Big List of Fuel Economy: February 2010

Apparently they only report on some of their cars, not the whole lineup.

Ford Edge, Lexux 400h, Suzuki and the Volvo are MIA.

GMC Terrain's Window sticker claims 22/32 and you're getting 20.5 MPG. Who would have thought those numbers were bloated and completely unrealistic?

Granted your high mark of 28mpg for a tank is very good for an SUV, but still...selling consumers on unreachable fuel milage is just wrong.

Is that a new long term Q5??????

stoppre75: Look at the whole list...they don't get the EPA average on anything. The official Edmunds driving style isn't conducive to good fuel economy.

@audisport: That's the A4 Avant. -- Donna

kardax - I agree. I'd bet none of the editors pay for their own gas, maintenance or the like. In other words, they don't drive it as if they own it, rather just pass the buck.

I propose that Edmunds turns over the cost of maintenance, fuel, upkeep and repair (including door dings) to each of the editors and I bet we'll see a marked difference in how these cars are treated!

Fit is gone. SX4 has left the building.

As for the "official Edmunds driving style," there isn't any. However, our offices our located in trafficville USA, otherwise known as Santa Monica, California. There isn't anywhere near as much open road driving as you'd get in, say, anywhere that isn't Southern California or New York City.

That said, our averages usually, but not always, come close to EPA Combined. And contrary to the advertising claims and PR boasts of most automakers, EPA Combined is the only number one should compare against. A laser-like focus on EPA Highway only serves to set oneself up for disappointment and customer complaints.

As for the Terrain, it remains to be seen because we've only had it a short time. But any car that achieves higher-than-you'd-expect EPA test numbers through the use of a small engine and tall gearing is bound to fall short as drivers "leg it" in attempt to make it go. Cars with a reasonable power-to-weight ratio ultimately come closer to their advertised fuel consumption in real life.

Dan Edmunds

Dan, I agree about focusing on combined vs highway. The problem is that the manufacturers all tout highway figures in their ads, as if we all drive on wide open freeways in Kansas.

The car makers have nobody to blame but themselves for complaints about poor fuel economy since their the ones that deliberately create the false expectations.

Dan Edmunds:

Or you can drive it the way a person buying the 4 cylinder would drive it, with an understanding of its strengths and weaknesses.

For example, when my wife and I owned a 1986 Chevy Nova with the 1.6 liter and 5 speed, we drove it according to how it performed best. We didn't floor it, it was a waste of time. Any car with a 0-60 time of 13.2 seconds, with the 5 speed, is not a racer. We didn't rev the crap out of it either. We were not rolling roadblocks, we still stayed with traffic in the city, and ran it at 75 mph or higher on the highway. Yet we still got 32 mpg in the city and over 40 mpg on the highway. How, We DROVE IT.

Please stop using the excuse you work in Santa Monica, all of Southern California is bad. Yet almost all of the editors manage to get horrible mileage even on trips to Las Vegas. It is driving style that matters. Here is the kicker, other testers of the Terrain or Equinox are getting 25-26 mpg overall. IL isn't close. Driving style matters with a vehicle like the Equinox.

Having said all that, I have always bought the biggest engine available in any of the new cars I have purchased. Why, because the bigger engine does not work as hard, and usually gets comparable mileage. However, I always adjust my driving style to the vehicle I am driving. My wonderful wife drives much like the IL editors and wonders why she gets such awful mileage in her car. I used to tease her that she was the only person alive who could get less than 40 mpg out of the Nova on the highway, I was wrong. I am sure the IL editors could have done it too :)

Yeah no surprises here, love the mazdaspeeds MPG. I don't know what you do to that 2.0TSI engine in the advant to get 14 mpg.... the terrain makes 20mpg real life which is what you'd expect from a 4 cyl crossover.

What happened to the Genesis?

What happened to the Genesis?

I don't let my gas cap rest against the car like that. That's one action that always separates those that care about their cars from those that don't.

"Fit is gone. SX4 has left the building."

How come we get posts on every minor little trim piece but miss out on stuff like that?

"Here is the kicker, other testers of the Terrain or Equinox are getting 25-26 mpg overall"

Not that I've seen. Most of the tests I've read complained they couldn't get the rated city mileage even when driving on the Hwy.

I would like to see the EPA numbers included in brackets in the big list of mpgs. Just to see who's being honest and who's not. I've owned a lot of cars over the past 30 years and some had no trouble beating the offical numbers and some required hypermiling skills to even come close.

GM used to be famous for setting up their cars to get the max mileage number on the EPA test even if no one could do it in real life. Honda on the other hand could beat the hwy numbers even in the city.

That's changed in recent years but I worry they are slipping back to the dark days.

The Flex has, what, four times the space of the Crosstour? If the Crosstour continues to get only half a mpg better than the Flex over the next year, then Honda has lost its focus.

"Granted your high mark of 28mpg for a tank is very good for an SUV, but still...selling consumers on unreachable fuel milage is just wrong."

The EPA sets the rules and automakers test by them. Individual automakers do not just fabricated sticker ratings. Automakers are designing cars to do well on the EPA test- its true across the board. If you defeat the default programming by flooring the accelerator or using a manumatic on a carefully geared heavy vehicle like TErrain you arent going to get EPA ratings. Heavy traffic will also contribute as Dan said above.

"There isn't anywhere near as much open road driving as you'd get in, say, anywhere that isn't Southern California or New York City."

I wouldnt say that. I would say traffic conditions in ANY major (top 10) metro area presents the same set of problems. I get 14-15mpg in my car in urban traffic. DC, Atlanta, Boston, etc. are just as bad if not worse in terms of traffic relative to my area. That said, aggressive driving that forces constant downshifts will hurt your mileage. Based on the comments IL makes about recent auto transmissions (especially from GM) it seems to me that you guys try to compensate for your dislike of the gearing and programming by using more throttle.

The Fusion hybrid is about as far off its EPA ratings as the Terrain. The A4 isnt looking too hot either considering it has a four cylinder engine.

firstwagon:

"Not that I've seen. Most of the tests I've read complained they couldn't get the rated city mileage even when driving on the Hwy."

Incorrect. If you read some reviews from non enthusiast magazines or newpapers you will find averages in the 20s. If you read C&D you will see 18mpg. Just to prove to you that enthusiast magazines drive these weak vehicles unrealistically C&D recently got 17mpg in the Tuscon and its rated at 23/31 FWD and slightly lower with AWD. I cant remember which model they tested.

This isnt a GM problem, this is a general trend in the industry. cars are geared to excel on the EPA test. GM doesnt create its own criteria and pull an EPA rating out of thin air. All automakers do this which is why the Accord V6 is rated at an unrealistic 19/29 with 271hp. IL was about 2-3mpg lower than the Accord's EPA combined number during their LT test. the average C&D test yields combined mileage that is equal to EPA city ratings.

I dont know how you or anyone else can easily exceed the gov ratings unless you live in a rural area. Just so you know its not a manufacturer specific problem I know someone with an import 4 cylinder rated at 22mpg in the city who has routinely failed to get 19mpg on a tank of city only driving. On my car its nearly impossible to meet the EPA city rating in normal Philly traffic.

1487 says:

06:23 AM, 03/ 4/10

firstwagon:

"Not that I've seen. Most of the tests I've read complained they couldn't get the rated city mileage even when driving on the Hwy."

Incorrect.

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1.4.87

Incorrect. As usual you are assuming something. Assuming you know exactly what tests firstwagon has read. And well, you don't.

Edmunds drivers seem to get lower mileage across the board. My a4 2.0 averages 25 while they are getting 21 (ok mine is not tiptronic, but I'm not a light foot either). As stated above, mostly city driving with moderate aggression will do that.

There is a huge difference in MPGs depending on if you are thinking about MPG or not. I always coast up to stoplights and try to anticipate stops and upcoming traffic. It is how smart, responsible drivers operate automobiles. 25 years ago that was not me....but age and life experience changes things...like having friends killed by reckless driving and $4 a gallon fuel. I was almost killed this moring by an idiot tring to drive 90MPH in traffic in his 7 series BMW.....racing up behind me in the fast lane blinking his high beams when all lanes are are full and going 55. If you are late then leave 10 minutes earlier....if I could have gone somewhere I would have let him by. Drivers of big expensive cars sometimes get a bad rap, but there is a reason they are stereotyped....drivers like that.

There is a huge difference in MPGs depending on if you are thinking about MPG or not. I always coast up to stoplights and try to anticipate stops and upcoming traffic. It is how smart, responsible drivers operate automobiles. 25 years ago that was not me....but age and life experience changes things...like having friends killed by reckless driving and $4 a gallon fuel. I was almost killed this moring by an idiot tring to drive 90MPH in traffic in his 7 series BMW.....racing up behind me in the fast lane blinking his high beams when all lanes are are full and going 55. If you are late then leave 10 minutes earlier....if I could have gone somewhere I would have let him by. Drivers of big expensive cars sometimes get a bad rap, but there is a reason they are stereotyped....drivers like that.