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Honest question. Why would anyone drive this car in ECO mode? I just feel like if I had concerns about the costs to fuel this car an extra 2-3 times a month, I would have bought a cheaper car.
230 mile trip. Average speed 62mph. Full tank starting from SoCal to Vegas. Reset mpg at free way entrance. I drove like an asshat while having a lot of drivers zoom pass me. Post another one on my way back away from Vegas.
230 mile trip. Average speed 62mph. Full tank starting from SoCal to Vegas. Reset mpg at free way entrance. I drove like an asshat while having a lot of drivers zoom pass me. Post another one on my way back away from Vegas.
That is excellent... I've never gotten numbers this good. You were probably going uphill too since Vegas is about 2000' above sea level.
Would have been nice if you got a manual measurement too to confirm if the computer is overly optimistic.
Honest question. Why would anyone drive this car in ECO mode? I just feel like if I had concerns about the costs to fuel this car an extra 2-3 times a month, I would have bought a cheaper car.
I tell myself I'm gonna drive it in ECO mode.. But somehow it just ends up in Sport+ all the time. LOL. I get 17.5 mpg
For me, the computer is always worse than I calculate.
^ I have these results also. I track through fuelly and the calculations come out almost 2 if not over 2 mpg higher on occasion than the car's computer. I'll have some better data in another year... we'll see how it goes.
In mixed driving, I have been getting somewhere in the 17.5 to 20.5 mpg range with about 50/50 city and highway driving. On the highway, I am able to get in the 27 to 29 range and in the city, 16 to 19 range. Overall, while it would be great for all of these mpg ratings to be a point or two higher, I feel that I am getting the MPG I had expected when I bought the car.
You guys have to realize that the EPA test cycles simulate testing on the engine in a chamber that allows them to standardize and control all environmental factors and that data is then extrapolated from the simulation. This means that the cars no longer go through an actual driving cycle on a test course, all of the work is conducted on essentially a high tech dyno and testing platform. The speeds and other factors are still based on driving standards from the 70's when cars had significantly less power, fuel economy, and driving conditions were somewhat slower. That alone renders the EPA testing for fuel economy obsolete. and combine that with the fact that auto manufacturers design their drive trains specifically to do well on the EPA test cycles which is why the EPA test ratings are not very accurate compared to every day use.
While really bad MPG needs to be addressed and resolved (as it could be symptomatic of deeper issues in the engine), we all tend to needlessly obsess on the difference between “good” MGP and “excellent” MPG.
Some perspective on gas cost vis-a-vis improved MPG:
Cost of Financing, approx ( Annual, 60 months financing): $500
Cost of Insurance (Annual, Approx): $750
Cost of Gas (12k miles per year at $3 per gallon at 24 mpg): $1,500
Depreciation-Annual, Approx (Current MSRP minus estimated sale price 8 years from now divided by 8, based on CARMAX prices, ymmv): $4,800
Maintenance Cost per year: $500
Registration, Annual: $600
Total Annual Cost of Ownership: $8,650
Total Annual Cost of Ownership if MPG improved by 20%: $8,400
Difference: $250 which is less than 3% of annual cost of ownership.
The difference of $250 is actually lower currently as gas costs $2.40 for premium gas in Phoenix, where I live.
Disclaimer: The number are approximate, but I think reasonably in the ball-park. Individual numbers will vary due to insurance, the fact that we are now in a $2.50 / gallon gas cost, registration for your state.
I guess we obsess about MPG because that's the only component we think we can somewhat control. None of the others are in our control.
08-04-15, 01:18 PM
