Long trip with some new experiences

I'm going to be taking a trip with my Prius in a few weeks. I'm wondering what you found to be the good & bad points of taking your Prius on a long trip.

 

I have done a number of 300-350 mile R/T's so far, and pretty amazed at how the Prius behaves mpg wise. Looking forward to what I call my first real R/T in eons - DC to Savannah. Not sure of the final route, that depends on how much time we can get off - but will try not to travel the same roads twice if possible.

Just came back this week from a trip to Luray Va, near where Sabby was. The B mode was noisy and total full bars at times. And I still needed to ride the brakes occasionally. B mode was disconcerting, but had faith that Toyota knew what they were doing.

Bob, Sabby is right about the AC. No worries IMHO in using it. Since Memorial Day weekend we have done trips to Phillidelphia (via Baltimore and Lebanon Pa) and the most recent one to Luray. With my commuting thrown in (about 100 miles a week) we averaged 56mpg's. My fiancé and I find the Prius as nice of a ride as my old Subaru Baja. The downside is with all the glass, the Prius can be hot - even with AC on at times.

And the only other downside is that Prius does not seem get as decent mpg's with cruise control. But I found that it made me a more alert driver.

 

Did you have any opinion on the comfort of the seats on such a long drive?

 

I had every single window tinted and it made a HUGE reduction in heat build-up in the car. There is tint that is clear yet rejects 50% of the heat that works great for the front window.

 

Funny I replaced a 2006 BMW with a 2012 Prius.

 

I recently traded in a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Sahara for a 2013 Prius Four, mostly after renting a base model 2013 Prius and driving it from Northern Va to Disney World. It was more than roomy enough for myself, and my 9 and 6 year old boys. All the luggage for a 9 day trip fit in the back of the Prius just fine.

I did not know much about gliding, or any of the driving techniques. My guess is the tires were NOT at 42/40 or anywhere near that. I did use some of the gas saving techniques from my Jeep to try and keep mpg optimal, and of course the instant feedback on the Prius helped a ton.

On the way down I drove between speeds of 65-75mph, the average speed because of traffic was 60mph and I averaged something like 48.1mpg. On the way backup, I needed to make the 13 1/2 hour drive without stopping overnight, I drove 70-85mph and still got 45.1mpg with an avg speed I believe of 70mph.

After realizing I drove 1800 miles for less than $140 in gas, the same would have cost me $360-432 in the Jeep <at a slower speed>, I knew the better choice for me was to trade the Jeep in.

I did find the seats to be comfortable initially, but next time will get one of those seat pads to help as over time it started becoming uncomfortable.

-Marcus

 

Im planning to take my Prius on a long road trip soon.
Quick question: why not use the brake pedal instead of putting it in B? I thought you weren't really using your real brakes if the charge bar wasn't full? So if you were to keep braking with the charge bar at 3/4 it wouldn't stress your brakes?

 

I believe you wanna use B when your battery is nearing a full charge so you don't overcharge the battery.

 

I would say you want to use B from the top of any hill you KNOW will fill the big battery. This will keep your friction brakes cooler with less wear.

B under the D in the Drive gears? | PriusChat

 

Don't worry about it, the prius will regulate everything!

 

is it bad to overcharge the battery?

 

It would be if it were possible, but the computers will not let you. They will quit using regeneration, and start using engine braking. B just starts engine braking earlier than the computers would.

 

Don't worry about over charging the battery The car won't let that happen! Just drive the car and enjoy!

 

I traded a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited when I bought my 2010 Prius. The gas mileage difference is astounding. It is also nice to be able to drive in the rain without getting soaked.

 

The B setting is for long downhill runs, otherwise don't use it.

 

I live in a very hilly area and have daily opportunities to experiment with b mode and see the effects of an "indicated" fully charged battery.
Once the battery level shows full(which is technically 80-85% capacity?) the ICE will turn on to use up some excess energy, as said before, no worries of the battery ever overcharging, if you never use b mode while descending long steep grades you'll just end up wearing your brake pads faster.
One cool thing i noticed is the ability to cruise at freeway speeds using no gas. From my house to the freeway its down a steep hill, by the time i get on the freeway i've got a full battery. Freeway speed is max 80-90kmh and i'm usually able to cruise on the flat at 85kmh for a few miles using just electric power, the ICE is spinning of course to protect mg1 but all forward momentum is being provided by using up the "excess" charge of the battery. I believe this is called super highway mode?