Road trip to SoCal from Bay Area

Prius handles the Grapevine (I-5) very well. Full green battery going downhill, good torque uphill. Fuel economy not impaired that much, especially using cruise control. If cruise control set at 70 mph you can expect 45 mpg.

 

It is just that the engine sounds so loud going up the hills. I have gone with a friend and alot of wine and alone. Unless you need a lumbar support at the office or in any other car I see no need for it here. I have bad knees so I frequently need to get out and walk a bit, this is also good for legs.
If you have the 6 disc changer set up your music to start with and float your way down here.
PS; I got 52 and 48 on my last trip up and down.

 

One trip to Santa Barbara from Bay Area.
Four adults, one infant.

A couple of stops for the baby, changing, etc.

Easy ride. Plenty of power of the hills. ( including on different trips the hill from Sna Jose to Santa Cruz)

Can't remember the exact mileage, but 50 seems to come to mind.

Suggest, if you drive safely, 40 lbs of air pressure. in tires. be careful on wet pavement.

Above seventy, one needs to stay awake.

If you take 101, suggest In and Out for gourmet burger dining in Salinas. There is also one in Atascadero, that we missed!

I would drive this car anywhere.
Gordon

 

Forgot to mention,

Cruise control is a negative on fuel economy. In a slight uphill, it seems to give full throttle., when a slight increase in juice would be appropriate.

Humans still have a roll to play in their interaction with technology.

Gordon

 

the prius should be fine. get lumbar support though if you don't you'll be shifting in your seat a lot.

 

How long will you be in Orange County? Will you have a Saturday free? If so, I recommend a detailing day at the Meguiar's headquarters. Very informative even if you don't use Meguiar's products. And you get free pizza.


http://www.meguiarsonline.com

registration is free and so is the class.

 

Took a trip last May with my 05 down Route 99, and up that little hill called the grapevine, swung past Las Vegas and ended up in Tampa, Fl. On the way back I tackled that 12000ft pass outside Denver and around the 4 corners across a desolate desert opened the car up to 105MPH momentarally, just to see what Prius would do. The car performed flawlessly for the 8000 mile trip and gave me 54MPG. I even changed my own oil during the trip! The car will accelerate under any conditions, although I drive mostly at 60 with the CC.

 

We got our '05 in mid-November and made the trip up North, via I-5, a few weeks later. All went fine. The fuel economy on the uphill grade going North was not all that great; but overall it was tremendous, particularly considering I was previously driving a 400 Lexus that required premium gas.

I am tall and find the seats to be sufficiently comfortable, even for the long trips.

On the grapevine, particularly coming South, you will want to stay away from the right hand lanes and hope that someone does not cut you off on the uphill climb. That's a short climb though.

The display on the downhill side (either direction) was fun to watch.

Ted

 

I've gone to L.A. from the Bay Area a number of times in the Prius. The car has handled the trip without problems to it, or the passengers in it.

Things to note:

Above 70 MPH your MPG will suffer. Hell, above 55 MPG it starts to suffer, but above 70 it really starts to show. We got about 38 to 40 MPG. Most of our time was spent at 80+ MPH while on I5. If you go slower, obviously you'll get better MPG.

The car still has plenty of acceleration when needed. I had no trouble going 90 or 95 MPH when I had to pass someone.

Going up the grapevine, the engine was whining like crazy, but I had no trouble maintaining 70 MPH up the hill. I was at 2 pink bars by the time I got to Lebec (where it starts to flatten out). By the time we had passed Gorman, I was up to 4 blue bars.

Going down the grapevine I didn't bother using the B mode. In a normal car (like our 2004 Sienna) I would normally downshift out of D into a lower gear (4, in the case of the Sienna). Light use of the brakes was enough to maintain a safe speed going down the hill.

Our normal route from Pacifica to Los Angeles (well, San Fernando Valley) is I-280S to CA-92E to I-880N to I-238E to I-580E to get out of the Bay Area itself. And then I-580E until it merges with I-5S. Since yer coming from San Jose, I'd recommend US-101S to CA-152E to I-5S. Or if you like a more scenic route, 101S all the way until you hit L.A. proper and then I-405S or I-5S. Slower, but can be a really nice drive.

 

Last August, I drove from Alameda, CA to Hollywood with a friend via I5. We set the cruise control at 70 mph for most of the time. We averaged 50 mpg on the way to LA and for some inexplicable reason, noticeably less on the way home. The only difference I can imagine would be the prevailing wind since both routes began near sea level and ended near sea level.

I drove around LA a bit the next day and a half before I had to fill up the gas tank since leaving Alameda. That was amazing.

Neither of us had any complaint at all about discomfort. The seats were fine. It may depend on your height and/or weight. I'm 5' 8" at 170 lb. My friend is 5' 10" and somewhat heavier.

Before I received delivery of my Prius, I had read one person's rant about the seats. I have since had no reason to complain about the seats. They're fine. A friend commented last weekend that I had the driver's seat somewhat more reclined that he expected. That may have something to do with it, but I don't like to recline too much because my butt will begin to slide forward. I hate fighting that problem. So, I'm sure it's not reclined a lot.