2008 Ford Focus SES: Meet Our MPGs

You know - I bet they have gotten rid of it. I don't remember seeing a "Goodbye to the Versa" post or final test, but they did get it back Jan 07, so it's been a year.

So the Focus is about 10 mpg behind my '99 Civic EX. The Focus is about 1.5 sec slower from 0-60 as well. Such is progress. . .

24 miles a gallon is fuel efficient for a small car? The new Altima does that with a stick, or 23 mpg with the CVT. 32 or 31 on the highway respectively, as well.
 
And stephen, keep in mind the revised fuel economy ratings. Your 1999 Civic EX is rated at 24/32 (if automatic) now, compared to the old rating of 28/35.

It doesn't sound very good to me but I realize it's difficult to compare driving styles and locations. My 91 Legacy AWD wagon is averaging 26 mpg on my daily commute, 29 on the highway and an all time best of 32.
 
If I traded my old car for a new Focus and got the same mileage, I would be very disappointed.

Every post on this Focus screams mediocrity! You guys should close out the test and trade it in on something more interesting. What would you fellow commentators like to see in substitution?

Edmunds's fuel economy is generally lower than anyone else's, so how about a comparison to other long-term auto-trans small cars? Can someone post the numbers for the Versa or any others that have been through in recent years?
 
You can't really call the Focus mileage mediocre comparing the Edmunds figure to another car's EPA rating or the mileage you've gotten yourself in another car.

I'd like to see the new 2 mode Tahoe. I want to see what kind of numbers that gets in the real world.

Wow, good job Focus. You manage to get 1 or 2 miles per gallon better than my Accord, and you're a two door compact car.

Actually, orangutan, EPA figures (old or new methods) don't reflect my experience at all. I was comparing my real world MPG over 135k miles ('99 Civic EX 5-speed, btw) to that of the Focus. Lifetime average ca. 35 mpg, best tank 41, worst tank around 28 mpg. Thus, close to 10mpg better than Edmunds is getting with the Focus. Then again, as bradyholt would point out, I don't live in LA, nor do I drive like an Edmunds tester.

"So the Focus is about 10 mpg behind my '99 Civic EX. The Focus is about 1.5 sec slower from 0-60 as well. Such is progress. . ."
 
How do the cars match up weight wise? Curious how that plays into it.
I'm not sure if it is due to the safety requirements but cars just keep getting heavier

Hoping to see better MPGs from it! I know I always see the commerical for it && they always say 35 MPG!!! i'd like to see it come true...That is all.

Let's give the car and the Edmunds/IL staff some time (and miles), folks.
 
After all, it was put through the wringer by Senior Road Test Editor Josh Jacquot only a month ago.
 
http://66.160.188.111/roadtests/1934

But it's not just the Focus, I've noticed an epidemic of disappointing MPG numbers in 4-cyl engines in the 140hp+ range. I'm talking about the GM Ecotecs, the Lancer/Caliber engine, Kia Rondo (although Edmunds has the V6) and the 4-cyl Sonata.
 
I am getting essentially the same mileage with the 3.5 V6 in my Aura XE as I've seen reported in all of the above engines.
 
To their credit, only Honda seems to be able to make a fuel-efficient 4cyl in this HP class. But WHY?!

Honda and Toyota tops mpg.
Because they're both driven by 1.8-liter engines.
Oh how bored the Edmunds staff would be to take a fuel efficient 2009 Toyota Corolla into the fleet.
At least the Ford has the exciting SYNC, which is very mysterious to the writers of more advanced age.

Speaking of which, the Long-Term Introduction to the Focus stated that Sync was the main motivator for adding this car to the fleet. And yet, I have not yet seen one *detailed* post about anyone's experience with Sync.

now it's my turn to hate....
 
WHAT AN FUGLY CAR!

People really aren't cutting the Focus enough slack. Trying to drive a compact car in California is hard work on the little engines that power these cars. Most people don't think about how fast Californians drive on the highway, trying to get a compact car up to 80 to merge onto the freeway is a lot of work for a four-cylinder, obviously gas mileage is going to suffer. Warm temperatures also hurt gas mileage so that is two strikes against cars in LA.

Warm temperatures help mileage quite a bit.

Warmer temps definitely benefit fuel economy. And as bradyholt correctly noted, Edmunds' numbers are nearly *always* far below what those of us not in LA get from the same or similar vehicles. I can see getting 33-35 from the automatic-equipped Focus easily if I had it for my local commute (mostly highway, light traffic).
 
misterfusion- You can't really compare the fours to the 3.5 pushrod GM V6. That engine has to be one of the most outstanding 6 cylinders for fuel economy that I've ever had the pleasure of owning. The 2004 Malibu LT V6 (w/4 speed auto) regularly returned 30-34 mpg on the local work commute, with an all-time high of around 38 mpg. Not too shabby for a ~205 hp non-VVT V6. However, Edmunds testers would likely see 22-25 mpg overall in the same car. ;)

it would be handy if Edmunds put up a fuel economy page that just had listed the car, engine, transmission, total miles, best tank, worst tank, average. For all the cars they've kept track of.

"After all, it was put through the wringer by Senior Road Test Editor Josh Jacquot only a month ago."
 
- Actually, we fill up before and after vehicle testing, and don't count that tank in overall fuel economy. My guess about the Focus' less-than-EPA fuel economy is that its been restricted to LA traffic for most of its life. Brent taking it up to Fresno is probably its longest journey.
 
-And regarding Sync, we're planning on a tutorial video in a couple weeks. Stay tuned.

Thanks, James! I didn't know fuel consumed during testing is excluded from fuel economy calculations. It never hurts to make a shameless plug for your blog entries with your video masterpieces.

I'm with jriz. The Focus hasn't been on any long trips where its average would likely improve. If someone takes it on a 1000-mile trip and gets the EPA's 33 mpg highway, this little car's average jumps to 27.3, pretty darn close to that EPA combined value of 28.
  
I'm also with SubyTrojan. Just give it some time to even out. The thing about averages is that when you have relatively few data points, the data may appear to be skewed one way or another. As a baseball analogy, let's say you got 1 hit in your first 8 at bats. That 0.125 average isn't necessarily representative of your batting average at the end of the season. Maybe at the end of the season you've gotten 100 hits out of 400 at bats: a significantly higher average of 0.250. So let's reserve judgement until the "season" is over: when the Edmunds staff has put 10 or 20k miles on this car.

Oops, the Californian in me comes up again. By warm weather I was referring to upper eighties and nineties under which conditions gas mileage does suffer (largely because of air conditioning use). Just clarifying :)

My wife's 2006 Focus with the same basic powertrain took what seemed like forever to break-in...after 7K to 10K miles, fuel economy went up 2 to 3 mpg. It took about 2 oil changes, it seems to me.

Jerrywimer: You're right, I am very happy with the performance of the GM 3.5 OHV engine in all aspects. If I had any prejudice against pushrod engines, this "High Value" engine has obliterated it.
 
Re the Focus, I think the mileage will improve as the statistical period increases. Didn't some major municipality just buy a fleet of 'em for economic reasons? Even if the mileage is average, the air quality will appreciate the PZEV.

I'm amazed at the inconsistencies I see here. You guys pinged the Chevy Aveo for its unimpressive gas mileage, yet it's rated at just 1 mpg less than the Focus, which you praise for it's efficiency. My 08 Aveo LS Sedan has not gotten worse than 29 MPG in all city driving and has gotten better than 35 MPG in all highway driving.

why are people complaining about the mileage of this car when its about 2mpg worse than the Civic? I dont consider that a huge difference at all.

I would complain about the Civic too. I remember when Civics had no trouble beating 40mpg. In these days, mileage should be improving, not steadily getting worse.