w1n78

This past weekend I took my baby for her first road trip, oh my gf went along too . Took the I5 (shorter route) from LA. It was about 419 miles and 6 hours-left 11pm, arrived 5am.

28 MPG
73 MPH
419 miles
6 hours

The car is GREAT . XM signal was a bit weak near Santa Clarita (near Magic Mountain) other than that, the signal was crystal clear on the way up. The ride was comfortable, only thing I wish the seats had was vents. My a$$ got hot after a couple of hours driving. Feels like the seat warmer was on. I brought my iPod along just in case I got bored with XM but I actually got bored with listening to music. I got a little sleepy coz of it. So what I did was tuned into the Comedy Channel . Man this channel kept me goin'. They had some Eddie Griffin, Paul Rodriguez, etc. I was rollin' and it kept me up until I hit my destination. Got to use my fog lights too (in San Francisco).

While there I did notice a couple of things I had never imagined (maybe all cities are like this, but I live in the valley )
1) buildings double as stores and apartments
2) cars were half parked on the street and on the curb
3) parking structures (underground) are narrow like a mofo. i had to back up a couple of times and i notice a lot of scrape marks on the walls

Now on the way back I took the 101 (longer route). Here's what the trip PC said

30 MPG
57 MPH
475 miles
8 hours 11 minutes

I'm wondering about the MPG. On the way up I used Mobil, but on the way down I used 76 (both 91 octane). I get a better MPG. Is it the gas or the MPH? I will try to compare with my usual work commute and see if there's any difference. While in Santa Barbara, XM was having a ridiculous time getting a signal - there were trees on both sides of the road though, but didn't know it would do that much blocking. I thought buildings would do worse. Well that's all for my review, hope ya'll likes it



P.S.
Props goes to people who park their cars outside. How the hell do you keep 'em clean? My car was outside for 2 days and thanks to the dew and the fog - it dirtied that thing like it's been 3 weeks since I washed it.

Oh and I did get 31 MPG the first half of the trip going home

ryder1650

I think its the speed. Your car will have the best economy at about 60 MPH

arkk

Good job. On my first tankfull I got 26.8 MPG. the drive was local and road (which is most of my driving anyway), My 2nd. tankfull produced 27.5 MPG.

Not bad of a car with 270hp, and oh yes I have a 6mt.

I'll be going to Florida (from New Jersey) in September, and will give a full report upon my return.

guia x

Good review. Though, I never had the same problems with XM when I went up to Sacramento and San Jose two weeks ago. I also live close to Santa Clarita and always go to that area (Valencia, Stevenson Ranch and all the way up to Lancaster). No signal loss. Only time I get signal loss is when I go under freeway overpass and parking structures. Funny thing when I go through the long runway tunnel in LAX down Sepulveda Blvd, I don't lose signal.

No signal loss going to Las Vegas last weekend either. Took the 14 to 138 to 18 to 15.

neuronbob

Nice review, win. I agree with ryder. The mileage was better on the return trip because of your speed. We're thinking about a road trip to NYC this weekend (400 miles or so each way)....

ryder1650

What u think of the Bay Area?

w1n78

I love the weather. My uncle lives in Daly City and everything is right there, walking distance (library, post office, Safe Way, Trader Joes, Thai and Viet food, BofA, Wamu, OMG ). Only thing though is there's no space between each house. To be quite honest, from the freeway the houses look like bird houses (tall, skinny, colorful, no space between each house, mostly 1 car garage) lol. But I love the weather, not too hot and not too cold. Oh and my uncle's neighborhood also has an 04 TL black. I wonder if he's on this forum.



neuronbob: You'll see what I mean about how the seats feel like they're getting warmer as you drive longer distances



guia x: I lost signal on I5. There was small hills on both sides of the freeway. It's that area where the 210 and 5 meet, around that area. It wasn't long, probably about 2-6 seconds. If you were to exit and go through Santa Barbara, there's a street with trees planted on both sides of the street. That's where you'll consistently loose signal



arkk: Wow, those are great for the first full tank. Mine was not even close. I got 21 MPG and it steadily went up as I kept driving.




All I know is I love my navi. Traffic was bad on the freeway and I don't know the area. This thing showed me some streets that ran parallel to the freeway. Well worth the extra $ and XM too. Not just for music, purely entertaining.

Thanks for the feedbacks peeps, keep 'em comin'

neuronbob

I just drove 3000 miles a couple of weeks ago and I didn't notice what you did with the seats. Maybe they've turned on by themselves?

w1n78

hmmm, i hope it's not defected. i know it's not my a$$. i don't even fart in the car well almost never lol. maybe the outside temp. it was between 78-82 outside and my car is set to fresh air at 75 degrees. i gotta go to vegas (again) this weekend for a friend's wedding. i'll see if it happens again.

jpeart0

Just took a rode trip of 2500 miles round trip. I got 32mpg running at 70 - 75 most of the way. I was really impressed with this car on the road. Great to have XM and DVDA. The navigation was fantastic. Gota LOVE this CAR

Aquineas

w1n78, how many miles do you have on your car? As the engine breaks in, your mileage will get better.. And with regards to the hot seats, stop farting!!! Or at least open the sunroof and lift up a cheek like everyone else!

berlinrl

I am totally hooked on the XM comedy channel as well.

lakeman

Good review.
Yesterday, I took a 600 mile round trip in my 6MT (w/10kmiles) Yes love the DVD-A, XM, and the SEATS. These are by far the most comfortable seats in any car I have owned. In 2 five hour stints, I never got uncomfortable, or even needed to adjust the seats. At end of the day my back felt great, and nothing was sore or numb.
BTW I got 33mph ave 71 up and 30 mpg ave 64 back - however I was in a traffic jam caused by a accident for about 30 minutes on return trip. (Normal running speeds were 70 to 80)

leo221

hey, if a 57 year old said the seat did cause any uncomfort, we better believe him/her

ryder1650

It depends where in the Bay Area you go, the Daly City, SF area is known for its houses that look like apartments, but if you go down to the South / East Bay (or even Marin County for that matter), the houses will be more "normal."

jtruman

It's all about speed and how you accelerate. I make this trip all the time, in reverse. See my other thread about MPG.

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82207

leo221

why i can't edit my post?
did == didn't

w1n78

jtruman: good post. i didn't even see that. they seem to be the same, your 6MT and my 5AT. pts for you bro


ryder1650: "normal" lol, nice. ya it was somewhat of a culture shock, being i'm not used to the city

Aquineas: as of today i got about 10,125 miles in 4 months or so. i drive alot. my work commute is 115 miles a day. it's somewhat common in so. california. everything is far. i should do a 10K review but all i can say is the f-ing car is awesome and so far only service i had is an oil change and that's it lol