I'm going to drive my PiP from Los Angeles to Zion National Park next weekend to watch the solar eclipse. It'll be 430 miles each way, almost entirely empty desert road. I'm curious if anyone has tips on how best to drive the PiP to maximize mileage on such a trip. There'll probably be nowhere to charge at any point along the way (Vegas, sure, but probably won't even bother stopping there), so driving technique will be all I have to maximize efficiency. There are a few mountain ranges to cross, but mostly just flat, straight, open road. Is there anything I can do or should I just leave it to eco mode? - Tom
My only advice... If you stop for "Last Chance" gas, at a station operated by a crusty old man, who is aggressive and distrustful? If he calls you a "City Slicker" and spits tobacco... Or hits on your Wife or Girlfriend... Or warns you of horrible incidents happening nearby.... Or mysteriously gives you a "short cut" down a road nobody is taking... Just put her in ECO mode and head for home...preferably the way you came. The eclipse will be televised.
Like they say, "Just drive it!". The slower you go the more MPG's. I wouldn't worry about it. Just have fun on your trip.
You're going to need your A/C, so the only other thing that I can think of over which you have control is your speed. You'll be able to tell from the instant readout what mpg you get cruising at a particular speed. Regardless, you are going to be getting better mileage than just about any other vehicle on the road, so just enjoy the drive. You'll still have bragging rights when you get back, along with pictures of the eclipse, I hope. Maybe you'll post them along with your fuel stats when you get back?
keep speed as slow as you can, but use pulse and glide too. try leaving a couple of EV miles before manually switching to HV; be aware of regeneration opportunities use as gentle acceleration as possible without ticking off other drivers or trucks that's pretty mountainous terrain as i recall, so you probably won't get the 60 mpg i got on the flats of eastern nc. enjoy the eclipse!
If you wouldn't mind posting your MPG for the round-trip, I would appreciate that. But just drive it, and run the A/C to keep the cabin and your batteries cool.
Greetings greetings fellow stargazer.... What happened to Vegas, St George, Hurricane ect. Have they turned into ghosttowns already? And I was just there in Dec. Zion and Death Valley too. Watch out in Utah for the cheap Unl. Gas, it's low octane. Ok maybe if you live and use it all there but your going back to low elevation maybe on the same tank. Get gas in Vegas. Dinosaur Discovery Site "The St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm houses exceptionally well-preserved dinosaur tracks, fossil fish, fossil plants, rare dinosaur remains, invertebrates traces and important sedimentary structures. " Did Kolob Canyon up north in the snow. First time I'd been there. Highly recommended. (Missed the Barbie Museum again, well maybe this year.)
I just finished a trip to Jackson Rancheria Casino from Citrus Hts, 51 miles each way. Did trip at speed limits and charged at both ends. Turned 10.2 miles into 25 miles on return before going into HV. AC set on 76-78 F, low fan. Checked out Power mode, very impressive, nobody on the road could match me. Trip Mpg = 81 Mpg. California is listed as a semi-arid desert, so your results should be similar. As a poster mentioned, DO use the AC. Gen I , II an III all had overheat problems last year.....and the year before, etc. I do not expect the Pip to be a total improvement in regards to overheat symptoms. What think you John1701a ?
Stranded in desert heat of 150 degrees F, prostrate, in a state of delirium, severely dehydrated.....One can see all sorts of fanciful things
My advice would be to use your cruise control more than you would in other vehicles. After picking up my car in Maryland for the 12 hour drive to Georgia, I used my best P&G effort for the first tank, then (as a result of mental fatigue having to concentrate for first 4 hours) I tried using the cruise for the next tank full, and got the exact same mpg. Not believing the results, I used the cruise control again for the final 4 hours and once again got the same mpg. The engineers got it right. My experience has been that the cruise control logic is superbly designed such that it will anticipate the need for more fuel to maintain speed well before I will, frequently eliminating the need for me to punch it into the power range in order to be courteus to following drivers. The most remarkable feature is that it will generally (there were a few exceptions for really steep hills) bring the ICE up to the top of its ECO range and hold it there, allowing speed to drop off during a climb by a few mph (rather than dipping into the Power range), gaining it back in an efficient manner during the next descent. Building on the advice of previous posts, just drive it, but drive it using the cruise control when practical. This car makes so much sense. Love it!
I would carry a small cooler with some water or cold drinks and two inflate a tire cans...oh, and of course, my cell phone.
Agree totally with ultra turtle, on my 05 I always used CC, as for other safety items, water, air pump,spare tire, phone, blankets, flashlight, tools, etc. Coming back from Japan by way of Travis AFB, with my family packed into the VW beetle, my only strategy was stop at every place and tank up car and water the people, across the Salt Lake Desert.
Didn't mean to dis the many wonderful towns of the Great Basin. It's only that we need to get up there to see the eclipse Sunday afternoon, and then get the kid back to school by Tuesday morning. There won't be time for three-hour recharge stops along the way. This will be a very quick, utterly quixotic three-day adventure just to see the sun look like a donut for a couple of minutes.
Back from Zion. Quite a trip. It was just over 1,000 miles total. Because the terrain is a long gradual uphill climb going there, and a long gradual downhill slope coming back, the mileage was pretty different in each direction. I knew I was supposed to go around 63 to maximize MPG, but that's just not realistic on these roads; if you go less than 75 you get run over by the normal traffic. And with temperatures over 100 most of the way it was necessary to use AC the entire trip. That said, I got about 43mpg from LA to Zion, and about 55mpg from Zion back to LA. Kinda hurt, since my average mileage prior to this trip was 96mpg. But oh well, it was worth it. Here's the glamor shot:
