| gmc74 |
I just got back from the grand canyon, and the MDX was nothing less than fantastic through the mountains.
The trip from Phoenix to Flagstaff and then to Williams (to take the train to the Canyon) starts around 1700 feet in elevation, up to over 7300 feet in elevation, over the course of about 100 miles (+ or -).
The MDX did an excellent job! I averaged 21.4 MPG on the MID, but I haven't filled the tank again, so I am not sure of the actual mileage, but based on my trip to Tucson, the MID was almost spot on.
Great car for the mountains, the power was perfect for keeping me around 82 MPH the entire time. |
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| bluetail47 |
| Glad you had a great experience. I think the longer the trip the more we appreciate what we have. Our 400 mile trip was great - so comfortable we were not even tired when we got home. Love the MDX |
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| gmc74 |
| yeah, I agree. It was very comfortable on the trip. I am taking a longer drive to CA next month, should be just as nice. |
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| JSingh80 |
I've only used my MDX for long trips so far it seems.
San Jose to Mendocino
San Jose to Bakersfield
San Jose to Fresno
this weekend will be going from
San Jose To Ventura
it's been awesome on all of the trips....the attached pix is of the MDX in Mendocino, in front of the house we rented there.... |
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| trixie |
quote:
Originally posted by JSingh80
the MDX in Mendocino, in front of the house we rented there....
Your Mendocino rental looks familiar. Is it located at Irish Beach? It looks very much like a home that I rented there in '88. |
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| trixie |
quote:
Originally posted by gmc74
I just got back from the grand canyon, and the MDX was nothing less than fantastic through the mountains.
I made the same trip to Williams in my X two years ago. I was the lead traveling in a caravan of three vehicles, including an Escalade pimped out Hulk Hogan style. Just north of Phoenix, I did the math to calculate the average speed that would be required to make the 10:30 train to the canyon. My calculation came out to 86 mph. I notified the other vehilcle and we all hit the gas. The Navi did a great job at tracking our progress, my Escort 8500 did a great job of keeping us unticketed and the X did an outstanding job at holding the turns and maintaining speed on the steep sections. Somehow we made the train. Although I do not recall calculating my mileage that day, I'd doubt that the Escalade ever broke 8 MPG on the way up. We were not about to waste $1,960 in train tickets. |
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| trixie |
quote:
Originally posted by JSingh80
No this was by the Casper Headlands State Beach
It's not far. Irish beach is on a high bluff just a few miles north of Point Arena. I would retire to Mendocino in a heart beat. I love how the coast steps back 30 years once you pass the point of being able to commute to the Bay Area.
An interesting trivial tid-bit that has stuck in my brain for more than 20 years regarding Mendocino. If you are not familiar with the area, realize that the only major sources of income, lumber and fishing, dried up in the early 70s. Nowadays, many folks prefer to live in a VW bus and subside by fashioning animals from Redwood stumps using a chainsaw. So where does the money come from? Well, on the east side of the coastal ridge you'll find 90% of the county's real estate. In that huge land mass you will find a very sparse population equal to about 10% of the county's total. Of the dollars earned in the inland region, 90% comes from growing...you can guess what. We'll just say that Mendocino is not much for collecting income taxes from it's citizens. If we are lucky, life on the north coast will never change. |
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| gmc74 |
quote:
Originally posted by trixie
I made the same trip to Williams in my X two years ago. I was the lead traveling in a caravan of three vehicles, including an Escalade pimped out Hulk Hogan style. Just north of Phoenix, I did the math to calculate the average speed that would be required to make the 10:30 train to the canyon. My calculation came out to 86 mph. I notified the other vehilcle and we all hit the gas. The Navi did a great job at tracking our progress, my Escort 8500 did a great job of keeping us unticketed and the X did an outstanding job at holding the turns and maintaining speed on the steep sections. Somehow we made the train. Although I do not recall calculating my mileage that day, I'd doubt that the Escalade ever broke 8 MPG on the way up. We were not about to waste $1,960 in train tickets.
We stayed in Flagstaff to make the drive easier, but next time I think I will stay at the hotel in Williams and then a night in the hotel at the canyon.
It is a lot of elevation change during the 2 hour trip, I was happy the X was up to the challenge, and the gas mileage didn't suffer |
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