[Arragonis]

Add a new couple of tanks for Mildred last night - one slightly worse than the first one and one rather a lot worse. The OBD was out by 2-3% on both tanks which is pretty good.

We were against some time constraints on the way down so we had to shift quite quickly, the weather was also very foul - 40-60mph winds all the way there and most of the way back. I only got to drive for the last section so didn't master any technique for motorway speeds, also we had to divert off the motorway and go cross country for the last part.

I've read a lot about the Prius not being too comfortable at motorway speeds for FE purposes, which combined with the (IMHO) the fact that motorway speeds here seem to be higher than in the US probably didn't help economy at all. You also have to keep your foot planted to maintain an average speed of 70-75 on the uphill sections.

The CVT (aka "the engineers answer to a problem never posed") is hard to control - either low RPM but you lose speed or the engine seems to scream to maintain speed.

The good news though is that I think I have mastered the ECON mode a little more - I managed to drag the average consumption for the tank back (not finished yet) from 51 MPG to 55 in about 40 miles - it had ~180 on it when I started. With careful pedal use you can control the MPG bar a little more than in standard mode - its possible to feather the throttle to maintain speed (say 50 ish) and get the bar to swing between 50 and 75. In standard mode it seems that the throttle either turns the engine off completely or starts it at which point the MPG level goes to 50 and stays there until you lift off enough to turn it off again. ECON mode still allows the car to gain speed if you floor it though.

It was comfortable and apart from the rain pretty quiet too. The traffic update gadget worked well and the radio got reception where the Skoda one would give up - VAG radios seem to have that problem in the UK.