Driving VS Cruise Control

[Da0ne]

I was wondering how many of you drive the car or use ECC or ACC and what kind of mpg are you getting.

 

I drive mine, I only use ECC on long drives since traffic in new york city sucks.

 

my typical morning commute

 

 

my evening commute more traffic

 

 

and this is my lifetime so far (couple of days ago)

 

 

 

 

 

[hermans]

My recent trip to Ohio and back 1200+ miles was on ACC most of the way and AC, set to 73 degrees, was on on the return trip.....46.2 average for the trip.

[Da0ne]

My recent trip to Ohio and back 1200+ miles was on ACC most of the way and AC, set to 73 degrees, was on on the return trip.....46.2 average for the trip.

 

nice im taking a trip to Charlotte NC next month and want to see those results as i will go 75 - 78 mph instead of 63 - 70 mph i did when i went to FL back in May although 42 mpg isnt bad to me

[hybridbear]

When did you reset your Lifetime? We use Eco Cruise all the time, even in the city. I find it's more efficient in most situations that my foot unless I'm really paying attention. On large hills I'll drive manually to slow down more up the hill than Eco Cruise does and to then speed up more down the hill. But mostly I just use Eco Cruise and the +/- buttons. I wish we had adaptive cruise but it wasn't worth the cost to buy the other packages required to get it.

[Da0ne]

When did you reset your Lifetime? We use Eco Cruise all the time, even in the city. I find it's more efficient in most situations that my foot unless I'm really paying attention. On large hills I'll drive manually to slow down more up the hill than Eco Cruise does and to then speed up more down the hill. But mostly I just use Eco Cruise and the +/- buttons. I wish we had adaptive cruise but it wasn't worth the cost to buy the other packages required to get it.

 

Dealership reset it when i got the car back after doing the fuel module recall

 

traffic here is usually bumper to bumper so it makes it difficult to use ECC. In my morning commute i can use it as there is almost no traffic, it takes me 15 - 20 min to get to the office, in the evening im looking forward to 45 to 1hr traffic jam

 

i will try to use it on Monday as i have training in central jersey the next 3 days so going to see how she does on highway

[jsolan]

I use Eco Cruise only on the highway and only out of convenience. I know it accelerates much smoother than most cruise controls after you re-set it after braking, but in my opinion it's still too quick/fuel consuming and I believe I can do a "better" job getting up to speed with my foot, maybe I'm wrong as I'm certainly not getting anywhere near HB's mileage. I just always feel a slight acceleration jerk when ECC kicks back in that I can avoid when using my foot.

[DeeCee]

I use ECO/ACC probably 85 to 90 percent of the time, both highway and city driving. My lifetime average after 10k miles is 45.8 mpg.

[djminfll]

I use ACC all the time except when I am in a traffic jam and going slower than 20mph. If I am going steadily at a speed, say 45mph, and I'm not going into EV mode, I might release ACC for a second and then Resume to get it into EV mode again. We don't have any real elevation here, mostly flat roads other than inclines on an overpass and slight inclines on the highway. Lifetime MPG is currently 43, but that included early fill-ups in the mid to upper 30's. Now that I have had the software update completed, I am starting a new Fuelly account to see how I do moving forward. I don't know why, but I just don't want to reset my Trip 2 which has my lifetime miles/mpg/gallons!

[MaineFusion]

I use Eco Cruise only on the highway and only out of convenience. I know it accelerates much smoother than most cruise controls after you re-set it after braking, but in my opinion it's still too quick/fuel consuming and I believe I can do a "better" job getting up to speed with my foot, maybe I'm wrong as I'm certainly not getting anywhere near HB's mileage. I just always feel a slight acceleration jerk when ECC kicks back in that I can avoid when using my foot.

I also think that even the eco mode is a little fast when getting up to speed, I'd also like to see it be a little less aggressive with slowing down when cruise speed is reduced.

 

I almost always use adaptive cruise control in eco mode when on highways, it keeps me at a consistent driving speed and is one less thing to pay attention to. Recently I've started to suspend the cruise control when I want to either speed up or slow down so that I can feather the speed change better in hopes of squeezing out a slightly better fuel economy.

 

A perfectly attentive driver could probably get a slightly better fuel economy than the eco cruise can; however, I tend to think that the cruise control is probably the best way to consistently get the best fuel economy.

[acdii]

Only on the interstate, the rest of the time I can do much better without it since most of the roads I drive on are hilly.

[dalesky]

I was wondering how many of you drive the car or use ECC or ACC and what kind of mpg are you getting.

 

I drive mine, I only use ECC on long drives since traffic in new york city sucks.

 

my typical morning commute

 

 

my evening commute more traffic

 

 

and this is my lifetime so far (couple of days ago)

 

 

 

 

 

The traffic may suck, but your mileage sure doesn't! good going!!

[dalesky]

I almost always use ECC when safe to do so. I like that it can kick in at as low as 20 MPH for resume! I tweak it by clicking a couple of miles over my desired MPH, then back it down a little for EV to kick in.

As far as how the ECC resumes I usually find it varies as to whether or not I stay or go into EV. Hard to predict, but I prefer to let it do the driving instead of trying to improve on it myself. I have always enjoyed using resume for cruise control, with any of my cars.

I do have some concern about how slowly I accelerate, and generally prefer to get up to speed somewhat 'normally', if there is such a thing. No fast starts, and no real concern about anyone behind me, but also no constant attempt to stay in EV.

My lifetime is just a tiny bit under 40, and I have many times gotten into the mid to upper 40's. I am very happy with the mileage I have been getting, so will continue using the ECC frequently.

[acdii]

If you can do so without Bubba climbing in your trunk , accelerate by using some EV to rollout, maybe partway across an intersection up to about 15 MPH, and let ICE kick in, then keep it on the Empower 2 KW bar until you reach your speed, and relax it so it goes into EV. This seems to work pretty good for me and gets me up to speed at a decent rate. If you go over, no biggy, just try not to go more than 1/4 way over the 2KW mark.

[anguyen]

I was wondering how many of you drive the car or use ECC or ACC and what kind of mpg are you getting.

 

I drive mine, I only use ECC on long drives since traffic in new york city sucks.

 

my typical morning commute

 

 

my evening commute more traffic

 

 

and this is my lifetime so far (couple of days ago)

 

 

What is the outside temperature? Down here in Houston with 98-100+ degree I only was able yo mustard 41mpg

[fusionTX]

I think the Fusion's ECC is top notch. The technology has come a long way. With my 2007 Camry hybrid, there was always a penalty when using the cruise control. I don't feel the same way about the Fusion.

 

I use the ACC quite often, and love it, but I find it overreacts on city roads at lower speeds, so I use it less under these circumstances. By overreacts I mean it will hit the breaks hard under circumstances that I normally would not.

[MaineFusion]

I think the Fusion's ECC is top notch. The technology has come a long way. With my 2007 Camry hybrid, there was always a penalty when using the cruise control. I don't feel the same way about the Fusion.

 

I use the ACC quite often, and love it, but I find it overreacts on city roads at lower speeds, so I use it less under these circumstances. By overreacts I mean it will hit the breaks hard under circumstances that I normally would not.

Ya, I find ECC sometimes brakes hard when it shouldn't. I'd love for there to be an extra one or two following distance settings for the adaptive cruise control so that there would be enough distance between me and the vehicle in front of me for the ECC to brake more gradually. In general, the longest available following distance available via the adaptive cruise control is shorter than I'd normally follow another vehicle. A long time ago when driving tour buses I learned to give drivers lots of space to do stupid stuff without me having to brake hard.

[Da0ne]

What is the outside temperature? Down here in Houston with 98-100+ degree I only was able yo mustard 41mpg

Temp in the am have been 70's and 80's in the evening but I find myself getting better results driving over eco cruise

[Boat Racer]

Ya, I find ECC sometimes brakes hard when it shouldn't. I'd love for there to be an extra one or two following distance settings for the adaptive cruise control so that there would be enough distance between me and the vehicle in front of me for the ECC to brake more gradually. In general, the longest available following distance available via the adaptive cruise control is shorter than I'd normally follow another vehicle. A long time ago when driving tour buses I learned to give drivers lots of space to do stupid stuff without me having to brake hard.

Does anyone know if if the Fusion's brake lights come on when it automatically brakes when using ACC? I really love this feature and assume that the brake lights do come on when it automatically brakes to warn drivers following you, that you are slowing down.

[djminfll]

Does anyone know if if the Fusion's brake lights come on when it automatically brakes when using ACC? I really love this feature and assume that the brake lights do come on when it automatically brakes to warn drivers following you, that you are slowing down.

Yes, they do. I wanted to know the same thing, since the ACC sometimes brakes pretty hard pretty suddenly, and I was concerned that a tailgater would rear-end me. I had a friend follow me, told her I was only going to step on the brakes if I came to a red light. She followed me and she told me that the brake lights went on each time I started to slow down.

[hermans]

I still say the best way is to put your wife, husband, significant other or gender neutral in the trunk. In Germany now parents can put gender neutral on their kids birth certificates.

[acdii]

And you wonder why the aliens either avoid contact or want to destroy us.

[Barsoom]

I drove yesterday from San Francisco to Anaheim using ACC in Eco mode. Car had myself, my wife, and a bunch of suitcases. Temperature was 95. I was getting about 38 until I hit the Grapevine. Then it dropped to 35.

 

I'll see what the round trip reading is on Sunday.

[Barsoom]

Here is my trip update.

 

The round trip distance was 819 miles, 172.3 EV miles. The car was loaded with luggage for my wife and me.

 

Outside temperature was about 98 degrees, with the A/C set to Auto at about 72.

 

Travel speed was mostly 80 mph on adaptive cruise control in Eco mode.

 

Route was mostly flat until the California Grapevine. I took I-580 from the Bay Area to I-5 south all the way to Anaheim.

 

The trip took 24.34 gallons, or 33.6 mpg.

[B25Nut]

If you had averaged 70 mph you probably would have seen a little over 40 mpg. It would have saved two gallons ($8) each way but it would have taken you about 45 minutes longer. I'd pay $8 for 45 minutes more time in Anaheim with my wife.

I'm a control freak (at least my wife says so) so I rarely use Cruise Control. It's ideal for cruising on interstate like I-5 in the San Joaquin Valley and for giving my right foot a rest on long trips, but I feel I get better mileage driving manually. Instead of one constant speed, I go faster on downslopes and slower on upgrades. With the new update, you learn when you can back off just a little to get it into EV at 65-75 mph. I also don't think I've had one time in the past 10 months that another driver has looked at my FFH and said "Damn hybrid!". I've never held up traffic behind me. This has given me lower MPGs than are possible, but I don't care.

Edited September 14, 2013 by B25Nut

[Barsoom]

I think that blasting the A/C also contributed to it. Plus two cell phones plugged into the 12V for the whole trip. Plus heavy suitcases.

 

I'd probably have gotten better mileage if I were alone and the weather were cooler.

 

At home, I'm getting 50+ mpg on my 3.6 mile drive to work, and about 25-30 mpg on the return. My current tank is giving me about 38mpg overall, with about 1/3rd of a tank to go.

 

I used the GPS Essentials app on my Android to plot the most economical route based on altitude. It's ony a 150' drop from home to work, with a slight uphill at the start (like a roller-coaster), so I now know how to store up the energy in the HVB by charging on the uphill, using Hill Descent Assist on the downhill, then ride the EV for the rest of the way to work.