Doublebase

I have a 2007 LS 460 with 79500 miles and over the past 5000 miles I've been averaging 27-27.9 mpg every week. I live in New England and last week the gas prices dropped (I'm assuming they switched to the winter gas) and my mileage has dropped with it. Now it has gotten a little colder up here...60 degrees during the day and it's around 45 when I'm driving to work, so I imagine that will have an effect on it. So this week my average is 25 mpg, and that is with the same driving habits and even less city driving.

So what are people getting for mileage and do you notice a big drop in fuel economy over the winter? I usually don't drive the car in the winter, but this year I plan to.

My driving habits/commute consist of mostly highway...some 40 mph back roads...and some traffic buildup (5 miles of it) on rt. 93 each day. I travel at about 70 mph on the highway and on the country roads I find that the car is very capable of gliding without keeping my foot in the gas pedal (these cars can really roll). I once had a dodge pickup that required my foot to be heavily planted in the gas pedal at all times to get it to roll, the LS can glide along very nicely without anywhere near as much gas pedal pressure.

My goal would be to average 26 mpg over the winter...compared to the 27.5 I average over the summer. This thing is my daily commuter and I fully understand it I was purely driving it for fun I'd average 18 mpg, but that's not what I'm using this thing for anymore. I'm just curious what I can expect.

escapedcon

Heh, be happy with your 25mpg, I get on average around 15...granted my driving is mostly city.

Best I got was 32mpg over a few hundred miles of highway only driving when we took the LS on vacation.

roadfrog

This has been covered extensively in other threads. Do a search. FWIW, I get about 32 hwy and 20 city depending on my driving style. I have gotten 34 hwy when being careful. I'm pretty happy with that, since it's always a tradeoff for the size and luxury level of these cars. I didn't buy it for fuel economy. I had a honda civic that got GREAT mileage, but ....well.....it was a Honda Civic!

Doublebase

I guess I will be happy with 25 if you're getting 15. 15?! Holy crap!

Doublebase

I'll do a search and check it out. I've done searches before and I haven't found much, I'll try again. So if I get 25 in the winter, I'm doing pretty good? It's just that I'm used to getting 27-28. This is my daily driver...I'm doing anywhere from 500-700 miles a week. Funny you mention the civic, I have an Accord I plan on driving during snowy days, but as we all know the LS gives a ride that you can't beat.

dlbuckls10

My gas mileage is good for a full size LS 460 L. About 26 mpg. Mostly highway driving for me. That's good for a big, smooth, comfortable, roomy automobile like the LS.

roadfrog

Yeah, no kidding. I think my mileage will go up a bit. I had a REALLY bad alignment on all four tires, which caused rapid tire wear over the last 6 months. All four wheels were WAAAY out. LOL. Sure drives smoother!

GregoryNP

23.1 Country/Highway driving in Northern CT

Valley101

If you are buying a luxury car with a V-8 engine why be concerned with gas mileage. If mileage is a concern go buy a subcompact. I am never concerned about gas mileage or the difference in cost between regular and premium. If you are buying this type of vehicle and gas mileage is a concern maybe you should be looking at another type of car. It is about the same about maintenance costs at a Lexus dealer. You will not get Toyota labor rates!

PRSUIT460

iTrader: (3)

I don't even look at what gas prices are anymore.. It needs it, I fill it. Maybe having a 600hp truck will do that to you, haha.

Doublebase

I was waiting for a post like, so I'll answer it like this...when I bought the car my commute was shorter, I have since changed jobs and added quite a bit to my commute. I was faced with a couple of choices...1. I could sell it and buy a new accord that gets 37 mpg - which I seriously considered because they are decent looking cars and generally are very reliable. The problem is I did try to sell and for some reason this car got zero interest, and it's not just my LS, but every one of them in my area are generating zero interest on the used car market. So that left me with choice number 2. I could drive the hell out of it - get my money's worth out of it - and hope I also can have my cake and eat it too (by having the thing not kill me with gas mileage...I drive 500-700 miles a week). Option 3. I can sell and practically give the thing away for pennies on the dollar, buy the 2014 Accord, know the car is nowhere as nice as the LS and feel not so great about my whole experience. Option 4. I can ask what to expect regarding fuel economy from the "luxury car with the V8" and hopefully feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Thanks for your help.

escapedcon

Very short drives (5-10 miles) in the city will do that to your LS

Reading from other threads on here in the past, 15mpg is normal on the LS in my driving conditions.

But then again, I put less the 5k a year on my car so I am not worried about mpg and on top of that as others have said, I knew what I was getting into with this car. I wouldn't have it any other way. The quality of this vehicle just kicks ***.

But then again to get 32mpg on highway over few hundred miles from a V8 beast like this ...I was speechless! Gotta love that 8 speed transmission.

Doublebase

Yeah the 8 speed transmission is awesome. And I have noticed recently that the short trips around town kill the gas mileage. I'm driving quite a few miles per week...500-700...but if I can get 25 mpg over the winter I can live with that. If I start getting 19-22, I may have to make a change, and I don't want to do that because the car is pretty awesome.

roadfrog

Keeping things in perspective, a drop of 5 mpg is only, what....20 bucks or so? I dunno if I'd give up my LS for that.

Nospinzone

We have fairly identical cars and mileage, and live in close proximity. I will get 27 mpg only with strictly highway driving. Long term with a mix of highway and suburban driving (very little city) I am getting 22.7 mpg. So consider yourself doing very well.

And yes, the mileage drops a couple mpg in the winter.