Eclipse Trip Report w/Charge Mode

That made me think of the old outside drive inn movie places. All you were missing was the speaker on the window. Sounds like a great trip.

 

Glad you had fun.

 

That is vastly better than the 42 mpg that my 2012 non-PIP produced on the way back from Weiser to the Seattle area. But I suspect the two bicycles on the hitch rack were my largest factor in that poor performance, more so than the Gen3-Gen4 difference, non-plug-in difference, and replacement tire difference (less LRR than OEM).

Cleanup hasn't yet been done. Mine has a major collection of Columbia River dusk-time agricultural-area insects on the outside, and a savory blend of hiking-camping dust from the Colville, Okanogan, Flathead, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests on the inside. From this month alone.

 

Love the story and pics! Thanks!!

 

How was your view of the eclipse? I was in Casper, WY and had a great view of totality although there were a few thin cirrus clouds in the way but I could still see the corona really well. With binoculars I could see a couple of the solar prominences.

I had a rented brand new 2018 Camry on the trip which included Yellowstone and the dynamic cruise control worked great as did LKA. I have read comments that LKA on Prius Gen 4 and Prime does not work as well as it did on Gen 3. But I will need to try out LKA on a newer Prius to see if it is any different than the Camry. DCC on Camry was really good, again I have to wait until I drive newer Prius with it to compare. A few months ago I had a Gen 4 2016 rental but it did not have LKA or DCC.

 

Carbondale Illinois, Saluki Stadium

 

Correct, I was using LKA in it's generic form, I probably should have used Toyota terminology to be more clear (well clear as mud anyway). I wish the carmakers would agree on standard terminology, in my opinion current Toyota's use LKA (helps keep you in your lane) as compared to LCA (helps you stay centered in your lane). Many carmakers with LCA however advertise it as LKA, I guess because people are more familiar with that term.

The point I was trying to make was that LDW w/ SA worked much better than the comments that I have read led me to believe. I understand it's apparently not as aggresive as the prior versions, but I drove 2,000 miles last week in Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas, and many times with no cars around I let it drift to one side or the other and it almost always kept me from going out of the lane. Interestingly it did this sometimes without beeping. If made a lane change without using the turn signal, it would beep but not try and correct, it only seemed to correct drifting, not purposeful lane changes. Although sometimes when exiting a highway there was a stripe that I was crossing and it tended to fight with me but if I maintained pressure on the wheel it seemed to accept that I was doing it intentionally so it backed off. I will say the highways were well marked in all of these states which probably helped. It even worked in the rain and at night, again perhaps due to well marked roads.

After using it I will no longer consider purchasing a car without this feature.

 

Good story. Glad you got to see totality and have a road adventure too. I had never thought of using the space above the display as a laptop holder, and the sun shade turning the interior into a movie theater!

Also used my new Prime Advanced for my eclipse adventure. 2,000 miles round trip to Hemmingford, NE., and it was an absolute pleasure to drive. It had only a few hundred miles on it at the start of the trip. One day I averaged 64 mpg, all hybrid mode, and only needed 5.5 gallons when filling up again. I did notice a slight drain on the EV battery day after day, with average losses of about 4% per day. I don't know what causes that.

I was able to fully test many of the features I never had in my Gen3 Hatchback. The radar cruise control is fantastic, Lane Departure works as advertised, Eco AC kept me cool enough on the 90 degree days, and the back of the car, with hatch up, was used as a wind barrier when shooting the eclipse (see video).

I rather expected a few other Prii drivers to notice the car at rest stops, but that subject never came up. I think the Prime goes under the radar as it just doesn't look like another Prius.

Photos of the trip and eclipse here.

 

Were you there?
We stopped by the Stadium the Friday before, but we saw the eclipse outside town at the Bald Knob Cross mtn top.
Had one cloud at the wrong time but we had some clear time. Scope and my mom so we had the minivan. Mom travels heavy with coolers and cookers etc. She's 88.

The view in the scope was memorable, so I can't see leaving that at home for 2024.

 

Made eclipse trip from Indiana to Kentucky...via SDF(pilot)...overall mileage from N Indiana to SDF was approximately 68.5-71.0 mpg in HV mode on I69-I65...Speeds from 60-80mph...We would get within 30 miles of a city and go to charge mode which gave of 18EV miles into the city( a drop to 58mpg)...then into SDF on EV and to our initial destination...Next morning left for Hopkinsville KY...via I-64 to US 431...Keep in mind at this point i have not got any gas since leaving N Indiana... we pulled into Owensboro and finally got topped off 7 gallons...No too shabby...Now with a full tank and EV miles we went south pondering where to stop for the eclipse...I said lets go to the local Toyota Dealer and see if he has a charger and if anybody had a chance to look at a prime(given the midwest doesnt seem to do primes...only the left coast and NE)...well we pulled into Renshaw Toyota and they said "sure no problem...have a plug"...and go ahead and set up your telescope for the eclipse...i said perfect...seeing how everybody in town was charging 20-40$ to park in the grass...Motels were 200-400$ per night...(we had compd rooms in Louisville at the casino)...anyway we set up and low and behold another prime showed up from Georgia and grabbed the other plugin...so we both took photos of the eclipse in its totality and we took photos of our primes...the dealership really liked the primes and we were discussing the ins and outs of the prime to the general manager and showed him different things the he was unaware of on the prime...now he knows...He gave both of us primers Toyota Headgear(hats) and told us to come back anytime...For Toyota USA take note ...this dealership is the friendliest and nicest Toyota people ive ever dealt with( been driving Prii for 15 years)...they need an award...anyway we headed back to SDF and it took 6-7 hours in backup traffic in all directions ...good for 80-90mpg and Eving...did not need gas until we arrived back home in northern Indiana and then it was only 7 gallons....

 

Yup, I was there. Big fat cloud obscured our view at the very last minute.

 

Very creative ...Toyota dealership viewing location!
We considered schools, churches, highway off-ramps...never thought about a Toyota dealership, and I really wanted to see what a new v looks like too. In the end we had clear skies (or so we thought) so we had to stay where we were, but I was prepared to look for alternate spots if a cloud front rolled through.

 

Took my prime premium on a road trip for the eclipse too! Traveled to Idaho for the eclipse (clear skies, yay!) then went to Yellowstone afterwards driving north through Montana. Recharged on many of the down hills through mountains, once from 1% to 100%! In Yellowstone with slower speeds in the park averaged 72 mpg. Returned over two days at high speeds ~500 miles per day. Overall, for 3080 miles averaged 58.2 mpg which is great considering some interstates in Montana, and Nevada had speed limits of 80 and we pushed it to 85 mph on those to save time...

 

Great story! Can we see some eclipse and Prime pics?

 

I would but the buddy I took with me insisted on driving his Jeep. And he also insisted that he do all the driving.

 

Our total eclipse at the toyota dealership...
heres a few shots of the primes and the moon /sun