Eventful day!

[Kcouture25]

So yesterday was a pretty eventful day for me. I got back from my year long tour in the Middle East. My wife set up a huge surprise for the kids:

 

http://myfox8.com/2014/04/30/coast-guard-member-from-high-point-surprises-daughter-son-at-school/

 

Afterwards, we went and picked up my new 2014 FFH that I ordered two months ago. I've only made 1.5 trips in it so far (the trip home and bringing my daughter to school this morning). The initial MPG in the car when I first got in was around 24MPG, and in just those short trips I got it up to over 36. I can already tell that I will be obsessed with keeping the number high and trying to keep it in electric mode as long as I can lol.

[acdii]

Welcome Home, and congrats on the new ride. Bet your family was happy to see you.

[corncobs]

What acdii said!

 

Funny side note I'm actually in your neighborhood today :)

[jpgale]

First thank you for your service, welcome home.

 

Second, I agree with you I am going to get obsessed with getting the mileage number as high as possible. I have always liked to get my foot in it every so often, but that will be what my truck will be used for as that needs that kind of driving style.

 

James

[FordService]

... I've only made 1.5 trips in it so far (the trip home and bringing my daughter to school this morning). The initial MPG in the car when I first got in was around 24MPG, and in just those short trips I got it up to over 36. I can already tell that I will be obsessed with keeping the number high and trying to keep it in electric mode as long as I can lol.

 

Kcouture25,

 

Thanks for your service and welcome home! I hope you're enjoying your FFH so far. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns; I'm here to help however possible!

 

Ashley

[DeeCee]

Welcome home and thanks for your service. First, enjoy your family and second, enjoy the new FFH.

[djminfll]

Am I being repetitive if I add another Welcome Home and Thank You for your service?

Good luck with your new FFH, and get ready to start the obsession with achieving high mpg numbers!

[Kcouture25]

After a few trips, all in our hilly town, I'm at 41mpg on the indicator. At the moment, I'm just trying to figure out which style works best for me. I'm finding it easier to just accelerate to the speed I need, then back off into EV mode. Is this what most of you do as well? I would love to accelerate up to speed in EV, but I doubt the drivers behind me would like that very much.

[Kcouture25]

And no need to thank me. This is my career, and it really enjoy what I do! The Coast Guard has been good to me over the years.

[Ted Swing]

It doesn't really make sense to accelerate up to speed purely in EV mode. It's both too slow and drains a lot of the battery's charge anyway.

 

I find that I stay in EV mode up to 15-20 MPH, then go into ICE mode, and back to EV when I reach my speed. I would say don't floor it like you're drag racing, but no need to be really slow in accelerating.

[jpgale]

What do you do in the coastguard I use to work for a company that had the coastguard as a major customer.

[Kcouture25]

I'm a Chief Petty Officer / Storekeeper. I do contracting/purchasing, supply inventory, budgeting, property management. My upcoming position will revolve more so around the property management side, but I will still have a hand in the other things as well.

 

Side note; today was the first ever time I've used heated seats. I'm convinced it is the greatest technological advance ever.

[inco]

Welcome home and to our world. Just be sure to never turn on the heated seats and the AC at the same time! Just kidding. I can't recall if your car has cooled seats as well, in which case you couldn't. But if you don't.....what's that saying about the heat in the kitchen? :)

[jpgale]

I use to work for a company called Helitune, they supply helicopter RTB equipment to many military orgs including the Coastguard. It was a fun place to work esp testing the equipment :). My former boss went to visit the coastguard in the LA region and was flown all around the no fly zones of LA, quite awesome.

[Kcouture25]

Mine only has the heated seats. I believe the heat/cooled seats are in the titanium hybrid. After my first 150 miles, my screen says I'm averaging 45.3 mpg. I'm happy with it. I had a driving style tailored for hybrids anyway, since I'm always mpg conscious. Where I'm really being coached is my breaking style.

[djminfll]

If you are averaging 45.3 mpg in the first 150 miles, you are doing much better than most of us did when we first got our vehicles!

[Kcouture25]

The best part of driving slower and maximizing my mpg, is that it gives me more time in the car to enjoy it. I can't believe how much I love this car! It will take me a while to get to know and understand all the technology in this vehicle, but it's fun to learn it. Today was the first time I tried to mess with the voice recognition with sync. I like how I can use the navigation easier with my voice than by manually typing it into the GPS. I'm still trying to figure out which left side display screen I like the best. I've been using the empower and engage screens mainly. On the left side, the novelty of the efficiency leaves wore off quick, so I just leave the compass up for now.

[acdii]

This is what I found to be true with the FFH, most owners like the car so much, they dont mind slowing down and enjoying it. Makes you wonder how much people hate their car by how much the race to red lights.

[corncobs]

They wanna get out of it as fast as possible. :)

[lolder]

When you buy a new model year in the Fall, the weather's getting colder and that's a big mpg hit. When you buy in the Spring, it's getting warmer and mpg goes up. The gradient is 2-3 mpg per 10 º F. That's A LOT ! Also winter winds are stronger and car speed vectors make 70 % of all winds headwinds. That's -3 mpg per 10 mph headwind. Wet, snowy roads can be a 3 -10 mpg hit.

Edited May 6, 2014 by lolder

[Kcouture25]

Had my first fuel fill-up on Thursday. According to the computer, I used 11.20 gallons at 48.5 MPG for the tank. Actual gallons pumped was 11.356, so my calculations show 47.90 (544 total miles). My computer showed that I had 56 miles until empty, but since the light came on,I decided to go ahead and fill up rather than chancing it.

 

My tank was pretty evenly divided between city and highway driving. I had a 250 mile highway trip on Thursday morning. Prior to getting in the car, my MPG was around 47.5. Once I arrived at my destination it had crept up to 49.

 

When I was debating buying the car, I read all the reviews of people not being able to achieve the advertised mileage. While I doubt that I will be able to hit 47 with every single tank, I am happy to learn that it's achievable without a whole lot of effort on my part. In all honesty, if I am getting 44-45 out of a tank, I will be perfectly satisfied. When choosing between the Passat TDI and the FFH, it came down to styling, and the fact that the VW gets 40mpg on diesel, which is more expensive, compared to the FFH getting 47 on gasoline. Even if I get low to mid 40's, it is still economically higher than the VW.

 

One cool feature that I learned about happened when my gas light came on. My navigation instantly started showing all available gas stations near me. How cool!

 

On my way home from that trip, I saw a handful of 13-14 FF's, but only one FFH that I noticed. I was on I-40 in North Carolina when I saw them. I was also getting passed by toyota prius's, but that's because I had the Eco cruise set at 63-65. Those toyotas night net a better mpg than I do, but they are still an eyesore of a car. I can't believe how much I enjoy just looking at my car. I feel like I have a luxury car, at an affordable car price.

[GrySql]

I feel like I have a luxury car, at an affordable car price.

You do have a luxury car at an affordable price that gets better mpg's than a tiny Fiat 500.

Edited May 10, 2014 by GrySql

[acdii]

Fix It Again Tony

 

Congrats on the new car, sounds like a keeper!

[Kcouture25]

Edit: found the answer to the question.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Kcouture25