This past week I have achieved my best and worst mpg tanks! I am totally convinced it is all about the driver of an HCH that will determine your mpg. I had a project that took me on a 1,435 mile trip all over California through all types of terrain and driving conditions over 3 days.

On Monday I started with 150 miles on the tank and the display showed 50.2 mpg. I drove from Sacramento to Santa Rosa and 3 other sites in the North Bay. I then went across the Golden Gate bridge into the South Bay and ended up in Mountain View. I travelled about 200 miles through lots of hills and back roads, as well as a lot of Hwy 1 and Hwy 101. On Tuesday I went from Mountain View down to Santa Barbara (Goleta) - 297 miles and 5 hours later travelling south on Hwy 101, I stop for gas. The display showing 53 mpg and 647 miles. The actual mpg calculated at 55.2 mpg. The last 297 miles to Santa Barbara included 5 climbs to 1000 ft and dropping back down to under 100 ft. One of the 5 climbs around San Luis Obispo also added another 400 ft climb over about 2-3 miles. On this 500 mile portion of the trip, I averaged 60-65 mph. It was a really nice drive.

I then went to another Santa Barbara site, then drove another 120 miles to Rolling Hills (101 to 405 S). I left there at 10:30pm and drove about 130 miles to San Diego (about 2 miles from Sea World). I ended up at a Super 8 Hotel at 1am and ended up parking next to another HCHII in the parking lot! I never got to meet the driver. When I left at 8am the car was still there. So now it's Wednesday... I go from San Diego back north to Murrieta, then out to the desert - Palm Desert to be precise. This was a fun 92 mile drive east on I-10 climbing up to 2,500 ft through the mountains, then dropping down to about 200 ft. I had to take that same climb back west back up and over the mountains coming down to and arriving at Glendale 110 miles later! At this point, my last blip goes out on the the gauge at about 540 miles on the tank. On my last 12 tanks I have had 600+ miles on the tank, and I didn't want this one to be any different... yet I knew my next leg would be challenging heading up the south side of the Grapevine from 350 ft in Glendale up to 4,144 ft peak, then a 6-7% downgrade on the north side... all this over 70 miles with a lot of peaks and valleys. 20-30 miles into the climb I come up on Magic Mountain and debate on stopping for gas... I decide to go on... next service station is 35 miles - should I stop? Screw it... I'm going for it! If I can make it to the peak, it's mainly downhill and I can coast. I make the peak and come coasting down the mountain at 75 mph WITH FULL REGEN filling the battery up to max after only about 3 miles... then free falling the rest of the way! I think this is the first time I've used the actual brakes over 7 mph... what a truly different feeling when you don't have regen capability when you push on the brake pedal! So I pull into the gas station with 612 miles at the bottom of the grapevine. I wanted a Shell station that was another 30 miles up the road, but settled for a Mobil station. When I filled up, I still had at least .7 gallons left and could have probably made it to the Shell station! This tank ends with 48.7 mpg on the display (50.2 actual calculated).

I'm now on I-5 from the bottom of the Grapevine heading to Tracy - a flat, straight, dull 240 mile drive. I'm trying to cover as much ground as I can since it's 11:45pm already, so I do 2 things i have never done. I speed up to 78mph and set the cruise control. Egad what a seriously bad combination! 96 miles on cruise to Kettleman City, I stop at a hotel and my mpg is sitting at 39.8 (ouch). While I know this is 2x what I would have got in my Cavalier, I was upset but I knew I DID THIS so I couldn't be too upset. Thursday morning I continue on in the same way (78 mph with cruise control) and end up in Tracy with 39.1 on the display! After I finish at Tracy, I drive like normal 82 miles home - 60-65 mph with no CC. I end up at home bringing the mpg up to 42.5! I have at least 200+ miles to continue to bring the mpg back up... If I can get it up to 45-46 before the end of the tank, I will be happy.

I proved to myself on this trip that most moderate and some heavy terrain will not affect mpg all that much if YOU drive it efficiently. I actually think random terrain helps mpg versus having all flat terrain, although I didn't get a good chance on this trip to go 60-65 with my driving style on the flat I-5 stretch. In November I will be going down to Disneyland and will see what happens.

The car handled wonderfully. No problems at all, and I was very comfortable on the long stretches. I used 2½ tanks over 1,435 miles and spent $70.00 on 2 fillups using 30 gallons (I filled up at $3.29/gal and $3.09/gal). If I had my cavalier, I would have filled up 5 times with 14 gallons spending about $170 and using 75 gallons! I hope you're all enjoying your HCHII as much as I am!

 

We are.

 

Nice report!

 

Always nice to sit back and think how much more gas we'd spend without our hybrids. Especially for those of us without a hybrid history! Nice post!

 

Nice artical, CC hurts over 60mph. I normally go to the foot on climbs as well. CC will wind that little engine up over 5000 rpm on a climb!And they really do want to go when no regen to assist the braking. I tried going into 2nd , but noticed no differance. Brakes are the only way to slow her down. H

 

I was always upset that my Cavalier didn't have CC because I would take a lot of long trips like this. When I got my HCHII, I tried CC on a small stretch and realized that I can do so much better under manual foot control. Of the 9,300 miles I've put on the car in 5 months, the I-5 stretch was only the 2nd time I used the CC... and just proves my reasoning why I don't use it on any terrain! On the 297 mile trip (5 hours) from Mountain View to Santa Barbara, I used my foot the entire time.

I look back on the part of the Grapevine that I could have filled up at the top of the mountain. I could have easily had 150mpg pegged on the meter for a good 10-20 miles (and would have probably helped my overall average to Tracy).

With no regen (SoC/Battery full), it feels like you have to push on the brake so hard to make the car slow down! It is truly a different sensation. I'm not sure if it was because it was such a steep grade that it seemed like the brakes were so hard to handle. I would let the 6% grade pull me to 80mph then press the brakes to slow down to 75 then repeat. It definetely felt like I still have over 90% of the brake pads left!

 

Excellent reporting, Angelo!
Driving style IS a big part of it, as you are now SURE.

Luvin' my HCH2, as well

 

 

Yes. I have read many time that moutains and hills are very bad for FE. But, my expericence in the very craggy New Hampshire last summer let me discovered that the downhill offset easily the lost in the uphill.

Then the speed but also the prevailing wind can kill all your efforts.


PierreM.

 

Yes, I completely agree with you and love my HCHII as well!