Date:         Wed, 22 Jan 1997 09:12:32 -0500 (EST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Michael Pelikan <pelikan@sover.net>
Subject:      Re: EV fuel econ (got a bit LONG - sorry)

>For those of you with Eurovans in the US, what kind of fuel
>economy do you get city/highway?  Is yours manual or auto tranny?
>Also, what is the cruise range?  Are you happy with the power?
>
>Thanks,

Mine is a '93 EV MV (non-weekender) with 2.5 liter 5 cyl and
5 speed manual.  It's just turned 76,000 miles.

I do a 44 mile round trip daily commute and we make frequent
trips between northern Vermont and southern Connecticut.
On the highway trips, with a party of three, packed for a
weekend with young child (ice chest, high chair, diaper genie,
and so forth...), with cruise control set for 65 mph indicated
(which on ours is just about exactly 62 mph actual) we have
gotten a consistent 22 to 23 mpg highway.  

We do these trips so consistently that a half hour into it I can
usually place an ETA that's accurate plus or minus 5 minutes,
barring something ridiculous happening somewhere around
Springfield Mass or Hartford CT (usually just north of downtown
or just south, at Wethersfield).

The tank holds 22 gallons.  We burn a little less than half that
on the 270 mile trip.  I could probably do the round trip on a 
single tank, but always fill up in CT before the return leg, despite
the fact that CT's gas taxes push the price per gallon to somewhere
around $1.50, whereas in Vermont it runs about $1.28.

As to power: the thing about the 5 cyl EV manual (don't know about
the automatic) is its gearing and how that's matched to the torque
curve of the engine.  This vehicle feels just about the same with
1500 pounds of boxed books in the back as empty - not *exactly*
but very, very close.  It's geared for hauling.  If you're used to
V8 passing power, the acceleration from, say, 55 to 75 will seem
off the pace you're used to (though better than any air cooled VW
I've owned, and I've owned about a dozen), but for setting on the
cruise control at a range in the mid to high 60's the van is
unstoppable.  It will maintain that speed across any terrain you're
likely to encounter on an interstate.

And at crusing speed, it simply drives like a dream.  My wife
(who's a 6'2" - former starting center for her college basketball
team) can stretch out in the back, the kid dozes in his car seat,
all the luggage fits behind  under the rear seat, and it cruises
as if it was riding on rails.  Fact, that's what it seems like
to us: a private first class rail car.  I've owned many, many
vehicles (upwards of twenty) and have never had anything so
perfectly suited for comfortable long distance family travel.  Maybe
the closest was my old Peugeot 504 sedan.  The French know how
to make a comfortable car, despite their off the wall engineering
philosophy which is, "Never employ a single part where you can get
five parts to do the job..."

Anyway, we love that EuroVan!

hope this helps...

Michael Pelikan
'74 Super Sun Bug
'93 EuroVan MV 5 speed