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Automotive News & Views What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?
8676 messages, Last post on Dec 02, 2009 at 1:07 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Dec 07, 2007 2:25 pm) I'd say if you could improve a big V8's mileage by 3 to 5% doing simple easy stuff that would be an accomplishment to brag about. But a 10-15% jump in mileage? You'd have to get kind of radical, and you'd have spent more than the gas savings justify. Well, depending on how aggressive your driving habits are in the first place, you might be able to change them and see a 10-15% jump, or even more, in your own real world fuel economy. For instance, the last time I did one of my runs up to Pennsylvania for a car show, in October, I drove my '85 Silverado, just for the hell of it. It was EPA-rated at 14/16 under the old EPA system, and something like 12/15 with the new, downgraded numbers. I've been able to hit 16 mpg in the past by driving fairly gently, in mostly highway driving. On that trip to PA though, I figured I'd try to hypermile a bit, and actually got it up to 18! So that's about a 12.5% improvement. Basically, I just kept it at around the speed limit, sometimes a bit below, averaging 55-65 mph with an extremely rare jaunt up to 70. Normally on that run, I'd average 65-75, with a rare jaunt up to 80. Also, in local driving, I'd usually get around 12-13 mpg with that truck. When I'd let my roommate borrow it, it was more like 10. Still, there's nothing really magical going on here. It's just easing up on the gas pedal, trying to pay attention far enough ahead so I can coast to a slowdown instead of having to jam on the brakes, trying to avoid fast starts, etc. However, I dunno if it's any easier to beat the EPA estimates in a smaller vehicle versus a bigger one. Probably too many factors other than simply size/mass. |
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Replying to: dromedarius (Dec 07, 2007 7:17 am) |
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Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Dec 07, 2007 2:59 pm)
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Replying to: dromedarius (Dec 07, 2007 7:54 am) I will disagree with you on that one, there is a very large segment of two car families where one car is primarily used for commuting and that car rarely, if ever, has more than 2 people in it. For those families a Smart would be the perfect second car.
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Replying to: robertsmx (Dec 07, 2007 7:59 am) Is it practical for two people to own two large cars? Is it practical for a small family to own two large cars when one is only used for commuting? There is a large segment of the two car family world that does not need a very large second car. Now as the primary car no its not practical, but as a second commuter its a very good and practical car. |
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Replying to: snakeweasel (Dec 07, 2007 3:12 pm) I think if you put a SMART and a Fit side by side with gas mileages taped to their windows, for the same price, and asked small families to choose, I think the Smart would lose 9 out of 10 times. Either price, or "danger" or "looks" will come into play.
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Replying to: robertsmx (Dec 07, 2007 8:10 am) I am not calling anyone liars but I have to tend to seriously question a few who report numbers much higher than everyone else. |
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Dec 07, 2007 10:19 am)
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Replying to: snakeweasel (Dec 07, 2007 3:21 pm) I consistently beat EPA in my Scion xA and that has the same engine as a Yaris, and I did get 40 mpg once or twice---but I'd have to report mine as about 34-36 MPG average with *very* fast driving (as in "Shifty, stop, I can't go any faster").
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Replying to: robertsmx (Dec 07, 2007 11:10 am) Because EPA estiments are the closest thing you can get as a constant for this measurement. No two drivers drive exactly the same way. I will most likely get more or less MPG than you depending on how different we drive. Also no two cars are the same, even the same model with the same engine, and will get slightly differing mileage. You driving your Accord and getting X MPG doesn't mean I will get X MPG on an Accord that has the same options.
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