Originally Posted by bwilson4web

Back in 1972, I drove another 1500 cc vehicle, a VW MicroBus across the high plains of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and via Reno to San Francisco. Drafting semi-trailer trucks was not an option, it was manditory to keep at highway speeds.

As for MPG, the impact would be modest and still better than sea level performance. The Prius simulator shows high altitudes give great MPG primarily due to low air drag. Unfortunately, I don't think the simulators report "time to reach passing speed" and maximum speed up an "x% grade" or against a "y miles per hour head wind." But then I haven't made a through study of the Prius simulators.

Bob Wilson