I had a rental 2006 Nissan Sentra 1.8S while in Mountain View. While there I drove a little bit over 3400 miles (about 5500 km). When I returned it, the computer showed an average fuel economy of 29mpg (8.1 l/100km). I drove alone, mostly on highways, with notable exceptions being the daily commute in Mountain View and the occasional trips to San Francisco. I never went above 100mph (160 km/h) because nobody seemed to go that fast. Usual cruising speed when the highway was free was 80mph (~130km/h). Things I noticed:
- the highways are omnipresent, free, and a central way of life for Americans. Most (all of those I’ve tried) map sites show you driving directions through highways, even if it would be shorter to go around them
- the road quality varies a lot. The 280 in California was almost brand new, contrasting with the sometimes very crappy 101
- while something normal for 101 commuters, the traffic jams at rush hour are a nightmare. You just can’t go anywhere — sit there and wait for it buddy, just like everybody else
- most of the highways are very wide (4 lanes seems to be a standard, 5-6 or more is not unusual). The junctions and exchanges are a breathtaking maze of bridges. Everything is clearly signalled so it’s hard to miss exits or take the wrong turns.
- driving is regular activity for Americans. Many of them suck at it — constant yapping on cellphones, lack of attention (you better watch out when crossing the road, because many of the drivers aren’t). They are however nice to each other. I have heard a grand total of two horn sounds in 3 months (I realize this is very different in areas such as New York, but I only drove in California).
- there is no lane discipline. Basically, everybody drives wherever they feel like. Going really slow in the leftmost lane is a common occurrence and truly messes things up — you have to change lanes a lot if you want to go faster than the average, and that makes you look like a speeding idiot (even if all you’re trying to do is pass a dispersed group of cellphone-talking idiots going 55).
- most cars on the road are big, gas-guzzling monsters. Not necessarily SUV’s (though there’s a LOT of those) but generally cars with poor fuel economy
- fuel is cheap. At the end of my stay, it had barely passed the 3 USD/gallon mark — that works out at 0.61 EUR/liter. Dirt cheap, I’m telling you.
Last weekend I went to France for 2 days. I rented a 2006 VW Polo TDI. Awesome little car, german engineering at its best. The whole trip was about 680km, with 3 people inside and with significant portions of twisty mountain roads. Top speed was 180km/h (I was running late for my return flight) and average highway speed 140km/h. I only had to fill the tank once (right before I returned it) and the fuel economy worked out at an amazing 6.1l/100km (that’s 39mpg for you Americans). Had I been alone and driving more economically, I have no doubts that the figure would have been around 4l/100km. Things I noticed:
- the highways are extremely well maintained. Same quality (if not a little better) than the best I’ve seen in California
- you pay to go on a highway, and it’s not cheap (you get a ticket when you enter, and pay at the exit — just like parking). A ~170km trip from Lyon Saint-Exupery to Annecy costs 12.40 EUR, one way
- the only traffic jam I’ve seen was at a tunnel that was under construction
- 2 lanes is the standard, although it widens up in busy areas
- there is a very strict lane discipline: you drive on the right, pass on the left. Everybody follows it and traffic is amazingly fluid because of this. I’m also pretty sure that you get ticketed for driving on the left lane, if the police sees you.
- most of the cars are small and efficient. I can count the number of SUV’s I’ve seen on one hand, and all of them seemed to be carrying construction equipment or otherwise have a purpose (besides “look at how huge my car is”).
- fuel is very expensive. I paid 50 EUR to fill up my Polo with 41 liters of diesel. That works out at 5.9 USD per gallon. Kind of sends a strong “stop bitching and start saving” to many Americans, doesn’t it?