To Cruise Control or not to Cruise Control

I find cars not using cruise control to be frustrating, vs cars going at a steady slower speed with cruise control, the ones that speed up then slow down are awful.
Most tractor trails drive at the same rate, few go as fast as they can downhill, not all but it used to be terrible, tickets do accumulate knowledge.
Hypermiling at 41mph isn't going to happen on a thruway, actually I've seen a few idiots attempt it, Darwin comes to mind.

 

I never drop below 60 mph on the interstate unless traffic is going slower

 

This is beginning to look like one of those pointless "debates" but one more try:

If the speed limit is 70 or 75 at the place you are going 60, that is DANGEROUS and it doesn't take another "impaired" driver to make it that way. Some perfectly normal drivers have a problem judging a 15 MPH closing rate......when they have no reason to expect it to happen.

 

Yes, this is becoming pointless.

Speak for your own region's aggressive and hostile (or is it clueless?) driving culture. It is by no means universal.

In my own state, I have not found anywhere that is it dangerous for passenger cars to travel just 60 mph, even in the several hundred miles of interstate posted at 70 and lesser highways posted at 65. Commercial trucks are legally limited to 60 mph everywhere in the state. While many of them, especially the out of state drivers, pretend to be 18-26 wheel passenger cars, there are always enough truckers obeying the 60 mph truck limit, as a condition of continued employment, that passenger cars can also safely travel the same speed. And a significant number, more than a critical mass, actually do so.

Anyone who can't handle a 15 mph closing rate here is very definitely impaired.

 

If both lanes of traffic force me to do 75-80 as to not get run over then I either do that or I choose a different option (I95 comes to mind)

 

My 2010 Prius 11 got 47 mpg on a 1300 mile trip to Erie,Pa from Dallas,Tx. Ran 75 to 85+ mph using cruise control as much as possible. most of the speed limits around here on the interstates and main highways are 70 t0 75 mph. most people are driving 5 t0 10 miles over the limits because they can get away with it. My Honda used to get 23 mpg on the same trip at the same speeds. No reason to drive under the speed limit for better mileage.

 

The Delphi self-driving car that recently achieved the first cross-country self-driving trip, obeyed all speed limits for its entire 3400 journey. I've seen no mention of any problems or road rage or danger caused by it going too slow.

As self-driving cars get rolled out, there will be a lot more regions seeing vehicles on the road obeying speed limits. That should reduce the peer pressure for humans to go faster.

 

Peer pressure is not why I drive fast. I drive fast because I like to. Before I retired I was a Truck driver (18 wheelers) I owned a Pterbuilt with a 13 spd overdrive tranny that was geared for 125 mph. I also have a 3.5 million mile safe driving award. Driving fast doesn't make you a bad driver if you know what your doing.

 

And I think you are spoiled by living in the Pacific Northwest.
I've been there, Oregon mostly, and did notice that the drivers are better behaved in general.

But the other side of that coin is: I've also been in about 40 OTHER states and clueless driving, as you call it, absolutely IS pretty universal.

If you are going to give advice specific to your region of the country.......or the world.....maybe you should specify that.

 

and this is manually calculated right? The regular Prius is capable of that, but NOT the C

 

Just rechecked mpg manually it was 46. And it is a regular Prius. I drove it as I would drive any other car.

 

Ive heard about 47-48 mpg at 80mph for a regular Prius from others too

 

oh ya, easy.

 

I find it difficult to hold speed at the speed limit, so I just give into to the speed control and keep a look out for motorcycles, cars pulling out etc. Milage is always better cause increasing speed 10 mph consumes about 9% more fuel.

My ECO reads 6 to 6.5% high also (2012 C3). The numbers you get are from your last start up after you turn the ignition off. When taking off strive to get an ECO score of 90% or better. I can routiinely get 95 to 100% when no one is behind me, particularly when within one mile of home to use up the energy in the battery. On the next cold start the engine will warm up quicker for better mpg if you use up the energy.

 

I agree. Adaptive cruise control is the answer to our ills. Do any of the C packages offer this feature? Whatever my next vehicle is (Tesla Model 3 pretty please?), I intend to demand it. Of course, a self-driving vehicle makes this concern moot, but I don't think the advent of those on a wide scale is all that imminent.

 

I use both and found no significant difference btw both, as long as there no major hills. Your route is mostly flat with perhaps Am legion bridge, so you should be fine.

With respect to getting better MPG pump up your tires, and when you go for 5k service ask to check alignment. Mine was off by a country mile

Rejoice it may be soon mandated. FHWA considering this as a safety requirement to reduce deaths from hitting stopped cars in front.

 

I find the resume on the Cruise takes a long time to catch up when you slow down and press the resume up. Is that normal.

 

I use cruise control as much as possible. Matter of fact, I will not buy a vehicle without it. I use it to maintain speed, increase speed, slow down (I drive a lot on the interstate per my commute). I don't use it in city or country driving but hit the superslab, cc is turned on. I am averaging 50+mpg on my 78 mile commute, 60 miles at 72-74mph, 2 miles at less than 50mph (due to construction) and 16 miles at 45mph due to country roads. Happy with my mpg compared to the 19mpg I have been getting in my Jeep Cherokee for 15 years.

 

This. I followed the same truck across most of Kansas on I-70 and got 73 mpg for that tank. The state is fairly flat, the truck driver slowed on the hills and sped up on the downhills.

When you're on a long interstate like that - you have choices of many speeds of various trucks. DC Beltway might not have that option at all.

I tend to use cruise on flat terrain, and take over for hills and traffic situations. I also use it in the city - I hit resume after coming to a stop to let the car come back to speed.

 

I second this. I couldn't imagine driving a car without cruise control. However, I do use the cruise differently in the Prius vs. other cars. That is, I find myself 'tapping' up/down to increase or decrease speed slightly while dealing with small hills, etc... ( assuming nobody is behind me..of course! )