After a long trip, thoughts on the FFH

[GrySql]

It was a magnificent performance for any car, being a hybrid made it even better. Show me another car that can do what my FFH just did.

 

Our trip to visit our two sons/families in opposite ends of MO was cut short by health issues but we still managed 4,000+ miles in 2 weeks.

We passed through NV, UT, CO, IA, NE, MO, OK, TX, NM, AZ and home to CA.

We crossed the Continental Divide twice, drove in 27F snow storms @ 11,000+ elevation in CO and 109F pizza oven temps in the AZ desert and Palm Springs, CA.

We drove all over local areas in MO with the car loaded with family, lots of short trips.

On the way home there were 3 huge thunder storms in OK where viability was 30' and all the i-40 traffic had flashers on just to see, the big FFH windshield wipers were outstanding.

 

During the outward bound trip we drove at (or below) the speed limits - it took 5 days to get to MO.

Coming home I pushed it very hard, 2,000 miles in 3 day and two nights - often over the speed limit by a large margin.

During one event the FFH easily hit 100mph, at other times we crawled along for road construction.

 

The car burned no visible oil on the dipstick, the 18" Goodyear LS2's (with 27.000 miles on them) provided good traction in all weather and at all speeds.

The car was quiet and comfy except for certain sections of highway that had horrible surfaces.
I checked the Temp gauge every so often in the extremes situations and it was nominal.

The car liked the Mid-West's 93 Octane 100% gasoline that was available, in 109F weather with CA blend 87 Octane the mpg's tanked.

 

To shorten the story, there is lots more to tell, my Time Machine FFH averaged 37 MPG's for the trip, all adverse conditions and bad driving included.

My car is a very early 11/21/12 build of this model, I love it and am proud of it.

-

PS, I passed a Tesla in the AZ desert near Quartzite, AZ today on I-10, it was going 60 mph in a 75 mph zone, the temperature at the time was 107F.

I suppose he was looking for an electrical plug. I was glad I had a FFH and blew by it at 80 mph - take that Mr. Elon Musk!

 

 

 

 

 

[corncobs]

Nice summary and it matches our trip expierience from a year ago almost exactly.

 

Good to hear that your FFH brought there and back safely and comfortable.

[DeeCee]

Sounds like a great trip. The next time you get this way (to Missouri, St. Louis area was my old stomping grounds), take a short detour south to Arkansas and you would be welcome here and sure you would like this area. Would love to meet you and share FFH likes.

[acdii]

When I first got the BD, we took an unplanned trip down to Florida in mid December(The Ferry Trip), and other than the really poor FE, the car handled great, was really comfortable(moreso than the HyTi), and what kept me in the Fusion instead of looking elsewhere. I may some day try to find a pair of SE Luxury buckets and swap out the Ti seats. If I have only one gripe, that is it. Great car, My most favorite car ever.

[Riggo]

When I first got the BD, we took an unplanned trip down to Florida in mid December(The Ferry Trip), and other than the really poor FE, the car handled great, was really comfortable(moreso than the HyTi), and what kept me in the Fusion instead of looking elsewhere. I may some day try to find a pair of SE Luxury buckets and swap out the Ti seats. If I have only one gripe, that is it. Great car, My most favorite car ever.

Switch them for the Ti heated and cooled seats. I'm telling you, they are extremely comfortable compared to the regular Ti seats. Although, I guess you don't need cooled seats up there.

[acdii]

Switch them for the Ti heated and cooled seats. I'm telling you, they are extremely comfortable compared to the regular Ti seats. Although, I guess you don't need cooled seats up there.

I use them in my MKT all the time, tonight in fact. I will have to see if my dealer is going to get one in with that option so I can butt test them.

[GrySql]

Sounds like a great trip. The next time you get this way (to Missouri, St. Louis area was my old stomping grounds), take a short detour south to Arkansas and you would be welcome here and sure you would like this area. Would love to meet you and share FFH likes.

Thank you.

 

The last time in that area we were with the '2009 Mustangs Across America Rally'.

We stopped in Bossier City (Shreveport) for that event and peeled off & drove north through Little Rock, AK to MO.

We don't see the sons much and make an attempt every time we feel up to it.

The FFH gave us confidence. Well justified too.

 

 

When I first got the BD, we took an unplanned trip down to Florida in mid December(The Ferry Trip), and other than the really poor FE, the car handled great, was really comfortable(moreso than the HyTi), and what kept me in the Fusion instead of looking elsewhere. I may some day try to find a pair of SE Luxury buckets and swap out the Ti seats. If I have only one gripe, that is it. Great car, My most favorite car ever.

Yes, it is weird how the first SE leather seats are so comfortable. I'd like to try the Lincoln version some time, that will probably be my next car.

[mwr]

Have you tried different octane California gas to see if some give better mpgs?

 

in 109F weather with CA blend 87 Octane the mpg's tanked.

[jeffo65]

Nice write up and what you would expect from the car.

 

I would like to find gas with no ethanol and give it a try, but I have only seen ethanol gas in the St Louis, MO metro area. One of these days I will see it and give it a try.

[lolder]

Higher octane doesn't help mpg. No ethanol might get 3 % better mpg but it's not cost effective. Temperatures over 95 cause AC load to seriously affect mpg.

[GrySql]

As you may have noticed from my little story I drove how I wanted to and gave very little consideration to getting the absolute maximum mpg's from the car.

Over the last 18 months I have learned to drive differently in the FFH, it's subconscious now and that is what I did.

If I worried about every gallon of gas used on a trip like this I'd be a nervous wreck in 2 days.

This is a vehicle for many different personalities, and the FFH does the job I need very well.

That being said, I do like to hypermile around my local area, it's a fun game.

 

Higher octane doesn't help mpg. No ethanol might get 3 % better mpg but it's not cost effective. Temperatures over 95 cause AC load to seriously affect mpg.

I bought the 100% gas because it was cheaper than CA Blend 87 octane, it was a novelty. The closer to the Mississippi River I got, the cheaper the fuel prices.

It was such a joy to return to the People's Republic of CA and find the fuel at over $4.00.

I did not do any scientific tests regarding any particular fuels performance except to notice each tanks mpg's, my highway mpg's were a bit better on 100% gas the two times in a row that I bought it.

But, as mentioned, it's probably not a economical thing to do, the FFH accommodates most fuel blends just fine.

 

Where I live we have temps above 90F for months at a time, like today. I know about A/C use and it's effects, I lose about 3 or 4 mpg with A/C on but when we need it, we use it.

 

I would like to find gas with no ethanol and give it a try, but I have only seen ethanol gas in the St Louis, MO metro area. One of these days I will see it and give it a try.

We were 1-1/2 hours south of STL for 5 days, some off-brand stations there had it.

I noticed that many Sinclair stations had signs promoting their Dino gas, they had up to 5 different blends on the pump.

Edited May 28, 2014 by GrySql

[acdii]

For the life of the car I have been using 89 octane, mainly because it was no different in price than 87 at the other stations, Sadly that station appears to have shut down, the store that ran it closed, so no more 20 cents off per gallon either. For the past couple weeks the car has been filled with 87 octane, and it is running and getting MPG no different than it has for the past nearly one year. 23900 miles, going to roll over 24K tomorrow. Like Grysql, I just drive it now, its becomes second nature to drive it and get good MPG.