Finally got away around 5 last night and stopped over in Lexington, KY for the night. Now that I've finally got my O2 sensor issue corrected I'm going to track my MPGs so we can assess how much of a difference the 5-speed makes on fuel economy. Right now I'm pretty much in the worst case scenario so it should only improve from here. My VX is wearing around 250 lbs. in underbody armor (Kilby + Rocky Road Supersliders + Rocky Road Diff Guard), oversize (265/60/18) tires on heavier rims, a 40 lb roof basket, full size spare, swing-away cargo box weighing probably 250-300 lb fully loaded, two adults, two kids, a dog, 10 lb air tank, and pretty much everything else that can be fit inside a two door SUV. I always use 89 octane.

Fill-Up 1: Blacksburg, VA to Hurricane WV - 197.5 miles - 10.916 gallons - 18.08 MPG - Driving due west through the mountains, lots of long uphill climbs, fairly cool weather (mid to upper 60s).

Here are some pics: