Now that the temps are rising and staying warm here in the DMV I’ve hit my highest MPG and distance for 2018. How are the rest of you doing?
Whirrrr.jpg by Colin posted Aug 29, 2014 at 9:59 PM 515 miles. I think I could do 600 if I tried hard.
My v Wagon made it to 470 Miles once. Usually I’m between 430 and 440. Other than pumping up tire pressure and power gliding keeping the car in EV mode as much as possible .... are there other things I can do to get in the 500 mile club?
That particular tank was almost all long trips in mild weather. The speed limit in the area was around 55 mph. I didn't use any special tricks and had cargo and people in the car with me. I was rolling on Michelin Energy Savers. The best time to do it is on a long road trip.
Why would I want to cut it close to win this contest? I fill up when convenient for me and my bladder and my other trip needs. I think I've been within 50 miles of truly empty only once and that was when I was hoping the next state would have more reasonable gas prices (I was wrong, they didn't). Today I bought gas in the middle of 4 stops. When I was on the correct side of the road to access the lowest priced gas and do two other things while I was stopped there. I figure that is the way to be convenient for me and to drive green.
My question wasn’t intended to be a contest. Just comparing notes with other drivers who track their mileage.
In reality, it's a contest to see who is the bravest regarding running out of gas. For example, hand calculated mpg for a full tank of gas would be a more accurate measurement of fuel economy without the risk of being stranded roadside.
How might you determine this? The gauging differences between the cars I have actually run out of fuel (first one by accident, others intentionally similar to Bob Wilson's engineering tests) have amounted to far more than 50 miles of uncertainty. An advance look at GasBuddy.com can usually prevent such surprises. Though as a mostly volunteer reporting network, coverage is not 100%.
When you get old, your memory goes. I was on a turnpike with limited gas stations and so I figured a station at my destination off the turnpike might have gas for a few cents cheaper. I guess the price was much higher than in other states I had gone through so I figured it was a turnpike higher thing. Nope, local tax. Thus the one time getting that low. With as little as the v consumes, trying to save a cent is not on my priority list ... except this time I was hoping the delta would be larger. I don't use my phone at speeds of 70 MPH so I didn't think to look.
I started looking up gas prices from the home computers, before departure, because I didn't even have a smart phone until fairly recently. That works fine for trips of a single day's distance. My longer trips are with spouse, not solo, so I can look things up during my passenger seat shifts. Except when traveling in Canada without cell service (because my budget provider has no Canada option), where I must revert to searches from Wifi from the hotel room before moving on.
With warmer summer temps (I'm from Minnesota so forget about great mileage from Nov-Apr) I frequently get 500 or more. My best was 549 miles.
I'm still trying to 'adjust' to lowered expectations of our 2012 v wagon compared to our 2010 liftback. Frankly, the v wagon sucks in comparison. I should have done more research beforehand I guess! No big deal though. Comparing the two on the EPA site shows it pretty clearly. Compare Side-by-Side Ouch..I must say the 39MPG highway rating really hurts the v wagon. And I certainly do notice the difference. I can really feel the extra weight : 2012 Prius V weight = 3,274 lbs 2010 Prius Liftback weight = 3,042 lbs The lack of rear under panels probably make a difference as well.
