Would the Fusion Hybrid get good mileage on a long highway commute?

[omelet1978]

I drive 50 miles each way to work every day and typically go at about 80 miles per hour. Would the hybrid Fusion get descent gas mileage? I know hybrids get the best mileage in the city...

[lolder]

It would probably get mileage in the mid 30's. It doesn't like high speeds and cold temperatures. You get about 40 mpg at 70 mph in warm summers. You might get 30 mpg. at 80 mph. in the winter.

[dennisw]

Winter makes no difference on the freeway. At 80 your mileage will be mid 30's summer or winter, slow to 70 or less and 40's are possible. I took a trip today of 98 miles round trip and I got 40.6 mpg middle of winter 20's temp this is the same I get in warm weather.

[Hat Eater]

I have a 42 mile commute each direction, with most of it at freeway speeds. On any given week I average no worse than 38 MPG, usually in the 38 - 40 MPG range with the MPG getting better the slower the traffic gets. If I drive the car on errands around town it *always* does better than the commute. Cold weather has no effect, though it doesn't really get that cold in Northern California.

 

Joe

[dennisw]

Joe,

Are you traveling at 80mph? If so this is great mpg. The mileage is always going to be better in town while able to use EV mode.

[Hat Eater]

Not as fast as 80 but I keep up with traffic, which is usually around 65 - 70. This is during commute hours in the morning, in the evenings traffic is down to 55 - 60.

 

Joe

[dennisw]

I have found that the best highway mileage is with heavy traffic that has differing speeds. Driving constant above 75 kills mpg numbers.

[LSMITH128]

I used to drive about 50 miles one way to work and there was an extended period where they were doing construction and speed limits were reduced to 50 and this limit was being strictly enforced. It was amazing the difference in MPG. As someone posted at 70+ I was averaging about 35 MPG but, at 50 I was easily running in the 40+ MPG range.

 

Cold weather reduces my average MPG by 15-20%! In the winter I average just over 30 MPG and I cannot see a tremendous difference in the heat of summer.

[omelet1978]

I used to drive about 50 miles one way to work and there was an extended period where they were doing construction and speed limits were reduced to 50 and this limit was being strictly enforced. It was amazing the difference in MPG. As someone posted at 70+ I was averaging about 35 MPG but, at 50 I was easily running in the 40+ MPG range.

 

Cold weather reduces my average MPG by 15-20%! In the winter I average just over 30 MPG and I cannot see a tremendous difference in the heat of summer.

 

The problem with slowing down like that is it ads time to the commute which when I move might increase from 50 to 75 miles. I might just get a 4 banger or the new fusion with and ecoboost engine.

 

Any thoughts on the 2.0l ecoboost on the 13 fusion and what it would get on a commute like this?

 

[Scott A320]

My work commute is 95% highway at a steady speed of 65mpg. MPG is typically in a range of 40-42. Ironically, when doing so during peak travel time (my commute times vary) and encountering periods of stop/go the MPG will increase a bit due to the "benefits" of low-speed crawling. This is the only benefit of SoCal traffic! :P

[jeff_h]

My work commute is 95% highway at a steady speed of 65mpg. MPG is typically in a range of 40-42. Ironically, when doing so during peak travel time (my commute times vary) and encountering periods of stop/go the MPG will increase a bit due to the "benefits" of low-speed crawling. This is the only benefit of SoCal traffic!

 

We have similar "benefits" here on the east coast with DC traffic... my commute is 60 miles each way and I average 65-70MPH, each tank is normally right around 40-41MPG. However when I take a road trip and the cruise is set on 70MPH for several hundred miles, MPG tends to be somewhere between 37-38. So if you crank it up to 80MPH, I have to agree with the OP that said you'd be in the mid 30s somewhere, my guess is around 34ish?

[Grey]

Drove 230 miles today in my 2010 FFH. Mostly highway 55 - 70 MPH and got 44.6 MPG. Bought gas for $3.39 North of Wedowee, Alabama on 431.

[dennisw]

My road trip from Lawton OK to Santa Fe NM, was 467 miles I used 10.4 gallons which was 44.9 mpg. Most the 4 cylinder cars claiming 40+ mpg on the highway do not get in the 40's on a regular basis, their mileage is affected by higher speeds just as any other car. I have found with every car that I have owned that using cruise control while going up hills and mountains seriously lowers mpg numbers. I have a 50 mile trip I take often with many small to medium hills, when I set cruise at posted speed limit of 70 mph I get 36-37 mpg. If I take same trip using no cruise on hills and let the car slow a few mph up the hills I get 43-44 mpg. The trip takes me 45 minutes either way it does not lower arrival time by any noticeable amount when losing 3-4 mph up these hills, but it does gain almost 10 mpg by turning off the cruise up the hills.

 

Long story short if you are truly that concerned about your mpg numbers you will save much more in a hybrid than a 4 cyl the results are dependent on what is more important to you. I choose savings over speeding, and by doing so I have not lengthened any trip times by any measurable amount worth arguing. While driving this route I get passed all the time by much faster drivers just to pull up behind them at the first couple stop lights pulling into the town. Go with the hybrid you also have the fun factor of driving to save.

[gaken]

I'm new to this forum. I bought a 2010 Fusion Hybrid with 69,000 miles on it. My 80% highway, daily 40 mile each way commute, is into the city. I have been AMAZED of the indicated MPG of UP to 50.3 mpg. This has been during the July/August months. I usually stay in the slow lane (65 mph) or follow the faster moving tractor trailer trucks at a safe distance (70-75 mph). I may have to verify this mpg the old fashioned way

(miles driven/gallons pumped), since I suspect the indicated mpg may be a bit optimistic.

[jeff_h]

I may have to verify this mpg the old fashioned way (miles driven/gallons pumped), since I suspect the indicated mpg may be a bit optimistic.

 

I keep a log of every fillup, from my experience the number reported on the dash is about 1½ MPG more optimistic than my manual (true) calculation of miles driven / gallons pumped.

[acdii]

High speed kills the FE on these. Keep it under 70 if you really want good MPG. I have seen as high as 50 MPG on the highway when hovering around 65. The 2013 can use electric at highway speeds now, so if you set the speed at 62 MPH, you can easily get 47 MPG, easily. Go above that and you are running on gas alone. I have a trip Summary I took a picture of from a 68 mile highway trip where I got 50 MPG, doing on average 63 MPH in my 2010. Going faster does not necessarily mean you get there quicker, 5 MPH is not that much difference in time.