Weekend Road Trip Observations

Took a bit of a drive this weekend up to New Hampshire and across the popular Kangamangus Highway (Popular especially in the fall with bus loads of leaf peepers)

With up and down mountain road driving combined with some highway miles I averaged 55MPG. I was happy with that.

I did end up taking it out of ECO as the stuggle on some upgrades seemed tough. 'Normal' made the car a bit more responsive to the need to kick it up when on two lane roads with cars behind.

The road down from the summit is posted 9% grade for 3.5 miles and includes several hairpin turns. (it's fun!) That sounded to me like the perfect place to use the infamous B mode. There was an immediate braking sensation in the engine - similar to downshifting in a traditional transmisison - which was great - there were only a few places where I needed to apply the brake in addition.

After a couple of miles on the grade I noticed that the top light of the battery charge indicator was on and it was red. (Red=bad?) Then I noticed that the engine was roaring - like it was revved way up (no tachometer - can't quantify) especially if I even lightly touched the brake. So I went back to drive and coasted/braked the rest of the way down.

Not sure what all that means - any opinions??

Oh, and it was raining lightly - heavy misting really - road surface was wet and wipers were on intermitantly. In general I was very impressed with the handling of car - 'specially on the windey parts! I also loved being in the end-of-the-weekend traffic just humming along in EV.

Oh! When I was coming off the Kangamangus, I stopped for gas and looked up and there was a Blue Ribbon Gen 3 across the street - very pretty! - I was waving like a nut but the driver didn't see me. Any one here by chance?

The roar was the engine winding up in compression braking mode. I've done this on numerous mountain descents already, once hitting 4700 rpm on a ScanGauge. It sounds like a giant vacuum cleaner.

I haven't noticed the red bar on the battery indicator. Will have to watch closer next time.

The top bar on the battery meter has a slightly different tint, maybe reddish, hard to tell...

Nice review, Maggie.

For purposes of scientific inquiry, would you mind repeating the exact trip again in late September/early November? And include pictures?

Happy to!! Anything to forward the science of Prius!

By "the summit", do you mean that you now have the right to fasten one of those ubiquitous "This Car Climbed Mt Washington" stickers on your bumper??

Stu

Ahhh - first time I'd heard that - and yes it was a scary "she's about to blow!" sort of sound. So... is it a bad thing?? In that scenario - long downgrade - should you only keep it in B mode until the battery is topped off and then resume coasting/braking?

No - no stickers on the new Prius!

Leave it in B. If you don't like the roaring engine sound, apply the (friction) brake pedal until the roar reduces to something you can tolerate. By using both, and having them share the braking load, each is less likely to become overstressed and overheated.

Coasting is probably the worst choice, as your speed can quickly rise to unsafe levels.

Maggie,

I lived outside Boston for 20 years, moving down here 4 years ago.

The Kangamangus highway - actually it's spelled 'Kancamagus', but everyone pronounces it with the g and an n. For those not familar, it's a great 35mi scenic drive thru the NH White Mountains area.

I recall driving the highway eastbound in early Spring from Lincoln where we had a ski condo. Had a 1986 Pontiac Fiero at the time. And all I recall about that first drive up there was the punishing ride due to the road's 'frost heaves'. XX miles of up-down-creak-thump-squeak-thump.
Are the heaves still there and how did the Prius handle the road?

You're right about the spelling - and the pronounciation. Everything sounds a little strange here.

I did not notice frost heaves. The road was in surprisingly good shape given the weather conditions and traffic it sees. A number of bicyclists were on the road - yikes! That is a punishing bike ride!

I thought the Prius did quiet well. It was the perfect scenario for using the B 'gear' and as you see - I've learned quite abit about it. The car handled very well on the tight turns allowing me to loose the Ford truck that was on my tail. The upgrade portions were an effort that I wasn't used to. Previous car was a V6 Saab Turbo that would fly up those grades. In several areas I was steadily in the red power zone on the HSI. It was, uh, 'humbling' to stay to the right where there were passing lanes. I can live with that.