Hypermiler Wayne Gerdes took fuel efficiency to a new level – a world record level actually – when he drove a Toyota Prius from one side of the United States to the other.

He set the Guinness World Records title for lowest fuel consumption driving across the U.S. from the west coast to east coast, Toyota announced.

He began his 5,169-kilometre journey in his Prius LE from the Los Angeles City Hall earlier this summer and ended at New York City Hall. He averaged a fuel economy rating of 93.158 miles per gallon, which translates to 2.52 litres per 100 kilometres. The previous record was a run with an average of mid-70s MPG.

“The Prius has impressed us all for the past 23 years, and frankly, it continues to wow us today,” said Michael Tripp, Toyota vehicle marketing group vice president, in a news release. “The world record for the highest MPG to us is just one more proof point that the Prius truly is an engineering marvel.”

Toyota points out that Gerdes’ results aren’t typical of a Prius, which has an EPA-estimated fuel rating of 57 MPG, and that Gerdes is skilled in hypermiling techniques and was able to get the car’s best fuel results under specific weather and driving conditions.

“For a record attempt like this, it’s a lot of planning,” Gerdes said in the release. “You can’t just go sight unseen into doing this. You have to have that plan. But you also have to be able to work on the fly. 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.”

The journey across the country included a wide variety of terrain and unpredictable weather. Gerdes drove up mountain elevations as high as 7,000 feet and through the Mojave Desert where the temperature exceeded 105 F. He also faced strong winds coming from the Gulf of Mexico.

Even so, he managed his record-breaking fuel economy.

Fuel-saving tips

Gerdes provided some tips for saving fuel in the news release from Toyota.

He suggests drivers make slower take-offs from stops and keep an even pressure on the accelerator pedal. He says when stops are ahead, easing off the accelerator early and using the vehicle’s momentum to glide as you approach the stop helps greatly with fuel economy.