Carver
09-16-2008, 01:50 PM
Car, 2008 CRV AWD LX. White, basic, sport, Tint added.
The first 600 miles (from new), I was seeing about 12mpg city, and 16mpg highway. At about 650 miles, I did several full throttle pulls (I hoped would seat the rings) and was immediately rewarded with an mpg jump to 16 city, and 21 highway. (don't do this full throttle sooner than 600 miles, as the engine needs run time to 'wash out' the assembly lube). MPG slowly increased from there, but I did not monitor it closely, until...
When I hit 2K miles, I went on a road trip, 3 days, 831 miles, Just me in the V. A/C was on 90% of the time, when A/C not on, the windows were down. Trip was Las Vegas NV, to Palmdale CA, to Los Angeles CA, to Big Bear CA, back to Los Angeles, back to Las Vegas.
Trip 'A' for the total trip showed an average of 24.8mpg. Using trip 'B' and clearing it out often, I really liked what i saw. For general straights on the freeway, I saw up to 31 mpg. On one particular straight from LA to Big Bear, with a 71 mile highway stretch, I saw 31mpg average, with a/c on, doing about 70-75.
On the lengths from LV to Palmdale, and from LA to LV, I averaged 85mph (fluctuating from 80-92mph)... so I was moving fast, and this brought down my average. These lengths included large climbs, including the Grape Vine,... which I took at higher speeds (92mph). The CRV had no problems speeding up the grades, with a/c on. Trans shifted perfectly, and had no awkward searching- fantastic for a 5auto. Passing at speed up a hill was poor, but maintaining speed was a non issue.
there was a part going into/out of Big Bear which is winding mountain road, about 30 miles in, and 30 miles out. I took these curves very aggressively, windows down, passing many cars and bikes, and never having anything on my tail. (Using my road race experience from places like Button Willow, and the Streets of Willow Springs, and driving like a moron on the canyon passes.) I put the auto into 3rd (locking out overdrive gears) for the way up, and put the auto into 2nd for the way down. She was a blast... and felt not much bigger or heavier than a Civic for example. She did tend to understeer with speed, and push a bit through the turns, but by staying on the throttle and working through it, she did great. I found a sharp brake before entering, and accelerating through worked really well. Remember, this aggressive mountain driving was part of that 24.8mpg average. I never tried mid turn braking, so cannot comment on it. I will say, when the Gen I CRV first came out, I did a little test drive to see if it was safe for my wife... and on the first freeway on ramp (increasing radius turn), I got her up on two wheels, and fairly high at that. It was so unstable, that I sprung for an rx300 instead. The new CRV (my 08) shows none of this instability and is quite planted. I would think emergency evasive maneuvers would be fairly confident and planted compared to many other cars out there. (a big plus).
Overall, I would highly recommend this car for anything from a grocery getter, to a family sedan which does great on the highway, and offers fantastic grip and traction.
Next: I expect to take her into the Desert in the next 10 days or so, and see how she takes the trails. I do this often with my truck (2006 GMC Sierra 2wd, recently sold)... and hope the CRV will do even better with its lighter weight and AWD system.
Future: Depending on my Desert day, I will likely look to design a 2" lift, and grind down the calipers for some 15" rims, and 31" tire? Possibly a DVD entertainment setup for the kids (a 1yo and 4yo)?
The first 600 miles (from new), I was seeing about 12mpg city, and 16mpg highway. At about 650 miles, I did several full throttle pulls (I hoped would seat the rings) and was immediately rewarded with an mpg jump to 16 city, and 21 highway. (don't do this full throttle sooner than 600 miles, as the engine needs run time to 'wash out' the assembly lube). MPG slowly increased from there, but I did not monitor it closely, until...
When I hit 2K miles, I went on a road trip, 3 days, 831 miles, Just me in the V. A/C was on 90% of the time, when A/C not on, the windows were down. Trip was Las Vegas NV, to Palmdale CA, to Los Angeles CA, to Big Bear CA, back to Los Angeles, back to Las Vegas.
Trip 'A' for the total trip showed an average of 24.8mpg. Using trip 'B' and clearing it out often, I really liked what i saw. For general straights on the freeway, I saw up to 31 mpg. On one particular straight from LA to Big Bear, with a 71 mile highway stretch, I saw 31mpg average, with a/c on, doing about 70-75.
On the lengths from LV to Palmdale, and from LA to LV, I averaged 85mph (fluctuating from 80-92mph)... so I was moving fast, and this brought down my average. These lengths included large climbs, including the Grape Vine,... which I took at higher speeds (92mph). The CRV had no problems speeding up the grades, with a/c on. Trans shifted perfectly, and had no awkward searching- fantastic for a 5auto. Passing at speed up a hill was poor, but maintaining speed was a non issue.
there was a part going into/out of Big Bear which is winding mountain road, about 30 miles in, and 30 miles out. I took these curves very aggressively, windows down, passing many cars and bikes, and never having anything on my tail. (Using my road race experience from places like Button Willow, and the Streets of Willow Springs, and driving like a moron on the canyon passes.) I put the auto into 3rd (locking out overdrive gears) for the way up, and put the auto into 2nd for the way down. She was a blast... and felt not much bigger or heavier than a Civic for example. She did tend to understeer with speed, and push a bit through the turns, but by staying on the throttle and working through it, she did great. I found a sharp brake before entering, and accelerating through worked really well. Remember, this aggressive mountain driving was part of that 24.8mpg average. I never tried mid turn braking, so cannot comment on it. I will say, when the Gen I CRV first came out, I did a little test drive to see if it was safe for my wife... and on the first freeway on ramp (increasing radius turn), I got her up on two wheels, and fairly high at that. It was so unstable, that I sprung for an rx300 instead. The new CRV (my 08) shows none of this instability and is quite planted. I would think emergency evasive maneuvers would be fairly confident and planted compared to many other cars out there. (a big plus).
Overall, I would highly recommend this car for anything from a grocery getter, to a family sedan which does great on the highway, and offers fantastic grip and traction.
Next: I expect to take her into the Desert in the next 10 days or so, and see how she takes the trails. I do this often with my truck (2006 GMC Sierra 2wd, recently sold)... and hope the CRV will do even better with its lighter weight and AWD system.
Future: Depending on my Desert day, I will likely look to design a 2" lift, and grind down the calipers for some 15" rims, and 31" tire? Possibly a DVD entertainment setup for the kids (a 1yo and 4yo)?