MPG Happy Talk

[tombarker13ffh]

Finally filled up. Car showed 49.0, but I only got 11.54 to pump into the tank, so fuelly showed 49.3. Hit 0 DTE on my way into town. Lifetime average was 42.5 last night.

 

 

3-mile trips that get 125mpg are obviously not very indicative of average mileage over the course of a tank or many tanks, and typically 12-mile trips that get 55mpg aren't either, but 12-14 mile trips are all I drive so for me, these posts are what I normally get. Now I've posted this tank average, which dropped due to some 43-mpg trips in the last few days, unfortunately. This thread is really just to celebrate accomplishments with the car, not necessarily examine longterm averages with prius-driver-like scrutiny.

Edited April 13, 2013 by tombarker13ffh

[mrobinso8]

Made a trip to Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains. 41 mpg going and 76.8 returning. Temp 70 and more down hill on the return! :)

 

Edited April 14, 2013 by mrobinso8

[hybridbear]

OK, people want a little love, according to the OP. Fine, "I'd love to justify buying a FFH." How's that? We are seriously car shopping, and mileage is a very important criterion for us. To get such information, I have to rely on credible reports.

 

And now that we have that out of the way, I'm finding it very difficult to track the basis for people reporting mileage in this thread. There seem to be a few who are taking more comprehensive mileage readings, but some who just take 10 mile, 5 mile, or even 1 mile readings that (if I may be excused for saying so) just aren't that informative as to what someone might expect from an overall mileage experience driving any car.

I'm not saying everyone needs to run out and buy a Scan Gauge for $140....just the traditional way of reporting fuel usage by the tankful would be great:

 

1. When filling up, I record the mileage traveled for that tank on the little paper slip disgorged by the gas pump.

 

2. I divide the number of gallons purchased into the mileage traveled.

 

3. Voila! Miles per gallon for that tank, including all types of driving.

 

If someone wants to annotate, that's fine. "I drove this whole tankful on short trips to and from work in the middle of Winter in Manitoba." The previous statement would help explain abysmally poor mileage for that tank. "I drove this whole tank on a 7% downhill grade with a 40 mph tailwind." is also useful information. However, just taking an instantaneous reading of a 3 mile trip to the convenience store is about as enlightening as "I was given a mileage boost by a spell from the wand of Glinda, Good Witch of the North."

In my Fuelly notes I try to include such comments about each tank to help give some context to the results

[Da0ne]

not even trying anymore driving regular at 55 * outside

 

had 40 miles to empty but couldnt wait since gas in nj was 3..23 unlike nyc 3.81

 

fuelly said i made 470 miles and got 46.2 mpg so far my best

[GrayStrider]

Here's some happy MPG talk...

 

51.35 MPG on a 17.1 mile round trip. 73.5 down, 29.2 back. Outside temp was in the 50's.

 

 

[acdii]

not even trying anymore driving regular at 55 * outside

 

had 40 miles to empty but couldnt wait since gas in nj was 3..23 unlike nyc 3.81

 

fuelly said i made 470 miles and got 46.2 mpg so far my best

Wow $3.23, thats cheap! Shoot even the NYC gas is less than it is here.

[jeff_h]

Wow $3.23, thats cheap! Shoot even the NYC gas is less than it is here.

 

Mine was $3.27 yesterday

[fusionTX]

Here is a nice little run this morning. Lifetime hovering around 41.5 right now. Weekends seem to bring shorter trips, so It can be harder for me to maintain mileage. And of course, I will take any excuse to go on a trip.

 

[B25Nut]

"And of course, I will take any excuse to go on a trip."

 

Which begs the question, Are we really saving on what we spend on gas? I take trips now that I wouldn't have taken with my previous vehicle. It's so nice to have a car that is part of my short list of the joys in life.

[acdii]

"And of course, I will take any excuse to go on a trip."

 

Which begs the question, Are we really saving on what we spend on gas? I take trips now that I wouldn't have taken with my previous vehicle. It's so nice to have a car that is part of my short list of the joys in life.

I feel the same way except I have the FuN car now, which uses almost twice the gas. Not saying the Fusion wasnt fun, it was, but the 365 HP and Giddyup go is FUN! I really have to justify a trip now! :)

[rico567]

Thanks for all the responses from "jeff_h", "acdii", "hybridbeard", etc. The Fuelly compiled figures are apt to be the most useful to us in the context of this thread. We're just starting the process of test-driving all the cars that (in our opinion) qualify as candidates for our next ride. Our target mileage is a combined 40 mpg, without dropping to a smaller car, which is just not practical in our case. We've been SAAB owners for 42 years, but as you know if you read the papers, that's no longer an option. Our current car, an '04 9-5 wagon, gets 26 around town and 31 or so on the road...from an engine that was designed in the 1980's. So our next car has to do significantly better, and it's sad how few candidates there are. The only 40 mpg candidate in this size class in an ICE is the VW Passat TDI, and there are issues there. We've driven the Prius 'v', which is an impressive car in some ways, but, as someone said, more like driving an appliance than an automobile. There's a big Ford dealer just up the road where we'll probably test drive the FFH....as long as they pass the "dealer" test. No better than a 50-50 chance on that.

[acdii]

If you dont mind a drive, go to Harvard Ford and talk to Bruce or Sean. They should be getting a nice Hybrid Titanium in soon. :) It will either be Blue or Black depending on if the color change goes through.

[rico567]

If you dont mind a drive, go to Harvard Ford and talk to Bruce or Sean. They should be getting a nice Hybrid Titanium in soon. :) It will either be Blue or Black depending on if the color change goes through.

I'll keep it in mind- but that would be a pretty good drive for us (we live just West of Champaign-Urbana). I think we'll try an area dealer first.

[acdii]

I'll keep it in mind- but that would be a pretty good drive for us (we live just West of Champaign-Urbana). I think we'll try an area dealer first.

Oh that's not that far from Harvard. Straight up 39 to 173, go east to 14 and hang a right. Would make for a great christening cruise! :) If you do consider it, et me know and I will talk to Bruce to see what he can do for you,.

[fusionTX]

My commute to work is close to twelve miles. It is a pretty hybrid-friendly commute. Mostly highway, a mile or so stretch of a 40 MPH road, then a few more blocks of traffic before entering my parking garage.

 

With my Camry, I was able to get 38 to 40 MPG on this commute, when I tried. Note this is the first generation Camry, now rated at something like 34 MPG. My Camry did frequently lose mileage in my parking garage as I had a hard time keeping it in EV Mode.

 

Today was not a typical day for me as I went to work early and also left work early. So I had less traffic than I would normally encounter. Not sure how this figures into what I will experience on a more normal day.

 

With my new Fusion, today I got 40.1 going to work and 48 MPG on the drive home. I have no trouble keeping the car in EV in my parking garage. My car also added my home to EV+ on day three. I'm really digging the EV+. I'm really digging the car too!

[jeff_h]

Today was best commute MPG to-date, weather very cooperative so this is probably about as good as it is gonna get.

 

Morning commute:

 

 

Afternoon commute:

 

[patcic]

I just got my FFH and have 300 miles on it. It's a base model built in early to mid January. I am coming out of a 2012 MKS, am in sales and I drive about 25,000 miles per year. What a difference in ride! Very quiet, more comfortable seats and it handles road imperfections with ease, very muted. The MKS was harsh, noisy, hard seats - not refined at all but this FFH is amazing! I am getting 41 to 42 mpg in 50/50 mixed driving - very impressive and very satisfied! It's relaxing to drive.

• 

 

[tombarker13ffh]

jeff_h, those are awesome numbers!!! I got 60.9mpg over 15 miles last night but I dunno if I could for that long of a trip!

[acdii]

Ooh once the weather gets warmer where it isn't in the 30's in the morning, I think I will be seeing much higher numbers in my 10 this year than last. I am getting consistently above 40 MPG now on the way in to work, got 43 this morning. The lifetime on the clock has gone up to 37.5, gained a full MPG in the past 2 months. I can accredit that to having the 13 for a few months. If anything it taught me how to drive a Hybrid better.

[corncobs]

It's going to hard to impress against number like jeff_h's but it's the Happy talk thread and I had my best morning commute yet. One thing I didn't do today was use the ECC just my right foot to stay at around 70 mph.

 

 

Lifetime is up to 38.8 mpg

[hybridbear]

"And of course, I will take any excuse to go on a trip."

 

Which begs the question, Are we really saving on what we spend on gas? I take trips now that I wouldn't have taken with my previous vehicle. It's so nice to have a car that is part of my short list of the joys in life.

I agree. I love driving the car so much that I take extra trips. But I also tend to take the city route instead of jumping on the freeway for a few miles across the city which increases the gas mileage and saves fuel. In comparison to our last car we're saving around $50 per month in gas costs, even with driving extra here and there.

 

Thanks for all the responses from "jeff_h", "acdii", "hybridbear", etc. The Fuelly compiled figures are apt to be the most useful to us in the context of this thread. We're just starting the process of test-driving all the cars that (in our opinion) qualify as candidates for our next ride. Our target mileage is a combined 40 mpg, without dropping to a smaller car, which is just not practical in our case. We've been SAAB owners for 42 years, but as you know if you read the papers, that's no longer an option. Our current car, an '04 9-5 wagon, gets 26 around town and 31 or so on the road...from an engine that was designed in the 1980's. So our next car has to do significantly better, and it's sad how few candidates there are. The only 40 mpg candidate in this size class in an ICE is the VW Passat TDI, and there are issues there. We've driven the Prius 'v', which is an impressive car in some ways, but, as someone said, more like driving an appliance than an automobile. There's a big Ford dealer just up the road where we'll probably test drive the FFH....as long as they pass the "dealer" test. No better than a 50-50 chance on that.

Which engine do you have in your Saab? I owned 3 Saabs before getting the FFH. A 2002 9-3 SE with the 2.0L, a 2001 9-5 Aero sedan and a 2003 9-5 Aero sedan. The best gas mileage I ever saw was in the 9-3 on a trip from Mpls to Winnipeg in 60-70 degree weather where we got over 33 MPG for the entire 1000 mile trip. The 9-5s both only got 20 MPG or so around town for us, but close to 30 on the highway.

 

What is your favorite Saab feature? I still miss my Saab. I keep telling my wife that I'm going to find one I can go test drive for fun some day because I miss them so much.

 

If you dont mind a drive, go to Harvard Ford and talk to Bruce or Sean. They should be getting a nice Hybrid Titanium in soon. :) It will either be Blue or Black depending on if the color change goes through.

Is that your order you cancelled?

 

Ooh once the weather gets warmer where it isn't in the 30's in the morning, I think I will be seeing much higher numbers in my 10 this year than last. I am getting consistently above 40 MPG now on the way in to work, got 43 this morning. The lifetime on the clock has gone up to 37.5, gained a full MPG in the past 2 months. I can accredit that to having the 13 for a few months. If anything it taught me how to drive a Hybrid better.

I can't wait for warmer weather too. We still can't seem to get out of the 30s much here. Our average high should be around 60 right now, we haven't even seen 50s yet! Our weather is about a month and a half to two months behind schedule on warming up. We still have more than a foot of snow on the ground in most grassy areas. This tank is only at 41 MPG because it's been so darn cold!!

Edited April 16, 2013 by hybridbear

[Da0ne]

took a cruise on sunday from Nyc to Greenwich,ct just cause it was a nice day 40 mile trip with auto temp on so it kept turning on the a/c and switching to just fan and still got 53 mpg but the temp outside was around 60

[JSKershaw]

This is probably my best result for my commute to work so far. The temps are around 12-13*C (53-55*F)

4.3L/100km = 55MPG

 

In Canada this car is rated at 4.0L/100km = 58.8MPG (much different from the US EPA #s)

 

[terryb]

This is probably my best result for my commute to work so far. The temps are around 12-13*C (53-55*F)

4.3L/100km = 55MPG

 

In Canada this car is rated at 4.0L/100km = 58.8MPG (much different from the US EPA #s)

 

Multiply your 58.8 mi/imp. gal by 0.832 imp/U.S. and it looks less astonishing.

[JSKershaw]

Multiply your 58.8 mi/imp. gal by 0.832 imp/U.S. and it looks less astonishing.

58.8MPG is in US Gal.

 

Car is rated 4.0L/100km or (Imp Gal) at 71MPG Imp.