2013 Hybrid MPG Results

[KingJL]

I think I have the 'hang' of driving this thing... Toadys trip: 25.5 mi from home to Athens TN... 52.3 MPG... Return... 48.4 MPG. Actually it practically drives itself as I use eco cruise most of the time!

[B25Nut]

KingJL - You need to report your figures at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=33083

[kdbryant]

Done that drive many times. That's probably a great route for the FFH. Isn't the speed limit 60 on the bridge over the bayou?

Yes, 55 mph for trucks and 60 for cars. For the most part, everyone complies so the drive is fairly relaxing. I like kickin' back with the cruise control on and the Sirius tuned to ClassicVinyl and watching the MPG readout. Also, I usually see deer on the side of the road around mile marker 145 eastbound.

[KingJL]

...I like kickin' back with the cruise control on and the Sirius tuned to ClassicVinyl and watching the MPG readout.

Personally I like channel 5 (or 6 or 7)!

[hybridbear]

I did mention this, but they can't do anything to it unless Ford approves it, and so far Ford is telling them there is nothing wrong with the car.

 

I can't believe that Ford is telling them nothing is wrong with the symptoms you've described. Between the temperature, fouled plugs, exhaust issues and oil you mentioned seeing I'd think Ford would have to do something

[GreenAussie]

Now I have had almost 2 weeks going up and back to work I am starting to get some consistent results. First, to be fair my trip is probably ideal for a hybrid to maximize fuel economy. Total length is 10.9 miles (one way) and it’s about 3 miles at 55, 4 miles at 45 and about 4 at miles 35-25. There are relatively major elevation changes on route, but I think over total it is relatively flat. Right now temp when I leave is in the low 30’s and when I return in the 50’s. I would say I am an economical driver but don’t go insanely slow (at least not for the south ;) ) just maximize.

 

On the way to work I am getting consistently around 42MPG and on the way home around 53MPG. So I am getting pretty much spot on sticker. Still car has done less than 300 miles and I expect with the temp increasing I may still do better as time goes on.

Edited February 7, 2013 by GreenAussie

[Riggo]

Now I have had almost 2 weeks going up and back to work I am starting to get some consistent results. First, to be fair my trip is probably ideal for a hybrid to maximize fuel economy. Total length is 10.9 miles (one way) and it’s about 3 miles at 55, 4 miles at 45 and about 4 at miles 35-25. There are relatively major elevation changes on route, but I think over total it is relatively flat. Right now temp when I leave is in the low 30’s and when I return in the 50’s. I would say I am an economical driver but don’t go insanely slow (at least not for the south ;) ) just maximize.

 

On the way to work I am getting consistently around 42MPG and on the way home around 53MPG. So I am getting pretty much spot on sticker. Still car has done less than 300 miles and I expect with the temp increasing I may still do better as time goes on.

 

That makes me think my commute will be good whenever the hybrid titaniums come out and I can get my hands on it. My commute is about 22 miles one way. Do others with a longer commute seem to be getting pretty favorable numbers?

[DeeCee]

My regular commute is 18.5 miles and i routinely see 54 -58 MPG going and 40 - 44 MPG returning. Mostly rural state highways with speed limits of 55 or less MPH. Temps have ranged from low 40's to 60. I do not try anything special to just maximize EV running. I normally accelerate rapidly to the posted speed limit and then engage ACC and let the computer decide whats best. My lifetime average to date with 2600 miles is 44.6 MPG.

[HenryVIII]

Seems like Fuelly's average is going up. I'm getting roughly 37.8 mpgs tallying up the reported mileage divided by the number of members (not counting the N/A person).

Edited February 8, 2013 by HenryVIII

[jeff_h]

Seems like Fuelly's average is going up. I'm getting roughly 37.8 mpgs tallying up the reported mileage divided by the number of members (not counting the N/A person).

 

If you're keeping score, make a note of that average by date and I bet in 2-3 months it has gone up all around due to the warmer weather. Will dip back in July and August when the hot weather causes a hit, so Spring and Fall should show the highest numbers.

[Code_Warrior]

I have looked through the owners manual and a variety of forum posts and I cannot find out what the 'Avg MPG' in the center of the left hand display means. I understand the term Average Miles Per Gallon but average for what distance ? And how does it know how much fuel it used. I doubt it has a fuel flow meter accurate enough. Does it estimate based on the ICE revolutions for the distance traveled ?

The number displayed has been slowly increasing since I got the car. (2013 Fusion Hybrid) The car has 800 miles on it and the number has steadily increased from 43.8 to 48.3.

[Ric]

That tells you the average MPG since you last reset it. This does not change your lifetime MPG reading. Some reset it every time they fill up the tank.

[acdii]

What I cant figure out is the bottom coach bar, cruising, ???

 

BTW if I ignore those, I get better MPG, go figure.

[jeff_h]

What I cant figure out is the bottom coach bar, cruising, ???

 

BTW if I ignore those, I get better MPG, go figure.

 

I normally am only about 3/4 of the way on the cruising bar, don't know how to get better at it and don't care too much... the top two are normally maxed out.

[acdii]

I can usually get all 3 to max out(and Ford thinks I dont know how to drive it :rolleyes:) Usually in the city driving is where I can max them out, or on the rural roads using ecocruise. I think it has something to do with the blend of ICE and EV.

[HenryVIII]

If you're keeping score, make a note of that average by date and I bet in 2-3 months it has gone up all around due to the warmer weather. Will dip back in July and August when the hot weather causes a hit, so Spring and Fall should show the highest numbers.

 

Jeff,

 

I also want to see how this vehicle performs OFF the winter gas. That will be the most telling feature in my opinion. Am I keeping score? Somewhat. I want to see how the car is performing over time. And I'm noticing more 40+ mpg users pop up. That's a good sign.

[hybridbear]

I have looked through the owners manual and a variety of forum posts and I cannot find out what the 'Avg MPG' in the center of the left hand display means. I understand the term Average Miles Per Gallon but average for what distance ? And how does it know how much fuel it used. I doubt it has a fuel flow meter accurate enough. Does it estimate based on the ICE revolutions for the distance traveled ?

 

The number displayed has been slowly increasing since I got the car. (2013 Fusion Hybrid) The car has 800 miles on it and the number has steadily increased from 43.8 to 48.3.

 

That's awesome mileage! I reset mine every fill up. Last tank was only 33.2 because it's been very cold in Minnesota the past two weeks.

 

Code_Warrior - hopefully you can record your mileage on Fuelly and bring up the average, if you aren't already

Edited February 9, 2013 by hybridbear

[hybridbear]

What I cant figure out is the bottom coach bar, cruising, ???

 

BTW if I ignore those, I get better MPG, go figure.

 

 

I normally am only about 3/4 of the way on the cruising bar, don't know how to get better at it and don't care too much... the top two are normally maxed out.

 

We find the same with the "Cruising" coach, seems that setting Eco Cruise on the highway is only good for about 75%!! I'd think using Eco Cruise would be best???

 

I can usually get all 3 to max out(and Ford thinks I dont know how to drive it :rolleyes:) Usually in the city driving is where I can max them out, or on the rural roads using ecocruise. I think it has something to do with the blend of ICE and EV.

 

It seems that the coach bars are very touchy. One sudden stop for a surprise red light and the "Braking" coach will drop down below 75%, even just one 95+% stop and it drops a little bit. But even if you have one hard stop that makes it drop it only takes 3-4 good stops to bring it back up. The memory seems to be very short for those bars. Same with acceleration. You can accelerate quickly once and lower the bar, but then accelerate gently 3-4 times and it's back to 100% for your coach. I don't think they're that useful. Same with Efficiency Leaves. Both the leaves and the coach bars seem to have a very short memory span in displaying their results. I'd like to see the coach bars be more long term...like if your lifetime brake score is 98% then the brake bar should show 98%, and if your lifetime acceleration score would be 90% then the coach should show that. I think that would be much more useful.

[acdii]

Agreed, but I think the reason they are short like that is for instant feedback. Just like the instant MPG gauge, these show you in real time how poorly you are doing, or how well you are doing. As for the brake coach, I can get that into the red and within 2 stops have it back up to 90+.

[hybridbear]

Here's something else interesting...yesterday I went and test drove a new Prius to compare its cold start short trip gas mileage with the Fusion. And the Fusion did better than the Prius.

 

After work I drove less than a mile to the Toyota dealer across the freeway and test drove a new Prius. I made sure that the salesman didn't prep the car by heating it and running the engine because I wanted to see its cold weather efficiency.

 

I drove the Prius on a 9.0 mile city route with max speeds around 45 MPH. This maximizes the Prius' ability to run in EV mode as the Prius was going into EV mode at 45 MPH. This also maximizes the Fusion's EV mode capabilities. I accelerated the Prius at the same rate I accelerate the Fusion. Usually in the Fusion I have a 100% "Acceleration" coach bar, or very close to 100%. In the Prius this meant that using the ECO mode was out of the question, and I only used POWER mode for one start, the rest of the drive was in standard Prius mode. There were a handful of red lights and stop signs along this route, lots of opportunities for regenerative braking.

 

When we returned to the dealership the Prius' trip computer (which I reset upon starting the car) read 42.9 MPG for that city drive. My brake score would have been 100% if the Prius had such a display...There wasn't one hard stop in the trip.

 

Once I got back to the dealer I took the Fusion on the same route. The Fusion started with a cold engine because it had been sitting all day at work and only driven a half mile to the dealer now more than half an hour ago. I drove the Fusion on the same route with the same red lights and stop signs. At the end I had 43.7 MPG!! Better than the Prius!! I attached a pic of my trip summary. In the Fusion I had a 100% brake score for this drive. I was shocked that the Prius got only 42.9 and that the Fusion did better. I did not expect that.

 

A couple notes...the Prius definitely had better heat. The heat seemed to come faster and the engine stayed warmer longer so that the HVAC demands didn't seem to ever cause the engine to run when it wasn't needed, however I cannot verify that because the Prius does not allow you to see the coolant temp. In the Fusion it took longer to get heat and there were times in the drive where the engine was only running to make heat. Also, the power difference between the Prius and Fusion was VERY noticeable. I have no doubt that had I driven the Prius more slowly I would have gotten better mileage than the Fusion. But driving the Fusion gently is like flooring the Prius.

 

So, in the end, I'm very glad we didn't buy a Prius, and glad we got the Fusion. I can only imagine that come summer I'll be getting 50-55 MPG like I did in California.

 

 

Edited February 9, 2013 by hybridbear

[coach81]

I've just had mine for a few days. Fuel gauge is down to 1/2 full and my mileage is 45.2 MPG. I drive 70 miles door to door from my home in Baton Rouge, La to my work in Lafayette, La. Most (~80%) of the miles are highway. The route is very flat and very straight so I am on cruise control most of the time.

 

My average MPG was improving rapidly with each drive but now I am gaining only about .5 MPG per trip. I'll keep you posted.

 

ps. I love the car so far.

 

Well hello there, my fellow Cajun!!!! :shift:

[acdii]

The Prius has a thermos bottle that stores coolant. The Ford doesn't, which helps maintain heat in the system so the engine doesn't need to run as often to maintain temps. I do believe the Fords have a cooling problem, which hopefully will be confirmed this coming Wednesday. When I drove the 2010 we have the heat set at 69 and stay warm, in the 13 I have it up to 76 and my feet are still cold. The 10 also warms up quicker. What I havent done yet is hook the SG to it to see what its engine temps are, but might do that today after I fill the 13 and record the readings off the SG. When I move it to the other car it has to be recalibrated when I move it back.

[GreenAussie]

Well finally did my second fillup and Fuelly has calculated just above sticker for that last fillup (about 3/4 of a tank). Car still only at about 550 miles, so still breaking in and room for improvement. I'm sure once I do a long highway trip from NC to PA this will drop, but for my regular work commute, I am loving it. :happy feet:

[Riggo]

Well finally did my second fillup and Fuelly has calculated just above sticker for that last fillup (about 3/4 of a tank). Car still only at about 550 miles, so still breaking in and room for improvement. I'm sure once I do a long highway trip from NC to PA this will drop, but for my regular work commute, I am loving it. :happy feet:

I'm just curious if you are driving the car like acdii says he'd have to in order to get 40+ mpg or are you just driving like you would a normal car?

[acdii]

I need to figure out how to mount a video cam to show you guys how it is driven to get the 40's I saw today.