jhsouders

I actually find that i get better mpg on hilly terrain, granted its still highway. Going down the hills i just throw it in neutral getting around 4-5 hundred mpg while maintaining speed (DFCO would slow my car, and i would again have to use gas, so neutral is better in this case).

I've always suspected I get better MPG going up and down shallow mountain slopes than I would cruising at constant speed on flat ground. More energy is wasted turning the motor at cruising RPM than at idling RPM, so storing energy as elevation gain on the uphill climb and coasting or engine braking most of the way back down should yield higher MPG than cruising at high RPM on flat ground. Even despite the extra energy used to climb and the thinner air at higher elevations.

Just make absolutely sure that you're in a car that WILL NOT STALL while coasting. My stickshift Toyotas will idle happily until The End Of Time, but I've encountered some SUV type cars with automatic transmissions that will not idle reliably and are not safe to coast.