Real World Mileage Thread

[Gavin]

haven't filled up yet (maybe this weekend?)...but so far I've driven about 5 miles of highway and 220 miles of city...so my mileage will be a pretty good example of city only mileage...

of course city driving in Albuquerque is not city driving in LA or NYC...I commute 5 miles by road and it takes around 15 minutes.

Gavin

ps...i am not a hyper mileage kinda rider...fast starts and high revs (it is my scooter training...like to be in front of traffic and not run over by idiots in cars)...but I do coast some in neutral...this car coasts great.

[Thad]

30.5 mpg tonight at fill up calculated by gas and mileage not the computer. My average speed was only 22mph so you can see I did a lot of stopping. Sport mode on always and having fun spirited driving.

[Fiat500USA]

FiatLancia wrote

Odometer just turned 1,000 miles this past week, so as soon as it did, I pulled into a gas station for a fill-up to check the numbers. I'm kind of a mileage nut - I actually have full records for all of my cars. Every gallon of gas, every car. So I can definitely contribute hard numbers to the "real-world mileage" thread.

I was with a group of friends when picking up the car (caravanning to lunch, then to another city to spend the night, etc.), so couldn't fill up until the next morning at around 103 miles (19 were pre-delivery).

First tank: Mostly highway with some city and suburban, plus "errand/commuter" miles.
Trip computer estimated 43.0mpg at average speed 45mph.
Odometer reading 509. Trip 405.0mi. 9.5gal 89-octane.  Calculated 42.63mpg.

Second tank: Mixed suburban/errands.
Trip computer estimated 40.2mpg at average speed 30mph.
Odometer reading 835. Trip 326.6mi. 8.5gal 89-octane. Calculated 38.42mpg.

Third tank: Mixed suburban/errands.
Trip computer estimated 40.2mpg at average speed 27mph.
Odometer reading 1001. Trip 165.5mi. 4.0gal 89-octane. Calculated 41.38mpg.

So over the first 898 measured miles, 22 gallons of fuel were used, for an average of 40.82 overall. The trip "B" computer for that period estimated 41.4mpg overall.

It's "normal" driving, to me. Not winning stoplight races, but not being passed by old ladies in Buicks either. Not skip-shifting, shutting car off to coast down hills or at lights, etc.  Since I work from home, most use of the car is just running errands - taking my daughter to/from classes, going out for lunch/dinner, picking stuff up at stores, etc. Definitely having fun while driving it, too!

Hope this information is of some help/use to others here.

Shaun Folkerts
Prima #11
www.FiatLancia.com

Hi Shaun,

Great job documenting.  I've replaced my spirited driving technique from my youth with a more relaxed  (mature) style. Smoothness is my goal, and I like to keep the avg mpg up. It might be hard with the 500, at least at first, because it feels good winding it up.

Hopefully, I'll find out soon;)

[ciddyguy]

Fiat500USA wrote

FiatLancia wrote

Odometer just turned 1,000 miles this past week, so as soon as it did, I pulled into a gas station for a fill-up to check the numbers. I'm kind of a mileage nut - I actually have full records for all of my cars. Every gallon of gas, every car. So I can definitely contribute hard numbers to the "real-world mileage" thread.

I was with a group of friends when picking up the car (caravanning to lunch, then to another city to spend the night, etc.), so couldn't fill up until the next morning at around 103 miles (19 were pre-delivery).

First tank: Mostly highway with some city and suburban, plus "errand/commuter" miles.
Trip computer estimated 43.0mpg at average speed 45mph.
Odometer reading 509. Trip 405.0mi. 9.5gal 89-octane.  Calculated 42.63mpg.

Second tank: Mixed suburban/errands.
Trip computer estimated 40.2mpg at average speed 30mph.
Odometer reading 835. Trip 326.6mi. 8.5gal 89-octane. Calculated 38.42mpg.

Third tank: Mixed suburban/errands.
Trip computer estimated 40.2mpg at average speed 27mph.
Odometer reading 1001. Trip 165.5mi. 4.0gal 89-octane. Calculated 41.38mpg.

So over the first 898 measured miles, 22 gallons of fuel were used, for an average of 40.82 overall. The trip "B" computer for that period estimated 41.4mpg overall.

It's "normal" driving, to me. Not winning stoplight races, but not being passed by old ladies in Buicks either. Not skip-shifting, shutting car off to coast down hills or at lights, etc.  Since I work from home, most use of the car is just running errands - taking my daughter to/from classes, going out for lunch/dinner, picking stuff up at stores, etc. Definitely having fun while driving it, too!

Hope this information is of some help/use to others here.

Shaun Folkerts
Prima #11
www.FiatLancia.com

Hi Shaun,

Great job documenting.  I've replaced my spirited driving technique from my youth with a more relaxed  (mature) style. Smoothness is my goal, and I like to keep the avg mpg up. It might be hard with the 500, at least at first, because it feels good winding it up.

Hopefully, I'll find out soon;)

Oh come now Chris, you know you want to drive it like a mad banshee...  I will, once I do buy one myself.

[Fiat500USA]

ciddyguy wrote

Oh come now Chris, you know you want to drive it like a mad banshee...  I will, once I do buy one myself.

You're right, it will be tough not to rev the heck out of it.  My philosophy is: if you want to be quicker, use more revs. However, that is always easier to do when you are driving someone else's car;)

[SeaDawg]

Fiat500USA wrote

However, that is always easier to do when you are driving someone else's car;)

                               

[Fiat #183]

I have gotten 33.7 over a 1500 mile period.  The speedo  reads high by about 3 % so call it 33.

[Giallo Edizione]

I just completed my second tank, mostly local rural driving. 34.5 mpg. My break in period ended  by my standards about halfway through this tank and the mileage on the second half was dramatically lower than the first half. Gosh, imagine that! Want fun? Turn on sport, turn off ESC.

Today I filled tank #3 with 93 octane and did a 250 mile round trip all highway, rolling hills of Massachusetts and Connecticut, mostly 70-75 mpg ( or more at times). 38.8 mpg overall. Not bad considering the speeds, right at the EPA estimate. At 55 mph I expect it could be in the 40's ( but I can't drive 55).

[Gavin]

290 miles of almost all city driving (90% or more)...and I drive fairly fast. 31.4 mpg. 9.239 gallons put in.

Will see if that improves with second tank of gas. Was thinking/hoping to get closer to 35 mpg...I could drive slower or I could stop checking my mileage :)


Gavin

[sketch]

italophile wrote

My current daily driver was originally rated 20/29.  When the EPA revised their test a few years back, the official MPG of my car dropped to 17/27.  I average about 24 commuting (I don't do a lot of true stop-and-go city driving, however) and 31 on the road, and I've seen as high as 33.  Historically, every car I've ever owned has done at least 10% better than the OLD figures, which were supposedly unrealistic and unattainable.  I don't know what kind of abuse you have to lay on a car to get down to the new numbers.

That being the case, I'm expecting the highway mileage of my 500 to be at least 40 MPG, and 45 wouldn't surprise me one bit, especially since some owners have already achieved it.  I have the feeling we're all going to feel pretty smug about our purchase starting about Memorial Day.

My last car was originally rated 60/51 but adjusted to 48/45 with the new scale.  My lifetime average over about 85,000 miles was 38.9 mpg, but I also got the car when I was eighteen, so I drove kinda like a jackass for a while :P. Economy absolutely tanked above 75 on the highway, too.

The trip computer says something like 28mpg in the 500, but it includes 104 pre-delivery miles—took me a day to find the Trip button! Whoops...

[sketch]

Gavin wrote

but I do coast some in neutral...this car coasts great.

This is actually not a good idea! Modern engines, when they are in gear but you're off the accelerator, use no gas at all, simply allowing the wheels to spin the engine.  When you take it out of gear, the engine has to burn some gas to keep an idle going.

I typically let it roll in gear until the engine gets down to about 1000 rpm, then pull it out of gear.  Don't even need to use the clutch sometimes!

Interestingly, I discovered a while ago while reading through Louisiana's traffic codes that it is actually unlawful to coast to a stop in neutral.  Curious.  I think it might have something to do with accident avoidance—can't move out of the way if you can't make it move at all, after all.

[Scorpion]

That's a very good point sketch, about coasting in N vs. in gear. I was about to offer up that info until I got to your post. Many people don't realize it, because it does seem counter-intuitive.

I like that FiatLancia has provided both the computer numbers vs. real-world calculations. I've always been use to doing my own calculations, having never had a car that provided that info. It will be interesting going forward to see how close the two are. It seems (by his example at least) that the computer is a bit optimistic, but not by much.

My first tank was 34.8 calculated, which was weighted more toward Highway. I'm on my second tank now, which was mostly City. I'm about to fill up again. So, I'll see what that number is and post it here.

BTW, I've been using mymilemarker.com to track my mileage for over four years, and really like it.

[sjmst]

I'm up to 36 MPG on average.  

[sketch]

Oh, I'd also like to point out that the skip shift system found on cars like the Corvette and Pontiac G8 GXP is only there because it allows the models in question to avoid a heavy gas guzzler tax.

The system, if you are accelerating in 1st gear between about 14 and 25 mph, with less than 35% throttle, a "1->4" light will illuminate on the dash and a solenoid will prevent you from moving the shifter into second.  It's pretty annoying; I usually just give it a little more gas so it doesn't make me do it.

Of course, with the monstrous gobs of low-end torque in those LS engines, you can pretty much spend all day in 4th if you want!  Not really a luxury we have with our little one-point-fours, but rowing through all the gears to keep it up in that peak power range is more fun, anyway! :p

[Giallo Edizione]

36.7 mpg, about 2/3 highway. 3rd tank.

[ciddyguy]

Giallo Edizione wrote

36.7 mpg, about 2/3 highway. 3rd tank.

I take it that's combined cycle, right? If so, we are far exceeding the estimates set by the EPA.

[Gavin]

Gavin wrote

290 miles of almost all city driving (90% or more)...and I drive fairly fast. 31.4 mpg. 9.239 gallons put in.

Will see if that improves with second tank of gas. Was thinking/hoping to get closer to 35 mpg...I could drive slower or I could stop checking my mileage :)


Gavin

Ok second tank.

this time almost all highway driving (about 250 miles highway, 30 miles city...aprox)...39.4 mpg.

hoping it all evens out to be about 32 in city and 40 on highway

Gavin

[sketch]

My average over 1452 miles is 31.7 mpg.  This is mostly highway driving.  I didn't make the EPA estimate, but I haven't been driving at EPA speeds, either! :P

[Gavin]

almost 1500 miles so far? dang you people drive sooooo much more than I do....

I'm at 550 and that is only because I took a trip this weekend and put over 200 miles on her in one day...I still bet I have less than 4k on the odometer when she hits her first birthday.


Gavin

[sketch]

Haha, well, delivery did happen to fall just a week before a planned trip up to Blacksburg, VA and back... before that, I put 350 miles or so on it in the first week of city driving.  Should hit 2000 by day's end!