Minneapolis to Washington DC: Getting Ready for the Next Trip (1786 Kms)


Thread Starter #1
singh890

singh890

V10
#1
Joined
Feb 2, 2012
Messages
2,650
Likes
461
Location
Gurgaon
So once again i will be packing my bags and moving back to DC. Adding one more trip to my Profile[thumbsup]. This time it is from Minneapolis (MN) to Washington DC and is about 1110 miles (1786 Kms). Since my project with the client is finishing on 30th March and i will be going back where my employer is located. Will take a week off and relax before going on to another project.
Finally i will be done with this Minneapolis Winter. Damm the temperature went down to -38 C. Yes that's right friends, it is really cold here.

And this time i have my friend going with me, otherwise all the trips that i have done in US were SOLO action.

Since i sold my car 07 Sonata, i will be renting a car.
The car that we are renting is a full size sedan with a good boot size. Since we have lot of luggage. Have made a reservation with one of the renatal companies but they have not booked any car since that cannot be done in advance. we will have to go there and pick whatever they have at that time.

So the car would be out of the following:
1. Honda Accord
2. Hyundai Sonata
3. Chevrolet Impala
4. toyota Camry
5. Dodge Charger
6. Ford Tauras - (Don't want this, as this is the worst car ford can ever come up with)

Total Rent will be: $324
Gps Rent will be: $11.99
Insurance: $26.99
Total: 362.98

And this is with unlimited mileage.
 
#2
350Z

350Z

Core Team
#2
Joined
Aug 10, 2009
Messages
21,611
Likes
7,873
Location
New Delhi
Good luck for the trip; this sure is going to be an exciting one. Why did you sell the Sonata?

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
Thread Starter #3
singh890

singh890

V10
#3
Joined
Feb 2, 2012
Messages
2,650
Likes
461
Location
Gurgaon
350Z said:
Good luck for the trip; this sure is going to be an exciting one. Why did you sell the Sonata?

Drive Safe,
350Z
Click to expand...
Thanks vibhor. I sold my Sonata as it was almost 96000 miles and i was getting a good deal. bought it for $9250 at 60 K and sold it for $7200 at 96K.
 
#4
R

raceace

V4
#4
Joined
Mar 10, 2012
Messages
38
Likes
3
Location
Mumbai
Good Luck singh890!!

I do remember the roads in MN are pretty good, at least from what I have seen, I stayed and worked near Bloomington. Folks over there tell me that they have the best roads in the country. I have been to NYC, and on some roads over there, I was reminded of Indian Roads [;)]. Never the less its always a pleasurable driving experience in the US. DO post some pics.

Have a safe trip man!!
 
Thread Starter #5
singh890

singh890

V10
#5
Joined
Feb 2, 2012
Messages
2,650
Likes
461
Location
Gurgaon
raceace said:
Good Luck singh890!!

I do remember the roads in MN are pretty good, at least from what I have seen, I stayed and worked near Bloomington. Folks over there tell me that they have the best roads in the country. I have been to NYC, and on some roads over there, I was reminded of Indian Roads [;)]. Never the less its always a pleasurable driving experience in the US. DO post some pics.

Have a safe trip man!!
Click to expand...
That's true buddy some of the roads in Minneapolis are really bad. But that is because of the snow. Since you have lived in Bloomington, you would know how bad is the snow. That's one of the biggest reason why they have some bad roads.

But Once you cross MN and enter Wisconsin the roads are like butter. And will definitely post some pics.
 
Thread Starter #6
singh890

singh890

V10
#6
Joined
Feb 2, 2012
Messages
2,650
Likes
461
Location
Gurgaon
So finally got some time today to update my travelogue since i was really busy with work.

Total Distance: 1078 miles (1735 Kms)
Vehicle: 2012 Toyota Camry
Total Time: 19 Hours
Total Fuel: $150 (INR 8000) Dollar rate is around $51

So as i said earlier that i will have to choose between the following cars as i was getting a rental car and the choices were as following:
1. Honda Accord
2. Hyundai Sonata
3. Chevrolet Impala
4. toyota Camry
5. Dodge Charger
6. Ford Tauras - (Don't want this, as this is the worst car ford can ever come up with)

So i went with the 2012 Toyota Camry. The reason i went with camry was simple because it is a new car in the market and i had already driven all the other cars in the list.
So i went to the work in the morning around 10 and left work around 12:30 PM. And straight away went to the Airport to pickup the rental car. Did all the formalities and came back home at 2:00 PM. My initial plan was to leave by 3:00 PM but by the time i left it was 5:20 PM. I choose to go with the prepay option with my rental car. The prepay option means when you get the car the tank is full and you don't have to fill the tank when you drop the car at your destination point.

So left at 5:20 PM but got stuck in traffic for the first 20 mins since it was office hour rush. we drove for 65 miles (105 kms) and decided to take a 15 mins break as we were feeling hungry. So we stopped and had some light food and were back on road in 20 mins. After driving for another 5 hours and completing 315 miles (507 Kms) we reached Chicago, IL at 11:30 PM.

So after reaching Chicago we took 30 mins break in which we had some light snacks and filled our tank. Camry gives quite a good FE. It did almost 220 miles in half tank that means around 354 kms. So after a short 30 mins break we were again back on the highway around 12:00 AM. And after 12 there was no traffic and the roads were good, so we managed to do another 172 miles (277 Kms) in 3.20 hours and took a quick 10 min stop for coffee and i went and washed my face with cold water and so far we had covered 588 miles (946 kms) in 10 hours which included 3 stops.

So after a short 10 minute break we were back on highway and after driving for another 145 miles (233 kms) we stopped for breakfast in pennsylvania around 5:30 AM. we took around 45 mins break an got the tank filled up. Gave some rest to the car as well as me[:)]

So after our last break we were back on road around 6:00 AM and reached Virginia around 12:20 PM and complete another 345 miles (555 kms).

Overall the roads were good, nothing major or any kind of accident. Know about driving the Camry. I felt it was low on power and the reason i felt that was because i used to drive a V6 before that and the Camry i rented had a V4 engine. Besides that it has a good FE very spacious and nice boot capacity.

Another thing i liked about the new Camry was the interiors. I never liked the old Camry interiors. I felt they were really simple for a car of that budget but the 2012 Camry the interiors are really good and i will say nice work TOYOTA[thumbsup]
 
#10
ToughGuy

ToughGuy

V10
#10
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
1,080
Likes
194
Location
Delhi
Very well written singh890, after seeing these pics i am quite tempted to drive on these roads, they are so beautiful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom