What's your long term fuel economy

[LANG]

Great post guys ace33 and oldschool you got the ideal, changing driving habits to best fit the road and traffic, I'm around 38.9 MPG. I also drive efficiently (it's like gamming with my dash display) and even alter my rout to even out the road types between highway and city. I now have 480 miles on my FFH and it's great feeling that I'm getting the most miles per gallon for my dollars. I do miss driving my full size SUV but it's not need for my daily commute.

[Craig.]

Bought my 2010 on 2/8/2011. Since then I've racked up 5400 miles and averaging 40.2mpg

[CometFlash]

I have a question about "long term fuel economy" not matching "average fuel economy". The long term fuel economy, shown at the end of each trip, does not quite match the average fuel economy shown under the odometer. Does anyone know what the difference is?

 

I'll be the guinea pig and look the fool and ask this querstion again, since I'm still curious to see if anyone has figured this out yet.

 

Just figured I'd re-throw this question out there. I've seen it asked a number of times, but so far no one has been able to answer it. I looked through all the different manuals that came with my hybrid, but just like the responses I've seen on message boards, all the info I've seen or read does is let you know they exist and how to reset them. Nothing explains what the differences are between "Long Term Fuel Economy" and "Average Fuel Economy". The manual states that AFE is not the same as Distance To Empty calculation, that's it. We all know where the different MPG calculations are to be found, and most are pretty obvious as to how they are calculated; and how they would be different from the others. But just like Cybricon asked in the quote above, what is the difference between the two readings above? How are those particular two calculated differently? Google searches I've done turn up nothing except the question being asked, and responses indicating all the MPG readings and where to find them, but the question actually inquired about is never answered.

 

So... does anyone out there know what the differences are between the two?

Shouldn't they be exactly the same if you have never reset either one?

Or is there an actual difference, and if so, what is it?

 

[Hat Eater]

I too am wondering about this. Has Ford ever published a white paper or some sort of technical bulletin explaining how exactly the various MPG numbers are calculated?

 

In my case I always reset the MPG when I refill the tank. The long term I reset back when I filled the car on my own dime for the first time (the dealer delivered it to me with a full tank and it was 500 miles or so before I reset it) and haven't reset it since. I will typically see different MPG numbers after resetting at the gas station when I get home, in that the average MPG in the continuous display (upper right) will read one thing but the trip MPG (only displayed for a few seconds when you shut down) is something else, yet I've only gone on that one trip, from the gas station to wherever. Odd.

 

Another one that drives me nutz... I replaced the leaf display with the bar graphs, showing my last 20 minutes of fuel economy. So each bar should represent two minutes of driving, right? If I coast down a hill for one minute fifty eight seconds, and hit the gas for the last two seconds sometimes the graph that gets recorded will display the mileage for those two seconds I had my foot on the pedal and ignore the last 1:58 of electroglide. Sometimes I'll trick it and drive normal for a minute something, then let off and coast to the two minute mark recording a perfect 60+. I have yet to pull this off ten times in a row thus filling the graph, though.

 

For the record I did finally pull off the mythical 41.2 MPG (Reported) tank on my last fillup, but my enthusiasm was tempered when I calculated 40.7 based on using 14.050 gallons to travel 572.5 miles. The long term is looking good; as of tonight I'm at 39.

 

Joe

[lolder]

The "Avg MPG" is displayed on the upper right of the dash and on an "Info"" screen and is reset from that screen. The "Long term fuel economy" displayed at the bottom of each trip summary on shutdown is reset from within the dash "Setup" menu. If you reset them at the same time, they will read the same. Here's a few examples of the History graph: If during the selected time period you move any distance ONLY in EV mode the bar will display 60+ at the end of that period; if you do not move during the period and the ICE comes on, the bar will display 0. The Distance to empty is BASED on using the mpg of the last 500 miles to predict the remaining range to about 1 gal. remaining in the tank. It says "Based" because there are probably some non-linear calculations as you approach the 1 gal. level and your current mpg is appreciably different from the last 500 miles. Folks, all this is in the "Owners Guide" except the "1 gal remaining" which is a calculation I made. Several posters have reported the car's systems report a economy that is 4 % high. Some also say the odometer reads 2 % low for a net economy of 2 % below the cars numbers. Anybody who runs out of gas should have the car confiscated from them !

Edited June 8, 2011 by lolder

[Hat Eater]

Here's a few examples of the History graph: If during the selected time period you move any distance ONLY in EV mode the bar will display 60+ at the end of that period; if you do not move during the period and the ICE comes on, the bar will display 0.

 

. Folks, all this is in the "Owners Guide" except the "1 gal remaining" which is a calculation I made.

 

In my case I display the graph in "20 Minute Interval" mode, which should mean that each segment of the bar graph represents two minutes of driving, since there are ten segments. So if I understand what you're saying above, any distance I cover in EV mode in any two minute period should display a bar representing 60 mpg. In bumper to bumper commute traffic I frequently will cover a few hundred yards or so in pure EV mode (from full stop back to a full stop) yet I don't always get a full bar.

 

But the owner's guide, at least the version I have (v2), explains the function of the history graph a bit differently:

 

"History graph: Indicates average fuel economy in 10, 20, or 60 minute intervals. You can choose the interval using the message center. The graph is updated each minute with the fuel economy that was achieved during the prior 1, 2, or 6 minutes of driving, respectively. Each new average will be added to the left side of the graph, shifting the past data to the right."

 

So in my bumper to bumper example above I understand this to mean that the algorithm will poll the current mpg value once per minute but only output the value (due to the display setting) once every two minutes. Is it taking an average of the two mpg samples? My experience with the system is that if I can sequence my driving style pretty close to the time (on the minute) that the system polls the mpg number, I can, in effect, fool the display. Try this yourself - this should be repeatable.

 

I'd love to sit down over lunch with the person that wrote the software for this part of the FFH.

 

Joe

 

P.S. The Jeep message boards are so much simpler when the main argument is manual vs. automatic!

[lolder]

If the ICE starts during any bar period, the bar will be less than 60+. The graph updates every minute but I think the calculation is continuous.

[Hat Eater]

If the ICE starts during any bar period, the bar will be less than 60+. The graph updates every minute but I think the calculation is continuous.

 

Interesting. My car might be different, maybe it's a 2011 thing. I'll have to record this with my phone (yes, I'll be using a telephone to videotape something) but I can prove that I can generate a 60+ bar with some ICE activity during the two minute sample time. I can't stay on it, of course, but getting through an intersection briskly (in ICE mode) and then EV'ing for the next mile or so at 20 - 25 MPH will give me a 60+, provided I time it right close to the minute.

 

Joe

[lolder]

That's probably possible.

[mort]

Interesting. My car might be different, maybe it's a 2011 thing. I'll have to record this with my phone (yes, I'll be using a telephone to videotape something) but I can prove that I can generate a 60+ bar with some ICE activity during the two minute sample time. I can't stay on it, of course, but getting through an intersection briskly (in ICE mode) and then EV'ing for the next mile or so at 20 - 25 MPH will give me a 60+, provided I time it right close to the minute.

 

Joe

 

Hi Joe,

Here's some math. Assume normal weight, ICE performance and especially that the eCVT works right, and other stuff nominal. If you go from 0 to 30 mph ( starting at a stop sign, fer instance) and you do that in 16 seconds it takes 40 hp. 40 hp for 16 seconds is .012 gallons of gasoline assuming the Atkinson is about 30% efficient. For the next 104 seconds you EV at 30 mph. So over 2 minutes you have averaged about 30 mph, so you've gone 1 mile on .012 gallons = 83mpg.

 

-mort

[jcg1005]

Hi Joe,

Here's some math. Assume normal weight, ICE performance and especially that the eCVT works right, and other stuff nominal. If you go from 0 to 30 mph ( starting at a stop sign, fer instance) and you do that in 16 seconds it takes 40 hp. 40 hp for 16 seconds is .012 gallons of gasoline assuming the Atkinson is about 30% efficient. For the next 104 seconds you EV at 30 mph. So over 2 minutes you have averaged about 30 mph, so you've gone 1 mile on .012 gallons = 83mpg.

 

-mort

 

Excellent math.... which is backed up by Ford with their 81 MPG drive they did last year. If Ford would allow those of us who are interested in super-maximizing mileage to have some training in how to TRULY optimize our driving, I am guessing we could all average around 50 MPG with the right skill set.

 

Tonight I filled up (third time - calculated mileage 41 MPG and I have 1,641 miles on the car) and decided to play around with a fresh reset of the fuel efficiency. I found that with some playing around with how you accelerate and coast, you can very easily maintain nearly 60 mpg around town on faily level streets. Did a kind of learning drive to see how things are affected by pulse and glide vs. cruise, and by a huge one here, gently accelerating within limits when you are on a slight downgrade and losing speed when on a slight upgrade.

 

Of course, if there is traffic around you, you WILL get sworn at!!! HAA HAA!

[NYCubby]

Hello All -

 

2010 Black/Black - 502A Package. 13 Months old - 24,266.8 miles.

 

Long Term Average (never reset since purchased) = 43.4

 

In my other thread - I mentioned that in the first year of ownership, I saved $1303 in fuel compared to my previous 2005 Acura TL.

 

Aaron

[Craig.]

13k since I bought my 2010 new back in Feb 2011.

 

40.1 lifetime avg and I use my air conditioner and stuff.

Edited June 15, 2011 by Craig.

[Hat Eater]

2011 FFH bought new Feb. 28th.

 

9,600 miles so far with a long term mpg of 39.2. Best tank so far was 41.2 reported but after filling the tank the calculated mpg was only 40.7. And best yet - the climate control has been set to 72 the entire time.

 

The 9,600 miles that the FFH covered would have been covered by a Jeep Rubicon which was the daily driver up to the day I drove the FFH home, so the fuel savings so far is easily calculated as 396 fewer gallons needed to be purchased for a savings of $1,528.56. But that's kinda' misleading because the Jeep still relaxes in the garage every night with the Fusion so in order to save 1,500 bucks I had to spend 30K.

 

 

Joe

[GUZZI]

2011 FHH, 1300 miles so far. Lifetime average shows 34.5mpg. Seems as though my driving in the city will NOT get anywhere close to 40mpg. 2 miles to work, ICE just gets warm by the time I get there. Sets until noon, then 3 miles to the Post Office, 1 mile to the Bank, 1 mile back home for lunch, and then 3 miles back to work. Trying to maximize mileage by coasting, using the EV; however my short trips get anywhere from 28 up to 41 mpg. My short trips in town, are taking their toll. If I make short trips; say 10-12 miles at 55 on the highway, the mileage has gone up to 41-43 mpg. Just an average driver, without a heavy foot, and not complaining, having come off of a Jeep Grand Cherokee V6 Diesel, with lifetime average of 18.9 for 30000 miles. GUZZI

[CometFlash]

Yeah, unfortunately short trips like that don't give the FFH time to hit it's stride and maximize MPG for you. On the other hand, you wouldn't use much fuel driving anything with work so close, which must be pretty sweet in a lot of other ways for sure.

 

I just came back from 5 days of honeymoon at Cape Cod, and I can say that driving there was crazy amazing for MPG. We drove all over the place all day long, short hops, longer drives, etc. And all day long we'd get a fairly solid 55+ being in EV almost all the time. The only "bad" MPG trips were the first couple as the car got warmed up or whatnot. After that it was smooth sailing all day long. I did one short jaunt of 2.1 miles and when I shut off the car we had averaged 99.9 MPG!!! I didn't get a pic of it before the screen blanked, but at least my wife saw it so I wasn't making it up!

 

I filled my tank before leaving for the Cape. It's 80-odd miles there, and then obviously the same back again (it was raining pretty good all the way home as well). We did a ton of driving up there every day. When I got back to my house after the entire trip and never refueling since leaving home, I still had over half a tank left. Pretty damn happy with that! (FYI, I did anywhere from 50-55-60-65mph depending on the main roads there and back. Anything over 65 seems to hit the mpg's, so best to stick to 65 max speed) Rt. 28 on the Cape has speed limits between 25 to 40mph, but most of the driving is about 30-35mph, so I was in EV an abundance of my time there.

 

Got my AVG MPG up to 41.0 MPG, and my Lifetime MPG up to 40.4 MPG. :happy feet:

[johneed]

I only have about 600 miles on my FFH.

 

The long-term number is sitting on 36.0 at this moment. I have a 24-mile round trip work commute M-F. 16-18 miles of that is highway, but there is often rush hour to contend with, so I'm not always zipping along at 60-70mph. It is not very hilly. The computer reports my commutes at 38mpg-41mpg. My evening and weekend driving has a larger percentage of metro freeway driving at 60mph-70mph. The computer usually reports down in the low to mid 30s on those excursions.

 

This seems to add up to the reported 36.0 overall. Getting an overall figure of 36.0 is very satisfactory. I'm curious how it will do in the Minnesota winters.

 

I will say that I have been, am, and likely always will be a leadfooted driver. I find over-zealous hypermilers that creep away from stops and glide into stops from a half-mile away rude and inconsiderate. Have at it when there's nobody behind you, but otherwise...

[rvlasek]

FFH has 900 miles, on second tank of gas, overall mpg is 39, learning to use accelerate slowly and coasting to top lights work well, kicking in EV mode...thanks, Ford,

Edited June 24, 2011 by rvlasek

[wofam]

I've got just over 2000 miles on my 2011 502A FFH.

 

My overall mileage since day one is ~37.3 mpg, when I did the calculation on my last fill-up, I got just over 40 mpg.

 

What's interesting is that on some round trips of about 2 miles one way, I'll get 29 mpg going and and 35 mpg coming back.

 

On round trips of about 6 miles, I'll get 33 mpg going and 43 mpg coming back.

 

You can sure see the effects of the car warming up....

 

On the freeway for about 9 miles and 5 miles on city streets to my friend's house, I usually get about 44 mpg overall driving 63 mph on the freeway and 30 mph through town with signals. During commute hours, I usually do a little better if the traffic is stop and go on the freeway.

[GreenBlackFFH]

Just over 33,000 miles, and long term is 46.6 MPG. Needless to say, I am very pleased. Per tankful, I have gotten as high as 49.3 MPG. The best I ever did with the Toyota Camry Hybrid was 47 on a tank.

[lolder]

Just returned from a 1700 mile round trip from FL to the mountains of western NC. Mpg on Long Term Fuel Economy was 38.8 which corrected to 38.0. It included half a dozen 10 mph trips up and down a STEEP residential road that usually yielded 22 mpg for the 5 mile trip. It's a pleasure to drive the FFH on cruise control on winding mountain highways. I never used "L" on the highways and didn't fill up the HVB riding the regen brake downhill. On the STEEP residential hill, I used "L'" all the time going down and still filled up the HVB in about a 1/4 mile.

[sublimobile]

I'm seeing 34mpg on my first tank. I drive short distances every day though so I'm sure that hurts me.

[LumpOfCoal]

Right after I picked up my Fusion Hybrid last week, I took it to the gas station and topped it off. When I topped it I reset the Long term fuel economy. I now have 333.7miles, 369mte (based on the previous 500miles of driving which includes some of wasteful test drives at the dealership), and 49.1mpg on this 1st tank so far. I plan to reset the long term fuel economy after each tank.

[rvlasek]

2011 FFH, with 3675 miles, overall mileage 42.3 75% city driving, 25% hwy.. pleased with results

Edited September 2, 2011 by rvlasek

[lolder]

I did another test run of about 7 miles last night at 1 am and 80 deg. F. around my small S. Fl. town with AC off, no traffic and two windows open. Top speed was 40 mph, bottom 25 mph with two full stops at stop streets and several coasts to about 15 mph at traffic lights that are automated with TV cameras and change as you approach and don't need you to stop over in-road sensors. I used a pulse and glide ( P & G ) technique where you accelerate to 5 mph. over the limit and then feather the pedal so that EV engages and no arrows appear, up or down, in the HVB gauge and you coast down to 5 mph below the limit. This means that you are essentially not using the HVB. After a warm up lap that got 61 mpg., the next one got 71.4 mpg. HVB charge level changed little due to the method used. Previous tests on this route using cruise control ( CC ) and P & G without canceling the arrows have resulted in as much as 63 mpg. but never near 70. Average speed was about 30 mph.

This is not usually obtainable in the real world but it shows the potential and a hint about how the FFH demonstration in 2008 got 81 mpg at 21 mph. There are probably some gains that could be made with the present hybrids with software changes that eliminate the automatic regen drag applied when you lift your foot off the pedal. This drag has been designed into the hybrids so they drive like cars with automatic transmissions. It creates EV round trip losses ( gen.-charge-discharge-motor ), however.

Edited September 9, 2011 by lolder