ElSupreme, I'm getting 61mpg average out of my Civic but to get that my average speed is around 40mph. The fastest I've gone for any lenght of time is around 70mph. At 70mph the mileage drops to the mid to high 40ies. At 70mph AC use will drop the mileage in the mid to low 40ies. You can guess that the mileage at 80-85mph with AC and roof racks is going to be in the thirties.

I honestly would not suggest a hybrid for your application.

 

If you want to drive fast (within reason, of course), that's your perogative. Just like if someone else wants to drive slow (again, within reason), that's their perogative. Don't let anyone chastise you for doing 80 mph in a 70 mph zone.

The interstate between Phoenix and Tucson is four lane divided and marked for 75 mph. I set my cruise at 80 mph and hardly touch the brakes for over 100 miles. I averaged 37.5 mpg on that stretch. But, that's when I had less than 2,000 miles on my car. I've been reading on this forum that the mpg should improve slightly now that I have over 4,000 miles on it. Although, I've never driven with bikes mounted to the roof! But also, if I ever take my bikes out, I throw them into the back of my truck.

 

While the reasons for driving at 80 with bikes, etc may sound rational, doing it while expecting better fuel economy than 40mpg is not. It's kind of like eating fast food daily and expecting to have six-pack abs. You seldom have your cake and eat it.

 

lol in canada our max speed limit on hwy 1 is like 90km/h,(50) but most people like to go 100k/h(60), **** im glad i don't live in teh speedy states. I like 80km/h since my honda purrs at 2000 RPMs.

 

I drive pretty regularly in ATL. I realize that, at least on all the major interstates represented in Spaghetti Junction (the ones I am familiar with), the 55 mph speed limit really just encourages everyone to go 75+. It is hard to travel at economical speeds when so many people around you are whizzing by.

I, too, used to be an incredible speed demon before I got my hybrid. I would do 85 mph easily in Atlanta. Then I got my hybrid, and the instantanous fuel economy feedback changed the way I drive, such that going over 60 is now a painful experience for me. When I go to Atlanta now, I drive 55-60 mph, and sure most people whizz right by me. There are, however, some people in the slow lane that will do my preferred speed, and I can stick with them. I know old habits die hard, but to be honest, I don't think there really is a "preferred car" for the speeds you want to go. They all suck down the gas going so fast. You're probably better off just getting the car with the lowest coefficient of drag - which happen to be the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius at .25 and .26, respectively. The Prius is pretty bike-rack friendly, too.

 

Same here. I did the Phoenix, AZ to Boulder, CO stretch and back for Thanksgiving weekend. The highway is 75mph limit for at least 80-85% of the mileage with my GPS showing an average speed of about 68mph for the whole trip, which includes stops at stoplights and stuff; not just the moving average. The moving average was only another half mph or so higher.

Anyway, it's 965 miles each way which means you're looking at about a 15 hour trip. Although I'd loved to have slowed down another 5mph or so and driven with load (slow on uphills) to improve FE, it simply would not be possible to do the drive in a single day if I had done so. As such, my HX could only manage 37.4mpg. That in the form of 1925.5 miles and 51.45 gallons consumed for the whole trip.

I had been hoping for better since 85% of the trip is above 4500 feet elevation (elevation helps FE) but driving into 20mph headwinds at 5000rpm floored in 3rd gear just to hold 75mph on an uphill doesn't do good things for FE. Like I said though, sometimes a trip simply is not possible if you can't hold that high velocity. I'd be curious to see how I would have done in a diesel, but I'm not convinced it would have been appreciably better. No vehicle gets excellent FE if you have to be floored all the time.

 

Oops! Seeing my quote in your thread made me realize I did a typo in my original post. It's supposed to read 37.5 MPG! Not, mph... My average speed was 68.5 mph.

 

Same stretch of road this past weekend, I got an average of 41-43 mpg. So yeah, it did improve with mileage. I didn't get a pic, but the FCD read 39.8 mpg at fuel-up. It read higher, but I stopped off at a mall (I forgot it was going to be a mad rush because of the Thanksgiving Day weekend shopping crowd) and watched as the display decremented during all that parking lot stop and go driving.

 

Yeah I think my engine is getting tired and worn out. I've never gotten much better than 39mpg for the Phx-Tuc-Phx roundtrip, and that's with my HX being rated at 44mpg highway. The Accord really does have an impressive motor!

 

Okay, now I think I've got my pics mixed up!

The first pic is of my trip back from Vegas, the long way. South, by Laughlin, through CA, down to I-10, and east to Phoenix.

The second pic is of my trip from just south of Tucson to the west valley of Phoenix.

But anyways, The point was, I got 37 mpg the last time I went from Tucson to Phoenix. This time, I got 42 mpg. (but the FCD only shows 39 mpg because I stopped off at a busy shopping mall parking lot on the way back) And, the first time I did the drive, it was about 100 degrees! This last time, it was about 70.

All these posts and cross-posts are confusing me!