2009 Ford Fusion Hybrid: Ford To Attempt Super-Economy 1000 Mile Run

[RobertSullivan]

1000 miles on a single tank of gas? They will have to get 57 MPG. I doubt it.

http://www.themotorreport.com.au/284...1000-mile-run/

[omnimoeish]

Apparently you've never heard the numbers put up the Hyper Miling races.

[RobertSullivan]

Apparently you've never heard the numbers put up the Hyper Miling races.

I read in the article and it say that experienced hyper-milers have achieved 70 MPG in the Fusion. I am a pretty conservative driver and the best I have ever achieved in my 2003 Prius is 60 MPG over a full tank. The Fusion is a much larger car. Another question I have: are all 4 drivers going to be in the car for the whole trip? That adds a lot of weight and would certainly lower the MPG. I will be following the progress this weekend.

[omnimoeish]

Yeah I was wondering that too, but I am guessing that they will probably be in the entourage.

[RobertSullivan]

From Twitter: (http://twitter.com/Ford)

"The 14th stint is in and we are at 80.4mpg and 628.0 miles done. Going really well."

"Techniques like pulse & glide, coasting to stops signs and down hills, using EV mode when required, no air con or radio etc."

"13th stint is in and we are at 80.0mpg. We have covered 570.1 miles and still have 2/3rds of a tank of fuel left. Amazing!"

"Beautiful morning in VA & the challenge continues. F/E slightly down at 80mpg but still great progress. Over 500 miles now!"

"That's correct. The Fusion we're using for the #Hybrid1000 Mile Challenge is the same you can get at the dealership."

"Latest position is that we have got up to 979.3 and averaging 81.3mpg."

"Average speed is between 25 and 30mph."

"The tank is showing 485 miles to empty, but then you need to add around 80 miles to that as well so this is serious stuff!"

"It is amazing - even the Chief Engineer can't believe it. We are in great shape for maybe 1,300 miles!!"

[Altazi]

"Techniques like pulse & glide, coasting to stops signs and down hills, . . ."

I don't think it would be fun or amusing to follow someone driving like this.

[RobertSullivan]

They are going to keep going until the gas runs out - just like the Seinfeld episode with Kramer taking a test drive. Ford is expecting about 1400 miles. I think they should do a second test that matches real-world driving instead of the below 30 mph pulse and glide they are using for this test.

[RobertSullivan]

From twitter: "Its all over!!! The Fusion Hybrid did 1,445.7 miles on ONE tank of gas! Average f/e of 81.5mpg!"

[omnimoeish]

That's pretty sick. I'd like to see what happens with a Volt, a Prius, and an Insight going head to head with the same course, and the same driver. That means you could travel from New York City to Los Angeles with just one fill up in between somewhere around Oklahoma City.

According to mapquest, it's 2787.59 miles

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Los+...ork+City&2s=NY

I'm not sure what the record for a Prius is, but this renowned hypermiler got 71 mpg in his Prius-2 over an extended trip like this from Chicago to New York.

http://www.priusownersgroup.com/?p=3997

[dagwood55]

Average speed is 25 to 30mph? That's below the minimums on the interstates. Those speeds would double or almost triple the time required for a typical highway trip.

OK - this is impressive and probably good PR but, clearly, anyone who actually takes a long driving vacation is either going to die of old age on the way or get significantly lower fuel economy.

The real question is, what kind of fuel economy can I expect with the Fusion if I keep to posted speed limits and drive reasonably but so as to actually get some place? We often drive to the East Coast. Speed limits vary from 65 to 70 with 55 in places. Can I hope to achieve 38? 40?