I've gone through 4 tanks of gas and always averaging about 14 MPG mix city/hwy. This is my first RX, so I'm wondering was the old RX this bad on MPG? My 2006 Ford Ranger gets averages 12 MPG. Can the 2010 RX really be this bad? I was getting 17 MPG city in my 2006 IS350 and I drove it like it was on fire all the time!

 

I got the same question, too. My friend is driving '10RX350 in Manhattan, the city MPG is about 12-15. He has the big foot also.

Is your local traffic as bad as NYC's?

How's about your highway MPG? NJ's highway is big and fast...

 

I do mostly mixed driving. When its mostly city I've seen it the gauge go down to 9 MPG, but on the hwy it goes up to 17-18. However I've been doing my own calculations and I'm avg. 14 MPG. This is unacceptable, heck the Cayanne gets 12 MPG and the RX is no Cayanne in terms of performance!

 

In my daily commute, I go through Manhattan on a way to work, and take SI Expressway back home. According to trip commuter, the average speed is 20 mph. I average 17.8 mpg, and I have a big foot, too - size 12W.

Using the same routes, I was averaging 14.8 mpg in my 05 MDX, so I see an improvement. I am scratching my head about the empty fuel gauge, as I think the governor is set abit too high. It was showing me a yellow empty gas light this morning, with trip computer showing 17 miles left, but at the gas station full tank was below 17 galons, which means over 2 galons were still left. In 01 MDX, there was a way to override the defaults, so it would not have that extra 'buffer' of 20+ miles, and would show close to real when the tank was getting empty.

 

in my 2004 RX330 which is rated as 1 mpg lower than the 3.5, the computer hovers around 12-13 mpg in the city. however, on a straight highway, i can get it past 25 mpg

 

LOL. 12W...

Well, with only 2 gallons left in the tank, this is still dangerous, especially if you're driving in somewhere your next exit is 50 miles away. I have been that situation before. However, I have to agree, for my daily commute, this early empty tank warning light is really annoying.

Also, my friend loves to drive his car "spiritedly"... so I can imagine his car will suck the gasoline fast.

 

I don't recall the MPG of Cayenne, it could be City/Hwy: 15/20.

If this number is correct, comparing to RX (18/23?24), RX gets 14 MPG in where Cayenne gets 12 seems reasonable. IMO.

 

I've only gone through 3 tanks of gas. Here's my experience thus far:

On my first tank of gas, the guage started at 9 MPG when I took delivery and averaged 13-16MPG city driving in urban Philadelphia. The number slowly crept up while I was driving and peaked at 17-18MPG with a good amount of highway driving at the end. This tank was driven until there was <30 miles left.

On my second tank of gas, I averaged 20-22 MPG, mostly highway, with some local roads. A large portion of this tank was Philly to NY on the NJ turnpike.

I only went through half of the second tank before I filled up again in NJ, returning to Philly from NY. I got 23-24+ MPG driving with a light foot, on nearly 100% highway. Given the poor first tank performance, I was trying to determine if the fuel economy of my car was sub-par. I guess the engine is performing as it should.

I think the factor with the biggest effect on fuel economy is going to be how heavy your foot is during acceleration. I definitely drive more aggressively in NY, and the fuel economy slips as a result.

I am not sure what the dealer filled the tank with, but suspect it was not premium gas. The engine definitely ran smoother when I filled up with 93 octane for the 2nd and 3rd tanks. I don't know how much of the change in MPG between tanks 1 and 2 is attributable to driving habits and how much to fuel selection.

 

Thanks, 2010RX, I'm very much pleased by your analyses.

 

You know, I tried different brands and sometimes it makes a big difference. In NJ, right out of Holland Tonnell, there are about 7 gas stations. From my experience, driving on 93 from Hess is worse than on 91 from Sunoco. However, lately I settled on 93 from Amoco.

 

Really? Theres a difference in the gas you get from different companies? I've never noticed a difference! I've actually started using 87 in all my cars since gas got expensive, regardless of what they recommand and not notice a difference either.

 

A few years ago when in Florida I filled up at Hess. I noticed all of their grades of gas had ethanol. Does anyone know if the 2010 RX can run O.K. on the additive without hurting the engine ?

 

With Ehanol mystery, it's hard to explain, however, the energy policies in some states effectively require that gasoline contain ethanol. I believe NY has it.

Your car should be fine.

 

I also believe each brand has produced the varied gasoline. I can feel my car is performing differently.