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Honda Element Real World MPG
Please post about your Element gas mileage. Please include info about city/highway miles driven, your driving style or anything else you think may help others compare their mpg to yours.
Steve, Host
Steve, Host
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25.20 m.p.g. highest recorded.
"Average" seems between 20 and 22 m.p.g.
It's an AWD automatic.
I live in the mountains of western NC and ALL driving is on twisty roads with many ups & downs. I hardly ever get it out on 4 lane highways. I'm 60 years old so I don't hot-rod in "Watson" but I'm not a slow driver either. My other car is a 2006 Porsche 911.
Hope this helps.
I drive almost exculsively in town miles and never push it too hard.
City 16 m.p.g.
Mixed 18 m.p.g.
cosmo, "VW Passat TDI" #895, 8 Aug 2005 1:02 pm
On driving in neutral Grist
Top 10 Tips for Improving Your Fuel Economy
Steve, Host
With the OEM tires (Wranglers), I would average 26-27MPG, which includes highway speeds of 70MPH. I had a personal best of 28.5MPG.
After switching to Yokahama Geolanders, my MPG dropped to 24.5 - 25.5, with a personal best of 26.5MPG.
I had read several blogs prior to purchasing the tires and anticpated the drop in mileage. The E rides and handles SO much better (and quieter) with the new tires, that I gladly accept the slight decrease in MPG.
Just ordered a new K&N Air Filter as the factory filter is due for replacing @30k. Supposedly the power and economy will do a bit better with this K&N Filter. At 3 bucks a gallon, anything to increase mileage can pay for itself quicker these days.
Will post an economy report later once I log some #'s with the new filter system...
Once the warranty is up, I'm considering adding the 6th gear there is space for and seeing how much that helps. It'll be a while though.
05' AWD manual best 26 MPG worst 21.5 (and I drove it hard)
07' AWD automatic only one tank so far 23 MPG
17.56 MPG City ( 218 miles total on car at this time )
My driving is about 55% Highway, 40% country backroads, and 5% city traffic.
I'm an aggressive driver - jack-rabbit starts and tight corners. I won't speed up to a light or stop sign, tho'. I instead coast a bit before applying the brakes.
I got my worst mileage carrying a new 275-gallon oil tank home from 45 miles away. It was sticking out of the open liftgate. I got stuck in gridlocked Boston traffic the same week. This was late Autumn.
My best milage was a week I drove country roads almost exclusively. Average speed was about 45 MPH. This was in early Summer without AC.
Country-road driving at 40 MPH returns better gas mileage than highway driving at 70-75 MPH.
Using the AC consumes a little less gas than open windows on the highway. On country roads, the reverse is true.
I've still the original Goodyear Wrangler tires at 44,000 miles. They need to be replaced soon. However, the original brakes are doing fine.
The Hankook AT RH08 look like decent replacement tires. They're not made in 215/70R/16, so it will have to be 225/70R/16. I'm hoping their lower rolling resistance will improve the gas mileage a bit.
Marco
I recently bought an 04 Element with about 22,000 miles on it. I picked this vehicle because of the great gas mileage and cargo space, ect... I've calculated the MPG over the past 4 months that I've had the vehicle and found that I only get about 12.5 MPG. What's wrong? What would be robbing me of MPG? Any help would be great, thanks.
Are you putting every 175 miles 14 galllons of fuel in the tank?
As for MPG's
i have beefier tires which may cause an issue but this past winter i was getting like 18-19 mpg as an average with mix of highway and city driving, but lots of traffic in RI so..
but the past month or so my average has gone up. two weeks ago i got 21.5 mpg and i was shocked and siked and this week i got 22.2!!! this week had a bit more highway but still, that was huge. To the tank i got 275.5 miles which was a record...my usual is 240 which is decent and my lowest this winter was like 212, and i wasnt happy about that at all...But ive been thinking about maybe trading it in due soley to mpg and it seems like it knows and is getting better so i keep her lol...
Sometimes I kid myself that taking out the back seats will reduce the weight and increase the MPG. The best MPG I ever got was 27mpg on a road-trip that was 90% hwy and actually had a Yakima box on the top! Weird. I have an 11 mile commute. Usually I get 24. I'm not an aggressive driver but I have my moments.
BTW, I think the tank is 15.9 gallons (according to the manual) but the gas light comes on at about 12 gallons.
This vehicle typically only gets driven to and from work by my wife, and stays garaged the rest of the time. I have only had it on 1 highway trip since we got it 15 months ago, and we got 26 mpg on that trip if I recall correctly.
I went and stayed at my friends house, who lives in Wheeling, West Virginia. I only got 14 MPG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have never gotten that bad of MPG. My best was 30, all highway.
I hope not every time I drive in the city I will get that bad of mileage.
I just hit 1,040 miles on my '07 EX 4wd Auto.
I wonder what went wrong.
Did you get rid of the XB? I just turned 70K on my 05 and I'm looking for a possible replacement. I just got back from a 500 mile trip to Pittsburgh and avg'd 33 mpg with the auto Box.
I looked at the Element but 22 mpg is a little low for me. I like the flexible interior of the Element and dealers around here seem willing to deal on them.
How do you like your new rig?
The element is a nice highway car, it almost has 700 miles on it in 2 months of ownership. I used to commute 60 miles to 90 per day. Now, I walk to work, hence the lower mileage. Our first tank at 24.8 (memory from earlier post) was mixed driving, but the second tank was all stop and go.
I like the flexibility of the Element. Actually, I wish the mpg was higher, but considering the power and the aerodynamics, its understandable. They actually dropped the mpg (by the EPA) to 18/22 for 2008. I believe mind said 22/25 (memory). The element does not handle like the xB, but its not bad. I have been real gentle through break-in. I do like the standard side airbags in the Element. It is a manual LX. Most people hate the black body panels, but I adore them especially through love-bug season. Honda gave a special financing rate on it.
My xB still delivers 33mpg (manual) no matter how you drive it. However, the Element is bigger and has a much bigger engine.
We bought it for the flexiblity of our two dogs and the all rubber interior. The Element replaced our 95 Corolla. I sold it at 217,000 miles and it still had the original transmission.
I still enjoy my xB, I just don't drive as much.
There's a great website to go to to keep your milage of your vehicle. It's: www.mymilemarker.com
I know from towing experience with my Tundra when I kept my speed at 60 and not at 70, I saved a whole tank of gas on a trip. However, the tundra is a 4.7 v8 and it gets 19 on the highway unloaded and you can drive it at any speed. Going 60 with something 50 feet is never a problem.
On the highway, I got bewteen 20-22. I have an EX AWD Auto.
Traveling South: Received a 24 and a 25. Christmas presents are not as heavy.
I wish it got the mpg as my xB. But O well.
It had 1800 miles when I left, and 3800 when I got back. Needs its first oil change soon.
Best two tanks ever were 24.5 and almost 27mpg.