2018 HyCam amateur review and ongoing blog

I only travel on the highway a few times a year. The car is intentionally driven to get high MPGs most of the time, highway travel or running late to work being the exceptions. Hopefully the car will have one tank that breaks 70 MPG this coming Summer. Got close last year but didn't quite make it.

The current tank was on track for 70 MPG but a couple cooler days has the display in the mid sixties. Heat is a friend of mileage.

 

Calculated record tank from June of 2018 is the number to beat. I fully expect to eclipse that number this Summer by just leaving for work 5 minutes earlier.

 

New tank is looking pretty good!

594.1 miles trip
69.3 MPG displayed tank
56.2 MPG displayed lifetime (up 4 tenths from last tank)
16,914 OD

$22.74
8.751 gallons

67.9 MPG calculated tank, not bad...

 

Got a pretty good tank going 74 MPG displayed after just under 300 miles.

 

Lost a couple ticks for a while but then gained them back and more. Pretty sure this is a record tank so far. It is stormy today so it is likely I'll lose some tenths.

 

Yes, there are several factors including hypermile style driving and not driving during rush hour

I believe a Prius would be pushing 100mpg if driven in a similar manner.

On the freeway the Hybrid Camry has been getting 45 to 50mpg at 75mph with AC in use. I believe a Prius would do just a bit better on the interstate.

While the Camry is no match for a Prius in terms of mileage it is nice, comfortable and more powerful.

The Camry has been no match for my old Civic Hybrid which I drove 1000 miles on a tank at over 80mpg.

 

While the Civic got better MPGs and was a good car, the Camry is just a much nicer car. No comparison really.

 

The Accord is a more direct competitor to the Camry than the Prius. The Accord Hybrid is worth a look IMO.

 

I struggled to achieve 70 mpg on the way to work into strong winds but those same winds made for an incredible trip home.

 

RECORD TANK!

75 MPG displayed tank
523.5 miles trip
56.7 lifetime MPG displayed
17,438 OD

$18.22
7.29 gal

71.8 MPG calculated, RECORD!

 

My commute is 16 miles of mixed city/back roads/highway driving in roughly equal parts. The big advantage is working a non-rush hour schedule. The drive is long enough to mostly overcome the startup/warm up cost.

One disadvantage of my commute is that it is into the wind when the wind is stronger and with the wind when the wind is weaker. It would be better if I lived on the other side of where I work in this regard.

Not to brag but I have been driving for mileage for over a decade. Started out getting nearly 40MPG in a Corvette. I was one of only 2 drivers that got over 80 MPG in a Honda Civic Hybrid, the other being RJBarlow.

The Camry requires some different techniques but I'm finally getting the hang of it. The other 2 cars were not entirely safe to drive this way because they were not designed to be driven with the engine off. The Vette was very hard to drive without power steering for example. The Honda only lost functionally for a few seconds before the electric power steering was available again after a "FAS". The Camry shuts off automatically so no FAS is required. The Camry remains fully functional 100 percent of the time.