Re: Highlander Hybrid Ltd AWDi -- what is your mileage?

Everyone want to save a few dollars and save the world but they forget the
law of unexpected consequences. If everybody drove cars that get 60 MPG or
more, the oil companies would not know what to do with all of the excess
gasoline.

As they did before gasoline started to be used as a motor fuel, they would
once again need to burn it off at the refineries. Getting rid of it is the
only way they can refine down to the carbon based products of crude, where
the big profits lay.

To make up for all the lost revenue the commodities buyers will bid the per
barrel price up to well over $100 and gasoline will be over $5 at the pump.
LOL

mike


"Michael Pardee" <michaeltnull (AT) cybertrails (DOT) com> wrote

"mark_digital©" <XXX-976 (AT) commacast (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:5qCdnQ-KvdhVIazbnZ2dnUVZ_segnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com...
Last night on our local news there was an elderly couple interviewed
about their _brand_ new_ Prius. "When I saw the EPA rating of 60 miles
per gallon I said to my wife, we got to get this car." He goes on to say
he only gets 41 miles to a gallon. Then the couple is seen driving off
with him in the front passenger seat. I nearly fell off the couch
laughing. I guess his wife is determined to *make it work*.
----------

All the while not knowing it *is* working. Few people actually keep track
of the fuel consumption they are experiencing, and to see it presented is
a shock. My daughter was shocked to find her '93 Accord 4-cyl automatic
getting barely 20 mpg in town. Prius owners too seldom realize the in-town
economy they are seeing is twice what they had before and that few people
get EPA estimates in any car, especially on congested streets and with
short trips. (Hybrids are not affected much by stop and go but are hit
just as badly by warm-up.) That will probably get worse as efficiency gets
better, because efficiency rarely affects fixed losses. In the Prius,
there is too little waste heat from the engine in town to operate the
heater at full output, so the engine runs just to heat the occupants.

BTW - I agree about the multi-function display. I keep mine dimmed.

Mike (averaging 46 mpg commuting three miles in his 2002 Prius).

"John B in CA" <no (AT) spam (DOT) com> wrote

Walt,

Thank you for the reply. The information is very useful.

As one would expect, there's a huge hit in mileage on the highway between
55-70 and 80+. I live in the Berkeley hills (across the Bay from San
Francisco). Every trip I take starts and ends with a very long, steep
hill -- a cab driver once told me that our street is the steepest street
in the Bay Area, including all the San Francisco hills. Clearly, coming
up this hill once or more per day is taking its toll on my gas mileage.
On the other hand, compared to the car I replaced with the Highlander -- a
2000 Ford Explorer -- I am getting great mileage.

I was interested in your comment about the battery. I have not noticed
the battery bars ever going down more than two. Also, it seems that no
matter how gently I step on the "gas pedal," once the car reaches 15-20
MPH, the engine starts. I'd never driven a hybrid before buying this car,
but I was under the impression that it used the electric motor more than
mine seems to. I will discuss all of this with the dealer when I take it
for the first service in 2,500 more miles.

John

I used to live in the Bay Area, and those Berkeley hills are steep! I used
to love driving through those hills and the hill that goes over the
Caldecott Tunnel into Orinda.

The hybrid system provides low speed propulsion and some assistance at
higher speeds, and accelerating (as opposed to cruising at a steady speed)
uses a lot of power, so the internal combustion engine, or ICE, will start
and take over propulsion above 15 or 20 MPH, as you are experiencing.
Running under pure electric power rapidly depletes the battery pack, so if
you were to cruise at 10 ~ 15 MPH, the ICE would probably start after a mile
or two.

The hybrid system reduces the work that the ICE does, but due to limitations
in battery storage capacity, the reduction in the need for the ICE to work
is probably more in the neighborhood of 5 or 10%, not 25 or 50%.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

Hi Ray,

I'm learning what the hybrid system does and does not do. Bottom line for
me is that it's a great car and I'm really happy I made the switch from the
Explorer.

Yes, the Berkeley hills and Tilden Park are beautiful, as well as the whole
East Bay Regional Park system. What's particularly amazing is that they are
only ten minutes from downtown Berkeley and Oakland.

John



"Ray O" <rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote

I used to live in the Bay Area, and those Berkeley hills are steep! I
used to love driving through those hills and the hill that goes over the
Caldecott Tunnel into Orinda.

The hybrid system provides low speed propulsion and some assistance at
higher speeds, and accelerating (as opposed to cruising at a steady speed)
uses a lot of power, so the internal combustion engine, or ICE, will start
and take over propulsion above 15 or 20 MPH, as you are experiencing.
Running under pure electric power rapidly depletes the battery pack, so if
you were to cruise at 10 ~ 15 MPH, the ICE would probably start after a
mile or two.

The hybrid system reduces the work that the ICE does, but due to
limitations in battery storage capacity, the reduction in the need for the
ICE to work is probably more in the neighborhood of 5 or 10%, not 25 or
50%.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

"John B in CA" <no (AT) spam (DOT) com> wrote

Hi Ray,

I'm learning what the hybrid system does and does not do. Bottom line for
me is that it's a great car and I'm really happy I made the switch from
the Explorer.

Yes, the Berkeley hills and Tilden Park are beautiful, as well as the
whole East Bay Regional Park system. What's particularly amazing is that
they are only ten minutes from downtown Berkeley and Oakland.

John

I worked in Benicia, South SF, and San Ramon and miss the beautiful Bay Area
and the Yosemite area. For someone who enjoys fishing, camping, and hiking,
it was like living in a giant playground! Hmmm, maybe it's time to plan a
trip out west!

Enjoy your new Highlander!
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

Giant playground, indeed! I've become a golfer lately and having the Tilden
Park Golf Course ten minutes from home is almost too good to be true.

This is getting quite off-topic, but then again it seems that the majority
of posts here are off-topic.

John



"Ray O" <rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote

I worked in Benicia, South SF, and San Ramon and miss the beautiful Bay
Area and the Yosemite area. For someone who enjoys fishing, camping, and
hiking, it was like living in a giant playground! Hmmm, maybe it's time
to plan a trip out west!

Enjoy your new Highlander!
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)