Big List of Fuel Economy: July 2009

Wow, you guys drive your cars hard. My Tundra's lifetime avg would slide right under the Flex in the 10 spot. Not bad considering the work it does.

12 out of 19 cars are averaging less then 20 mpg.

It's easy to see why you got the 2nd Fit, the Insight, Smart and TDI. Don't want to look too bad these days.

I'm still most interested in the huge spread most cars have between the high/low numbers. It really shows how much you driving style/ situation can change your mileage on modern cars.

Ever since I put the Turner/Conforti chip in the Club Sport it's returned even better fuel economy; at 80 mph(4000 rpm) it returns 31 mpg, and 27-29 in mixed suburban driving. Not bad for 15 year old technology.

Any chance you can make that picture a higher resolution so I could make it my computer background?

@stephen987: I dunno. It's the first "normal" car on the list. Everything else is an alt-fuel/hybrid or a so-called "smart" car.

I'm looking forward to seeing where the Mazda6 fits on this list. The Suzuki looks like such a tempting target. . .

12.7 mpg in the Civic GX? wow.
I'm somewhat surprised that the Flex averages higher than the 370Z, but considering the Z is a sports car, well, I guess that's expected;
But I'm surprised that all of the cars' best tanks are 20+ mpg. All of them except the Dodge Ram. Isn't it rated above 20 mpg on the highway?

Awesome picture, put a smile of my face

@kdragon5: Its probably because the major time that the Ram had highway miles was the towing.

@firstwagon: The gaps in numbers was the first thing I noticed as well.

If you sort by worst tank, then the TDI beats the Insight, and the Fit beats the Smart.

roadburner....

Okay, I'll take the bait! What the hell is a Club Sport?

I have an 09 Fit, and averaged 35 mpg on a 575 mi road trip, doing 5 mph over the posted speed limit. This weekend, I'm going to do the same trip at 15 over... will be winding that little squirrel engine out. Expecting sub-30 mpg. Would prefer to be in the M3 with a nice radar detector...

brian55,

The Club Sport is a limited edition model(@300 were built) of the 1995 BMW 318ti built by BMW Individual. It features an M Technic aerodynamic kit, an M Technic suspension, and a black Montana leather/red millpoint cloth interior. Mine is one of less than 5 that were ordered and built without a sunroof.
This car is identical to mine:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o305/bluebimma/Clubsport/95_318ti20009.jpg
http://media.photobucket.com/image/318ti+club+sport/leifaw/ClubSportDriversSeat.jpg?o=1
I special ordered my car with only a limited slip differential and premium sound; it was delivered in November 1995. I fitted an M Technic rear spoiler along with a UUC Motorwerks clutch pedal stop and a UUC RK II shift knob- as well as the previously mentioned chip. It's still my favorite car to drive. In a few years I may install a stroker motor and enjoy an additional 100 bhp, but for now I'm happy with it just the way it is.

brian55,

The Club Sport is a limited edition model(@300 were built) of the 1995 BMW 318ti built by BMW Individual. It features an M Technic aerodynamic kit, an M Technic suspension, and a black Montana leather/red millpoint cloth interior. Mine is one of less than 5 that were ordered and built without a sunroof.
This car is identical to mine:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o305/bluebimma/Clubsport/95_318ti20009.jpg
http://media.photobucket.com/image/318ti+club+sport/leifaw/ClubSportDriversSeat.jpg?o=1
I special ordered my car with only a limited slip differential and premium sound; it was delivered in November 1995. I fitted an M Technic rear spoiler along with a UUC Motorwerks clutch pedal stop and a UUC RK II shift knob- as well as the previously mentioned chip. It's still my favorite car to drive. In a few years I may install a stroker motor and enjoy an additional 100 bhp, but for now I'm happy with it just the way it

The Jetta TDI continues to prove that you don't need to resort to unorthodox methods or an impractical package to return excellent mileage. With diesel fuel prices hovering within a few cents of regular petrol prices (on average), it's a more attractive alternative than ever.

@siarizona,

I find that, at least in town, low RPM actually costs mileage in the Fit. I get my best mpg using 4000-4500 rpm shift points--much higher than the optimum for the Civic it replaced. Aerodynamic drag might be a factor in highway cruising, but I'd still expect well into the thirties with it.

You should never get gas when they're filling the tanks at the station...

Seriously, that is bad overall mileage. Must be nice having toys and not having to pay the bills.

Could someone please tell me what kind of deranged idiot would buy a Smart over a Jetta TDI?

One who has to pay for parking space by the foot? Other than that, I can't imagine who would.

Nice to see the Jetta TDI is near the top - big diesel torque, a sensible everyday car, and high mpg's to boot! Who wouldn't want one of these as a commuter? I might start looking for one of these (I know they're rare, and not cheap) for when my '94 SHO commuter dies (come on, make it to 200k baby!)

The 13.3 mpg average for the Ram is pretty inexcusible. I don't care if the Edmunds staff has a collectively heavy foot - my TRD supercharged Tundra with 200 more HP averages 13 mpg with 33" tires! I love the looks of the Ram, I like the concept of the soft riding rear suspension - even if it makes it a bit of a pansy truck, the interior is very nice - but with all of the tech and money Chrysler has thrown at it - it should be higher. I recognize that probably the majority of the fuel history with Edmunds was the road trip - half of which was towing through the mountains - so I expect it to go up. It needs to get above 15 mpg to match the long term Tundra. This should be an interesting one to follow for those of us who follow the trucks...

That Avant's best tank is just awful. 26 MPG with a 4 cylinder.

blueguy - judging by the blog entries, I think it's safe to say the A4 has gotten a lot of attention for its hauling capability. Consequently, if it's being used in such a capacity the majority of the time, the mileage would deteriorate.

Additionaly, while the 2.0T is an efficient engine on the highway, it's MPG drops dramatically anytime the turbo kicks in. I've noticed this with my GTI, which gets horrendous mileage around town, but consistently returns 31MPG on the highway.

"Additionally, while the 2.0T is an efficient engine on the highway, its MPG drops dramatically anytime the turbo kicks in."

Yep. My MS3 gets about 10 mpg on the track...

roadburner...

Thanks for getting back to me. I Really appreciate your detailed response.

I have never done better than about 26mpg out of my 4-cyl Subaru Forester which makes 30 HP less than the Audi.

Just added the Ford Focus -- Donna

brian55,

You are welcome!

"Seriously, that is bad overall mileage. Must be nice having toys and not having to pay the bills. "

What kind of mileage do you get? do you realize normal people dont hypermile? My car is EPA rated at 17/26 and it gets about 14-15 in REAL city driving and about 25-27mpg on the highway. There is a HUGE gap between what a non hybrid gets in the city and on the highway. Its a little smaller on large trucks though.

that's a cool picture btw.

@tryan, that's a best tank. not average. we have a 2.0T and my wife (who can't modulate to save her life) still gets 25 MPG mixed. Straight freeway she's good for 30.

I'm always struck by the abysmal mileage edmunds gets. I think they drive cars as if they were rentals.

"I'm always struck by the abysmal mileage edmunds gets. I think they drive cars as if they were rentals."

To that end, somebody should make a photo slideshow of all the burnouts the Edmunds Staff does with their cars...=)