Has anyone taken their Prius on a 1000 mile or longer trip?

Took a trip last summer cross country. New York To San Fran. bout 3000 miles each way. It was just like any other car. Well I did get a little over 50 MPG for the trip.

 

Our family of four, including two teens, did a 7,500 mile camping trip last summer with tents and sleeping bags on the roof. Prius did great. Our choice was to drive 60 mph. We averaged 49.74 mpg.

PA P

 

I agree. That was the only problem on my cross country trip.

 

I think I'd have opted to set myself on fire about 5% into the 7,500 mile trip if I was forced to drive 60mph. There's something to be said for spending 10% more on fuel during a road trip and getting their much much faster.

 

There is no difference between the Prius and any other gas-only vehicles ability to make long trips.

I drive to Vancouver B.C. once or twice a year from Sacramento. Not quite 1000miles but the roud trip covers that.

 

Prii can accommodate the weight but my advise is to contact Jenny Craig Weight Loss Program :flame:


On the OP subject:
A perfect trip from Los Angeles, CA to Atlanta, GA and back for a total of 4900 miles, averaging 45 mpg.

 

The end of Feb we left for southern TX. Was gone about a month. We pulled a small aluminum motorcycle trailer with an electric mobility type scooter in it.
We ran mostly at 60 mph sometimes up to 65 on the interstate if I had to get on one. Averaged right at 50 mpg, took the grill blocking out in Tulsa as it was getting up to 50's. Ran 41 lbs in front and 39 in rear. Just the 2 of us and a cat, and about a weeks worth of clothing. Figured we would do laundry rather than take to much. Really enjoyed the Prius. We traveled just over 3400 miles.

 

Originally Posted by Vic Doucette
I put about 3,000 miles on my Prius with a trip to Florida last fall. My one suggestion would be to get some kind of a lumbar cushion. The Prius seat is OK for an hour or two at a time, but the lower-back support is rather lacking. I bought one before the trip and am glad I did.

My first trip was only 400 miles RT and my back was killing me. That is the #1 thing I miss after trading in the '07 Camry. I'm going shopping next week before I take a trip from Florida to Michigan in August.

Bob

 

I do up to 500 miles in a day and routinely 350 or more per day. Not only can the car do it, it is comfortable enough for you to actually manage being in a car for that distance without being wiped out at the end of the drive.

 

Neon,

Great photography and composition. What kind of camera do you have? Makes me want to toss my Rebel out the window.

 

We took ours from Virginia Beach to Philly a few year ago 3 + luggage and my family packs everything except the kitchen sink and it performed great. On our way there 52GPM and on the way home 58 GPM I think it was the down hill glide that got us more.

 

Thanks.

It's just a Canon ELPH. I think that was a 5 mp one. I don't even use the highest setting either.

I love the way Canon pictures look when there's a lot of light. For low-light shots, I'm sure other cameras are much better, but for daytime it's perfect.

 

with my 01 prius we did about 10 trips to florida, 1250 miles each way.
the 05 prius we did 1 trip to florida and racked up 20k miles since we moved

 

I did a 3100 mile round trip to Florida. Got 52 MPG for the trip averaging 70mph with 49/47psi tires. Did the first strait 900 miles without using cruise control to test various methods. I'd suggest using CC in Ohio and Georgia to avoid leg pains! Overall very great experience.

 

I do a 1000 mile RT trip each year, and while by back had no problems, my nice person can only take 300 miles at a time. I don't know if it's the seat or my nice person, but one of the two needs some additional padding.

But the car handles it all just fine. Total mileage was 54.7 MPG.


-Ken

 

Our Prius was great across Canada and back a few summers ago. The whole trip was less than $500 in gas. We camped most of the way, and kept everything - including the kitchen sink, and a small barbecue - in the car. It handled relatively well for all that weight, and I got pretty good at packing. Bathroom stops were no problem. (Well, for me, at least. The girls were much fussier about their facilities, and really weren't comfortable with letting it all hang out by the nearest tree.) I got pulled over only once when I got a little too enthusiastic in the mountains - no ticket, just a friendly suggestion to take it easy - and I was able to find the top speed somewhere in Saskatchewan.

 

Well...I'm glad I came across this question, as most of the responses have blown away the statement someone made about long trips in a Prius. I don't have a Prius, but my wife and I tried one out and are thinking about getting one. Someone I know told me Prius's aren't good for long trips because the batteries depend on regenerative braking, and...driving for hours could run the batteries down. I confess I don't know enough about the Prius operating modes...but it sounds like this is not really an issue at all. If anyone thinks it IS an issue...please say so. Thanks...hoping to be driving a Prius soon...on a long trip!

 

>> depend on regenerative braking

While regenerative breaking is used to charge the battery but it is not "required". The ICE will charge it up just fine. It will cost some gas because of the added load on the ICE. On my trips the battery got up to the required charge. If I get into a traffic jam and inch along on batteries for a while it will loose charge. As soon as I get back up to speed it charges right back up.

Yes, check this one off the list of things to worry about.

Bob

 

A lot of the Hybrid nay-sayers love to spout that one off. Its effective, because there is a grain of truth. But only a grain. The electric system probably doesn't do you much of any good on flat highway at constant speed. What does do you a lot of good at those speeds is that the extra power available from the hybrid system allows you to drive a relatively large car with a tiny 76hp 1.5L 4cyl Atkinson cycle engine and not be really unhappy with the performance.

Rob

 

Uh...Do those four people stop at McDonalds a lot and order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a milkshake?