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Real world gas mileage for sedans
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Wow, I think I need to pay you a visit. I have a 2004 TL 6-speed with 23,000 miles. Just returned from a trip - 370 miles in which I drove between 70 and 80 most of the way - and got 29.4 mpg. However, I average 15-17 mpg around town and that does not include a rush hour commute.
Please describe the kind of in town driving you do and your driving habits/style that produces 24 mpg. Thanks.
That's true but I'm willing to pay the extra $.04 per day for a more relaxing commute and higher average speed.
Btw, the point of my post was to show that two different "city" driving routes can have a significant effect on mileage.
http://www.gasaroo.com
The Toyota Prius results are interesting to look at.
What is really impressive, is the Accord EXL we bought today as well for my wife. No trip computer obviously, but the gas gauge is still past full after the 52 mile trip
I bought both from an Acura/Honda dealer combination north of San Diego. Got both cars right at invoice and am very happy. These are our 10th and 11th Hondas over the last twenty five years
Also, on almost every vehicle out there, the fuel gauge will not move much if the tank was filled completely full. Fuel gauges are very nonlinear devices especially in the first 1.8 or so tank, and it would not surprise me that the gauge still read full after 52 miles. Doesn't mean you got tremendous mileage, in fact it means almost nothing.
Not if that's the way you are planning on "breaking in" your car. Proper break in procedure does not involve driving at steady high speed/rpms. You should be keeping it under 70-75 and varying engine speed (rpms)- definitely stay away from cruise control. You should also avoid excessive short hops where the engine oil and block does not reach full operating temperature to allow the seals and gaskets to fully expand and contract.
Some posters here think that proper break in doesn't matter anymore on today's "modern" cars and engines. Not true, according to the engineers and technicians I spoke with from Porsche, BMW and even the Honda engineer that I met when buying my S2000 a few years ago.
What you do in the first 600-1500 miles will have a lot to do with how your car performs down the road. That's especially true of high performance, high compression engines. The difference between a properly broken in 911, S2000 or M3 and one that hasn't been is readily apparant in as little as 5,000-10,000 miles. When I traded my S2000 to a Mercedes /Acura dealer the owner, who drives an AMG and Porsche, took it out personally and "blessed" it. He had driven other S2000's that he had refused to take on trade because he could tell they weren't properly broken in based purely on acceleration.
You probably won't notice much of a performance difference in an automatic TL, but according to the experts I spoke with, proper break in procedure benefits virtually all cars in the long run.
I looked at the G35X because of the AWD, however, I was scared off by the mileage numbers.
It would need to have high fuel economy to keep gas cost under control, and low maintenance costs due to maintenance intervals coming up frequently, yet it would also have comfortable seats and a smooth highway ride so the long commute is not a daily nightmare leaving you sore, tired and with a headache from all the road noise.
At that commute, I would put about 45K miles on the car per year and run through even an extended warranty in just over two years. I could drive it for 2 years and sell it with 90K miles and some of the extended warranty left for the new owner as a way to make the resale easier or I could drive it for the full 3 years and hope there are no major repairs before 135K miles and sell it for less money.
I am pretty sure the high mileage commute would end by 3 years and I would start driving the normal 12K to 15K miles a year at that point. Most likely I would get rid of the car at that point and start fresh with a new car at that point.
So far, I haven't found anything that had a very comfortable ride combined with low maintenance and high fuel economy.
I considered a Toyota Camry Hybrid, but I don't think maintenance costs would be low on a Hybrid, it will be hard to sell it with high miles out of warranty due to future buyers fears of dealing the the battery replacement out of warranty, plus it's probably a bit pricier than what I want to get into. I'd like to stay well under $25K.
Maybe a Honda Civic, but I'm not sure that would have a smooth enough highway ride to make the commute liveable. I rode in a 2006 Accord and the ride was quite bouncy on the California freeways with all the expansion joints, so I assume a Civic will be even worse in ride than an Accord.
What are suggestions?
Sticks are much more efficinet than autos (EPA favors autos so it may not seem apparent).
If you want better mileage still try the Corolla.
FWIW I actually prefer the Accord to the Camry because of the ride and handling, but I do own a Sienna and appreciate the smoothness.
Maybe I'll look at a 4 cylinder Camry too.
I would say my overall average is around 27.
Never heard anybody contend, however, that cruise control was good for FE, especially on hilly roads - driver fatigue, and law compliance perhaps. And it runs fine on regular, maybe a slight bit less power (but it already has a lot of that) than it does running the good stuff.
Don't know what the top speed is on a Mazda3 but the car is stable at 100 mph.
Ilooked at the VW dieselaamong others befor buying, but the rediculous maintenance & service costs would have eaten up most of the fuel cost savings.
Good fuel mileage, great comfort & minimal maintenance costs; a hard combination to beat.
You want to go the Toyota Avalon board and check out the discussions there. We have all kinds of conversations going on.
Good luck with your purchase - enjoy the Forums!
Mileage has ranged from a low of 28.5 to 34.5. I live in a flat area & spend a lot of time on I 95 at 75 MPH & et 32 or a little better in this kind of driving.
As for maintenance problems, I'v had Honda's, Mitsubishi's, Toyota's & Mazda's & never had a problem with any of them; & I put a minimum of 150,000 Miles on a car before getting rid of it.
The Avalon is by far the most comfortable & quietest so far.
57,000 miles
5 cyl. low-pressure turbo
Automatic/AWD
Combined mountain road and city driving, 27 mpg
Highways/freeways, 33 mpg
Per the saleman's recommendation we run mid-grade with no adverse affects since we live and drive between 5,000 and 10,000 ft. asl.
This car seems to be hitting it's stride now that it's over 50,000 miles -- an awesome road trip car at a sweet spot for performance, style, safety and economy for a two-person family. We also own a Grand Cherokee but the Volvo is the car of choice when we go skiing thanks to the split-folding rear seat, power and low center of gravity.
FYI, my '06 TL gets ~16mpg in stop/go, and ~30 @65 hwy. On average I get 22, but I reset the computer after each fillup.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve