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Successful Road Trip - SEA to LAX


tangozulu
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I recently drove my 2013 Ford Fusion Energi from Seattle to Los Angeles and back with no issues.  I averaged 42 mpge mostly I5 freeway driving with adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning system enabled. I drove around LA city streets. Along the Big Sur coast road via Highway 1 I averaged 43 mpge.  I found most motels I stayed in didn't have a charging station.  There was one Best Western in Red Bluff, CA that had one.   I used the navigation system and the range display to plan fuel stops.  Temperature min was 31 and snowing near Mount Shasta City and max was 89 and blue sky in downtown LA.  Longest leg between fuel ups was 466 miles. Car now has 16766 miles on the odometer. Its very quite and I couldn't tell when the gas engine came on except when passing.  Also plenty of performance available when passing.  Never felt underpowered.  The auto parallel park feature reduced stress when parking in Santa Monica.  Fun trip. FordMobile tracked it all and gave me an out and about badge and 10000 ev mile badge. 

 

p.s. when driving in suburbs charging at home nightly I get 90 mpge. 

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Edited by tangozulu
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Thank you for an excellent report. I like hearing how owners do on long road trips. Mine in 2013 was only 550 miles. I think I averaged around 46MPG (not MPGe). It was mostly highway but not all. I too wasn't able to charge up anywhere. It's such a shame that there aren't chargers at every Rest Area or in places where there are restaurants, although the situation has improved a little in the 2 years I've had the car.

 

Thanks again for sharing. 

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We found every hotel where we stayed had 120V outlets on the side of the building somewhere that we could use during our road trip.

 

Did you find lots of free public charging in LA?

You could ask one of us LA folks. There are a fair number of plugs around, but probably not more than a couple every 5 square miles or so here in the San Fernando valley. There may be more over the hill in LA proper. There are three at the local mall, a couple at some drug stores, and a couple at the nearby airport. The largest number is at the local Ford dealer (6) and I think the Nissan dealer.

 

More than many places, but not at all what I would call common.

Edited by stevedebi
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Thank you for the suggestions.  The next time I visit I will plan more and optimize for EV more. There were a lot of public charges listed on the in-dash nav. I drove to Topanga Canyon, then to Encino via Ventura Blvd then to Glendale via Brand Blvd then across town to Palos Verdes Estates and Malaga Cove and then to Torrance along the beaches to Santa Monica near the Rand Corporation and then lunch at Stella Barra on Main Street then back to Encino and Canoga Park then out to Ventura beaches and then up to Santa Barbara and then up to Hurst Castle, etc..  The air in LA seemed very clean compared to when I lived there in the 60's.  I was impressed.

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Thank you for the suggestions.  The next time I visit I will plan more and optimize for EV more. There were a lot of public charges listed on the in-dash nav. I drove to Topanga Canyon, then to Encino via Ventura Blvd then to Glendale via Brand Blvd then across town to Palos Verdes Estates and Malaga Cove and then to Torrance along the beaches to Santa Monica near the Rand Corporation and then lunch at Stella Barra on Main Street then back to Encino and Canoga Park then out to Ventura beaches and then up to Santa Barbara and then up to Hurst Castle, etc..  The air in LA seemed very clean compared to when I lived there in the 60's.  I was impressed.

You were in my neck of the woods! Yes, I didn't live here then, but my wife is a native and she says the air is vastly improved.

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