took her for the first long drive and noticed a few things

[mrazndead]

01 with 136k

Friday morning took her from San Francisco area to Los Angeles. About 400 mi. And back on Sunday. 6 passengers and luggage with ac on.

I noticed a few things. Excelerating up hills she was struggling until I turned overdrive off. I averaged 16.2 mpg. With the ac on it didn't really reduce fuel efficiency much at all. She drives real smooth but she's heavy, understandably so. Driving a SUV this tall and big people get out of your way in Los Angeles for a change. The air ride is very comfortable and I was able to drive the entire way without feeling sleepy unlike small sedans, I start to feel sleepy. Those are the things I noticed. It was a great first trip. More to come.

 

[toms89]

Sounds like you had a good trip. Congrats!

Get supercharger and you won't notice the hills anymore!!

 

[Ward]

I just did a similar trip over the weekend in my new to me 99 EB with 143k, and had a similar experience. 250 miles from Dallas to San Angelo and then back, 2 people and luggage with AC on. The roads get a little hilly down by San Angelo, and I did notice that I struggled to maintain 70mph when going uphill. I didn't think to try turning OD off though. You got excellent mileage, especially for 6 passengers, I'm guessing it's 2wd?. I averaged about 15 with just me and one passenger, but my EB is 4 wheel drive. I could have taken my Mazda and saved a ton on gas, but that thing is tiring to drive long distances - hard suspension, heavy steering, lack of top end power, and road noise make it uncomfortable.

 

[mrazndead]

ward. we had very similar experiences. i drove between 64-67 miles an hour. this is considered slow especially in los angeles. but with that much cargo and people i just didn't wan to take a chance. plus i have 2 points and there were lots of highway patrol i noticed.

turned OD off helped it uphill- but i bet a super charger would have been an awesome feeling. my next trip might be from san francisco area to seattle washington this summer. even more hills in oregon.

Oh the other thing i noticed was cruise control is intermitted. it will work for a good 30-40 minutes and turn off by itself? sometimes not even turning on when i press set. i'd wait about 20 minutes and press it again and it worked again....strange.