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Another Prime road trip in progress

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by jb in NE, May 5, 2019.

  1. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    Similar to Jerry's trip, but in the opposite direction. East from Omaha NE to Ohio, then to DC, then up into Pennsylvania, NY, Canada and back into the US and to home.

    Day 1 - 755 miles on Interstates, cruise set on 73 mph over ground (76 indicated on dash), crosswind of about 15 mph first half of trip, sunny to partly cloudy, no significant elevation change, fair amount of luggage and gear in car, 2 people. A/C off for first 3.5 hours, then on set to 70-72 cabin temp with outside temp up to 75F. Started with full battery charge and fuel tank.

    Dash indicates 55.6 mpg, and 68% battery charge left. At the AirBnB, found an outside plug so the car is charging tonight. I made no attempt at hypermiling - strictly a "set the cruise and get there" day.

    Thoughts:

    1. DCC is not very useful. It's not anticipative, but reactive. Come up on slower vehicle, slow down quickly. I ran DCC for the first 500 miles, but it drove me crazy. Too many sudden throttle changes, false returns on the radar, etc. Last 250 miles without it - much better and easier to drive on the highway with slower traffic.

    2. The NAV system is beyond sad. Hard to describe how primitive this thing is. The only two redeeming features - it's nicely integrated into the audio system, and it works without a cell signal. Other than that, total fail.

    3. Car is quite sensitive to crosswinds. Moves around quite a bit. Tires OEM at 38 psi front, 37 psi rear.

    4. Tires are loud on rougher pavement. No wind noise at the windows, which is nice.

    5. I didn't notice any fuel economy differences with A/C on or off. It seems very efficient.

    6. The car does a good job keeping engine RPM low. 73 mph actual, and on flat ground the engine RPM is about 1870 (using Hybrid Assistant). Saw as high as 3000 pulling. a hill.
     
  2. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    Last June I drove a 3,000 mile road trip, to 12 destinations. 100% DCC, 100% nav, all worked beautifully. In fact, for the second time, in-dash nav was better than Google Maps. Harder to set, for sure, but better once set. Easier to find rest stops along the way, worked no matter how far we were from a cell signal, big easy-to-see screen.
     
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  3. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    While you were driving, or while you were stopped?
     
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  4. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    While driving.

    Google doesn't find rest stops well, if at all.
     
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  5. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    I have an app - Trucker Path - I like it because it shows rest areas and Walmarts. But, it requires internet service.
     
  6. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    Voice button on steering wheel - say "rest areas", select "along route", done. Worked every time.
     
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  7. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    The first thing my wife noticed (her first road trip in the car) was how primitive the NAV was. She pulled up Waze for comparison and it's night and day different.
     
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  8. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    I'll give that a whirl. Thanks for the tip.
     
  9. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    I deleted Waze as borderline useless. The interface is terrible.

    The in-car nav has never once made a mistake, on four major road trips. I like the big vertical screen, direction of travel up, tilted, and I can always see what's coming.

    Selecting a destination is terrible, especially while you're driving, but the nav itself is excellent.
     
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  10. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    My hard spot with the in-car Nav - the graphics are terrible. If I just listen to the voice and ignore the screen, it's fine. With Waze I can zoom, etc, and it's interactive. The other thing I noted is that the arrival time estimate for the in-car NAV was over an hour off. Waze was within a few minutes.
     
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  11. Marine Ray

    Marine Ray Senior Member

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    Toyota's heat pump for HVAC is awesome. Helps minimize effect on fuel economy vs. non heat pump HVAC methods.
     
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  12. Bob Comer

    Bob Comer Active Member

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    I love the DCC, use it all the time except housing speeds, even in heavy traffic. I used it in my Gen 3 Prius too, so that's about 10 years of using it all the time. :)

    As for 3., yeah, I've noticed that too (sensitive to wind.) Maybe even worse than my Gen 3 Prius, even though the suspension is obviously better.
     
  13. heiwa

    heiwa Active Member

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    Once I became familiar with DCC behaviors, I have been able to take actions anticipatively to make it work for me quite well. For example, driving on far right hwy lane, when a car in front of you is signaling to get off the hwy, I anticipate DCC to slow my car down. I place my foot on the accelerator pedal and start applying pressure as the car in front of me slows down to maintain my speed.

    In the heavy traffic, where everyone is stop and go rather quickly, I know DCC reacts late. So, I change the length of DCC distance to 3 from 1 when I anticipate a car in front of me is slowing down. This allows DCC to respond sooner, resulting in smoother deceleration of my car under DCC.

    When someone makes a brisk lane change on to mine right in front of me, I do not wait for DCC to slow my car down because I know I can brake my car safer in this situation.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  14. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Nice trip report. Have a safe and good rest of your trip.

    I don't use in car nav that often, but yes finding rest areas, gas station, restaurants seem to be easier on in car nav compared to Garmin. Of course, I have original map data in my car which must be at least 4-5 years old so it can be useless info.

    How are you finding seat comfort on a long trip? I don't like Softec material on my Premium, but it comes with lumbar support which I must have. Still, I find my Prime's seat is too stiff on a long trip compared to my recent long drive on Pathfinder seat which is large and supportive, overall much more comfortable.
     
    #14 Salamander_King, May 6, 2019
    Last edited: May 6, 2019
  15. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    The in-car nav is zoomable, and the graphics are as good as, or better than Google Maps.

    The arrival time estimate assumes going the speed as-set in the nav system for major road types.
     
  16. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Were your DRCC settings set to 1 bar? Maybe try 2 bars for a bit more lead time?

    The A/C is quite efficient. While we're still waiting for summer-like temps, the hit hasn't be noticeable yet. (Highs around 65-70°F)
     
  17. Bob Comer

    Bob Comer Active Member

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    I never use my DCC at one bar, most if the time I leave it on 3, but if there's more traffic, I change it to 2. I also don't expect it to brake at a stoplight, I do that manually, as well as various other situations.
     
  18. PT Guy

    PT Guy Senior Member

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    I prefer the old fashioned cruise control on freeways. I like the adaptive cruise control on other roads as well as on congested freeways.
     
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  19. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    I'm 6'3" and 185 lbs and the seats are comfortable for me. I did get the Premium trim partially for the seats, which have lumbar support that makes them more comfortable than the Plus trim (at least for me). I don't mind the Softex texture, having previously driven cars with plastic-ish seats (VW, Mercedes). The seats could be a bit firmer for my taste, but they are fine.
     
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  20. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    They were on 1 bar. On the next leg, I'll try with 2 and 3 bars to see if this makes DCC more tolerable.
     
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