Difference in mileage between exact same hybrids?

[sjack367]

Hi all,

 

This is my first post to this community, so I hope I'm in the right place! I just wanted to ask a question that has been on my mind for a few months now. My sibling and I both own 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid SE's (the exact same models -- his has ~6,000 less miles than mine does, 43k vs 49k) but I have noticed a significant difference in the fuel economy/mileage between these two vehicles. Mine has about 49k miles and has averaged 43.5MPG over its lifetime, with recent nice weather (I'm in Minnesota) I can see 50+MPG on my commutes in a metro area. Occasionally I will drive my sibling's Hybrid but notice a stark contrast in the difference in mileage. From the start you can tell that his is a lot more willing to quickly turn to using the engine than mine is - driving the first block leaving our house, mine will always use battery but his always gasoline. We buy the exact same gas from the same station, but I notice a ~10MPG difference on trips to and from the exact same location with his vehicle. Keep in mind, I've noticed this as the driver of both cars, so I have the exact same tendencies in each test. If anything, in his Hybrid, I tend to drive even slower and coast as much as possible to get a better fuel economy.

 

Nonetheless, despite removing every single variable in a drive except for the vehicle, I notice his consistently does worse on the road. No AC, windows up, etc.. Are there any reasons you here at FFHF can think of off the bat that would be a viable reason for this? I'm happy to answer any questions but I just can't figure it out for the life of me.

 

Thanks!

[jadei]

10MPG is a lot. All i can think of is air pressure in his tires may be lower. Even still that should only account for 2-3MPG max. Is there anything heavy in his trunk? :)

[sjack367]

10MPG is a lot. All i can think of is air pressure in his tires may be lower. Even still that should only account for 2-3MPG max. Is there anything heavy in his trunk? :)

 

Haha, during the winter it was a 25lb bag of cat litter for traction in case he was stuck, but otherwise no! :) The best way I'd be able to describe this problem is that the engine seems to engage a lot faster than mine does when driving in the same situations. i.e., driving slowly up a hill, his would revert to the engine MUCH sooner before mine would.

[Vlad Soare]

Filling the trunk with bags of cat litter in winter only helps if you have rear wheel drive. A FWD hybrid won't benefit from a heavy rear end, quite the contrary. :)

You can use the EV Information app on the touch screen, as well as the Empower gauge, to figure out why the engine kicks in so often. Is the reason for using the engine "battery charging"? In that case, how does the battery gauge look? Is it really low? Is it at a level where yours would start the engine, too? Or maybe the reason is "drive power", in which case how does the EV threshold on the Empower screen look? Does his threshold tend to be lower than yours? Etc.

Edited June 14, 2017 by Vlad Soare

[rdr]

I have three hybrids -- one 2017 and two 2016 models. I have always done significantly better than my wife and son in their 16s. I attribute this to two things: (a) driving style since they are far more aggressive than I am, (b) use of the air conditioning, © distance driven and (d) mixture of driving (local vs. highway).