Road Trip to France! - 2040 Miles!

[Perry313]

Hi!

We should receive our new 1.8 Corolla by the end of June and we have been planning a road trip to the south of France, mid July. We've been invited to a wedding, so we thought why not kill two birds, with one stone and enjoy a good old road trip! We'll be driving from Newcastle upon Tyne to Montpellier, which is a 2040 mile round trip, plus the rest on the days we explore around the areas we stop off at.  Although, money is not much of an issue.. I'm still wanting to challenge the car and myself to get the most MPG for the entire trip and use the EV as often as I can with efficient driving!

So my questions are, how does one prep for a 2040+ mile road trip?!

- How does the 1.8 engine manage on long journeys? Is the MPG decent on motorways?

We'll be trying our best to carry as minimum as possible, keeping the weight down to help with MPG.

- We will get European road side cover, but what else do I need to think about when driving through France. This will be a first for us both. Do I need LED defectors 

- I've read type pressure is important, however, what about long journeys? Do they need to be higher or lower than the norm?

- Is Super Unleaded worth it? Do you get much more MPG for that extra cost?

- I'll be keen on using the best oil from the get go! I did come across a post about it a while back, and read it makes a difference! However, I'm unable to find it! Any recommendations?

Any tips/advice would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks!

[FROSTYBALLS]

9 minutes ago, Perry313 said:

I'll be keen on using the best oil from the get go!

As regards oil, the Corolla uses 0W-16 oil to either ACEA SL, SM or SN spec. Toyota provides no recommendation for brand.

Moved to the Corolla club.

[Bernard Foy]

Hopefully you will get a few shorter runs done on your new Corolla before you start your long trip as is recommended, by Toyota.  Although modern cars are all bench run- in it is recommended by Toyota the cars first 500 miles or so are shorter runs at variable speeds. Re MPG: Toyota Corolla Hybrid is designed to be frugal on petrol and give good MPG. How frugal can vary according to how you drive it. Lots of info on utube on how to get the best mpg out of your car. Enjoy a safe and healthy trip abroad. 

[Rosgoe]

You get European breakdown cover anyway I think with Toyota breakdown cover who use the AA which is free for the first year with new Toyota £72 year thereafter.

[Cyker]

Don't worry about mpg - For a long journey like that I think the best thing is to learn how to operate, and get familiar with, the radar cruise control and lane centring systems, as those will be of incredible help with the boring bits of the drive  

If you have LEDs they should be projector type and have a very flat beam pattern so shouldn't need beam deflectors.

 

Make sure you're up to date on the regs - Deffo get a kit with all the stuff you need to drive in france (High vis, a fistful of breathalysers etc.), and I think you need a green card and GB sticker now since we're no longer part of the EU. May also need an international driving permit if you don't have a photocard licence.

Maybe get a Dashcam to record the journey!  

[Kental]

3 minutes ago, Cyker said:

 

If you have LEDs they should be projector type and have a very flat beam pattern so shouldn't need beam deflectors.

 

 

[Kental]

I thought only the Excel had projector lights, the others have what are called multi reflector.

[TonyHSD]

Lol, that sounds like real deal to me, I would love to do the same 🛣🏎👌

Very important as Bernard mentioned, to do few local trips before you take the car on long journey. While you on the way avoid driving it at speeds over 70mph or continuing high speed cruising, do take break stops more often, for every 2-3 hours drive take at least 30-40 min break. You don’t need to have anything like oil or coolant with you, only do open bonnet and check all fluid and oil levels once a day. If in unlikely event of needing to top up coolant or engine oil best to visit a nearest Toyota dealer as this is basically a brand new car and anything like that should not happen. Before you go check legislation for driving in France , emergency kit and more accessories you need to have, Amazon sells all of that, you can look there. If you do prefer to have a spare bottle of coolant and oil just buy Toyota original one and store in the boot. Very important to have tyre inflator, pressure gauge and emergency tyre repair strips. These are life savers. Well that’s pretty much most important things. I had done similar trip from London to Bulgaria Black Sea with 0 oil consumption or coolant, only screen wash top up, and it was a heat wave at the time throughout Europe 39-40C°, the car did brilliantly 👌🚗 

Enjoy your trip 🛣👍

[50p]

2 hours ago, Cyker said:

.. and I think you need a green card and GB sticker now since we're no longer part of the EU.

You now need a UK sticker, not GB!

[Gray86]

I’d be surprised if it burned any oil at all. These Dynamic Force TNGA engines don’t generally use a drop. 
 

as others have said, plenty of shorter runs to get used to the car and identify any teething problems. Take a tyre pressure gauge & inflator, as well as all the usual French requirements for travel (not sure what to do about bulbs as they are LED). 
 

normal unleaded is fine, I’ve used both many times and noticed worse consumption on the 99RON super, however the engine runs a tad smoother. 

[Perry313]

Morning! Great advice here! Ive dotted everything down and will start putting things together! Thanks.

I'm hoping that I get the car at the end of May/mid June. So I'll make sure to put a few hundred miles on it prior to the long trip. 

Thanks for all the great advice and Tony that trip sounds like it was incredible! 

It's the GR Sport, not sure which kind of beams it has, but I'll check if they need deflectors or not.

You're right, I will not worry so much about the MPG and simple enjoy thr journey and learning how to operate the car. 

I'm particularly keen to use the RADAR system. Is it good and does it make a sound when it enables/disables? 

Thanks again! 

[Cyker]

The radar cruise is awesome, one of my favourite features of the Mk4 Yaris  

When activated it shows the cruise control symbol on the dash and the set speed, but doesn't make a sound (Not sure if there is an option for that, but TBH the car makes enough beeps and bings already I don't want any more!!)

[Perry313]

Well, sadly it seems like my Corolla won't be getting delivered in time for my trip. I've ordered from a work scheme, so I'm unable to track any progress. It was expected end of June but, I did some calling and managed to find a couple of people to speak to and they both said it's looking like beginning of August now. So I've went ahead and booked some flights instead.

 

I'm a little bit gutted to be honest, I've spent hours planning and finding places to visit along the way, I was especially looking forward to the WW1 remembrance trail next to Amiens. Next time though!

[PRus]

Speaking of fuel consumption in the motorways, I have managed 62.2 mpg from portsmouth to Heathrow 😁. I have the 1.8 corolla TS. Driving at 70mph with active cruise on. 

[Niky]

With the high fuel prices I've started driving like an old lady😀, but my curiosity of what the car can achieve in terms of fuel efficiency also helps....

I've been getting 73mpg(on the dash) on a full tank lately(69mpg on the petrol station). My commute is 70-80% motorway driving with 65 miles per hour with the cruise control on(takes me around 2 minutes more to get to work). Trying to let the car slow down, not using breaks as much as I can, whenever I can. I believe the car can do even better mpg if driven on A roads carefully. Very impressed. 1.8 TS Icon Tech on 16s tires

[Rambler56]

I've done many European trips over the years but none since the Brexit changes came into effect e.g. a proper GB sticker a requirement again, check your insurance for cover/green card.

In France a few important things to remember (check RAC/AA for full and detailed requirements):

A high viz vest for EACH passenger is mandatory (don't bury the vests in the boot, they have to be worn as soon as you step out of the car if you break down).

Warning triangle and spare bulbs are mandatory.

You should carry a breathalyser 2 pack in your glove box (available from Halfords etc).  No longer a legal requirement but keeps the Gendarmerie happy if you are stopped.

Sat Navs are completely legal but if it has a speed camera alert system you are supposed to switch that element  off:

 

[50p]

58 minutes ago, Rambler56 said:

I've done many European trips over the years but none since the Brexit changes came into effect e.g. a proper GB sticker a requirement again, check your insurance for cover/green card

You now need a UK sticker, not GB

[Rambler56]

1 hour ago, 50p said:

You now need a UK sticker, not GB

Yes, you are quite right although the GB sticker doesn't becomes invalid until after September 2022, so get a UK sticker in readiness for when the grace period ends.

[Cyker]

Err, nooo, they were invalid after September 2021!!!!  

 

[Rambler56]

28 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Err, nooo, they were invalid after September 2021!!!!  

 

Thanks for the 4 exclamation marks 😉.  I bow to your superior knowledge and my poor interpretation of the extract which is currently shown on the RAC site.  It does appear a little ambiguous as it does not stipulate a year.  Irrespective, it's down to the individual to check the actual requirements from a reputable source prior to travel to ensure they are fully legal for any country they are visiting as rules do change from time to time.

[Cyker]

It's easily done, I just didn't want anyone driving to France with a GB sticker and getting picked up by "Le Gendarme"   

 

[Kental]

The number of places that are still selling beam deflectors and GB stickers as a multi buy is still significant 

[Auris James]

Plus you need a pollution sticker if heading into and town/city that has our equivalent of a ULEZ.

Crit'Air clean air stickers - need to know for driving in France | RAC Drive

James👍

[Kental]

Just now, Auris James said:

Plus you need a pollution sticker if heading into and town/city that has our equivalent of a ULEZ.

James👍

Is that mainly Germany or other countries too.

[Rambler56]

13 hours ago, Kental said:

Is that mainly Germany or other countries too.

Not sure about France but I needed a sticker for my car for Germany as the list of cities requiring one is a long one and being added to on a regular basis and I wanted to cover all bases.  I looked online and there were adverts asking around 30 Euros to supply the relevant sticker.  With a little further investigation I discovered that the actual cost was only 6 Euros when you apply directly to the relevant German city council.  Whilst I was not going to Berlin I applied via their site as the emissions sticker turns out to be valid in all cities in Germany (correct in 2018, for latest position check online in case it has changed).  They just needed a scan of the emissions details from my registration document, my details, and the sticker arrived 2 weeks later.  The sticker is car specific and once applied to the windscreen can not be removed without destroying it.