In my first 3000 miles or so I have been getting about 27 MPG and it is mostly short runs in the neighborhood and to the office. This current tank I am on I have done mostly freeway driving, and when I'm on the freeway I get an astonishing 35+ MPG! My average for the tank is now about 30.7 -- it has never been that high with just 3 gallons left in the tank.

So I was led to expect the higher mileage would be in city traffic, but I'm getting the opposite. Anyone else seeing this?

Yes because my "city" driving is so short (normally 4- 6 miles) I don't obtain high MPG.

2005 AWD Escape Hybrid
Best tank trip MPG 39.02 (scangauge II) for 402 miles on I-70, 10.3 gallons used over mostly flat terrain.

Best tank trip MPG 34.6 for E30 for 271 miles along I-80 in Indiana and Ohio.

My city commute is about 3.5 miles across the city in rush hour traffic....and back on a cold engine. Followed 8 hours later by another 3.5 mile drive across the city in rush hour traffic...and back on a cold engine.

My City numbers are about 25-26mpg in the cold and 27-28 when it is warm.

My highway numbers are always above 30mpg. I tend to cruise at 65mph and get about 33mpg. My wife tends to push 75mph and gets about 31mpg. I've gotten as high as 35-37mpg on a 150 mile highway trip.

-Tim

2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid AWD
Black with Pebble interior
Premium Package with Nav & Moonroof



Current ODO: 22,909
Typical Drive: 20 min crosstown in heavy traffic (3.5mi there and back twice a day)


457 Gallons of gas saved
That's 9,150 lbs less CO2

Tim, you would be a perfect candidate for a PHEV or totally electric car because of your short trips. If you could plug-in/charge your battery at home, then drive to/from work on total electric, imagine the savings.

A PHEV in these circumstances would probably require to use stabilizer in your gas tank, to keep the gas from going stale on you. What a nice problem that would be.

I think it depends on how a person drives, specifically how fast you're going on the highway and how much you're accelerating in the city.

If by "highway" driving a person means urban highways at average speeds under 70, then you'll get great mileage. If by "city" driving a person means quickly rushing from stoplight to stoplight, then yes your mileage will suffer in the city.


The lower EPA highway rating is realistic on rural interstates at 75-80 miles per hour. The higher EPA city rating is realistic if you are driving at speeds from 20-45 MPH with a lot of sudden acceleration.

When my FEH was new, and more importantly, when I was new at driving it, I was getting about the same at both city and highway. Later, I learned how to "optimize" my city driving, and city MPG sky-rocketed, but there's not a lot one can do to raise up the high speed highway driving.

My average is so low below, because I do mostly highway.
I do about 3000 miles of highway, and 200 miles of city per month.

On those city trips ( always more than 5 miles, so engine does get "hot" ) I can approach 50 MPG. 40 is easy. 50 takes concentration. It's hard to beat 30 MPG if your trips are short. A cold engine and/or battery = low MPG.

Still, I can't do better than most ( 33mpg? 34MPG? ) on highway. There's just no way to avoid all that wind resistance.

I know....its just that $30,000 price tag!!!

-Tim

2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid AWD
Black with Pebble interior
Premium Package with Nav & Moonroof



Current ODO: 22,909
Typical Drive: 20 min crosstown in heavy traffic (3.5mi there and back twice a day)


457 Gallons of gas saved
That's 9,150 lbs less CO2

Yep, understand. Somewhere along the line you have to weigh retrun on investment.