Real World MPG on 3 week 3,750 Mile Road Trip to Northwest U.S.

Just finished a 3,750 mile 3 week road trip in my 2014 PIP and averaged 51MPG. Journey took me from Los Angeles to: Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Logan, Jackson Hole, Bozeman, Butte, Spokanne, Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria, Sequim, Astoria, Crescent City, Ukiah, San Francisco, San Jose and finally back to L.A. I covered some pretty mountainous terrain and on the journey up north it was pretty much uphill all the way. I recharged about twice a week but only did perhaps 20 miles in straight EV mode (stops for road work, short trips from gas stations to coffee shops, etc). When going from Butte Montana to Vancouver I was in a hurry so I was flooring it through the mountain passes at speeds of 75-80 mph. I saw mpg as low as 18-25 at these speeds but as I was going uphill in power mode at 80 mph I was still impressed (my old Land Rover would have been doing about 3 or 4 mpg in that situation). I did take a noticeable MPG hit on course, rough asphalt roads in Montana, Washington and Oregon as compared to the smooth concrete highways I am used to in Los Angeles. I ran 44psi front 43psi rear on new Avid S33 stock tires. I drove solo and did a lot of balancing of my cargo and pulse and glide tests before leaving and this setup gave me the best coast speeds. I can tell you I finally understand why a lot of folks driving on rough asphalt get worse MPG with the Prius as opposed to those of us in So Cal -- road surface matters MPG-wise. I have a PIP advanced and the only mods so far are Rude person's's front and mid brace. The car handled like a dream with these mods and I pushed it hard. I never lost traction in the rain and it never felt squirrelly in twisty mountain passes at high speed. The PIP truly impressed. I am in awe at how comfortable it was. No back problems, no leg numbness, no fatigue. On driving days I drove 8-9 hours a day. I was conflicted when I bought the Advanced version because of the extra dough but now am relieved I did. The HD Nav unit was incredible, the HUD a must when trying to pulse and glide at 80mph around hairpin turns and the electric seat adjustment is critical. The clingy SoftTex that some bitch about was a Godsend as it kept me planted in the seat and secure while putting the car through its paces.

At first I was a bit disappointed in the 51mpg as I usually get 65mpg in pure HV (no EVmode) in Los Angeles. But then again I stay under 65mph, pulse and glide a lot and max out the car's MPG potential on mild hilly terrain. Considering my many hours at speeds above 75-80mph (a lot uphill) on the trip, I suppose 51 mpg overall isn't bad for 3,750 HV miles. I couldn't have done that in a Volt, that's for sure.

Not trying to knock other EVs or PHEVs but honestly in my three week journey through California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, B.C. and Oregon I saw exactly One Chevy Volt on the freeways (in B.C.) and One Tesla (in Montana). I saw NO Leafs whatsoever. But I saw many hundreds of Prii. All years and models. It is by far the Hybrid Touring car of choice for most folks doing long distances in those states.

The whole Tesla Supercharger thing works in theory as long as you take the routes they plan for you. As for me, I couldn't have even done ONE of my driving days in a Tesla without stopping for hours to recharge. No Supercharger station was on my particular route and the whole idea or re-routing for a supercharger just seems silly on a road trip such as this.

At an average of $4.oo per gallon, gas ran me roughly $294 for the 3,750 mile trip. I saved a couple bucks spending one night sleeping in the car just to see if I could do it ( at 6'2" with headrests out and seats fully reclined I actually fit). I won't make a habit of it but it was fun for the night and watching a DVD on the HD Nav display with JBL sound before sleeping was a kick.

I carried a full size spare, tools and emergency gear wedged behind the rear seat just in case I ran into a glitch in the boonies as I was without cell signal probably 40% of the time. Didn't need any of it, the PIP never hiccuped once. I kept the A/C usage to a minimum, used the seat warmers but never the heat and I drove in 'Normal" mode (no Eco) 98% of the time - I like the finesse/control Normal gives over Eco.

A PIP isn't for everyone but for me it's absolutely turned out to be the perfect car... except when I have to look at it ;-)

 

Now that you mention it, I guess I technically bypassed Seattle as I went straight from Ellensburg to Vancouver which I think took me east of Seattle. And my remark about other hybrids was primarily relating to open road stretches where people were making obvious long trips and not commutes. In downtown metro areas I wasn't focusing so much on other hybrids, just on trying to stay alive and avoid the a""hole drivers texting on their cellphones. But on the vast open road I can assure you nary a Volt, Leaf or Tesla was present. For better or worse, the Prius dominates and of course the vast majority of them are not PIPs.

 

I expected about 55-60 too so I was surprised how much of a hit I took on course asphalt roads. I wonder if my overinflation, which does wonders for me on smooth asphalt, actually made me take a hit on the course asphalt mountain roads??

 

I am in the Santa Clarita to Ventura area. I avoid the 405 like the plague and take PCH when I need to go into town. The 101 has excellent pavement as does the 126 and the 1.