Hello to all

[cvtim]

Hello to all. This is a great forum you have here.

I just bought a 2014 Honda Accord EX-L Hybrid and, I found information from this site to be useful as a tool for vehicle comparisons during the decision process. I have an 80 mile daily commute over non-interstate highways so, I chose the Honda hybrid to replace my '96 Intrepid. Had my first fuel up on July 13 and averaged 53.7 mpg over 719 miles. Should have another fuel up tomorrow and I'm expecting the number to be a little better. I'm already enjoying the forum but, I am going to really enjoy this car if it keeps turning out these numbers!

Tim in Kentucky

[Draigflag]

Hi welcome. That's a coincidence, my first fuel up in my new car I got exactly 719 miles on a tank too! I drive a Renault Clio diesel.

[cvtim]

Cool Draigflag!

I just fueled up again today -- 784.6 miles and 13.778 gallons of gas yielding 56.9 mpg. I'm really liking my new car. I think I was averaging ~24-26 in my old car so, ~55 mpg is great to me.

Tim in Kentucky

[Draigflag]

I'm hoping mine will improve with more miles, it's rated at 88 MPG, but I can't imagine ever getting that in normal circumstances. My old car would get 40 MPG which might sound good, but our fuel here in the UK works out at $8 to $10 a gallon, hence why fuel economy has become a priority for most car users!

[cvtim]

Good luck with the fuel economy on the Clio. That 8-10 US $ price for gas is ridiculous. I think it's bad when we periodically get to 4. I paid $3.54 yesterday for 89 octane. I would rather purchase 87 but, it has a bad rep in this area. Prices are much lower here but, I'm still looking to reduce fuel costs. I think the Accord is EPA rated at 50/45.

I purchased the hybrid as a "small gamble" because my normal commute should be perfect for a car of this type, given the choices at hand, to get what we would think of as extreme fuel economy in the US. Year 1 of the redesigned Honda drive train but, I am not a fan of the idea of a CVT transmission (in other available vehicles) over the long haul as opposed to what appears to be a motor and maybe some form of a variable frequency drive (in the new Accord). Yes, the "tranny" does have some internal clutch to engage the engine in a single "top gear" as necessary but, that technology has been around for a while. Hope it holds up but, time will tell.

I did find a down side of this Accord Hybrid. I noticed I was getting ~39 mpg at 70 mph on an interstate highway. That was on a particularly hilly, 20 mile section of highway. The cruise control was not behaving in an economical manner. Took the thing out of cruise and managed to get back up to 44.2 for the 45 mile total. Brought my average on the new tank down to 52.4 for the ~108 miles currently traveled. I'll be playing catch-up with the rest of the tank.

Good luck with the Clio. Sounds like an exceptional car. Don't see Renault here in the US anymore.

Tim in Kentucky

[trollbait]

I did find a down side of this Accord Hybrid. I noticed I was getting ~39 mpg at 70 mph on an interstate highway. That was on a particularly hilly, 20 mile section of highway. The cruise control was not behaving in an economical manner. Took the thing out of cruise and managed to get back up to 44.2 for the 45 mile total.

Outside of a level stretch of road, cruise control will be bad for fuel economy. They are reactive with little in the way of throttle modulation. Start losing speed going up an incline and it will floor it into downshift. A driver can build up speed before the incline, and allow the speed to bleed off in exchange for keeping the car at a more efficient operating point.

Now, the Ford hybrids' cruise isn't as on or off. They'll allow a greater drop in speed and use lighter throttle. Then GPS guided cruise control could use the most efficieny way of climbing a hill in the future. But in most cases not using cruise control will work out better.

[cvtim]

Thanks trollbait. This is really a steep learning curve for me and I really appreciate your information and driving tip -- stay away from cruise. I was unaware that Ford was using a different form of cruise control.

I wasn't expecting the cruise to behave the way it did. Going down steep hills, it appeared to go into a "heavy breaking" regen - that was very new to me. Up steep hills was under pretty excessive throttle. The car reacted as you stated it would in your post, it held tight to set point very well and, I suppose that is the point of cruise. I was hoping for better fuel economy on that stretch of highway in cruise control. Don't know anything about the Ford cruise control but, with all the tech in and on the Honda, it would be nice to have an "efficiency mode" for cruise. I could see how a variable, "wider acceptable speed range" about a cruise set point given timely GPS altitude readings to know whether the car is going up hill or down would be helpful to make a more economical cruise.

I stayed away from that stretch of interstate on the return trip and got around 67 mpg. There are days that I am getting ~70 mpg on my daily 40 mile return commute. I am really pleased with the car so far. Huge change from my normal gas guzzler vehicles.

Keep the tips coming.


Tim in Kentucky