52 MPG

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury) 09/16/2018 at 14:52 • Filed to: None

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I borrowed dad’s new Volt last week for a trip up to Los Angeles to see a friend and hit a few old favorite neighborhoods and shops, especially Autobooks in Burbank. After a day of mixed driving, somewhere around 260 miles, I decided to be nice and top off the fuel tank and I put in right around 4 gallons - that’s it. Amazing.

I didn’t do those annoying hypermiling tricks, but I did try to use the battery as efficiently as possible, usually by keeping it in ‘L’ for more regen , using Hold mode on the freeway to run off the gasoline engine, etc. I could get used to that kind of mileage. I just wish I had a place to plug in and solar panels on my house...

Milky > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/16/2018 at 15:02

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My friend with a Volt said almost exactly this last night.

I just wish I had a place to plug in and solar panels on my house...

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/16/2018 at 15:22

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It’s the same kind of satisfaction you get when you see double digit fuel economy on a high power muscle car, I suppose.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/16/2018 at 15:24

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I just wish I didn’t find driving EVs so unnerving.

sony1492 > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 09/16/2018 at 15:28

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“17mpg!?, Something must be wrong”  

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 09/16/2018 at 16:08

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It’s a little odd at first, but it quickly becomes normal. Even if you don’t do anything fancy with the various modes and ‘transmission’ settings and just get in and drive it pretty much feels like a normal car, albeit quiet and torquey.

Cé hé sin > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/16/2018 at 16:27

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It’s a good start, certainly.

Miles per Imperial gallon but even so.

bhtooefr > Cé hé sin 09/16/2018 at 17:04

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But what does it do in the city (I assume that’s highway mileage).

And how long can it go without starting the engine?

And how much greater is the fuel’s energy density and CO2 emission density (I’m guessing about, oh, 13% for both)?

Cé hé sin > bhtooefr 09/16/2018 at 17:55

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My father’s old car. I only drove it once, on a long journey keeping to sixth gear as much as possible, and that was the outcome (it had been just over the 70 mpg before undertaking th e last uphill stretch home) . I’ve never driven a car that used so little fuel.

Yes, of course it’s not comparable to an EV with range extender.

Captain of the Enterprise > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/16/2018 at 18:52

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I love the volt idea, I’d love to lease one if I had the money and drove less than 15,000 per year

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/16/2018 at 18:53

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yea but can it do dank whoolies like a motorcycle?

TorqueToYield > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/16/2018 at 18:56

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My wife’s Prius gets 50 mpg without trying or thinking about it and has been since she got it 7 years ago.

The throttle mapping is stupid slow to like 50% down but otherwise it’s a fine little run about commuter car - no plugging in necessary.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > TorqueToYield 09/16/2018 at 19:11

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Pe rformance was why he went with the Volt instead of the Prius, not necessarily fuel economy. Coming from an E-Class Benz, the performance figures on the Prius were just too low for him, particularly since he’s rarely using gasoline. With solar panels on the roof and short drives he’s only put in about 8 gallons since buying it 4 months ago, using his  ‘free’ electricity for fuel.

TorqueToYield > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/16/2018 at 20:48

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Solar panels  with a plug in hybrid is awesome. Literally powering your car with the sun. Good shit. 

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/17/2018 at 07:32

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Mild rant coming:

Maybe it’s longing for the old days, maybe it’s actually driving older cars, maybe both.

I find 52 mpg from a small hybrid quite laughable. I used to average 43 mpg from an 87 Nissan beating the living hell out of it in mixed driving. I managed 47 mpg out of it the few times I drove it nicely.

Everyone want to tout how efficient cars have become, but if you look back 20-30yrs, they really haven’t.