After racking up 3000 miles in a 2 1/2 week roadtrip through record high temperatures, I've learned a few things about my TCH:

1. The trunk is NOT too small. Two adults and two kids living out of the TCH for 17 days really pushed the limits of the trunk (and my sanity), but we made it.

2. The seats are supremely comfortable. While I'm sure everybody's shape is different, mine seems to do well in the TCH seats...even after an 800 mile day.

3. My mileage seemed to drop quite a bit after 70 miles per hour. Our first leg was 70 MPH and returned 41 MPG. Our last leg was 80+ MPH and returned 37 MPH.

4. Crazy heat didn't affect mileage as much as I thought. Early July, we were driving through 113 degree heat and still at 41 MPG.

5. High elevations and slow speeds do wonders for the MPG. We were posting 43 MPG in Yellowstone.

6. My TCH loves LA. I don't know if the car was trying to be cool, if CA has better gas, smoother roads or Paris Hilton had anything to do with it, but our best gas mileage of the entire trip was in LA: 49 MPG. I could not belive it. It didn't last long, and the trip to Las Vegas soon put us back to a tank average of 42.

7. The TCH is NOT an off-road vehicle. I suspect it was the VDIM, but the engine never shut off on a 5 mile section of gravel road, even though we were well under 42 miles per hour (come on, it was a gravel road!) and the SOC was very good. Overall, the TCH handled very well off road, but it's no General Lee and I'm no Dukes of Hazard.

8. The 'ECO' switch makes a big diffence in mileage. Our's slipped to 38 MPG until I remembered to press that little doodad.

9. TCH windshields and Utah don't get along. Utah wins.

10. We only stopped for gas 5 times on a 3000 mile trip. There were many many more potty breaks.

Not just Super White...Super Duper White...

1. The trunk is NOT too small. Two adults and two kids living out of the TCH for 17 days really pushed the limits of the trunk (and my sanity), but we made it.

Glad to hear it - haven't tried this yet - I have noticed that the trunk is a bit TALLER than my Accord's - did you pack the trunk by putting suitcases on their sides, or were you able to lay them flat?

2. The seats are supremely comfortable. While I'm sure everybody's shape is different, mine seems to do well in the TCH seats...even after an 800 mile day.

3. My mileage seemed to drop quite a bit after 70 miles per hour. Our first leg was 70 MPH and returned 41 MPG. Our last leg was 80+ MPH and returned 37 MPH.

Noticed the same thing, too - although in the Front Range of Colorado, it seems like there's always a prevailing grade - you're always climbing or descending toward something.

4. Crazy heat didn't affect mileage as much as I thought. Early July, we were driving through 113 degree heat and still at 41 MPG.

5. High elevations and slow speeds do wonders for the MPG. We were posting 43 MPG in Yellowstone.

6. My TCH loves LA. I don't know if the car was trying to be cool, if CA has better gas, smoother roads or Paris Hilton had anything to do with it, but our best gas mileage of the entire trip was in LA: 49 MPG. I could not belive it. It didn't last long, and the trip to Las Vegas soon put us back to a tank average of 42.

Paris is driving an Escape Hybrid donated by Ford, as her jail stint adversely affected sales of her album, and she wasn't able to make the payments on her Hummer.

7. The TCH is NOT an off-road vehicle. I suspect it was the VDIM, but the engine never shut off on a 5 mile section of gravel road, even though we were well under 42 miles per hour (come on, it was a gravel road!) and the SOC was very good. Overall, the TCH handled very well off road, but it's no General Lee and I'm no Dukes of Hazard.

8. The 'ECO' switch makes a big diffence in mileage. Our's slipped to 38 MPG until I remembered to press that little doodad.

I've found that, unless I've left the car out all day and it's 95 degrees, I can just leave it on ECO. A little slower, yes, but it gets the job done quickly enough for me.

9. TCH windshields and Utah don't get along. Utah wins.

10. We only stopped for gas 5 times on a 3000 mile trip. There were many many more potty breaks.

I drive a 2002 Prius but since I made a similar trip this summer I thought I would compare notes...

1. The trunk is NOT too small. Two adults and two kids living out of the TCH for 17 days really pushed the limits of the trunk (and my sanity), but we made it.
You should have seen what we stuffed into the Gen-1! We had two folding chairs, two sleeping bags, a tent, air mattress, two lanterns, several pairs of shoes, three beach towels, two soft-side coolers, and four duffle bags of clothing and toiletries. And that includes a large supply of diapers for junior. Now, it was like a 3-D jigsaw puzzle and only I could get it in there just right so the trunk would latch... but we did impress people when they saw what came out of there as we unpacked.

2. The seats are supremely comfortable. While I'm sure everybody's shape is different, mine seems to do well in the TCH seats...even after an 800 mile day.

3. My mileage seemed to drop quite a bit after 70 miles per hour. Our first leg was 70 MPH and returned 41 MPG. Our last leg was 80+ MPH and returned 37 MPH.
In my experience, speeds higher than 70MPH waste more fuel than it is worth for the 10 minutes you save. So what if people pass me like I am standing still!

4. Crazy heat didn't affect mileage as much as I thought. Early July, we were driving through 113 degree heat and still at 41 MPG.
I wonder if the TCH has the electric air conditioner like the Gen-2 Prius. That makes a huge difference. My power and efficiency both suffer on extreme hot days.

5. High elevations and slow speeds do wonders for the MPG. We were posting 43 MPG in Yellowstone.
My personal best tank of gas was 52MPG going over the continental divide on a two-lane at 65MPH.

6. My TCH loves LA. I don't know if the car was trying to be cool, if CA has better gas, smoother roads or Paris Hilton had anything to do with it, but our best gas mileage of the entire trip was in LA: 49 MPG. I could not belive it. It didn't last long, and the trip to Las Vegas soon put us back to a tank average of 42.
LA to Las Vegas would be mostly uphill, so probably makes a difference.

7. The TCH is NOT an off-road vehicle. I suspect it was the VDIM, but the engine never shut off on a 5 mile section of gravel road, even though we were well under 42 miles per hour (come on, it was a gravel road!) and the SOC was very good. Overall, the TCH handled very well off road, but it's no General Lee and I'm no Dukes of Hazard.
Driving on gravel affects lots of things. I find I press the pedal harder and fluctuate speeds a lot more on an unstable surface. So you probably did not drive the same as you would on pavement.

8. The 'ECO' switch makes a big diffence in mileage. Our's slipped to 38 MPG until I remembered to press that little doodad.

9. TCH windshields and Utah don't get along. Utah wins.

10. We only stopped for gas 5 times on a 3000 mile trip. There were many many more potty breaks.
With a ten-month-old in tow, we stopped far more than just for fuel stops. Six hours is about his sanity limit before he lets us know he needs to change the scenery.

The saving grace is the height of the trunk. We found suitcases and duffel bags that stood vertically. We were able to fit 5 cases/bags across the trunk in this vertical fashion. Made loading and unloading a snap, too!

Not just Super White...Super Duper White...

I had your post in mind when I hit a stretch of gravel road this past weekend and the engine didn't shut off. However after our first stop (this was a wildlife refuge, and we were making multiple stops at POI) it did run on battery and continued to do so virtually the whole visit. We drove at about 20-25 miles per hour and the charge was down to two bars when we hit hard pavement again. Of course the highway mileage was terrible for a while as the battery recharged. TANSTAAFL

Its interesting, I haven;t noticed a different at all when I use the eco button.

Thanks for the insights.

NYAH -- increase in MPG was due to the unburned gas fumes in the L.A. "air" (a.k.a. smog) that the TCH's ICE was breathing instead of "clean air". (Sorry, couldn't help myself. )

Yes, the TCH has does have electric A/C compressor (powered from traction battery).

John


2007 TCH -- Desert Sand, Bisque -- Original Equip: Leather Seats; NAV; Moonroof; Heated Seats
Completed Mods: Moved the side "HYBRID" emblem/badge to trunk lid; Mud Guards (Colored); Back-up Sensors; Door sill protector; ScanGauge II; Front Bra (Clear LLumar); Window Tinting (40 % Charcoal LLumar); Rear Deck Lid Spoiler
Mods in progress: None
Future mods: Rear bumper appliqué, Sliding Center Armrest

Please accept my apologies in advance and no offense to the civilized women here, but with Paris, it is probably because of the videoed hummer that Paris has anything other than family money and "fame", and I'm sure the residuals would fund payments on the vehicle of her choice

Silver Shadow

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."