Welcome, edsel (luv the name!).
I took a long 4300 mile trip in my HCH2 in late March. Car drove like a dream. NO issues, even in the high altitude desert/mountains of the great southwest. Wife and I went from Dallas, TX area westward to Amarillo, then to Gallup, NM, and I-40 west to the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest. Canyon De Chelle, on westward to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon - South Rim (and WOW!). Then to Hoover Dam (near Las Vegas), then to LA. Strolled (on foot) around Santa Monica beachfront (& the strand). Then headed south to San Diego, then east on I-8 and I-10. Through southern AZ, Walnut Canyon, Sedona, then up to El Paso, Carlsbad Caverns (cool!), and back to Dallas. We visited a lot of National Parks and some State Parks. We were gone 15 days. 46+ MPG.

I'd take it on another trip like it (or even longer) in a second. It loves the open road!

IF you buy one, try to get 5-600 miles under your belt before heading out. It's not critical, though. Just be sure to vary the engine RPMs for the first 600 miles or so. This is true in just about ANY new vehicle, BTW.

Steve

STOP terrorism - Drive a HYBRID

Vehicles:
350 miles a week ------------ 2006 HCH II, Magnetic Pearl, w/NAVI (born on May 25, 2006)
350 miles a month ---------- 2003 Mazda Tribute ES-V6
350 miles a year (for now) - 1986 Mercedes 560SL