How's your gas mileage?

macrojack · « **Reply #20 on:** 19 Mar 2010, 07:41 pm »

Wayner - You are making me doubt your reading skills. I stated that the mileage claims on the Mercedes and the Camry are actual, long term recorded values.
The Matrix is not as carefully documented but when I was using it for business and keeping track, it was good for 32 mpg. over 11,000 miles.

The Prius is a very recent acquisition and the figure I provided is a reasonable projection. The Tercel hasn't even gone through a tank of gas since I bought it but it is reported to do that well. I can't swear to its accuracy, however. And lastly, the Tacoma is seldom used. It's my wife's truck and she walks to work and rides with me much of the time. It got 29 mpg when we bought it used 2 years ago. It's a 4 cylinder, 5 speed manual, 2 wheel drive so I think that number is very believable.

So there are the facts. Believe what you want.

For your info, that old Camry recorded 42 mpg when we moved from Salem, Va. to our present location. I drove the Ryder and she followed in the Camry
drafting along behind me. That's well above whatever mileage the government quotes.

ctviggen · « **Reply #21 on:** 19 Mar 2010, 08:02 pm »

To be honest, I don't believe your gas mileage either. I think they're hyperbole, but for what purpose I can't ascertain.

The only one I think has a prayer of being actual is the Prius. Other than that, they're all much too high, unless you're some type of hypermiler.

pjchappy · « **Reply #22 on:** 19 Mar 2010, 08:07 pm »

2003 Acura TL Type-S. I've got a lead foot, so I don't always get the best gas mileage. At the worst of times, probably around 18 mpg or less.

When I take it easy doing long-distance highway driving, I estimate 27 mpg, if not a bit more.

The best thing about the car is that it is paid off, as of January this year. Bought it certified used in January 2005 with 50K miles on it. I put 30K miles on it in about 18-months at my old job. Since then, I have only put on about 35K more miles. So, it's got about 115K miles on it right now and still runs great. . .and is still fun to drive.

Paul

macrojack · « **Reply #23 on:** 19 Mar 2010, 08:20 pm »

Quote from: ctviggen on 19 Mar 2010, 08:02 pm

To be honest, I don't believe your gas mileage either. I think they're hyperbole, but for what purpose I can't ascertain.

The only one I think has a prayer of being actual is the Prius. Other than that, they're all much too high, unless you're some type of hypermiler.

I'm surprised you would find these numbers hard to believe. The biggest motor I have is a 3 liter diesel. The others are all gas and pretty small.
Tacoma - 2.4 liter - manual
Camry - 2 liter - manual
Tercel - 1.6 liter - manual
Matrix - 1.8 liter - auto
Prius 1.5 liter hybrid - auto, of course.

Somebody above claimed 37 mpg for a Corolla without raising any question. My Matrix is a Corolla and you doubt my claim of 32 mpg. Why?

I think you guys just don't know these cars. Do some research. Nothing I've said is out of line with widespread reports.

JLM · « **Reply #24 on:** 19 Mar 2010, 08:32 pm »

I got 35 mpg (lifetime) with my 1989 Camry 2.0L 5M. It felt like a nice solid/substantial car.

Why did I sell it?

Yeah, that was my 37 mpg Corolla (lifetime so far, after 55,000 miles). Note that I said rural driving (2 lane and freeway), which should give the best possible mileage.

turkey · « **Reply #25 on:** 19 Mar 2010, 08:32 pm »

I have a '98 Prizm, and I get 35 mpg for typical driving back and forth to work. It's not city driving, it's more suburban with some back roads. Speeds vary between 35 and 50 mph, there are stop signs and traffic lights, but typically little time spent idling.

BTW, it's basically a Corolla. The radio and AC unit are GM, but the rest of the car is Toyota, and was made on the same line as most of the Toyota Corollas in the US were.

eclein · « **Reply #26 on:** 19 Mar 2010, 08:53 pm »

2006 Scion Xb---36 MPG and I echo the sentiment posted earlier--the best thing is that its paid off!!!

Kevin Haskins · « **Reply #27 on:** 19 Mar 2010, 09:10 pm »

The Corolla gets excellent fuel economy.... I've rented one before. I would have bought one but it was 4-5K more than my Accent. I was looking at the Yaris and it has comparable performance to the Corolla and was $2K more than my Accent. I figure I could have improved my MPG by 2MPG with the Yaris but over the lifetime it didn't pencil out.

So...your numbers are completely acceptable.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #28 on:** 19 Mar 2010, 10:32 pm »

1997 Honda Accord 4 banger sedan - 24mpg over the 40K miles I have driven it over the past 3 years - my daily driver, winter tires for the winter, golf clubs in the trunk for summer!

2007 Hyundai Entourage "mini"van - 16mpg over the 20K miles it has ever been driven - mostly city, it can hit 21mpg on the highway - our family mover, my wife drives it - barely!

doorman · « **Reply #29 on:** 19 Mar 2010, 10:36 pm »

VW Golf TDI. Approx. 1000 KM's per 70L fill-up.

Don

Woodsea · « **Reply #30 on:** 20 Mar 2010, 12:18 am »

2000 Landcruiser 15mpg on average, I tend to not try to ease on the gas pedal.
2001 Prius 40.9mpg same as above, the computer tells me how much I get, last reset 5k ago.
The Mrs. drives the guzzler to the red line metro, and we drive it whenever we have family outings, there are 6 of us with our live in.
I drive the Prius to work 3 days a week, MD to VA.

jhm731 · « **Reply #31 on:** 20 Mar 2010, 12:37 am »

Quote from: macrojack on 19 Mar 2010, 08:20 pm

I'm surprised you would find these numbers hard to believe. The biggest motor I have is a 3 liter diesel. The others are all gas and pretty small.
Tacoma - 2.4 liter - manual
Camry - 2 liter - manual
Tercel - 1.6 liter - manual
Matrix - 1.8 liter - auto
Prius 1.5 liter hybrid - auto, of course.

Somebody above claimed 37 mpg for a Corolla without raising any question. My Matrix is a Corolla and you doubt my claim of 32 mpg. Why?

I think you guys just don't know these cars. Do some research. Nothing I've said is out of line with widespread reports.

My 2007 Tacoma, 4-Cyl. 2.7 Liter, 5 speed with Synthetic in the engine, transmission and the differential gets 22-23 MPG.

nicksgem10s · « **Reply #32 on:** 20 Mar 2010, 01:08 am »

2005 GMC Canyon Z85 SLE 2wd I5 (5 cylinder) mid sized pickup truck.

This is my first truck and am very happy to be able to pickup 4'x8' sheet goods and other large items without having to make special arrangements.

I do about 90% of my driving in the city and I average 20mpg. I do better than that on the highway.

I installed a custom intake this past summer as well as K&N filter and some high quality plugs.

October 2009 I had a Canyon/Colorado expert do a custom tune for premium fuel. Wow

My truck is a blast to drive now and I am very happy with the mileage I am getting.

I drive a little over 12,000/yr.

Some of you are getting some excellent mileage with your vehicles.

timind · « **Reply #33 on:** 20 Mar 2010, 02:51 am »

2004 Ford Focus wagon - 28mpg, est. I do a lot of highway driving, approx 800-900 miles a week. Glad I'm not paying for the gas.
2004 Honda CRV, 2wd base model - 26 mpg avg. The wife drives to work, mostly highway.

TomS · « **Reply #34 on:** 20 Mar 2010, 02:54 am »

2007 Acura MDX ~22-23mpg mostly highway
2010 Honda CR-V AWD ~26-27 mpg mostly highway

drphoto · « **Reply #35 on:** 20 Mar 2010, 03:10 am »

When I drove my exgirlfriend's BMW 323CiC back from the second Marblesfest, I put the cruise on 65. The onboard computer said 35mpg. (w/ top up)

Unfortunately my Chrysler T&C only gets around 16mpg around town, but I only drive about 5K a year.

JohnR · « **Reply #36 on:** 20 Mar 2010, 06:55 am »

Around 45 mpg in my Mini Diesel, with a mix of short hilly driving and the occasional country drive, and allowing for the fuel computer to lie about 10% (I did work that out once, but I'm not disciplined enough to record every tank).

No country driving worst around 39, mainly country driving best for complete round trip around 59.

Niteshade · « **Reply #37 on:** 20 Mar 2010, 10:46 am »

1996 Caddy: Approx. 21mpg avg. highway & suburban (not many stoplights) driving. Goes up to 25mpg with steady highway driving. Not bad for a 4.6l V8!

For those who have it: How does your vehicle respond to E10 gasoline? (10% ethanol)

BTW: I think it takes something like 2 gallons gasoline to produce 1 gallon E10.

DaveC113 · « **Reply #38 on:** 20 Mar 2010, 03:51 pm »

Macrojack's numbers are reasonable considering where he lives, if the drivers are not leadfoots.

My 2010 Subaru WRX has averaged about 27 mpg since I bought it in October. That's with winter gas, winter temps, commuting in lots of traffic, snow tires and conventional oil. I live near Boulder / Denver CO. I expect to get slightly better fuel economy with summer fuel, summer tires, and synthetic oil. And, it's faster than mcullinan's Mazdaspeed 3 and has AWD.

When driving in traffic, I use hypermiling techniques and can get over 30 mpg driving around the front range area. If there's no traffic and I want to use the turbo here and there, mileage can drop to the low to mid 20s. Blasting up a canyon road can get you mid to high teens.

It makes me wonder how they do mpg testing, because my car is rated at 18 / 24. To get these kind of numbers you'd need to drive like a madman.

Niteshade, we have E10 for winter fuel here in CO. Ethanol contains less energy per volume so mileage will go down a little bit, just a few percent.

As far as ethanol production using corn, it's closer to 1:1. Spend 1 unit of energy to produce, get 1 unit back out when you use it. If everything goes right, you can get 20% more than you put in, if it's not as efficient you might do a little worse than 1:1. Using other plants can be more efficient than corn. Also, when we can "digest" cellulose and than ferment it, we'll be at a point where it is reasonable to use corn for fuel. But, at this point it's just making food cost more.

Also, as far as bikes getting infinite MPG, this is only true if you eat locally produced, organic food. Otherwise, there is a clear dependency on fossil fuel for fertilizer and for transport. If you do the calculations, it's rather unsettling. Right now, our food supply and our fossil fuel supply are intertwined in a very dangerous way.

Kevin Haskins · « **Reply #39 on:** 20 Mar 2010, 04:03 pm »

Quote from: Niteshade on 20 Mar 2010, 10:46 am

1996 Caddy: Approx. 21mpg avg. highway & suburban (not many stoplights) driving. Goes up to 25mpg with steady highway driving. Not bad for a 4.6l V8!

For those who have it: How does your vehicle respond to E10 gasoline? (10% ethanol)

BTW: I think it takes something like 2 gallons gasoline to produce 1 gallon E10.

All we have is E10 because Washington State mandated it. Before that when we had 100% oil based stock I noticed ZERO difference between E10 & non-ethanol based product. Theoretically it has less energy content but it didn't make a measurable difference (at least the way I measure it) in my MPG and I record every tank. I also don't see a difference between the cheap Safeway gas and the more expensive products.

I do see a difference winter/summer but part of that is the way I drive. I have to warm up the car at least to defrost the windows in the morning and the extra idle time probably has as big of an influence as does the fuel change. That and it takes the engine longer to reach maximum operating efficiency/temp.