First family journey!

Just got home from our first family journey. As wonderful as the MINI E was, we could never go anywhere as a family (since it was just a two seater) and a trip like today would have required firing up the ole trusty Ford SUV.

Today we journeyed to Los Angeles to visit relatives. It was a 61 mile round trip that was 99% freeway. The trunk was packed up to capacity, wife had the heated seats going, ac on, daytime running lamps and our daughter in the back on her new booster and off we went. We hopped in the carpool lane and averaged 70 to 75 with one 80 mph 13 mile stretch with the cruise control on. The car is so quiet you don't realize just how fast you're going. The overall driving experience is even better than the gasoline version. BMW did a wonderful job with this car. We returned home with 21 miles in ECO Mode. I kept ECO Mode on about half the time.

A couple of things about this trip. I normally don't drive this fast but today wanted to really test the range. Also, if I knew right off the bat that I was going to be driving say 90 to 100 miles with no place to charge, I would drive at a more moderate pace and stay in ECO Mode. In other words, I would adjust for that particular trip. Some might say that's a sacrifice and wouldn't work for them. Trust me, it's not that big of an adjustment and the savings in gas, overall driving experience, wonderful quiet ride, etc. make it worth it. Plus, how often would most folks be taking a trip of that distance.

Tomorrow, we will have had the car one week. I'll past 500 miles on my way to work tomorrow. Now if I can just keep up this driving, I might just catch the King of EV Miles, my friend Tom Moloughney in the East. One can always dream. :)