Attain MPG Happiness

[Dyoct]

Ok, here's the full post. I decided to get a full week's worth of driving. Just to show the 27MPG wasn't any sort of trickery.

 

First shot after I noticed highest MPGs showing up for this car. Previous best was in 25 range.

 

 

 

Note: first 27 mark at 3122 and there miles later. No resetting was done

 

 

I arrive at my first stop, some city driving began taking the milege down.

 

Check out the average speed. During the first 10-15 miles of my trip in Atlanta on Monday morning, I was speeding in the 80mph range to get myself out of the city as quickly as possible. I then decided to use a standard feature I hardly ever use...cruise control. I set it at 75mph.

 

Conditions later that night when I reach my hotel, clear and cool.

 

Shortly after the first fillup on Tuesday night. After much city driving, some idling, and now I'm haulin' ass to get back to Atlanta.

 

 

And as such driving back out of Atlanta after "Seperation Day" (spellcheck was fired) and spending 2 hours just trying to get out of the city killed the mileage.

 

 

 

Although, check it out, I recognize that grille anywhere...

 

 

Why yes, it's an Edge, I haven't seen one yet in Atlanta, at least not one without a Manufacturer Plate or a co-worker in a company car.

 

 

Mileage had improved by the time I reach my second hotel for the week.

 

 

 

After work, I haul ass back down to Atlanta, no cruise, going 85 or more as traffic and speed packs permit. I fillup the tank for my weekend (personal) use.

 

 

Total week's driving:

19 hours, 7 minutes, 40 seconds

863.6 miles

23.3 MPG

45 MPH Average

 

And since I'm "metro cool" living in the city we will see how city driving kills mileage. I'm predicting low to mid teens as well.

[urnews]

Amazing. I am both impressed and envious. Must be trick photography. LOL.

[ctrcbob]

Boz,

 

I have a friend with an MKX who tells people he gets 31mpg with it. Sure, 31mpg, only for a distance of three miles, slightly downhill. (I've tried it on the same route he takes). I tell him to set it everytime he gets gas, and to not even look at it until he fills up at the next fill. Only then will he get a true reading, from fill-up to fill-up.

 

I believe if I take a long trip, I would average about 27 on the open road. Have not taken that long trip yet. this is no better than my Continental.

Around the county, town to town, stuck in traffic and two lane roads between towns, I average about 19. This is slightly better than my Continental which gets 18 with the same type driving.

 

BTW, This stuff about a "6-speed transmission" helps to save fuel is a lot of balderdash. 1st thru 4th is geared way too low. 6th gear RPMs are the same as my Continental 4th gear RPM.

My 02 Continental has 275HP

My 07 MKZ has 263 (or 264) HP

My two former 98 Continentals both had 265 HP (same MPG as the 07),

so this 6-speed hype is just that, hype (or spin).

 

I'm not complaining about my mpg. Feel bad for Boz, however the MPG for these cars should be better.

[urnews]

Bob,

 

Your humor and compassion is greatly appreciated.

 

We did get 26.5 mpg (going) and 24.2 mpg (returning) on a trip a few weeks ago but our 13 mpg city is a constant. Unfortunately, 95 percent of our driving is short hops, in city. Some cars get good mileage; some don't. Ours is going to be in the later category I fear.

 

I agree with you, the six-speed auto tranny is a bunch of whooey, more hype than substance. The first four gears are way too short, for scoot ability. They need to be taller for in-town mileage. However, fifth and sixth aren't too terribly bad. At 65-70 mph the engine is only turning about 2,000 rpms, which is decent.

 

Our backup car, the 1997 3.8-liter V6 Thunderbird with 85,000 miles on it gets, 13 mpg in city, as good as the AWD Fusion, and its 500 pounds heavier and only rolling on 15-inch wheels.

 

I hate to say it, but your friend with the MXZ sounds like a prevaricator, at least when it comes to mileage. Either that or he constantly drives downhill at 40 mph. LOL. I believe your numbers; I don't believe his.

 

I've pretty much decided that the AWD decision was a very bad one on my part. I should have ordered a car rather than take the one that was on the lot. But, supposedly, the V6 without AWD is EPA-rated at 20 mpg city, 27 highway, I believe. I honestly thought this car would deliver the EPA-estimated 19 city, 26 highway. It will do the highway part but will never see the in-city figure.

[ctrcbob]

Boz,

 

I agree with you 100%. The highway milage may be accurate, but the city milage will never get close to the advertised figure.

[Dyoct]

Maybe the city EPA estimate is issued as a challenge? Like you will win a prize if you can meet or beat it. :D

[urnews]

Maybe the city EPA estimate is issued as a challenge? Like you will win a prize if you can meet or beat it. :D

Dyoct,

 

Your pictorial about your trip was informative and entertaining. I agree, the EPA estimate must be a challenge. Lord knows we would be happy campers if our SEL AWD ever equaled the EPA estimate for city driving. The "new" EPA figures for our car are 17 mpg city, 24 mpg highway. The "old" numbers were 19 city and 26 highway. We have achieved 26.5 going and 24.2 returning during a 360-mile trip Feb. 2-3 but are still only getting 13 mpg city. I seriously doubt that this is going to improve much. We have 1,800 miles on the car and enjoy most everything about it EXCEPT the horrific in-city mileage. Unfortunately, 95 percent of our driving is in the city, stop and go but not bumper to bumper.

 

It is a sad commentary on American know how that a 3,200-pound car with a V6 and six-speed automatic transmission will only deliver 17 mpg (EPA estimate) in the year 2007. We now regard our purchase as a mistake. Hindsight is always 20-20 isn't it?

[ctrcbob]

Dyoct,

 

I see you also have a MTX Fusion SEL. What kind of fuel economy do you get with it>

 

While I was filling up my GoldWing today, got to talking with a guy at the next pump who has a Fusion SEL, 4 Cylinder Engine. He told me that on the highway, on a trip with cruise set to 79mph, he was getting over 31mpg. (Sorry I did not ask him if it was a MTX or ATX).

 

Years ago, I had a 92 Camry, 4-Cylinder automatic and we took it out to El Paso TX. At 70 mph, it averaged 34mpg. At 80 mph, it averaged 32mpg.

 

Whenever I travel to Europe, I lease a Renault Laguna, Manual Transmission. I had a 1600cc, an 1800cc (the best one) and a 2000cc.

Converting liters to USG, and Kilometers to Miles, all round driving, from the time I picked up the car at the airport until the time I dropped it off, was as follows.

 

The 1600cc in 1999 averaged allround 38mpg.

The 1800cc in 2002 averaged allround 34mpg.

The 2000cc in 2006 averaged allround 32mpg.

 

BTW, how well does your MTX shift? The three MTX Laguna's mentioned above shifted GREAT. It was like shifting through butter. Best shifting manual shifting cars I've ever driven.

[Dyoct]

Not sure about how the Fuse is doing currently. It is up in Michigan where my father drives it as a backup car. Told him to keep it off the road as much as possible right now with the winter weather and the affects that has on a car with salt. It saw mainly civic duty as it was my daily driver in Atlanta, it was consistently getting high 20s. However on a roadtrip from Michigan and back in July of last year, it averaged out to 32.something MPG. And that was flying through GA, TN, KY, OH and MI and back down again. I remember my father chastised me for my aggressive driving because he came down on the return, dropped me off in Atlanta and then drove down to my family's other home in Florida and then back up to Michigan. He averaged 36MPG he told me, but again, he is a very conservative driver, never does more than 5 over and pretty much sticks to the right lane.

 

Last time I drove it was during the Christmas to New Years time frame when I was going back and forth from my home in Lansing, MI, to my girlfriend and her family's in Livonia, MI to my parents in Kzoo, MI. I was getting like 26 something, but I was literally flying down I-94 and I-69 as much as possible, I recall my average speed on one trip was like 87mph according the computer.

 

EDIT: Forgot to answer your question about the shifting.

 

I think it shifts very well, quick and smooth, however it is a definitely a cable shift linkage so it feels disconnected and somewhat dull to shift. If I'm going to grind a gear, I want to feel it. I want the feedback of the machine to keep me involved in my driving. My modified SHO has a rod shifter and I love it. My former Kia had a rod linkage, I was disappointed the Fusion is not and did pass the feedback up the corporate chain along with some other items. It's nice to see the changes from 06 into the 07 based on the Milan I have now.

[Dyoct]

And as for the 07 AWD weekend driving report update:

 

I filled up this morning after my weekend driving which consisted of;

26.0 miles

1 hour 26 minutes 24 seconds

Avg speed was 18MPH

AVG MPG was 14.1MPG

 

Weekend consisted of short trips to a carwash .4miles from home.

Lowes store on Friday, Saturday and Sunday being 1.6 miles from home

Lunch with departing co-worker on Saturday, 1.6 miles from home, same complex as Lowes

Late night Saturday/Early Sunday trip to wallyworld for some emergency light bulbs for home, farthest trip at 6 miles away where I noticed the MPG start climbing to a peak of 17.8MPG. It would later fall when a stoplight race vs a Mitsubishi Eclipse required a few WOT starts. Eclipse drive had his ass handed to him three times, well sorta, he was at my bumper at the last race when I left off somewhere in the neighborhood of 75mph and he did the typical ricer flyby.

 

My job today did not take me out of town, so I have even more city driving to post. However, I spent two lenghty trips in my city driving and thus far the MPG is showing at 17.9MPG with 27.1 miles traveled during 1 hour and 9 minutes and 7 seconds of Atlanta city driving. I-285 was used in the morning for two miles, but other than that, all city.

[akirby]

Why are we getting only 17 mpg in these modern drivetrains? 3 reasons:

 

Emissions

 

Emissions

 

Emissions

[urnews]

Why are we getting only 17 mpg in these modern drivetrains? 3 reasons:

 

Emissions

 

Emissions

 

Emissions

That's all well and good Allen, but this is 2007, not 1997 or 1987 and the 3-liter V6 engine is 180 cubic inches, not a 351 cubic inch engine and the transmission is a six-speed automatic, not a four-speed one. It is a bitter pill that the latest technology can only produce 13 mpg in city driving. Heck, even the old EPA city estimate of 19 mpg (now 17) is nothing to write home about. Can all of this be blamed on emission controls? Are we that technology impaired?

[akirby]

That's all well and good Allen, but this is 2007, not 1997 or 1987 and the 3-liter V6 engine is 180 cubic inches, not a 351 cubic inch engine and the transmission is a six-speed automatic, not a four-speed one. It is a bitter pill that the latest technology can only produce 13 mpg in city driving. Heck, even the old EPA city estimate of 19 mpg (now 17) is nothing to write home about. Can all of this be blamed on emission controls? Are we that technology impaired?

 

Don't underestimate the amount of technology required for emission controls. That's not the entire story - it's a combination of more power (how many 3.0L V6s made 221 hp in 1997 or 1987?) and lower emissions. I believe Ford's focus (no pun intended) on PZEV and ULEV is one contributing factor to what seems to be lower than average mileage lately. Something I hope they change, because nobody seems to care about PZEV - if it's not a hybrid then it's not green.

[urnews]

Good points Allen. Our 1997 Thunderbird has a 3.8-liter V6 that only produces 140 horsepower, compared to the Fusion's smaller 3.0-liter V6 that yields 221. Both get 13 mpg in city driving -- the same streets and the same routine pattern of driving. I foolishly thought the Fusion would actually deliver the EPA estimated 19 city, recently revised to 17 mpg. Wretched mileage in the year 2007. We should have bought an I4 (160 hp), but you don't see may SELs equipped that way, not in our area at least.

[Drake]

I'm envious of all you guys. The X only gets around 14-19 on premium.

[Meelaan]

It's fairly common knowledge that whatever the sticker says you'll get on highway or city will be about 5 MPG off in real world driving. It's more so true with Fords. My V6 Mustang never got better than 22mpg at any time. And it was a manual.

 

I've had my 2007 4-cylinder Milan now for just over two months time. As we all know, it's rated at 31mpg/hwy. Upon making my purchase, I conceded that it would probably get 28mpg on my commute, and that this was acceptable.

 

My worst MPG on a tank of gas to date? 29.2mpg My best? 32.3mpg

 

And that's not reading off the dashboard, which is typically 1-1.5mpg off.

 

My average is 31.5mpg and I drive 105 miles each day. This commute covers highway driving at 70mph to bumper-to-bumper traffic in the city (New Orleans). My technique in conserving gas is to:

1. use the brakes as little as possible and never over brake (not accellerating up to a stop sign)

2. ease up to Interstate speed, rather than gunning it to 70

3. apply the cruise control as much as possible

4. run the tank down to as close to empty as possible

5. keep the interior and trunk empty

 

The big thing is letting the transmission shift. This prevents the car from running at high RPMs, which hurts MPG. As anyone who's driven a standard knows, the lower RPMs you can operate in, the better.

[urnews]

Those are some really decent gas mileage numbers, even for an I4.

[Meelaan]

Those are some really decent gas mileage numbers, even for an I4.

 

I totally agree. The fact it's getting--and sometimes exceeding--the EPA MPG rating amazes me. I would expect that from a Honda, but a Ford four cylinder?

 

Filled up yesterday: calculated 30.1mpg for that tank.

[otaku]

yeah the in city mpg sucks I have been getting 14.8 mostly right now getting 16. 22mpg is my best freeway mileage but hopefully that will go up

[awdpath]

2007 (April built) SE Awd (oem tires):

 

Fill up tank at Mackenzie Lake Esso Calgary (Canada), reset avg speed, L/100 Km( US MPG) and by the time I arrived in Edmonton, 300Km(186.4 Miles), avg speed 108 Km/H (67.11 Mph), it reads 7.3 L/100 Km (32.22 US Mpg).

 

Driver + 2 passengers= about 450lb, all tires at about 34 psi, 87 octane gas on the pump ( auto gas in Alberta is relatively "clean"), and 4 quick passes from say 70Mph to 80 Mph.

 

My rough estimated city US Mpg is about 19.60 ( no congestions, just the typical city traffic lights in Edmonton, 8 Miles oneway to/from work at 5:30 am/2:30pm). The mornings in the past week has been relatively cold, -2 c (28.40 F) this morning.

 

Unit conversions help from:

 

http://www.convertunit.com/fuel-consumption-calculator.php