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89.8 MPG average (2.62 l/100 km) for 70 miles (113 km) in 2011 Camry Hybrid

Discussion in 'Toyota Hybrids and EVs' started by babybird, Jul 23, 2011.

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  1. babybird

    babybird Member

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    89.8 MPG average (2.62 l/100 km) for 70 miles and 190 mi. round trip @49.4 MPG in 2011 Camry Hybrid

    This Thursday, I took a photography trip up to the top of Mt. Evans in Colorado with my mom and sister driving my mom's 2011 Camry Hybrid. We started out at around 5,000 ft. above sea level and climbed to the peak at about 14,150 ft. above sea level.

    I reset the average MPG guage before leaving from the house and before leaving from the top of the mountain. This video shows the results after 70 miles coming back down-- at 89.8 MPG. My speed coming down averaged between about 20 at the top of the mountain where the road is narrow and winding and with slow traffic around us where the speed limit was 20 MPH and the road was badly damaged and you couldn't even go that fast safely, to about 75 MPH at a few spots on I-70 where I was getting up a little extra speed to maintain SHM (I think) going back up to keep gas usage down to a minimum.

    I've only driven this car about 3 times so far, and this was the first time I was able to practice enough to where I could feel a very slight "hitch" at speeds over 43 MPH where the ICE was running and the computer started injecting fuel again just before the real-time mileage gauge would climb above 60 MPG. I finally started to get a feel for how far I could step on the gas pedal before that happened and nurse my speed along without doing it.

    The average mileage for the trip up was 25.2 MPG, but climbing from 5,000 ft. to 14,000 ft. and with such thin air up there, that's impressive in itself! Coming back down, if I'd skipped a last minute trip into town for an errand that meant several miles of up hill in a strong head wind on the way back home, the average would've been around 85 MPG for that half of the trip. As it was, with the trip into town, the uphill and the head wind, the average dropped down to 78.4 MPG. I was hoping for 80+ but that errand just killed it for me.

    The total round trip average up and back down including the trip into town was 49.4 MPG total, and that was with the A/C on and set to 70F the whole trip. If I'd skipped the trip into town, the total round trip average would've been about 54.5 MPG. My round trip average calculations are probably ever so slightly off due to each half of the trip being a different length, but it's not likely to be more than .1-.2 MPG or so, so I consider them valid. Those are indicated average MPG, not calculated at the pump too, so there may be some margin for error there too. I'm not sure how accurate the CamHy MPG display is.

    But regardless, I thought my results were pretty astounding for a 190 mile trip! I'd seen a few references to the Camry Hybrid being able to break 50 MPG but it hadn't seemed possible to me until I made this trip. Now I believe that with a few other efforts, I could possibly break 60 MPG in this car in some situations. Maybe with A/C off, good LRR tires, and higher tire pressures and more measured speed modulation.

    Anyone else ever achieve these kinds of results in a Camry Hybrid over such long, real-world distances? It really makes me wonder what I'd have been able to eek out of a Prius with its HSI guage. I think I might've hit or broken 70 MPG round trip!

    And here's a quick video for the non-believers. I only wish the Camry had a better information display like the Prius so you could see the average MPG hadn't been reset like a minute before I shot the video. This is 100% legit.



    P.S. How do I embed a video? o_O (edit: nevermind)
     
    #1 babybird, Jul 23, 2011
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    well done, great car!
     
    #2 bisco, Jul 23, 2011
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Nice! I'm not sure. I never had the TCH long enough to get a good feel. I think the best I've gotten was the low 5s L/100km (mid-high 40s mpg)
     
    #3 Tideland Prius, Jul 24, 2011
  4. babybird

    babybird Member

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    That's right in line with my round trip average and what I've gotten when I've driven this car before. The first time I got around 41 MPG round trip and the second time I got 44.5 MPG, then this 49.4 MPG on the last trip. I really do want to crack 50 next time but it's so dependent on variables I can't control (time of day and CO traffic). But this last trip sure makes me look forward to the day I can find a good used Prius I can afford to buy! *fingers crossed*
     
    #4 babybird, Jul 24, 2011
  5. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Good job! Be sure & post mpg's per tank-full, too.
     
    #5 hill, Jul 24, 2011
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    we've never done better than 45 on a tank.
     
    #6 bisco, Jul 24, 2011
  7. SpikeVFR

    SpikeVFR New Member

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    Re: 89.8 MPG average (2.62 l/100 km) for 70 miles and 190 mi. round trip @49.4 MPG in 2011 Camry Hyb

    getting great mileage going downhill isn't that great of a coup, it is the round trip that counts. I have gone more than half and hour with out the ICE coming on at freeway speed -- going down hill. And I speed! From the top of Lake Tahoe to the bottom of the Sierras, I was at over 100MPG. I want to say 124, but that was a long time ago. By the time I got home it was at like 78. Great, except it is only one direction of the trip, so it doesn't really count. You can't spend your whole life just going downhill.


     
    #7 SpikeVFR, Jul 25, 2011
  8. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Re: 89.8 MPG average (2.62 l/100 km) for 70 miles and 190 mi. round trip @49.4 MPG in 2011 Camry Hyb

    But one can enter the TDI Tank War challenge just going downhill, as least when I first heard about it two years ago. That is why its leaderboard entries -- even the disqualified ones -- were underwhelming.

    With a minimum distance of 15 miles, and no maximum elevation change, very high numbers can be achieved on favorable terrain. Mine has gone over 80 miles with the MPG gauge pegged at 99.9, but would be DQ'd for not being a TDI.

    I'd like to know the farthest a non-plugin Prius -- or any other hybrid -- can go with no hydrocarbon fuel, after warmup, on favorable terrain. I have a 25 mile stretch in mind that ought to work. Can anyone else find a longer stretch of favorable terrain?
     
    #8 fuzzy1, Jul 25, 2011
  9. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    There are quite a few stretches of I-80 between Donner Summit and Auburn that's you could coast for 25 miles or more. The road elevation drops from over 7,000 ft. to 1,200 ft.
     
    #9 F8L, Jul 25, 2011
  10. Insight-I Owner

    Insight-I Owner 2006 Insight-I MT + 2011 Prius

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    Now you can see how exciting driving at high mpg can be, downhill or not. The first time I nailed 90mpg on my morning commute in my Insight-I I started cheering in the car - alone. Exhilarating in only a slightly different way from driving very fast on a twisty road.
     
    #10 Insight-I Owner, Jul 25, 2011
  11. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    A lot of people don't understand this type of excitement. I tells them it's like trying to gains an extra 2 tenths in the 1/4 mile or lap time. Just about any contest is comparable.

    The first time I achieved a 60mpg tank I was just as excited as the first time I made a car run an 11sec 1/4 mile.
     
    #11 F8L, Jul 25, 2011
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i've been going downhill my entire life.
     
    #12 bisco, Jul 25, 2011
  13. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    And here I thought you were on the uphill stroke. :D
     
    #13 F8L, Jul 25, 2011
  14. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    I haven't been on that stretch in a very long time, well before Prius, but vaguely remember a number of short uphills or semi-level sections likely to consume all momentum and drain the HV battery. While I can imagine a Prius getting 100 to 150 mpg over that whole section, maybe even over 200 if traffic light is enough to go slow, it seemed that some fuel is still needed.

    What do you think is the longest section a regular Prius could do without gas? For reference, I'm thinking of Death Valley National Park, Dante's View to Furnace Creek. Though that is steep enough to waste a lot of gravitational potential, even a non-hybrid willing to run one stop sign could do very well.

    My main point would be to make a mockery of the Tank Wars rules by showing an astronomical ScanGauge reading over much more than its qualifying distance.
     
    #14 fuzzy1, Jul 25, 2011
  15. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I'd have to map it out but I believe there are stretches where you can do it without gas. The only problem is it may require slow speeds at certain points and you know how fast people drive on I-80. :eek:
     
    #15 F8L, Jul 26, 2011
  16. SpikeVFR

    SpikeVFR New Member

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    Going downhill, I can even get a reading of 90MPG in my wife's non-hybrid car. Wish it had auto stop feature for times like that, would improve mileage even without hybrid.
     
    #16 SpikeVFR, Jul 29, 2011
  17. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    But in a hybrid you can get infinite MPG when going down a decent hill without sacrificing safety due to shutting the engine off which is the only way a non-hybrid could accomplish such a feat. :)
     
    #17 F8L, Jul 29, 2011
  18. SpikeVFR

    SpikeVFR New Member

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    You are actually starting to see the start stop feature on non-hybrid cars. Porsche, Hyundai, and I think GM and Ford all have cars that can start stop without being hybrids. Just as a way to increase those CAFE numbers.

     
    #18 SpikeVFR, Jul 29, 2011
  19. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    My Subaru easily hits 9999 mpg on the ScanGauge-II, with the engine on and transmission in gear. In compression braking mode, most modern cars stop the fuel burn.

    But compared to the Prius, it needs a steeper slope to do this, and won't coast nearly as far after reaching the flats below.
     
    #19 fuzzy1, Jul 30, 2011
  20. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I hate being wrong. :( Thanks guys. lol
     
    #20 F8L, Jul 30, 2011
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