Lately I have been doing a lot of interstate driving. This past tank, which was about 95% freeway driving, 5% downtown stop-and-go, I only averaged 31.xx MPG in my Focus. Ambient temps were very warm the whole time, and I never exceeded 72 mph on the highway. The first leg of the trip was my wife and myself in the car, with a few suitcases. The second leg was just myself, with nothing else in the car. There was no wind, no construction to slow down for, nothing... And I drove at a modest 71-72 mph on the interstate the entire time. Shouldn't I expect more than 31 mpg? My car is rated for more than that, and in the past with my other vehicles, I have blown away the EPA estimates for mpg's.
My car has the 4-spd ATX w/OD by the way. All of the maintenance items: oil, tranny fluid, spark plugs, fuel filter are all pretty fresh and new, with the exception of the air filter, which is about 17,000 miles old. It is a CAI so the filter is exposed, but that really shouldn't affect highway mpg's since the engine is barely working or sucking much air while cruising on the highway. Plus, the free-flowing intake and surface area of the filter is more than sufficient for this engine. The tires were also a few PSI above mfr specs.
My car has the 4-spd ATX w/OD by the way. All of the maintenance items: oil, tranny fluid, spark plugs, fuel filter are all pretty fresh and new, with the exception of the air filter, which is about 17,000 miles old. It is a CAI so the filter is exposed, but that really shouldn't affect highway mpg's since the engine is barely working or sucking much air while cruising on the highway. Plus, the free-flowing intake and surface area of the filter is more than sufficient for this engine. The tires were also a few PSI above mfr specs.
