I'm a fuel economy junkie

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Which is the reason that I bought a hybrid car.
With the return of warmer weather and lower RVP fuel, I've had my last two tank averages exceed my personal Holy Grail of 50+ mpg.
665 miles on 13.1 gallons for the first and 661 miles on 12.4 gallons for the second.
The best I'd ever see before was 40 mpg+ with one of our old Civic Wagons under similar warmish mornings with warm afternoons and minimal need for A/C.
Our Gen 5,6 and 8 Accords would approach 35 mpg under similar conditions.
The Accord Hybrid has really pleased me in the 12.5K miles I've driven it to date.
I wonder why hybrids aren't the basic standard for all cars?
Maybe that'll happen when fuel prices next spike?
 
Originally Posted by fdcg27
I wonder why hybrids aren't the basic standard for all cars?


Once the warranty is gone, a replacement battery can cost more than the car is worth. And the small increase in economy isn't justified by the higher price and greater complexity to most people. A Jetta or Cruze diesel can get around 50 mpg too.
 
We're paying $1.61 Cdn per litre (which works out to $4.52 US per US gallon) locally. And that's probably a good thing. There are lots of small cars around here and an increasing number of hybrids and EV vehicles. If most people drive a small car, you don't have to drive something big in self defence.
 
Originally Posted by fdcg27
Which is the reason that I bought a hybrid car. ...
With the return of warmer weather and lower RVP fuel, I've had my last two tank averages exceed my personal Holy Grail of 50+ mpg.
665 miles on 13.1 gallons for the first and 661 miles on 12.4 gallons for the second. ...
Likewise!

My '81 Mazda non-hybrid sometimes managed about the same mpg in good conditions---admittedly less luxuriously.
 
Before the electric fuel injection economy engines I was getting 50 mpg in a Datsun B210 wagon with a few vehicles over 30. Now with current vehicle I still beat EPA average. Nothing wrong with 28 mpg highway with Grand Caravan.
 
I've sat down as an engineer and looked critically at the HYundai Kona in Oz..EV with 64KWh battery pack, and 280 mile range....

It makes no sense...an hour at a 100KW charging station (rare), an hour and a half at the regular 50KW charging stations, and 9.5 bours with the 2 grand 7.2KW charging station at home...or 27 hours on a wall plug.

It makes little sense.

I agree, hybrid drivetrains are the ultimate in efficiency and utility.

The KONA should have 30KWh batteries, and a 20KW APU
 
Iloved driving distances in Priuses at work...I would take my shoes and socks off, and "tune" my driving for max economy...it was a great game.
 
I racked up several 900+ mile tanks in my 2015 Passat TDI. It is a good feeling to regularly get 50+ mpg.
 
If I'm not mistaken this is called "hyper-miling"... Anyhow, I enjoy optimizing my driving habits for good mileage and with my 2018 Mazda 3, 2.5L, I can get 38 MPG w/o too much struggle. My numbers are calculated by miles driven / gallons used. The car computer is often +/- 1 MPG from my calculations. Just recently, my daily commute pulled in 36 MPG. Last year, without the A/C on a steady drive with speeds kept at/under 65 MPH the best tank registered 42 MPG. This not a hybrid vehicle.

Also, I'm always mindful of the people around me. Sure, steady accelerations and coasting to stops will increase fuel economy but, it might also annoy the living daylights out of the drivers behind you. In the worst case, putzing along at a self-righteously slow pace can create a dangerous situation. In my view of the world, driving for good fuel economy is a good thing but driving and being considerate of others on the road is more important.

BTW: My current commute would be ideal for a gas/electric hybrid. I think the Prius is butt ugly and you wouldn't catch me dead in one. A Camry or better-yet an Avalon is more my taste. I can't see forking-out the extra money though. I've run the numbers many times and the break-even point is 5-6 years. -That's a non-starter.

Ray
 
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Originally Posted by Shannow
I've sat down as an engineer and looked critically at the HYundai Kona in Oz..EV with 64KWh battery pack, and 280 mile range....

It makes no sense...an hour at a 100KW charging station (rare), an hour and a half at the regular 50KW charging stations, and 9.5 bours with the 2 grand 7.2KW charging station at home...or 27 hours on a wall plug.

It makes little sense.

I agree, hybrid drivetrains are the ultimate in efficiency and utility.

The KONA should have 30KWh batteries, and a 20KW APU


27 hrs using a wall plug to fully charge. At least around here, plugged in once a week, it would take substantially less time to recover < 100 miles of use. I don't know this for a fact, but wouldn't the charge rate also be greater the lower the state of charge? So, if you charge it overnight, using a standard outlet, from 15%, wouldn't it give you better bang for your buck than plugging it in every night to fully recharge it?

My use type is ideally suited for an EV. I'm just not willing to invest in one just yet. Definitely not new, at least.
 
Originally Posted by Shannow
Iloved driving distances in Priuses at work...I would take my shoes and socks off, and "tune" my driving for max economy...it was a great game.


I drive a boring Legacy now that gets middling gas mileage. I think I'd also enjoy driving a hybrid for max fuel economy, so long as it's comfortable and doesn't handle like a boat.

In the end, I tend to adapt my driving style very quickly to the vehicle I'm driving. I beat the crap out of a rental Fiat 500, because it was actually fun to do so. I mean, it was as slow as dirt, but squealing tires at redline on an on-ramp was super fun!

Driving our FXT, I tend to choose the more aggressive mode and get into boost often.

Driving our Legacy, I drive way more conservatively...which is probably best, all things considered!
 
Originally Posted by fdcg27

I wonder why hybrids aren't the basic standard for all cars?
Maybe that'll happen when fuel prices next spike?


I have absolutely 0 desire to own a hybrid, a sentiment shared by a good chunk of people. My 300 averages 22-25 on my 10 mile rides to and from work. Can easily break 30 if I get behind a semi on the highway.

If gasoline prices get ridiculous, I'll buy a Tesla.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by fdcg27
I wonder why hybrids aren't the basic standard for all cars?

Once the warranty is gone, a replacement battery can cost more than the car is worth. And the small increase in economy isn't justified by the higher price and greater complexity to most people. A Jetta or Cruze diesel can get around 50 mpg too.

The VW prototype gets 200 plus MPG but they aren't marketing it they were going to but they wanted over $80K No thanks.
 
Originally Posted by Shannow
..I would take my shoes and socks off, and "tune" my driving for max economy...it was a great game.


Don't understand the connection between bare feet and max economy??

When I started my new 75 mile daily commute a year ago I decided to drive for fuel economy in the RAV. Didn't last 2 months, got tired of being the rolling road block at the posted speed and getting stuck behind creeping semis in the right lane on the 7 mile uphill coming home. A few dollars of gas wasn't worth the aggravation.
 
Originally Posted by das_peikko
I set my cruise control at 60 and stay in the right lane. Today I reached an all time high of 27.8 mpg. I thought I'd never see the day.


What Vehicle is that?
 
Originally Posted by tiger862
Before the electric fuel injection economy engines I was getting 50 mpg in a Datsun B210 wagon with a few vehicles over 30. Now with current vehicle I still beat EPA average. Nothing wrong with 28 mpg highway with Grand Caravan.
.

Really? 50 mpg in a carbureted Datsun B210 wagon?
 
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Originally Posted by AZjeff
Originally Posted by Shannow
..I would take my shoes and socks off, and "tune" my driving for max economy...it was a great game.


Don't understand the connection between bare feet and max economy?




precise throttle control in the prius enables you to alter the power flows by a tiny amount such that you can be all electric at some reasonable speeds...so if I knew that I was about to descend some decent hills, I could get the battery to the near empty mark and pick up the regen.

That particular trip had Kurrajong Mountain at the coast end, and scenic hill at the home end.

bare feet halped measurably on that trip...I had to do it multiple times when I was acting as the Contracts Manager for 4 sites, 250km apart.

Certainly wouldn't drive as a roadbloc for economy, just tuned activities to use the hybrid train to max advantage.
 
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