Milage exceedes epas estimated

[HurricaneGT]

We got the car a week before we were driving to Gatlinburg Tn from Ct. We put 2075 miles on the car in 1 week, 2 adluts and 2 kid full trunk! and on the trip we got 39.2 miles to the gallon (checked manualy at fill ups). this is highway and in town and in the mountians (drove up to Clingmans dome 6600+ ft). Very happy with the car and preformance!!!!!! Ford hit a home run!!!

[rfruth]

use any hypermiling techniques ?

[mikenmar]

I routinely get better than 40 mpg on the highway without doing anything special. Basically, I just try to use the cruise control as much as possible, and I stay under 65.

[rlawson4]

I routinely get better than 40 mpg on the highway without doing anything special. Basically, I just try to use the cruise control as much as possible, and I stay under 65.

 

I agree. I easily average 39 mpg on the highway with no effort at all. I set the cruise at 65 and that is it. I don't understand how the EPA got the so wrong.

[Rodeo]

I agree. I easily average 39 mpg on the highway with no effort at all. I set the cruise at 65 and that is it. I don't understand how the EPA got the so wrong.

My understanding is that the EPA is trying to emulate "real world" driving conditions to get the Mileage estimates closer to what owners and drivers will actually experience. We all know that Car Companies had those estimates on the high side for many years. Could it be that the EPA underestimated the attitude of the Hybrid owners themselves? I mean, you Hybrid owners seem to really try to stretch your mileage and while you may or may not be "green" minded you then are certainly fuel cost minded right? So, you are trying to get good mileage (especially now, when brand new etc.) whereas when I buy my new 2010 Sport model, I will be tromping on the throttle and wanting to hear the motor roar and worry more about fast acceleration times. Two totally different cars with two different intentions. I think the mind state of the driver / owner has allot to do with it and while it's fairly new it is fun to try to achieve high mileage fuel economy. Will you still be driving it that way two years from now though? Or will you drive it with less conscience and just use it to get from point A to point B. See what your actual mileage drops to then and it's likely to be closer to what the EPA says it is. Like I said, "real world driving conditions" Just a thought....

[HurricaneGT]

We really did not buy it to streach milage, it ended up a deal I could not pass up sold my wifes tribeca to carmax had a 91 ford ranger i counld not have sold for $200 but traded it as a klunker. :headspin: We own 2 Mustang GT's and an FJ cruiser the Mustangs will give you 25+ on the highway and the fj maybe I will get 17. I know for a fact that my driving habits have not changed, and god knows that my wifes have not :shift: , the trip to Tenn I set the cruise at any were between 68-74 depending on speed limits. This was with no effort and there were alot of hills/mountians on the trip.

[Rodeo]

We really did not buy it to streach milage, it ended up a deal I could not pass up sold my wifes tribeca to carmax had a 91 ford ranger i counld not have sold for $200 but traded it as a klunker. :headspin: We own 2 Mustang GT's and an FJ cruiser the Mustangs will give you 25+ on the highway and the fj maybe I will get 17. I know for a fact that my driving habits have not changed, and god knows that my wifes have not :shift: , the trip to Tenn I set the cruise at any were between 68-74 depending on speed limits. This was with no effort and there were alot of hills/mountians on the trip.

it's good to hear that the cars are achieving better mileage then the EPA estimates on the window sticker say they will. I just hope that holds true when I buy a Sport AWD. Congrats on the new Car!

[mikenmar]

I just took two long highway trips, and was able to average 45 and 48 mpg.

 

If you can stand to set your cruise control at around 56-57 mph, you can probably avg 50 mpg or more on a nice smooth, flat highway.

 

Even better, if you can get behind a tractor trailer and take advantage of the draft, you can do up towards 60 mpg. But don't get too close to the truck -- they can't see you, and you can't see in front of them, a dangerous situation.

[Juris]

Speed definitely matters. I just had a ca. 2500 mi vacation trip, with >90% rural and highway driving, and I averaged about 38 mpg. I did use cruise control whenever reasonable but generally set at 67-70 mph, not 65 or lower. I'm quite happy with this result, and the trip itself was a joy to drive. Now that I'm home, I'm getting over 40 MPG driving around town -- 40-50 mpg generally.