First drive fuel economy

Oh you better believe it, lol.

 

Bought my Gen 4 on Wednesday and we've had a real cold snap and I've struggled to get over 50 mpg on my Two Eco, it's been well below 32F and we've had snow. Most of the snowy commutes on the highway have yielded about 45 mpg. However, today we were closer to 40F on my way home from work and BAM 78mpg! Temperature is huge.

 

This is our first day in the low 60's since I bought mine in November and was up in the mid 60 mpg range driving local. Good to see all the snow gone and weeds starting to grow.

 

My commute to work usually has all the challenges: cold morning, 22 miles of climbing elevation, lighter traffic on freeway. With temps in the high 20F low 30F range and lately morning flurries of rain\snow mix. The drive in yields 45-47 (according to the computer).

Ride home is much better: warmer temps, freeway more congested, slight downhill weather has usually cleared by the time I leave work. This yields between 75-78 MPG on the way home.

Though my average currently isn's 60 since I drove about 100 miles which gave me 42 MPG since it was snowy and below 25F.

 

Any conventional wisdom on how optimistic the Gen 4 computer is? Previously had a Gen 3, and I believe the conventional wisdom was that the computer estimated 10% high, so I always subtracted that out in my mind.

 

Mine is a consistent 5% overstated. First click on the gas nozzle.

 

Cross winds will kill mpg ,as well...yesterday we had cross winds and quartering head winds with gusts to 55mph(88.5kph)...and we were in a prime...dropped to 48mpg...

 

Well, had our first road trip since getting the 2018. About 250 miles roundtrip and with an indicated 49.8 MPG. Not as good as I'd hoped, but the temperature was in the 30's and 40's and the traffic speed is mostly 75 MPH. We also go over a smallish mountain (pass is about 1,000 feet above home). And I was trying out the DRCC, so spent most of the trip with that on. (Turned it off the last half of the way home to see if I could pull the numbers up and because it was getting a little boring.)

As I remember, it wasn't difficult to get 45 MPG on the same trip in the 2010, but I seem to remember getting close to 50 MPG on one trip. And riding on DRCC, while not the best strategy for MPG, was the easiest reasonably mileage I've gotten.

In terms of the DRCC, it worked very well. It's not overly-easy to turn off by taping the brakes. (In fact, one time I did apply the brakes enough to apparently slow the car -- though the DRCC was also slowing it I think, so maybe I really wasn't braking enough -- and it did not turn it off.) The DRCC beam is narrow enough that a merging car has to be about half into the lane before it picks it up and I can also feel it surge slightly when changing lanes from behind one car to behind another. (The gap between lanes is evidently enough it sees clear highway ahead.)

Had a great trip!

 

The radar beam swivels with the steering wheel direction. Thought to should know that it isn't fixed straight ahead all the time.

 

The only problem with the DRCC is that, unlike a person, it doesn't use the minimum distance at complete stop as a buffer zone. So at the minimum setting, it stops you a car length behind the car in front, which is too far back, and it also stops more strongly than it needs to because of the gap, which throws off the person behind.

Obviously, a person is looking at the car in front and also traffic beyond that so can adjust the speed more subtly and ultimately to end up a few feet behind the car in front.

 

In continual stop/go traffic flow that's not such a big problem, you can she forward using the accelerator of is important enough. Also, don't forget you are allowed to take full control of your brakes at any time you feel the need. Remember to pull the lever toward you first, so you'll be able to tap up and resume DRCC later.

 

Good tips! But I think in this case it's either a use or no-use, and in a backup I'd have to be overriding it often and in subtle ways to make it smoother and more predictable -- i.e. more human. So I think I'll reserve it for moving or occasionally-stopping traffic, but not crawling or stop-n-go traffic.

Part of not being in accidents is predicting and avoiding tricky situations, and part is being predictable enough that you don't get hit. In this case, the technology keeps you from hitting, but it sure feels like it makes you more likely to be hit. At least in my short observation period looking at the people behind me.

 

NB -. The mpg is reduced when you're using DRCC ie the human driving style can be more economical.