First Road Trip Summary

[ToHellYouRide]

We made our first big trip with our 2021 Telluride AWD. We travelled from the Houston area to Springfield, Illinois (roughly 1,800 miles round trip). We have a family of four, two kids who don't weigh 100 lbs. between the two of them, and the vehicle was fairly light weight in terms of luggage. Still, a heavier load than normal. I will post the MPG stats below along with my overall thoughts on the trip.

	Miles Traveled​	Gallons​	Driving Mode​	MPG​
Tank 1​	297.7​	12.799​	Econ (all Hwy)​	23.3​
Tank 2​	254.9​	11.260​	Econ (all Hwy)​	22.6​
Tank 3​	267.4​	11.880​	Comfort (All Hwy)​	22.5​
Tank 4​	181.6​	9.234​	Econ (70h/30c)​	19.7​
Tank 5​	264.7​	10.253​	Econ (All Hwy)​	25.8​
Tank 6​	359.0​	16.329​	Smart (All Hwy)​	22.0​
Tank 7​	254.4​	11.109​	Econ (All Hwy)​	22.9​
Overall​	1,879.7​	82.864​	---​	22.7​

Overall Ride Impression:

I have driven/taken long road trips in compact SUV's, Full-Size Pick-ups, Minivans, Full-Size vans, mid-size sedans, and luxury sedans. I've driven just about all types of vehicles. This was far and away, the BEST driving experience out of all of them. Seat comfort was good, ride quality was amazing, sound was barely noticeable, and the car practically drives itself.

Safety Features:

Everything you have seen or read about these features is correct and spot on. I could have driven this car for 12 hours and never really have tired the way I would with driving another vehicle. I did tire of the lane keep at times. It wanted to pull me at times that I didn't want to, or need to. However, 95% of the time it was perfect! Overall, the safety features worked flawlessly and made it an incredibly easy drive.

Drive(r) Descriptions:

I do not have a lead foot by any means. I stay in Econ almost all the time. We never went above 75-76 for 99% of the trip. I drove most of the miles. My wife did drive on Tank 6. She has more of a lead foot, but doesn't drive fast and since it was all highway didn't factor much in my opinion. The drive from Houston to Illinois does go through some hilly regions in Missouri, but is relatively flat for the most part.

Fuel Economy:

You can see from the chart above that the gas mileage was underneath the 19c/21m/24h sticker estimate. I don't have a problem with that really, given the ride comfort and other things this SUV brings to the table. What does bother me is that the car estimated my MPG for the overall trip to be 25.3 MPG. That almost upsets me really. A difference of 1 MPG or less, I can understand and accept. My previous cars did that at times. But a difference of 2.6 MPG is not acceptable in my opinion. It almost makes me wonder if something is wrong. We took my wife's truck (2018 F150 - 5.7L V8) on the same/similar road trip and got 22.5 MPG. That is very concerning to me. There's no way those numbers should be that close. I have seen people post that the MPG will improve as the engine breaks in, but I have not seen huge changes in previous cars I have owned. I track every drop of gas that goes in to my car from the time i buy, until the time I sell. I could tell you the MPG of the tank of gas I bought on December 2nd, 2014 (It was 27.8 by the way in my Mazda CX-5).

Like I said at the beginning, this is still the best traveling vehicle I have ever been in, and the MPG isn't something that would make me second-guess the vehicle, but it is something that just doesn't seem right.

Storage/Space:

Like I said earlier, we are a family of 4. I have 2 boys (9 & 6) that require little space. I actually pulled up the single seat in the third row to split them even more LOL and it worked amazingly. All of our stuff fit easily in the back still and didn't go above seat height. We had plenty of space for a personal cooler, small trash can, snack bin, go-bag, and the list goes on...It was easy to keep things neat and in place.


I have probably spent too much time with this post, but it was good to reflect on the trip. Overall, it was everything I thought it would be and validated the decision to go this direction in our vehicle purchase. I am hoping for the MPG to improve, but the pros far outweigh that negative.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[ksyrah]

We made our first big trip with our 2021 Telluride AWD. We travelled from the Houston area to Springfield, Illinois (roughly 1,800 miles round trip). We have a family of four, two kids who don't weigh 100 lbs. between the two of them, and the vehicle was fairly light weight in terms of luggage. Still, a heavier load than normal. I will post the MPG stats below along with my overall thoughts on the trip.
......

That's and interesting observation that I haven't check yet. I have an issue with the digital vs analog speedo. Using a GPS app on my phone, the digital reading is more accurate than the analog reading - within 1 MPH. The analog can be off by as much as as 3ish MPH at higher speeds. I wonder if there is some issue with the odometer. I'll try to remember to test it on a trip I have in a couple of weeks and compare actual VS google route to my first gas stop. Of course I start at about 2 am so I might forget....

 

[ToHellYouRide]

I havent done much research into the accuracy of the speedometer on GPS' and the one on cars. I do know that every car I have driven, the GPS is always a couple MPH slower. I did notice that the digital reading was always 1-2 below the analog as well, but that is normal if I compare it to what the speed radar signs tell me when I drive by. They usually clock me below the analog reading as well.

 

[PassingTime]

We made our first big trip with our 2021 Telluride AWD. We travelled from the Houston area to Springfield, Illinois (roughly 1,800 miles round trip). We have a family of four, two kids who don't weigh 100 lbs. between the two of them, and the vehicle was fairly light weight in terms of luggage. Still, a heavier load than normal. I will post the MPG stats below along with my overall thoughts on the trip.

	Miles Traveled​	Gallons​	Driving Mode​	MPG​
Tank 1​	297.7​	12.799​	Econ (all Hwy)​	23.3​
Tank 2​	254.9​	11.260​	Econ (all Hwy)​	22.6​
Tank 3​	267.4​	11.880​	Comfort (All Hwy)​	22.5​
Tank 4​	181.6​	9.234​	Econ (70h/30c)​	19.7​
Tank 5​	264.7​	10.253​	Econ (All Hwy)​	25.8​
Tank 6​	359.0​	16.329​	Smart (All Hwy)​	22.0​
Tank 7​	254.4​	11.109​	Econ (All Hwy)​	22.9​
Overall​	1,879.7​	82.864​	---​	22.7​

Overall Ride Impression:

I have driven/taken long road trips in compact SUV's, Full-Size Pick-ups, Minivans, Full-Size vans, mid-size sedans, and luxury sedans. I've driven just about all types of vehicles. This was far and away, the BEST driving experience out of all of them. Seat comfort was good, ride quality was amazing, sound was barely noticeable, and the car practically drives itself.

Safety Features:

Everything you have seen or read about these features is correct and spot on. I could have driven this car for 12 hours and never really have tired the way I would with driving another vehicle. I did tire of the lane keep at times. It wanted to pull me at times that I didn't want to, or need to. However, 95% of the time it was perfect! Overall, the safety features worked flawlessly and made it an incredibly easy drive.

Drive(r) Descriptions:

I do not have a lead foot by any means. I stay in Econ almost all the time. We never went above 75-76 for 99% of the trip. I drove most of the miles. My wife did drive on Tank 6. She has more of a lead foot, but doesn't drive fast and since it was all highway didn't factor much in my opinion. The drive from Houston to Illinois does go through some hilly regions in Missouri, but is relatively flat for the most part.

Fuel Economy:

You can see from the chart above that the gas mileage was underneath the 19c/21m/24h sticker estimate. I don't have a problem with that really, given the ride comfort and other things this SUV brings to the table. What does bother me is that the car estimated my MPG for the overall trip to be 25.3 MPG. That almost upsets me really. A difference of 1 MPG or less, I can understand and accept. My previous cars did that at times. But a difference of 2.6 MPG is not acceptable in my opinion. It almost makes me wonder if something is wrong. We took my wife's truck (2018 F150 - 5.7L V8) on the same/similar road trip and got 22.5 MPG. That is very concerning to me. There's no way those numbers should be that close. I have seen people post that the MPG will improve as the engine breaks in, but I have not seen huge changes in previous cars I have owned. I track every drop of gas that goes in to my car from the time i buy, until the time I sell. I could tell you the MPG of the tank of gas I bought on December 2nd, 2014 (It was 27.8 by the way in my Mazda CX-5).

Like I said at the beginning, this is still the best traveling vehicle I have ever been in, and the MPG isn't something that would make me second-guess the vehicle, but it is something that just doesn't seem right.

Storage/Space:

Like I said earlier, we are a family of 4. I have 2 boys (9 & 6) that require little space. I actually pulled up the single seat in the third row to split them even more LOL and it worked amazingly. All of our stuff fit easily in the back still and didn't go above seat height. We had plenty of space for a personal cooler, small trash can, snack bin, go-bag, and the list goes on...It was easy to keep things neat and in place.


I have probably spent too much time with this post, but it was good to reflect on the trip. Overall, it was everything I thought it would be and validated the decision to go this direction in our vehicle purchase. I am hoping for the MPG to improve, but the pros far outweigh that negative.

Cheers,
Mike

I'm not sure really what your issue is with the MPG/ gas mileage ..... I'm not trying to be a smart a$$ here but honestly there are so many variables when determining you gas mileage it is really impossible to get that type of accuracy. Your gas came from numerous vendors/gas stations with probably varying degrees of additives and even possible octane rating that I can't imagine how any type of accuracy can be judged. Just saying, and glad you are happy over all with the Telluride. BTW I had a Buick Roadmaster with an LT1 Corvette engine that routinely got 28+ MPG on the road at 75-80 MPH and 2 Mercury Grand Marques a 2006 and a 2009 with the 4.7 L V8 that routinely got 26+ MPG on the highway and 19+ in the city. All were great cars but none have the technology and safety that come standard in the Telluride.

______________________________

 

[ToHellYouRide]

I'm not sure really what your issue is with the MPG/ gas mileage ..... I'm not trying to be a smart a$$ here but honestly there are so many variables when determining you gas mileage it is really impossible to get that type of accuracy. Your gas came from numerous vendors/gas stations with probably varying degrees of additives and even possible octane rating that I can't imagine how any type of accuracy can be judged. Just saying, and glad you are happy over all with the Telluride. BTW I had a Buick Roadmaster with an LT1 Corvette engine that routinely got 28+ MPG on the road at 75-80 MPH and 2 Mercury Grand Marques a 2006 and a 2009 with the 4.7 L V8 that routinely got 26+ MPG on the highway and 19+ in the city. All were great cars but none have the technology and safety that come standard in the Telluride.

Thanks for the comment.

This issue has been on my radar since before the trip. At home I use the same gas station, and same pump every time I fill up. On this trip, I always used Shell 87 octane, but the ethanol % likely varied depending on where I filled up. I should have made notes of that. I will add that to the list of observations from now on. I am going to continue to monitor this. I still only have 3,200 miles on the vehicle, so the sample size is really too small to draw reliable conclusions from. However, it is something that has caught my attention. With the way I drive, it should be better in my opinion. And don't get me wrong, gas mileage is not why I bought this car, and it is down the list of things that are important to me. If it was more important, I would have gotten the hybrid Highlander. I do place a high value on systems operating the way that they should.

 

[PassingTime]

Thanks for the comment.

This issue has been on my radar since before the trip. At home I use the same gas station, and same pump every time I fill up. On this trip, I always used Shell 87 octane, but the ethanol % likely varied depending on where I filled up. I should have made notes of that. I will add that to the list of observations from now on. I am going to continue to monitor this. I still only have 3,200 miles on the vehicle, so the sample size is really too small to draw reliable conclusions from. However, it is something that has caught my attention. With the way I drive, it should be better in my opinion. And don't get me wrong, gas mileage is not why I bought this car, and it is down the list of things that are important to me. If it was more important, I would have gotten the hybrid Highlander. I do place a high value on systems operating the way that they should.

No problem and I do track and record mileage every time I fill up. I have done that since I started driving almost 60 years ago so I get it. I look at my mileage for large variations and for when there is possibly something going on with the car that needs attention. Couple of things that I found out over these years is that every pump in every station is different. They are supposedly checked and certified routinely but who knows what that means, but one thing that I am 100% sure of is they all will shut off differently at different levels of fill. Sometimes the same pump will shut off at different times and different fill levels so that makes it almost impossible to get a truly accurate reading. I look for trends and how my car runs on a particular brand or from a specific filling station. Enjoy the ride.

 

[Ski99]

We made our first big trip with our 2021 Telluride AWD. We travelled from the Houston area to Springfield, Illinois (roughly 1,800 miles round trip). We have a family of four, two kids who don't weigh 100 lbs. between the two of them, and the vehicle was fairly light weight in terms of luggage. Still, a heavier load than normal. I will post the MPG stats below along with my overall thoughts on the trip.

	Miles Traveled​	Gallons​	Driving Mode​	MPG​
Tank 1​	297.7​	12.799​	Econ (all Hwy)​	23.3​
Tank 2​	254.9​	11.260​	Econ (all Hwy)​	22.6​
Tank 3​	267.4​	11.880​	Comfort (All Hwy)​	22.5​
Tank 4​	181.6​	9.234​	Econ (70h/30c)​	19.7​
Tank 5​	264.7​	10.253​	Econ (All Hwy)​	25.8​
Tank 6​	359.0​	16.329​	Smart (All Hwy)​	22.0​
Tank 7​	254.4​	11.109​	Econ (All Hwy)​	22.9​
Overall​	1,879.7​	82.864​	---​	22.7​

Overall Ride Impression:

I have driven/taken long road trips in compact SUV's, Full-Size Pick-ups, Minivans, Full-Size vans, mid-size sedans, and luxury sedans. I've driven just about all types of vehicles. This was far and away, the BEST driving experience out of all of them. Seat comfort was good, ride quality was amazing, sound was barely noticeable, and the car practically drives itself.

Safety Features:

Everything you have seen or read about these features is correct and spot on. I could have driven this car for 12 hours and never really have tired the way I would with driving another vehicle. I did tire of the lane keep at times. It wanted to pull me at times that I didn't want to, or need to. However, 95% of the time it was perfect! Overall, the safety features worked flawlessly and made it an incredibly easy drive.

Drive(r) Descriptions:

I do not have a lead foot by any means. I stay in Econ almost all the time. We never went above 75-76 for 99% of the trip. I drove most of the miles. My wife did drive on Tank 6. She has more of a lead foot, but doesn't drive fast and since it was all highway didn't factor much in my opinion. The drive from Houston to Illinois does go through some hilly regions in Missouri, but is relatively flat for the most part.

Fuel Economy:

You can see from the chart above that the gas mileage was underneath the 19c/21m/24h sticker estimate. I don't have a problem with that really, given the ride comfort and other things this SUV brings to the table. What does bother me is that the car estimated my MPG for the overall trip to be 25.3 MPG. That almost upsets me really. A difference of 1 MPG or less, I can understand and accept. My previous cars did that at times. But a difference of 2.6 MPG is not acceptable in my opinion. It almost makes me wonder if something is wrong. We took my wife's truck (2018 F150 - 5.7L V8) on the same/similar road trip and got 22.5 MPG. That is very concerning to me. There's no way those numbers should be that close. I have seen people post that the MPG will improve as the engine breaks in, but I have not seen huge changes in previous cars I have owned. I track every drop of gas that goes in to my car from the time i buy, until the time I sell. I could tell you the MPG of the tank of gas I bought on December 2nd, 2014 (It was 27.8 by the way in my Mazda CX-5).

Like I said at the beginning, this is still the best traveling vehicle I have ever been in, and the MPG isn't something that would make me second-guess the vehicle, but it is something that just doesn't seem right.

Storage/Space:

Like I said earlier, we are a family of 4. I have 2 boys (9 & 6) that require little space. I actually pulled up the single seat in the third row to split them even more LOL and it worked amazingly. All of our stuff fit easily in the back still and didn't go above seat height. We had plenty of space for a personal cooler, small trash can, snack bin, go-bag, and the list goes on...It was easy to keep things neat and in place.


I have probably spent too much time with this post, but it was good to reflect on the trip. Overall, it was everything I thought it would be and validated the decision to go this direction in our vehicle purchase. I am hoping for the MPG to improve, but the pros far outweigh that negative.

Cheers,
Mike

Super helpful! Thanks. I also have two under 100 pounds total. If you can, would be great to see pics of the vehicle fully loaded.

 

[ToHellYouRide]

Super helpful! Thanks. I also have two under 100 pounds total. If you can, would be great to see pics of the vehicle fully loaded.

I should have taken pictures!! Unfortunately I didn’t though. I am sorry! We had 4 bags/suitcases, a small ice chest, and 2 full backpacks.

______________________________

 

[dsmclone]

23 mpg overall seems pretty good to me considering it's a almost 300hp, 4,200lb, awd, box on wheels driving 75mph.

 

[FL TITAN]

We made our first big trip with our 2021 Telluride AWD. We travelled from the Houston area to Springfield, Illinois (roughly 1,800 miles round trip). We have a family of four, two kids who don't weigh 100 lbs. between the two of them, and the vehicle was fairly light weight in terms of luggage. Still, a heavier load than normal. I will post the MPG stats below along with my overall thoughts on the trip.

	Miles Traveled​	Gallons​	Driving Mode​	MPG​
Tank 1​	297.7​	12.799​	Econ (all Hwy)​	23.3​
Tank 2​	254.9​	11.260​	Econ (all Hwy)​	22.6​
Tank 3​	267.4​	11.880​	Comfort (All Hwy)​	22.5​
Tank 4​	181.6​	9.234​	Econ (70h/30c)​	19.7​
Tank 5​	264.7​	10.253​	Econ (All Hwy)​	25.8​
Tank 6​	359.0​	16.329​	Smart (All Hwy)​	22.0​
Tank 7​	254.4​	11.109​	Econ (All Hwy)​	22.9​
Overall​	1,879.7​	82.864​	---​	22.7​

Overall Ride Impression:

I have driven/taken long road trips in compact SUV's, Full-Size Pick-ups, Minivans, Full-Size vans, mid-size sedans, and luxury sedans. I've driven just about all types of vehicles. This was far and away, the BEST driving experience out of all of them. Seat comfort was good, ride quality was amazing, sound was barely noticeable, and the car practically drives itself.

Safety Features:

Everything you have seen or read about these features is correct and spot on. I could have driven this car for 12 hours and never really have tired the way I would with driving another vehicle. I did tire of the lane keep at times. It wanted to pull me at times that I didn't want to, or need to. However, 95% of the time it was perfect! Overall, the safety features worked flawlessly and made it an incredibly easy drive.

Drive(r) Descriptions:

I do not have a lead foot by any means. I stay in Econ almost all the time. We never went above 75-76 for 99% of the trip. I drove most of the miles. My wife did drive on Tank 6. She has more of a lead foot, but doesn't drive fast and since it was all highway didn't factor much in my opinion. The drive from Houston to Illinois does go through some hilly regions in Missouri, but is relatively flat for the most part.

Fuel Economy:

You can see from the chart above that the gas mileage was underneath the 19c/21m/24h sticker estimate. I don't have a problem with that really, given the ride comfort and other things this SUV brings to the table. What does bother me is that the car estimated my MPG for the overall trip to be 25.3 MPG. That almost upsets me really. A difference of 1 MPG or less, I can understand and accept. My previous cars did that at times. But a difference of 2.6 MPG is not acceptable in my opinion. It almost makes me wonder if something is wrong. We took my wife's truck (2018 F150 - 5.7L V8) on the same/similar road trip and got 22.5 MPG. That is very concerning to me. There's no way those numbers should be that close. I have seen people post that the MPG will improve as the engine breaks in, but I have not seen huge changes in previous cars I have owned. I track every drop of gas that goes in to my car from the time i buy, until the time I sell. I could tell you the MPG of the tank of gas I bought on December 2nd, 2014 (It was 27.8 by the way in my Mazda CX-5).

Like I said at the beginning, this is still the best traveling vehicle I have ever been in, and the MPG isn't something that would make me second-guess the vehicle, but it is something that just doesn't seem right.

Storage/Space:

Like I said earlier, we are a family of 4. I have 2 boys (9 & 6) that require little space. I actually pulled up the single seat in the third row to split them even more LOL and it worked amazingly. All of our stuff fit easily in the back still and didn't go above seat height. We had plenty of space for a personal cooler, small trash can, snack bin, go-bag, and the list goes on...It was easy to keep things neat and in place.


I have probably spent too much time with this post, but it was good to reflect on the trip. Overall, it was everything I thought it would be and validated the decision to go this direction in our vehicle purchase. I am hoping for the MPG to improve, but the pros far outweigh that negative.

Cheers,
Mike

Mike - Thank you for the excellent review. We have been waiting for our AWD SX now for about 10 weeks and can't wait to take our first road trip.
Best of luck and enjoy the ride!

 

[ToHellYouRide]

23 mpg overall seems pretty good to me considering it's a almost 300hp, 4,200lb, awd, box on wheels driving 75mph.

it’s at the low end of what I’m good with, but it’s good for me. I am more concerned with the difference of that mileage compared to the mpg it calculated. 2+ difference is a bit much

 

[Don'sKia]

I just completed a round trip from NYC to Tampa and found that the actual mpg was approximately 1 mpg lower than what was displayed on the dashboard. I admit to keeping up with the flow of traffic and having a lead foot so I am pleased with the results so far. I had the car in ECON all the way. The car was very comfortable to drive straight through even though the I95 drive can be very monotonous.

______________________________

 

[ToHellYouRide]

I just completed a round trip from NYC to Tampa and found that the actual mpg was approximately 1 mpg lower than what was displayed on the dashboard. I admit to keeping up with the flow of traffic and having a lead foot so I am pleased with the results so far. I had the car in ECON all the way. The car was very comfortable to drive straight through even though the I95 drive can be very monotonous.


View attachment 13227

So you got 27.9 in actuality? Nice! The ease of the drive is what amazed me. Easily the most comfortable ride I’ve had.

 

[Don'sKia]

So you got 27.9 in actuality? Nice! The ease of the drive is what amazed me. Easily the most comfortable ride I’ve had.

No, the actual mpg was 26.1. Did you experience the lane keep assist trying to drive you off at an exit ramp if you drove in the right lane? It happened more than once and was somewhat annoying.

 

[Downbad]

I'm not sure really what your issue is with the MPG/ gas mileage ..... I'm not trying to be a smart a$$ here but honestly there are so many variables when determining you gas mileage it is really impossible to get that type of accuracy. Your gas came from numerous vendors/gas stations with probably varying degrees of additives and even possible octane rating that I can't imagine how any type of accuracy can be judged. Just saying, and glad you are happy over all with the Telluride. BTW I had a Buick Roadmaster with an LT1 Corvette engine that routinely got 28+ MPG on the road at 75-80 MPH and 2 Mercury Grand Marques a 2006 and a 2009 with the 4.7 L V8 that routinely got 26+ MPG on the highway and 19+ in the city. All were great cars but none have the technology and safety that come standard in the Telluride.

Those variables are there for all vehicles...

 

[Downbad]

it’s at the low end of what I’m good with, but it’s good for me. I am more concerned with the difference of that mileage compared to the mpg it calculated. 2+ difference is a bit much

My beef with the vehicle is the small fuel tank. My lifted f150 gets 14 mpg but I can go further on one tank than the telluride...

______________________________

 

[ToHellYouRide]

No, the actual mpg was 26.1. Did you experience the lane keep assist trying to drive you off at an exit ramp if you drove in the right lane? It happened more than once and was somewhat annoying.

Yes. I turned it off at one point it was happening too frequently.

 

[ToHellYouRide]

My beef with the vehicle is the small fuel tank. My lifted f150 gets 14 mpg but I can go further on one tank than the telluride...

That’s something I left out. With littles, we make more frequent stops than I normally would so it didn’t bother me on this trip, but the most we got out of it was the 359 (<20 miles to empty). I feel like that is just very average. For what is supposed to be a family hauler, road trip warrior type of vehicle, it is an area they could improve on. Just a couple more gallons in the tank should get it to a good spot.

 

[drizzt]

Yes. I turned it off at one point it was happening too frequently.

My other pet peeve is how the car drastically slow down when there's a car in front of me making an exit. I made a habit of driving over to passing lane when I know a ramp is coming up just to avoid this.

 

[drizzt]

We made our first big trip with our 2021 Telluride AWD. We travelled from the Houston area to Springfield, Illinois (roughly 1,800 miles round trip). We have a family of four, two kids who don't weigh 100 lbs. between the two of them, and the vehicle was fairly light weight in terms of luggage. Still, a heavier load than normal. I will post the MPG stats below along with my overall thoughts on the trip.

	Miles Traveled​	Gallons​	Driving Mode​	MPG​
Tank 1​	297.7​	12.799​	Econ (all Hwy)​	23.3​
Tank 2​	254.9​	11.260​	Econ (all Hwy)​	22.6​
Tank 3​	267.4​	11.880​	Comfort (All Hwy)​	22.5​
Tank 4​	181.6​	9.234​	Econ (70h/30c)​	19.7​
Tank 5​	264.7​	10.253​	Econ (All Hwy)​	25.8​
Tank 6​	359.0​	16.329​	Smart (All Hwy)​	22.0​
Tank 7​	254.4​	11.109​	Econ (All Hwy)​	22.9​
Overall​	1,879.7​	82.864​	---​	22.7​

Overall Ride Impression:

I have driven/taken long road trips in compact SUV's, Full-Size Pick-ups, Minivans, Full-Size vans, mid-size sedans, and luxury sedans. I've driven just about all types of vehicles. This was far and away, the BEST driving experience out of all of them. Seat comfort was good, ride quality was amazing, sound was barely noticeable, and the car practically drives itself.

Safety Features:

Everything you have seen or read about these features is correct and spot on. I could have driven this car for 12 hours and never really have tired the way I would with driving another vehicle. I did tire of the lane keep at times. It wanted to pull me at times that I didn't want to, or need to. However, 95% of the time it was perfect! Overall, the safety features worked flawlessly and made it an incredibly easy drive.

Drive(r) Descriptions:

I do not have a lead foot by any means. I stay in Econ almost all the time. We never went above 75-76 for 99% of the trip. I drove most of the miles. My wife did drive on Tank 6. She has more of a lead foot, but doesn't drive fast and since it was all highway didn't factor much in my opinion. The drive from Houston to Illinois does go through some hilly regions in Missouri, but is relatively flat for the most part.

Fuel Economy:

You can see from the chart above that the gas mileage was underneath the 19c/21m/24h sticker estimate. I don't have a problem with that really, given the ride comfort and other things this SUV brings to the table. What does bother me is that the car estimated my MPG for the overall trip to be 25.3 MPG. That almost upsets me really. A difference of 1 MPG or less, I can understand and accept. My previous cars did that at times. But a difference of 2.6 MPG is not acceptable in my opinion. It almost makes me wonder if something is wrong. We took my wife's truck (2018 F150 - 5.7L V8) on the same/similar road trip and got 22.5 MPG. That is very concerning to me. There's no way those numbers should be that close. I have seen people post that the MPG will improve as the engine breaks in, but I have not seen huge changes in previous cars I have owned. I track every drop of gas that goes in to my car from the time i buy, until the time I sell. I could tell you the MPG of the tank of gas I bought on December 2nd, 2014 (It was 27.8 by the way in my Mazda CX-5).

Like I said at the beginning, this is still the best traveling vehicle I have ever been in, and the MPG isn't something that would make me second-guess the vehicle, but it is something that just doesn't seem right.

Storage/Space:

Like I said earlier, we are a family of 4. I have 2 boys (9 & 6) that require little space. I actually pulled up the single seat in the third row to split them even more LOL and it worked amazingly. All of our stuff fit easily in the back still and didn't go above seat height. We had plenty of space for a personal cooler, small trash can, snack bin, go-bag, and the list goes on...It was easy to keep things neat and in place.


I have probably spent too much time with this post, but it was good to reflect on the trip. Overall, it was everything I thought it would be and validated the decision to go this direction in our vehicle purchase. I am hoping for the MPG to improve, but the pros far outweigh that negative.

Cheers,
Mike

Mike, what was the temperature like? From my driving history of KT, winter driving (23.3mpg) vs. summer driving (26.5mpg) makes a big difference, about 3 mpg worse during winter.