My wife found a major score on Craigslist last week. It required a major trip with the trailer, not a problem on Saturday. But we had other time pressures on Saturday, so it was best for me to make the run on Friday night. That would mean I'd take the minivan to work and she'd have the Honda- with its grille block and overheating worries. Not good on a Friday night when the weekend looks great, because getting out of town is a mess.
So on Tuesday I slapped on the hitch that's been sitting around in my garage for a few months and took the trailer to work, getting a very respectable 36.1 mpg on the way in. After work I gassed up and from there to the deal it was all highway so I only got 33 mpg for the 35 miles down. I loaded the trailer and for the next 56 miles I got 26.1 mpg on the highway. Then I had to get groceries, and took back roads at ~40 mph home, getting 32.8 mpg.
So for the 40 miles of my regular roads with an empty trailer I got 36.1 mpg.
For the 35 miles of higher speed/lower familiarity roads with an empty trailer I got 33 mpg.
For the 75 miles with a ridiculously large load in the trailer I got 27.8 mpg.
For the 149.6 miles with a trailer I got 30.9 mpg.
Yes, I beat EPA city like this.
Unloaded, I beat highway. And now with the warmer weather and the grille block, it's looking like this won't even be my worst tank ever.