Can U Beat Their Cars EPA Fuel Rating?

[Best F100]

Has anyone soundly beat their cars EPA Fuel Rating? I didn't think I ever would.

I drive a 2011 Ford Taurus with AWD. The EPA sticker for this car is 17 City/ 25 Hwy. On my recent move from Michigan to Nashville, on all highway driving, I netted almost 32 mpg (31.9) without trying to do so (3 passengers + air + a full trunk). For such a big car, with AWD, I was shocked, since it normally falls within the sticker range - in surburban/mixed traffic. I just set the cruise to 70 mph, or fell in behind faster moving 80 mph tractor trailers.

I'm thinking that some of you Focus/Corolla/Civic drivers should be hitting the mid 40 mpg range under the same conditions. Are you? I've heard the next year, there will be a 4 cylinder EcoBoost Taurus. I would think a FWD version should be good for mid 30's on the Hwy. Ya think?

Full disclosure: I've got my tires pumped up to 40 psi and am running Motorcraft 5W20 Full Synthetic. Good stuff! It is on the thin side of the 5W20's (8.2 cst@100C).

 

[badtlc]

The new epa ratings are a joke on the conservative side. I had no problems beating the OLD epa ratings on all my cars.

 

[simple_gifts]

No problems beating the 43mpg "old" rating with my toyota. I wondered, as you, if I could turn in high 40's with a "new rated" 40mpg car.....

 

[Eddie]

I have not soundly (what ever that term means) but, I have gotten better mileage than the EPA values on each of my last three vehicles. Jeep GC, Subaru Forester and now my Mazda CX7. The new EPA rating have made it more difficult however. I generally record about 5% better than the EPA ratings and I don't always drive like a grandpa. I don't do anything special and run the recommended wt oil and keep my tire pressures at the recommended pressure or maybe 2 psig over at most. I;ve found a steady foot, anticipate traffic lights and keeping my vehicle maintained properly is the answer for me. Ed

 

[yaris0128]

My del sol is currently rated at 37hwy old score was 41. My last tank I got 48mpg.
The yaris is 36hwy and I can do about 39-42 and 42 if Im lucky. Originally it was 40hwy and thats thinking optimistic. 36 is a realistic number for a normal driver.
The civic I can average around 30mpg with a heavy mix of short city trips. So its doing what its supposed to do highway in the city. Very good car.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Best F100
Has anyone soundly beat their cars EPA Fuel Rating? I didn't think I ever would.

My 530i is rated at 27 mpg hwy. I got about 30.5 mpg during my move from Miami to Chicago. That was with the car's trunk and back seat filled to the brim with junk.

The wife's C300 is rated at 25 mpg hwy. We haven't had a chance to take it for an extended hwy drive yet, but my guess is it would just barely make it. She averages under 21 mpg in mixed driving. This car is a serious gas hog.

 

[Warstud]

I believe the EPA tests are done in a controlled environment...indoors on a dyno. Not on the road traveling great distances. I think the further you drive the higher your MPG will be.

 

[TFB1]

IIRC the EPA highway mileage still includes some city, so will be lower on the sticker than actual all highway driving...

 

[EricF]

the mileage in my 89 firebird 2.8L was avg. 13. after 130k miles mileage went up to avg 16, sometimes higher..
the seafoam decarbonize treatment probably did quite a bit of good.

 

[JHZR2]

We generally hit the old EPA highway numbers for city and mixed driving.

It just takes a little care and realization that we dont have to play NASCAR at every red light and onramp.

 

[Milkman]

I used to be able to get a solid 30.5 MPG in my Buick (highway). With the "New" gas the best I can get is 29 MPG. The car is rated @ 28 highway.

 

[dwendt44]

Originally Posted By: Warstud
I believe the EPA tests are done in a controlled environment...indoors on a dyno. Not on the road traveling great distances. I think the further you drive the higher your MPG will be.


the last I heard, and it's been quit a while, is that the test is at about 48 mph, indoors on a dyno. The wind resistance is 'calculated'.

 

[71Chevyguy]

My Saturn Ion 2.2 is rated 21 City and 29 Hwy by the new numbers. I average 38-40 regularly in daily driving. Recently took a trip to NYC and averaged 43. Trust me I do not drive like an old lady either. The car is running properly and recently got a new set of plugs since I was doing all the filters and such. I really love the car, who could complain about economy like that?

 

[bepperb]

The Honda is no problem. I can get 36mpg with the A/C on. EPA 32. I get 30~31 in town.

The Highlander is more difficult. I can plan on about 26 compared to the EPA 25.

This is all highway vs highway epa ratings, fwiw.

 

[E365]

Here's info on the tests themselves.

http://fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml

You can see even the highway test has a lot of speed variations, and only runs for about 10 miles. It should be pretty easy for any car to beat the EPA highway rating with the cruise set at 55-60 mph and going for 100+ miles.

In Europe the have an "Extra-Urban" cycle which is usually really high. My guess is that is more of a long range, cruise control run to realistically "max out" the fuel economy numbers.

 

[Patman]

My 98 Corvette is only rated at 27 MPG highway but I have seen as high as 32.5 MPG on the highway when I set the cruise control to the speed limit here.

It will be interesting to see how much I beat the highway rating on my Civic, as my Scangauge shows 50 MPG when I set the cruise control at the speed limit. I believe the 2006 Civic was only rated at about 38 or 39 MPG highway. (I got 35.8 in mixed driving on my first tank full with the car)

 

[Spazdog]

In the Mazda? No problem.
EPA Fuel Economy:
20 Combined
17 City
25 Highway
I've never gotten less than 20 mpg. And that took quite a bit of "spirited" city driving. I'm currently averaging between 24 and 25. Freeway is usually 30-31

For some strange reason the Ford Fusion, with virtually the same engine and transmission, on the same chassis that is roughly 1 inch wider and 2 inches longer is rated at 1 mpg better in every category. the one I rented wasn't any better than my 6 but still surpassed the EPA rating.

But Chrysler pretty much nailed it.

21 Combined
19 City
25 Highway

The window sticker actually said 26 Highway, and that's exactly what it gets. Averages 20. I'm guessing closer to 17 City

 

[sciphi]

Buick: Seeing 32-33 mpg highway is no issue when going about 60 mph. At 65 the car gets about 30-31 mpg. Old EPA ratings were 30 mpg highway, new is 27 mpg. Best ever tank was 39 mpg.

Honda: with me driving: 40 mpg highway is doable with the cruise set at 65 mph, and a little better can be done with a little coaxing at lower speeds. EPA rating is 33 mpg highway.

Smashing EPA ratings is a hoot. It saves money at the pump, too.

 

[yesthatsteve]

My xB is rated at 31/34, and I've averaged 35.6 in the nearly two months since I bought it.

With the (lack of) aerodynamics and gearing that has the engine cranking 3500 RPMs at 70 mph in 5th gear, it underperforms the EPA rating on the interstate. Every time I get the car up to 70, I just watch the trip mpg fall on my Ultra-gauge.

 

[GMFan]

My car is rated for 30mpg on the highway, but I always get between 31 and 32 mpg. However, this is usually at 70-75mph on the highway with AC or windows down. I'm sure I could get a few more mpgs if I drove for better fuel economy.