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7000 mile trip

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by nwprius, Oct 30, 2004.

  1. nwprius

    nwprius Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2004
    227
    35
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    Location:
    Lacey, Washington
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    Departed Roy, Washington in nice weather averaging my usual 50+ MPG. Have never understood how others have gotten the poor mileages reported. This trip taught me much. Began the climb into the mountains and the mileage dropped to 46+. On the other side of the Rockies I averaged 59 for over 300 miles at 75 mph. Leveled out onto the prairies and averaged 50+ at 75 mph.

    Virtually all my time was on Cruise Control. Fabulous on this car!!! With the ECVT (planetary gears), no shifting, the cruise control maintained perfect speed regardless of the conditions. On all others cars I have driven, the hills would defeat the cruise control with the constant shifting and revving of the engine.

    While visiting in small towns, with many short trips, I was hit with the reason for the reported low mileages, now I was averaging 44. Shock.
    On the return from North Carolina we had to change our planned southern route due to hurricane residuals. Hit some heavy rains and winds as we skirted their edges going north westerly. Handled the rain well, RainX really works, and the Goodyear Integrity's had good traction. After the rain, had a full day with the wind on the nose at 30 mph, cruise set at 75mph, (decided to get on through the bad stuff) the mileage dropped to 36 mpg. Handled well as long as the wind was on the nose but did have some road wander with side winds, actually not worse than some other cars I have owned, but it did take your full attention. We are talking about winds reportedly 25 to 35 mph with higher gusts.

    Now we are home after that 7000 miles and one month of intimate Prius experience. Now back into our routine suburban (35 - 45 mph) and highway ( 55 - 65 mph) driving and again averaging 52+ mpg.

    Happy, happy with the Prius. Not as comfortable as some luxury cars I have owned but very satisfactory. Amazingly quiet, especially at high speeds. I liked the handling especially after owning the Lexus RX 300 with its SUV style handling.

    Saw very few other Prii on the trip and only one waved back. Did talk to a Civic Hybrid owner at a Rest Stop. He stated he had gotten 57 mpg on the same road I had just gotten 49 on. It was rolling hills and 70 mph speed limit. The entire trip I set the cruise control on the speed limits.

    Bob
     
    #1 nwprius, Oct 30, 2004
  2. Batavier

    Batavier Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2004
    442
    3
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    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Great to hear you like the car. Still love it as well!!

    It's nice and quiet. Of course there are cars that are just as comfortable or more so, but they're more expensive. :)

    I love the mileage. Still around 50 MPG with lots of highway driving.
     
    #2 Batavier, Oct 30, 2004
  3. Angelfish01

    Angelfish01 New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2010
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I'm wondering if my Prius will perform as well. It has 33K+ miles and I do not know if the previous owner took it on any long trips. I bought it used at 21,600 miles. I have had it for 1 year and have been very happy with its performance. MPG=51.2 on average.
    I am planning a trip from PA to AZ and back and am concerned about it being able to take the hills of the OZarks and /or any other of the mountain ranges I will confront. I'm used to the standard automobiles and using the lower gears to exert more torque when climbing hills and mountains. Is the best idea just to put it in cruise and let the computer do the calculating? Comments?
     
    #3 Angelfish01, Sep 22, 2010
  4. savrip

    savrip Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2010
    56
    3
    22
    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Sounds like you had a fun trip. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one waving at Prius owners. I kind of liken it back to the VW bug days when I would drive with my Grandfather. There was a bit of comradery in vehicle ownership back then.
     
    #4 savrip, Sep 22, 2010
  5. krg03

    krg03 Not expert, just experienced

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2010
    246
    31
    0
    Location:
    so cal
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    While it was a pain, I found I get better mpg NOT using cruise control. Takes more watching the hills and valleys (taking my foot off the gas where the cruise wants to speed up). I find a big difference using 65 vs 75 mph. 5mpg more on flat land even using cruise. Like many have reported. Sore bu!! after the trip and resolved that with more stops. Going to try a reupholster overstuff job. Overall it did better than expected on a long trip.
     
    #5 krg03, Sep 22, 2010
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