I currently drive the TLX V6 SH AWD in Sport IDS setting, mainly for commuting to work. My commute is only about 4 miles roundtrip in the city, so I almost never drive on the highway. One time I took my car on the highway, I drove for about 50 miles averaging 33 MPG, which was quite impressive.
I racked up about 1000 miles so far and I noticed that my MID shows my MPG is 15.9. I'm moderately light on the gas pedal (no hard acceleration from stop) and my top speed is about 50 MPH during my commute that lasts about 5 to 10 minutes depending on how many times I get stuck at a red light (there are only 4 lights on the way). At first, I thought it was because I'm using the Sport IDS setting, so I changed to Econ to see if it improves my MPG, but now I'm only getting about 13 MPG. Am I doing something wrong? Or is there something wrong with my car?
I drive with all windows closed, AC set on Auto 72 degrees, tire pressure set at 35 PSI, and using 93 Octane premium fuel.
Any thoughts?

 

4 miles roundtrip??? Your car isn't even getting warmed up. What's showing as your average speed?

At 1,000 miles the car is just now getting broken in - you should see a slight increase over time but the main problem is you have a V6 in city driving over very short trips. It all adds up to a challenging environment for MPG's.

 

Doesn't overall average speed take stops (idling) into account?

 

I usually give about 30 seconds to a minute after I start the engine to let it warm up and then I drive it. Usually by that time, the engine temperature gauge goes to the normal range from below cold. Per MID, average speed is 29 MPH.

 

Based on my 20 km one way commute (always on Sport+) I'm averaging also 16-17 mpg which is only marginally better than my old TL.
Yes , on highway long trips is much better , but I don't go on long trips too often. To be honest I was expecting a better mpg for my commute but it's not the case.

 

you cant fight physics.

no matter what kind of tricks auto manufactures employ to help out MPG, you wont beat physics.

the car is quite heavy at about 3500-3700lbs.

if all you do is stop and go traffic, the engine has to work very hard to get the 3600lb vehicle moving, EVERY single time.


p.s. Sport mode probably doesnt help

 

on the freeway/highway, the engine is at a lackadaisically pace and doesnt have to work as hard, hence the better MPG on long stretches of road

 

1) If I were you I would start the car and have it in R or D about 10 seconds later. That will help the MPG a little - especially if you're sitting for a minute or so. No need to wait for the car to warm up before you take off unless you're going to redline it.

2) We're back into Winter gas so that doesn't play in your favour either.

3) As Justin said - you have a decent sized car with a V6 so city driving will never be favourable. You'll do a little better next Summer when your engine is fully broken in and with Summer gas but otherwise that's just the way it is. Your engine is designed to get very good MPG while cruising on the highway but there's very little you can do to improve city driving with it.

Cheers!

 

I talked about the tricks that auto manus empoy.....
on the TLX specifically, Acura chose to put more than 6 gears in the car.
you can bet that past 4th or 5th gear, any extra gear is geared towards making the car work less.
the first couple of gears are geared towards take off, a lower end grunt, if you will.

so, we can see by the equipment Acura chose to employ, and as Cheesey Poofs, pointed out, the car is made to intentionally get better MPG on the freeway

 

if we wanted better MPG in the city, we would have to buy a car that is intended to get great gas mileage in stop and go.

a light weight econo car with a 4 cylinder engine

but that's not why we bought the TLX, isnt it?

 

All valid points, but I was kind of hoping to get my MPG closer to the advertised 21 MPG in the city... I did not expect the city MPG to be this low..

 

What's your average driving style? I was getting closer to 22-23 when I had one as a test-drive loaner for 24 hours. I was in Sport mode (not Sport+) but I always try to keep some following distance and I don't come to a complete stop all that often. Does your city have heavy traffic? Sometimes giving it a bit more gas off the line helps fuel economy. Gas it to get up to speed then roll along until the light. Sometimes the light turns green and you can just go again instead of having to come to a complete stop. I also take corners without slowing down tons.


Remember, the heavier your vehicle, every time you brake, you're wasting a lot of energy. I managed to do better than my 07 TL-S manual for fuel economy in the 24 h I had the vehicle (btw I have one on order).

And your short trip isn't helping. I'd only let it idle for 5-10 seconds before you start going. That's all it needs. It gets up to temp faster while driving than while idling. And most people see slow improvements as the engine breaks in more. On the other hand, something might be wrong with your car if it's consistently bad even on the highway.

 

Well, it's a bit difficult to describe one's driving style, but per my wife, I drive like a grandpa. I usually leave about two car lenghts in front of me in the city and it's a suburban area so there isn't much of a stop and go traffic.. just red lights here and there.

 

red lights means stop! green means go!
i think that qualifies as stop and go!

 

Grandpa driving might actually be part of the problem. I get better fuel economy under moderate acceleration (to moderately aggressive actually), and then coasting from there.

 

The EPA Urban test is 7.45 miles and takes 22.8 minutes to complete. Your commute is 4 miles and you do it in 5-10 minutes. So of course you are not going to get the rated MPGs. The sticker is based on this test, not your particular commute.

http://www3.epa.gov/nvfel/methods/uddsdds.gif