1400 miles in the EU

[SinglePointSafety]

Just completed a 1400-mile trip in the EU in the Yaris Cross Excel AWD, visiting France, Germany and Belgium. For the TL:DR folk, my fuel consumption averaged 71 mpg and I remain very impressed with the car

The journey was a (kind of) circular route, including Amiens, Evreux, Paris, Dijon, Strasbourg, Cologne and Leuven, using motorways when possible (toll and free, I have a toll tag to make life even easier at the French toll booths). The roads encountered in the EU were pretty much pristine, except for a very few imperfections in the some of the smaller Belgian villages/towns. The very smooth surfaces pretty much eliminated road noise, so one discovery was that the YC - at the speeds I was driving, 95-100 km/hr on the motorways - doesn't have too much wind noise: what I thought was wind noise in the UK was actually the higher harmonics of road noise....

With essentially no road noise, it was far easier to judge engine noise - or lack of. Sure, on some of the steeper gradients, the engine is vocal and a bit vibratory (wonder what difference the balancer shaft would make, as fitted to the new Lexus equivalent?) but that was rare: even when the engine is working, it's pretty quiet, and indeed on the flat and cruising at, say, 50-80 km/hr, the engine is barely audible. Driving on the EU 'back roads' is a very pleasant experience, with their super-smooth surfaces and low traffic density. So the suspension - for small-bump absorption - didn't get much of a test

The temperature was fairly brutal for the trip, 31-32C, and the YC's air-con coped OK (previous Yaris Mk3 really struggled above 25C) although the central vent placement isn't ideal and takes some experimentation to get the best 'aim'. Got to really appreciate the electric boot open/close, more than I thought I would, especially the 'close and lock' button. The boot's 12V socket, a 'must have' for us, was used every driving day for a travel fridge. Since there were not going to be any rear-seat passengers, I removed the rear headrests prior to the journey, which improves rear visibility noticeably. The overall visibility, especially with the lovely large door mirrors, is very good, and the tight turning circle and car's compact dimensions proved invaluable in some of the older car parks with tight access

Fuel consumption: 71 mpg for the entire 1400-mile trip. The trip was kind of an experiment - we need 2 cars in the family and the other car is an EV, charged at home. Yes, the EV is overall quieter, but once up to speed, the difference isn't huge. And with rapid chargers typically 70p per kWh, the YC was about half the 'fuel cost' of the EV. Charging in the EU though is generally much less problematic than the UK's unregulated pile of poo charging infrastructure, which is especially lacking on motorway services

Whilst in the EU I tried some E5 petrol (not much of a price increase) to see if I could tell the difference. I might try and convince myself that the engine was slightly smoother and quieter, but it might be placebo effect, and can't comment on any fuel consumption change, since I don't have a valid control experiment

Yes, overall, was very pleased with the car and although we'll probably revert to the EV on the next EU trip, if for any reason we had to use the YC, it wouldn't be a problem

 

[Cyker]

Sounds heavenly!

There are a few roads have that have been resurfaced with a new kind of tarmac and it's like driving on silk! So smooth! So quiet! If only they'd use that everywhere!

 

[brutus-1965]

For a small car they drive really well.  I did 4,000 miles down through France, Spain to Gibratar then through Barcelona and Paris before home.  My Mk3 diesel didnt miss a beat.

The next road trip is probably to through Germany, Austria to the Adriatic.

[TonyHSD]

I love these long trips so much, they are adventurous and rewarding 👌 No plans for any in near future though but thinking when we gonna go we might be doing an ev long trips with sleep overs where there are free chargers. Save on fuel, pay accommodation and try different food instead, no rush to get to the places, the journey is everything, not the destination 😉👍