How much horsepower does that suitcase car have? LOL

 

Enough to get you killed on the highway =D

 

lol thats funny

 

 

I'm not even through the break-in yet, and getting 28 in my mixed commute (15 miles, 10 miles of which is on neighborhood streets with 35 mph speed limits and stop signs).

It's coasting to stops and keeping the jack-rabbit starts (although fun ) to a minimum that save gas.

 

Where are you located? I'm wondering if climate has to do with any of the MPG differences. Although your commute is 15 miles, at least your car warms up!

 

Climate does matter, to some extent. The colder air temperatures means that the engine takes a tad longer to warm up in addition to the fact that the higher level of oxygen in colder air will likely mean an increase in the amount of fuel injected to maintain the air/fuel ratio.

 

I'm in Georgia.

The average and instant mpg readouts in the MID really tell you where you're slurping the gas. Anytime you're coasting or even just going downhill, the instant often pegs at 60 mpg, but when accelerating or going up hill, it goes down to as low as 10 mpg or so (maybe even less in first).

I've had a long down-hill stretch or so of almost a mile where I'll see the overall average tick up 0.1 mpg (with 120 or so miles on the tank -- the effect is greater with fewer overall miles and less with more). Then just accelerating from a stop light or going up hill a few hundred yards burns enough extra gas to offset that, so a lead foot will really burn the gas.

So far, I've been shifting anywhere from 3000 RPM to 3500 RPM (higher on the earlier shifts, lower on the later ones) with an occasional shift in the mid to upper 4000's just to work the motor over various ranges. Not exactly granny driving, but not very aggressive either. I'll hit the 600 mile mark in a few days and then we'll stretch the legs some.

 

i'm taking a 50 mile trip to stony brook this weekend, i'll get back to you guys on how it turns out..

 

That is exactly why i asked. I already noticed that with today being a relatively warmer day by like 20 degrees, i only lost like .2 mpg rather than my normal .4-.5 per day.


rb1 - i have been trying to pay attention more often to the instantaneous meter and i am figuring a few things out that you mentioned. Mostly common sense stuff you just don't think about while driving due to just thinking about other stuff...lol.

 

Yes -- mainly people tend to overlook the value of coasting. Using your brakes is literally dollars wasted unless you are driving a hybrid. Obviously you don't want to make an obstacle of yourself (and who wants to coast 1/4 mile up to a stop sign anyway), so there needs be a happy medium somewhere,

 

i live in queens, NY and do mostly local driving. have a little over 2k miles since getting the car mid-december. i'm averaging around 22 miles per gallon.

 

Ok well I finally got gas today....2.93 *cries. And I calculated it. I ran for 228.1 miles for 12.993 gallons so therefore I got 17.64 mpg. Not sure if this is a good sign or what. My prior fill up from this was only 15 mpg.

 

dont complain that gas is 2.93..its 3.50 here in SF. @ 2.93 are you paying for 87???? our cars require 91

 

It was 93. =]

 

lol really i live in forest hills, this tank of gas the MID says i'm getting 20.3 mpg but it's like 60% highway.. i guess it's still an improvement?

 

damn.. 3.50 for 87? ouchhh

 

WOW!! And i thought the $2.75 i paid was bad, although its up to $2.87 now

 

Gas isn't a joke these days folks. Get over it.

 

lol

 

lol you guys must spend alot of time going through these smiley faces..