This weekend I spent 190 miles in the Outlander carting the kids around. It was pleasant. No real complaints. In fact, the more time I spend in the Outlander the more I like it...
But the Mitsu's thirst could be a deal buster for some. We're averaging less than 20 mpg so far (see photo), and I averaged 17 mpg this weekend. The EPA rates the SUV at 19 city/26 hwy. On top of that, the Mitsu's tank only holds 15.8 gallons, which means its range is between 250 and 300 miles. Not exactly a distance runner.
In other news, today the Outlander past the 7,500 mile mark, so it's due for its first scheduled maintenance. We'll let you know how that goes later this week.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor-in-Chief @ 7,660 miles
dodo2 says:
06:00 AM, 07/23/07
Outlander's gas tank capacity is on par with its main competitors in this class: RAV4@15.9 gal. and CRV@15.3 gal.
The fuel economy highly depends on the driving conditions. So far (4300 miles), my worst average for a tank was 19 mpg and my best was 23 mpg. I had highway trips with 27.6 mpg. I find the Outlander's RELATIVE fuel economy TO THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE ( SUV/CUV, V6, 4WD) pretty good.
albrtkim says:
06:15 AM, 07/23/07
Not to compare my car to a SUv, but my 00 Ford Focus has about 11 to 12 gallons, and I average at between 315 to 325 for a full tank.
dodo2 says:
07:42 AM, 07/23/07
One more thing: "We're averaging less than 20 mpg so far (see photo), and I averaged 17 mpg this weekend. "
I assume you referred to the picture just to show that the observed mileage is 19.5 mpg (with proper calculation).
The number displayed by the trip computer is not relevant unless it's the average after driving on a full tank, with less than 4 hours between each stop/start.
The average displayed is "per session". If you stop for more than 4 hours, the counter gets reset. The best way to calculate the mpg is to do the math (miles drove divided by gallons used).
Your session's average speed (25 mph) is also fairly low, which means you didn't drive too much at highway speed.
alpha01 says:
07:43 AM, 07/23/07
How does this compare to the FWD RAV4 V6 in the fleet?
qqt414 says:
11:35 AM, 07/23/07
As an owner of an 07 outlander i keep track of my fuel economy with every tank. My last three tanks averaged as follows: 20.3mpg, 21.7 mpg, 20. 7 mpg. This is with normal driving with little lead foot action, but hardly a light foot either. I am content for the most part with these numbers, but have to say i feel i fill up quite often compared to my old baby a 1994 E420. Dodo brings up a good point though. the tanks on the Rav-4 and Cr-V and just as small and the outlander i would assume gets only 1-2 less mpg than the Rav
qqt414 says:
11:41 AM, 07/23/07
Oh any my last observation that i need to tell is that the Outlander's computer barks at your about low fuel and REFUEL NOW really early! It really YELLS AT YOU! that has part to do with why i feel i have to refuel sooner. With lots of experience under my belt i would say that when it tells you to refuel, you still have about 3.5-4 four gallons left. I drove for 2 full days to work while it said refuel then i fueled up on the way home and the tank only filled 14.7 gallons.
dodo2 says:
12:31 PM, 07/23/07
By my experience, the REFUEL NOW warning comes up when you have about 10L left in the tank (2.64 US gallons). I know because last week, the warning came up as I was pulling into the gas station. It took 50L to fill it up and the tank is 60L. This is the Canadian version, but there should be no difference in the fuel tank capacity versus the US models.
Diving the vehicles back to back can only provide a fairly accurate gas mileage evaluation. The environmental conditions are a big factor in fuel economy. I drive to work everyday on the same route and I get different readings for the average gas consumption on my trip.
Edmunds has a 06 FWD RAV4 V6 in their fleet while the Outlander is 4WD. Also, the RAV4 has higher mileage on it (the mileage usually slightly increases over time). I would expect the RAV4 V6 AWD to have slightly better fuel economy compared to the Outlander, driven in identical conditions, but not by much. However, the RAV4 has a larger engine and more power which makes it the winner in this respect.
the_bee says:
08:12 AM, 08/10/07
Is there any noticible difference in gas mileage when switching between the three 2WD and 4WD modes?