Worst Tank to Date

At 80 mph when possible? Argh, slow down!

Got 42.9 mpg? Likely a bit worse, if you calculate.

Keep it under 70 mpg??

 

Coldest part of winter where I live now.

I do a lot of short trips.

I have to remind myself NOT to be so spoiled.

For the next month or so, my average will hover in the "Horrible" low 40's.

Which again I have to remind myself, I would of been thrilled to get ANY time of year, with almost every vehicle I have ever owned besides the Prius.

 

Also, lots of people aren't aware that winter fuel blends don't have as much energy. So 1 gallon of gas in the winter will not propel the same vehicle in the same conditions with the same weather as far as 1 gallon of gas in the summer.

 

Name another car that does that well at 80 mph in the winter.

 

If you care primarily about fuel economy, I agree with the above and drive slower. I usually now drive the speed limit in the c on the interstate. I had a 3rd gen hatch, and that you could drive faster on the interstate with less impact on the overall fuel economy. But the 3rd gen hatch doesn't get as good city milage so it's a trade off.

 

"This car is great on gas as long as you 1) keep it under 70 mpg unless going downhills"

I think you've answered your own question with the above statement. It comes down the the laws of physics/etc. The faster you go, the poorer the mpgs. There is no way around it unless you're in a sci-fi movie

The Prius is a great car and, as someone here noted, you can't find another car that can get you that type of mpg at those speeds. But to expect 50 to 60 mpg doing 80 mph is a pipe dream.

 

Ford Mustang


My average winter economy is around 40 mpg, but in town I'm getting plenty of 20-30 mpg trips.

 

block radiator

 

fuelly says my last 3 months have averaged 41.6mpg. but then i live in canada and my commute is about 10km that can be fairly stop and go. even for longer drives at moderate speeds it seems pretty tough to crack 50mpg. just too dang cold.

 

Drive 55 mph!

 

My most recent 2k miles are 48.6 mpg (us) on the display. First time I can remember being under 50.
Looking forward to a bit warmer weather

 

My most recent tank was the worst: 42.5 mpg (calculated at the pump), thanks to Ohio winters with the recent negative double digit windchills. It brought my average over 23k miles down to 58.4 mpg. I usually drive the city way to work because it's not much longer and uses less gas, but it's been so cold recently that I don't bother with that and just take the highway because it's not much of a difference at these temps, and I need to blast the heat the whole way to get rid of the inside frost. I get 40-45 mpg instead of maybe 50 the city way.

I previously drove a 2001 Cavalier that topped out at 30 mpg at its best and would get as low as 19 mpg in the winter, so that's some perspective.

 

My worst tank was my last one: 41.0 MPG (calculated)

I did everything wrong to "achieve" this:

Drove a steady 75 MPH
Used cruise control a lot
Drove during the winter on a cold day
Used the heater and heated seats
Carried a passenger, my dog, and luggage
Took a route with lots of hills (not that there was much choice)
Got stuck in a traffic jam on the interstate
Took car out of ECO mode (which I do on a hilly road trip)

 

Yeah this whole winter I've basically just used my car like a "normal" car and forget the hypermiling stuff until summer. I'm way up in the North Pole and this winter I'm averaging around 35 mpg (double what my SUV used to get).