Reports for LONG Holiday trips in your C Max

[catsailor]

I am gassing up tonight for a 600 mile one way and then return trip from Washington DC to Indianapolis IN via Cumberland MD, Morgantown WVA then Wheeling WVA and past Columbus OH. MapQuest says 597 miles one way. It will be a hilly climb to Cumberland and then Morgantown, then you descend to Wheeling on the river and from there its fairly flat to Indy.

 

What's on your docket plan? I will track all my miles although I don't think I will get to Indy in one tank, my full round trip should be +2 tanks easily.

 

Please lets tell what we are driving this week.....catsailor

[Jus-A-CMax]

285 miles one way, 800ft elevation to 7,800 ft elevation. If I get 38MPG getting there, I will be happy. I think everyone knows where I am heading....now coming back is PAYBACK though as I am usually 50+. Avg for the entire 570 mile trip is usually 43 to 46 MPG.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[Laurel]

We leave for Cannon Beach, Oregon on Monday.  Not a long trip as it is only 524 kilometers one way.  Home on the 29th. Always takes planning as we cross the border and need our passports, the dog's vaccination certificates, the type of dog food that the US will allow into the States, travel medical insurance, etc. etc.  I do all the grunt work for trips and my husband is just another pretty face.

[catsailor]

LEG #1

Washington DC to Indianapolis IN 595 miles driven at 65-70 MPG with 50% of the trip in a rain storm, lights on as well defroster on. 37.1 MPG . car was set on ECO cruise the whole time too.

 

I did not even attempt to stay in the slow lane....it was pedal to the metal because I had to be in Inday by a certain time. Basically the car spent very and I mean very little time in EV mode and I need to also add a STIFF NW head wind at 20 knots from Wheeling WVA through to Columbus to Indy.

[Jaydrama]

Actually there's a great descent just before Morgantown that requires trucks to make a mandatory truck stop so they don't build up too much speed and momentum. Use the downhill button! Enjoy!

[catsailor]

I think my return trip will be from Indy to Wheeling and to Washington PA and take the PA turnpike back to Breezewood to Hagerstown and home.

[Ldcarson]

While not a normal cmax, I recently drove my energi from Alanta where I picked it up (during last weekends winter storm) and drove back to DC in mostly torrential rain and wind the whole trip in hybrid mode only. 694 miles, average was 35 mpg, heater, defroster, lights, wipers and average speed was 65 mph, where weather permitted 70-75 mph. Not great, but not bad considering the circumstances.

[Recumpence]

My last trip was over Thanksgiving. We went 420 miles each way with some in town driving once we arrived (900 miles total driving). We averaged 44mpg for that trip doing 70mph 90% of the distance (car fully loaded with luggage and 5 people).

 

Matt

[catsailor]

return leg and FULL trip report speeds of 65-70 MPH all HWY 1192.7 miles at 39.7 MPG.

[NW_Biker]

We did a nice long trip down I-5 from Seattle to So Cal, about 1125 miles in total one way.  Average 43 mpg for the whole trip more or less.  I really am pleased how it performed thru the mountains and has great acceleration to get up the hills and around the big rigs.

 

I figured out a way to keep it high ICE most of the way using eco cruise.  Overall, I really feel like I have figured out how this car operates and functions, particularly when it comes to HWY driving vs city driving.

[RaPieR]

Just drove from Detriot, MI to McAllen, Tx.  +1600 miles total.  Surprisingly averaged 38MPG doing 70-80MPH in Texas highways but at warmer temperatures.  Driving through the cold and rain in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee were a lot lower. 32.7, 34.4, 34.6MPG through those states.  Disappointing but still better mileage and more comfortable than what my Speed would have done during the trip.

[Laurel]

We are just home from Cannon Beach, Oregon.  It is spectacular there with the pounding surf and beautiful beaches.  We had magnificent weather --sunny with temps about 57 F or so each day.  I was so enchanted that I suggested to my husband that we put a rental of a little cottage right on the beach on our bucket list.  We went into to a property manager there to inquire about prices.  Holy smokes the cheapest on the beach for two weeks in the summer (my fantasy time frame and fantasy location) was $6700!  So that dream balloon was popped.  I'm not sure we would love the summer atmosphere either as we noticed once Christmas day passed the town began to fill with people and it was very crowded in the wee downtown stretch of galleries etc.  The property manager said that Cannon Beach and Seaside are nuts in the summer with crowds.

 

Now to tell you about the C-Max and traveling on your American freeways.  I believe my hair is greyer and my eyes are still round and bulged out from the horror of it all! LOL  Hubby and I both were stunned with the change in driving styles around the Seattle to Portland area.  Everyone is tail gating and I mean everyone.  They maybe leave about 10 feet if that between cars, and yet they are going over 70 mph and weaving and bobbing to change lanes like lunatics racing because they are late to a funeral.  They don't seem to view the far left lane as a passing lane--passing happens in all lanes lickety split.  I drive on the freeways as my husband scares me silly when he does.  So he insists that I stay in the HOV lanes and I try to comply.  But once in awhile I need to rest my popped out eye balls and give my right ankle a rest from putting my foot to the metal.  At one point around Tacoma I told him, "I'm going to try to ease over to the centre lane as someone behind me is really pushing me to go faster than the 75 I'm going".  Hubby totally me not to be so chicken as stay put, but I eased over.  Even hubby caught his breath as a Highway Patrol car blew by us doing close to a 100 MPH no siren no emergency lights. 

 

When we left Cannon Beach we decided to drive to Hillsboro, Oregon to shop at the largest Costco in the world.  Nice store but not so different in the way of merchandise than any other Costco.  Big mistake to detour there instead of leaving straight home.  We finished shopping there yesterday at 1 PM.  We promptly joined the parking lot of traffic that continued from Portland, Oregon to way on the other side of Marysville, Washington.  It was crazy.  We saw a few incidents of people playing road rage games with one another --one SUV spiting a Semi truck for cutting him off accidentally.  That almost caused a death or two if not for the sharp reactions of the trucker.

 

We saw nary a C-Max.  We saw oodles of Priuses and I am embarrassed to say most passed me leaving me in their dust even though my standard speed was 70-75 MPH.  Our average was 39.8 mpg which I think was good considering the high speeds.  Our GPS did a few wonky things twice with it ordering us off the I 5 rte. spontaneously a couple of times and then abruptly correcting itself, but it is a good thing we ignored those commands due to having driven the route many times before. It was a very nice trip, but I am so glad Canada is so much quieter and less populated.  I was so glad to see our friendly Canadian Border Services agent with his big smile and welcome home.  Our dog Tinker was so fed up with the traffic she was sneering at me by the time we got to the border and she did the happy dance getting out of the car at home.  I am not sure we would drive any long trips in the States again.  Hubby did say that we probably would have done better if our Sirius subscription had traffic reports (we don't have that service in Canada).  Also I do like seeing places in the States via car so maybe we could plan to go back routes only.  Hubby says he wishes he had taken his old GPS with him as it had traffic report features.  Nice country to visit but not to drive in is my assessment.

[homestead]

We are just home from Cannon Beach, Oregon.  It is spectacular there with the pounding surf and beautiful beaches.  We had magnificent weather --sunny with temps about 57 F or so each day.  I was so enchanted that I suggested to my husband that we put a rental of a little cottage right on the beach on our bucket list.  We went into to a property manager there to inquire about prices.  Holy smokes the cheapest on the beach for two weeks in the summer (my fantasy time frame and fantasy location) was $6700!  So that dream balloon was popped.  I'm not sure we would love the summer atmosphere either as we noticed once Christmas day passed the town began to fill with people and it was very crowded in the wee downtown stretch of galleries etc.  The property manager said that Cannon Beach and Seaside are nuts in the summer with crowds.

 

Now to tell you about the C-Max and traveling on your American freeways.  I believe my hair is greyer and my eyes are still round and bulged out from the horror of it all! LOL  Hubby and I both were stunned with the change in driving styles around the Seattle to Portland area.  Everyone is tail gating and I mean everyone.  They maybe leave about 10 feet if that between cars, and yet they are going over 70 mph and weaving and bobbing to change lanes like lunatics racing because they are late to a funeral.  They don't seem to view the far left lane as a passing lane--passing happens in all lanes lickety split.  I drive on the freeways as my husband scares me silly when he does.  So he insists that I stay in the HOV lanes and I try to comply.  But once in awhile I need to rest my popped out eye balls and give my right ankle a rest from putting my foot to the metal.  At one point around Tacoma I told him, "I'm going to try to ease over to the centre lane as someone behind me is really pushing me to go faster than the 75 I'm going".  Hubby totally me not to be so chicken as stay put, but I eased over.  Even hubby caught his breath as a Highway Patrol car blew by us doing close to a 100 MPH no siren no emergency lights. 

 

When we left Cannon Beach we decided to drive to Hillsboro, Oregon to shop at the largest Costco in the world.  Nice store but not so different in the way of merchandise than any other Costco.  Big mistake to detour there instead of leaving straight home.  We finished shopping there yesterday at 1 PM.  We promptly joined the parking lot of traffic that continued from Portland, Oregon to way on the other side of Marysville, Washington.  It was crazy.  We saw a few incidents of people playing road rage games with one another --one SUV spiting a Semi truck for cutting him off accidentally.  That almost caused a death or two if not for the sharp reactions of the trucker.

 

We saw nary a C-Max.  We saw oodles of Priuses and I am embarrassed to say most passed me leaving me in their dust even though my standard speed was 70-75 MPH.  Our average was 39.8 mpg which I think was good considering the high speeds.  Our GPS did a few wonky things twice with it ordering us off the I 5 rte. spontaneously a couple of times and then abruptly correcting itself, but it is a good thing we ignored those commands due to having driven the route many times before. It was a very nice trip, but I am so glad Canada is so much quieter and less populated.  I was so glad to see our friendly Canadian Border Services agent with his big smile and welcome home.  Our dog Tinker was so fed up with the traffic she was sneering at me by the time we got to the border and she did the happy dance getting out of the car at home.  I am not sure we would drive any long trips in the States again.  Hubby did say that we probably would have done better if our Sirius subscription had traffic reports (we don't have that service in Canada).  Also I do like seeing places in the States via car so maybe we could plan to go back routes only.  Hubby says he wishes he had taken his old GPS with him as it had traffic report features.  Nice country to visit but not to drive in is my assessment.

Glad you had a good trip Laurel.   We live in Hillsboro, I don't think traffic is as bad as you describe but it does seem to

be getting worse than years past.  We stayed in Cannon Beach several years ago and enjoyed it, we also like Seaside

but it is crazy there in the summer.

[Laurel]

homestead do you see many C-Maxes?  We were sure we would see some as we have only see one other in the Vancouver, BC area.  We traveled the I 5 to California the year before last and it was not crazy like it was on this trip.  We thought if we skipped traveling on Boxing Day it would be quieter, but not so as the 27th was wicked.  Everyone of all those little strip malls with Targets and Walmarts etc seemed to be packed as we passed by--still shopping til they drop.  Your economy seems very healthy and booming. You're lucky to live so close to Cannon Beach as it is a place I would go visit during a storm as those waves are amazing, and Haystack Rock is fascinating.  The traffic probably doesn't seem bad to you as live in a very densely populated area in compared to where we live.  Our freeways would seem like back country roads to you LOL.  We recently just had our first four lane expressway built into Vancouver that is near completion, but the general rule of thumb here is two lanes in each direction with one HOV lane as you near the city centres. You sure have lots of Priuses too and that surprised us.

Edited December 28, 2013 by Laurel

[MadManMoon]

My wife and I are driving tomorrow from our home south of Washington, DC to Orlando, FL to spend New Years with my mother-in-law at her timeshare near Disney.  It's about 850 miles one-way.  I'll report on the mileage when we return.  I'm hoping for at least 40.0MPG, but I figure I'll set cruise control at 70MPH, so that may not exactly be attainable. We'll see!

[homestead]

Yes there are lots of prius's here not so many c-max's I have probably only seen a half dozen since

we bought ours in april.  We do see a lot more escapes here.  We tend to avoid driving during rush hours (3-6) here in

the portland area and when we go to seattle area as we are retired.  We also tend to stay in the right or middle lanes unless we are passing.

We have been living here for about 35 years so have gotten used to the traffic.  I hate to drive in the bay area or LA it too hectic for me.

[Laurel]

Have a safe trip MadManMoon.  I'm sure the East Coast is pretty hectic too when driving. We'll look forward to hearing about your trip.

[catsailor]

Am I feeling that 39-40 MPG seems to be the norm for speeds at 65-70 MPH

[MadManMoon]

Well, after a 1,700-mile trip from southern MD to Orlando, FL and back, I can safely say that, while Maxine is a very comfortable car for long road trips, she does NOT like spending many hours at 75-80 MPH!

 

The first leg, from the house in Waldorf, MD to the southern border of VA, netted 38.9 MPG.  The first 40 miles or so were 55-MPH roads with stoplights, which helped.  The remainder was interstate at 60-65 MPH, with plenty of stop-and-go to help with regeneration.

 

The second leg, from southern VA to central GA, netted 34.7 MPG.  This was more sustained cruising, broken up with some traffic here and there, and probably at 65-70 MPH.

 

The third leg, from central GA to Orlando, including some in-town driving and a side trip to Cape Caneveral, FL, netted 35.3 MPG.  This was faster highway cruising, at 70-75 MPH, combined with lots of very short trips in town near the resort where the ICE stayed on most of the time.  This was my lowest tank to date.

 

The fourth leg, which includes the rest of the in-town driving and the first bit of our return trip (Orlando to St. Augustine, FL), netted 33.7 MPG.  Unlike the downward trip, I wanted to get home as quickly as possible, so this time I was keeping up with traffic, and not worrying about maximizing fuel economy.  I wanted to see how bad it could get.  I would say the last third of this tank was 75-80 MPH.

 

The fifth leg, from St. Augustine, FL to Florence, SC was the low point in poor Maxine's life.  She was asked to do things no hybrid should ever do.  Not even her cute, color-matching GasPods could overcome hour after hour of wind resistance at 80-83 MPH.  The result?  A frighteningly bad 29.1 MPG.  Not much traffic, so no regeneration.

 

The sixth leg was more or less the same, from Florence, SC to Bowling Green, VA -- 30.0 MPG.

 

So, there you have it.  She put forth her best effort, and got us home in quiet, relaxed comfort, but she would obviously much rather take her time!  I'm tempted to take my wife's EcoBoost F-150 on road trips from now on, if only to save poor Maxine's rapidly declining lifetime mileage, but that would net us around 16-17 MPG...not exactly a good cost-benefit trade-off there!

Edited January 9, 2014 by MadManMoon

[RaPieR]

Well, after a 1,700-mile trip from southern MD to Orlando, FL and back, I can safely say that, while Maxine is a very comfortable car for long road trips, she does NOT like spending many hours at 75-80 MPH!

 

The first leg, from the house in Waldorf, MD to the southern border of VA, netted 38.9 MPG.  The first 40 miles or so were 55-MPH roads with stoplights, which helped.  The remainder was interstate at 60-65 MPH, with plenty of stop-and-go to help with regeneration.

 

The second leg, from southern VA to central GA, netted 34.7 MPG.  This was more sustained cruising, broken up with some traffic here and there, and probably at 65-70 MPH.

 

The third leg, from central GA to Orlando, including some in-town driving and a side trip to Cape Caneveral, FL, netted 35.3 MPG.  This was faster highway cruising, at 70-75 MPH, combined with lots of very short trips in town near the resort where the ICE stayed on most of the time.  This was my lowest tank to date.

 

The fourth leg, which includes the rest of the in-town driving and the first bit of our return trip (Orlando to St. Augustine, FL), netted 33.7 MPG.  Unlike the downward trip, I wanted to get home as quickly as possible, so this time I was keeping up with traffic, and not worrying about maximizing fuel economy.  I wanted to see how bad it could get.  I would say the last third of this tank was 75-80 MPH.

 

The fifth leg, from St. Augustine, FL to Florence, SC was the low point in poor Maxine's life.  She was asked to do things no hybrid should ever do.  Not even her cute, color-matching GasPods could overcome hour after hour of wind resistance at 80-83 MPH.  The result?  A frighteningly bad 29.1 MPG.  Not much traffic, so no regeneration.

 

The sixth leg was more or less the same, from Florence, SC to Bowling Green, VA -- 30.0 MPG.

 

So, there you have it.  She put forth her best effort, and got us home in quiet, relaxed comfort, but she would obviously much rather take her time!  I'm tempted to take my wife's EcoBoost F-150 on road trips from now on, if only to save poor Maxine's rapidly declining lifetime mileage, but that would net us around 16-17 MPG...not exactly a good cost-benefit trade-off there!

Your trip mileage sounds very similar to what I was seeing driving down to Texas.

[Laurel]

MadManMoon thanks for reporting back in.  I think your numbers sound pretty typical for the type of driving you were doing.  I think the temperatures were a bit colder than usual out there too so it doesn't take much of a temperature drop to affect mileage in a negative way.  Our temps were down for a couple of days and kaboom our mileage took a dive.

[Tom]

I took a week long trip from Washington, DC to Grand Rapids, Mich. and back.  No special effort on the high millage side and still got mid 40s MPG.  Very pleased.