Hey Gang, after owing our 2001 Accord EX-L V6 since August, I finally had the chance to take it out on a nice long road trip; this last weekend my daughter and I drove from southern New Hampshire down to my brother's place in the NYC metro area, in and around the area for a couple of days, and then back home. The car managed the entire trip on one tank of gas; the final fuel economy numbers are as follows:

• Miles: 455.7
• Fuel: 15.49
• MPG: 29.42

Not too shabby considering the roads were being pretty heavily traveled due to the holiday weekend causing our speeds to range between a bumper to bumper crawl and a few sprints up over 80.

I'm thinking it would be a lead-pipe-cinch to "take it easy" on another long road trip and push the miles on one tank to over 500 and the MPG to something over 32.

 

Glad to see your back from your holiday trip safely..

WheelBrokerAng

 

Shipo, how many miles on your car?
Maybe not so much this time of year, but how much are you concerned about running hot in the NYC traffic?
Last Summer we went on a trip to NYC (about 375 miles from home) and I declined taking the Honda because I was concerned about the summer heat. Stop and go with the air on full blast. We took the T&C instead.

 

Just clicked over 123,000 miles yesterday.

Hmmm, why are you concerned about the Honda in summer heat? Are they known to have either engine cooling issues or A/C issues? FWIW, I've driven the Honda in bumper-to-bumper Boston (and of late NYC) traffic, and I have driven it on a couple of days near one-hundred degrees, but not both at the same time. Should I be worried?

As for Honda Accord versus Chrysler Minivan on driving in NYC traffic; we bought our first (of three) 3.8 liter LWB Chrysler Minivans back when we lived in the NYC metro area (the other two saw a fair amount of time to-and-froing between the Boston and NYC metro areas), and they seemed pretty immune to heat related issues due to traffic and hot weather. We sold our last van two years ago; oddly enough, I kind of miss having a van around. The above said, for two people for a long weekend, the Honda was perfect.

 

Thanks!

 

I wasn't concerned about overheating/thermostat per se. I was more concerned about stop and go traffic leading up to the GW Bridge, air on full blast, sun beating down through the sunroof. Two people + luggage. Just not too comfortable.
Kind of feels like performance suffers a bit under those kind of conditions.
I shouldn't complain about inconsistency though pushing 175k miles.

My wife was the one that suggested that we take the Honda, because on that trip I needed to drive back alone, and I prefer the car (with a good stereo and GPS) to the minivan on the highway.

 

That's one of the nice things about the V6 version of the Accord, you don't feel a performance difference due to the load from the A/C compressor when crawling through bumper-to-bumper traffic.

 

I love road trips and my Honda's have always done well!! Since I always need a car at my destination, my Honda's mpg performance usually makes a flight and rental car an unrealistic option. It cost more time than money to drive and I'm Ok with that.
In 1997, I drove my new 1996 Civic DX hatchback from Washington, DC to Key West, FL. and stayed a week. I was able to make purchases and throw them in the hatch, eliminating the UPS shipping charges.The cost was less than taking the train or flying and renting a car (BTW, I smoke, so I didn't have to worry about the smoking fee at the car rental agency)
The mpg was great, but the ride was not impressive; so I traded it upon my return to DC for a 1997 Accord SE.
The 97 Accord made numerous trips from DC to Miami; gas was cheap and it only took 17 hours one-way (I could do that haul back in 1997-1999). Now, after a few years of trying other brands; I'm in a 2013 Accord coupe w/nav.
This car is veryluxurious and comfortable. I'm a larger (short) guy and I have plenty of space. I was surprised by the overall length of the car. The Accord has grown dramatically, I've owned an 84, 86 and 91 prior to the 96 Civic and they were considered "compact" cars.. The 2013 Accord and my 1997 Eldorado match bumper to bumper, but the Accord has much more interior space.
With all of the new technology, a 5 hour trip from DC to TN was almost flawless!!
There was too much noise from the sunroof. At 80 mph, I averaged 34 mpg. The same mpg numbers were present on my latest trip from DC to NC.

This weekend, I'm heading to Pittsburgh, PA., a 4 hour ride. Climbing the mountains, I'm uncertain as to what the mpg will be, but with the Ipod on and the option of Pandora and XM if I doubt I'll be disappointed.