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Saab 9-3 Real World MPG

48 messages,  Last post on May 19, 2013 at 7:53 PM

You are in the Saab 9-3 Forum.

What is this discussion about? Saab 9-3, Fuel Efficiency (MPG), Coupe, Convertible, Sedan, Wagon

Messages Page 5 of 6

#34 of 48 Re: Under 16mpg! [biggimp] by cb_saab

Feb 22, 2008 (3:19 pm)

Replying to: biggimp (Jan 04, 2008 11:19 am)
Hold the phones! I was getting very low MPG for my 2007 SAAB 9-3 SS, and then I re-read the owner's manual carefully to figure out how to reset the fuel average meter on the dash. Suddenly my MPG (as reported by the car) shot up to 28 - 30 MPG (I do mostly highway driving).
 
Apparently the SAAB gas meter is always calculating so if you leave your car idling for long, then your reported MPG drops like a brick. And my dealer must have done a lot of idling with this car before I bought it, because the car originally reported my avg. speed as 1 MPH!
 
The secret to reseting both is to enter the "SAAB Information Display" (SID) on the dashboard, and press and hold the"CLR" button on your steering wheel. (Not sure what this is like for older SAABs, but the interior controls are the same for 2008).

#35 of 48 Re: MPG [waterdr] by cb_saab

Feb 22, 2008 (3:25 pm)

Replying to: waterdr (Dec 27, 2007 7:39 pm)
It's not just the octane rating that matters. It's true that the owner's manual says the car runs fine at 87 AON octane. But it also says look for a cleaner gas, one that's "advertised to help keep fuel injectors and intake valves clean."
 
I recently decided to try 93 octane and definitely saw a boost in performance at highway speeds. But I also noticed a drop in my wallet!
 
Too bad fuel manufacturers aren't required to post the quality of their gas -- not just the octane rating.

#37 of 48 by rivets

Oct 09, 2008 (6:29 pm)

We've had ours for about a year, and here's what we're seeing.
Running regular UL. Fuel economy is very dependent on how driven.
2 adults, 2 kids, AC off, windows closed, 2 lane roads, 100 mile trip: 35.5 mpg
1 adult, 1-2 kids, ac, in town, mid-low 20's
4 up, AC, highway at 60-65 (mostly with cruise on) usually around 31-33, depending on hills.
1 up, some AC highway, 60-65: typically 35mpg, occasionally 37, rarely 38.
4 up, AC (hot day), 70-75mph, usually around 29-31 mpg.
4 up with baggage, 1400 mile trip at 65-75mph, between 29-31 (again), depending on hills and the right pedal.
2 up, 200 miles, 40% interstate, mixture of county & state roads, around 35-36mpg
 
Best so far:
1 up, rolling terrain, no AC, driving verrrry carefully, 100 mile trip, back roads, neutral going downhill, very light traffic, slow going uphill: 42.5 mpg. This was quite hard to do, at least for me.
 
Method: Mixture of SID and pencil/paper which seem to agree with each other within 0.5 mpg overall.
 
Car has about 54000 miles on it.
 
Bottom line: if we "just drive it" we'll see 30-31 on trips, and 22-25 in town. If we're a little careful, it goes up considerably. I'm sure we could make it quite low too.

#38 of 48 EPA ratings are worthless by saablcp

Oct 10, 2008 (9:53 am)

My '08 Aero Automatic Trans.,2.8L. 255 H.P. V-6 is rated 16 city,24 highway.I am not a lightfooted driver by any standard.My daily commute is 22 miles and takes me upwards of 45 min.so it's a mixture of stop and go streets,some highway,and at least 8 miles of back country ,up and down hills, roads.I never avg. less than 20 m.p.g.The last trip of 120 miles on the Pa. Turnpike was an avg.speed of 73 m.p.h.and my mileage was 31.3! My car has 9,200 miles on it and I use only 93 octane.I don't see the point in spending $6,000.00 more to get the performance of an Aero only to compromise it by saving on average $125.00 a year in fuel costs!

#39 of 48 Re: Regular vs Premium gasoline? [paa] by haasker

Jan 02, 2009 (3:32 pm)

Replying to: paa (Sep 17, 2007 7:03 pm)
The 9-3 runs fine on regular, but I find it has more power using Premium, a little more get up and go for the hills, and passing power. I find just toodling around town, stoplight to stoplight, makes no difference. I do get slightly better milage with premium, but not enough to justify the difference in price. so it comes down to a little more poop off the pedal seems to be the difference.

#40 of 48 Re: [rivets] by adobefelix

Sep 22, 2009 (1:41 pm)

Replying to: rivets (Oct 09, 2008 6:29 pm)
We're getting the same in our 2002 9-3 turbo 5-speed 4 door. Cool weather (and perhaps denser air that comes with it) seems to be good for an additional 1-2 mpg on the freeway. Best for a 250 mile trip was 37.3 mpg at 75 mph with kids, dogs, and luggage on mostly flat freeways on regular grade gas.
 
And yes (off topic) it's faster from 40 to 70 mph than a porsche 911 turbo, and cheaper to insure than our '06 Honda Accord.
 
We LOVE this gorgeous, fun and moderately sporty car.
 
Far at the other end of the spectrum, driving uphill on a windy road at 20-25mph in second gear while towing a camping trailer nets about 10 mpg.
 
Felix

#41 of 48 Re: Regular vs Premium gasoline? [paa] by jski127

Sep 23, 2009 (5:46 pm)

Replying to: paa (Sep 17, 2007 7:03 pm)
I have an '05 93 linear. I usually burn reg. gas 87 octane. I average 28.5 mpg combination city and highway. Over the road about 32. When I us unleaded Plus the mileage increases to about 29.4 and highway 33 - 34. The car has a little less pick up with regular. For the difference of $ 1.40 per tank I generally will use the plus.

#42 of 48 Sportcombi MPG by samara

Dec 09, 2009 (10:25 pm)

Looking for real world MPG information on a 2008 or 2009 Saab 9-3 Sportcombi 2.0T with 6 speed manual. For those driving manuals what has been your experience?

#43 of 48 saab 9-3 convert 1999 bad gas mileage by Ron by rondo5

Jul 23, 2010 (3:49 am)

I have the car about 3 years. It has 62k miles and is used less than 3k a year in mixed driving. It seems to run perfectly and has been tuned. It does have a very very slight hesitation on takeoff. It gets about 15 mpg since I got it. I've reset the sid many times. I use mid-grade fuel. Any ideas?

Messages Page 5 of 6

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