Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Subaru Impreza Real World MPG Numbers

24

Comments

  • alexl76alexl76 Member Posts: 1
    I consistently manage 32-33 mpg on my 55-60mph commute with a few lights. The car is a 1997 Subaru Impreza 2.2 wagon with the 5speed manual. I've clocked my speedometer against the mile markers at 60mph as a rough check. I'm very impressed with the mileage. I don't baby the car; I sometimes accelerate hard and zip up to the redline.

    Bottom line- Subaru makes a great car. 33mpg at 150,000 miles with an awd vehicle is great! Beats my '02 WRX- couldn't do better than 27 in that car but oh what a car!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The EJ22 was almost unbreakable. Keep it running - forever. You'll probably rot out the seat padding before that engine gives. paisan raced one that old for years.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    another 28 mpg: 297 miles, 10.6 gallons. I just can't restrain myself enough to keep up the 30 mpg in this car!

    '09 OBS 5-speed.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,186
    Last three tanks...

    29.8
    29.7

    and...

    30.8! :)

    Nip.. you are filling up too soon.. not taking advantage of the lighter weight when the fuel tank is emptier.... lol ;)

    Edmunds Price Checker
    Edmunds Lease Calculator
    Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!

    Edmunds Moderator

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Yeah, I can't remember why I didn't wait until it was more empty to fill up. :-P

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Wholesale gas prices are creeping up so go ahead an fill up early for the short-term, the gas will be cheaper.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Mainly because I spent about half the tank in a single day, putzing around open houses, all city driving, I only managed 26 mpg this time, actually a hair under 26: 311 miles, 12 gallons.

    Now I am back to my quest to crack the 30 mark! :-)

    '09 OBS 5-speed.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I get 27 in my Miata and it's a 2.0l half the size. Also city driving.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Yes, but your little 2.0 doesn't have the very tangible drag of AWD to contend with. On slight slopes, the AWD produces enough drag to actually stop the car if it is rolling.

    But it IS nice to have the bigger engine in my new OBS, I will admit. My '97 had the 2.2, and I made just about the same mileage in that one despite having 0.3L less displacement and about 35 less hp under the hood.

    I noticed the new Legacy with the CVT is rated 23/31 or something. VERY nice. But then the price you pay is driving a CVT. :sick:

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Yeah, our Forester doesn't coast well, you feel the drag.

    Our Sienna (FWD) will coast forever. I'm not sure it would ever stop on a flat surface.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Having driven my friend's Sienna extensively, I'm quite sure it wouldn't.

    I saw an article recently where they pointed out that the new Legacy with the CVT has notably better fuel economy than the Accord 4-cylinder with automatic. That's impressive to me, but I sure do wish they would bring these improvements (including the new 6-speed manual) to the Impreza line ASAP.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I may be using hyperbole, but compared to the Forester that's how it feels.

    Yes, for sure, let's see a CVT Forester and Impreza.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    AND 6 speed manuals with that nice tall, economical, highway cruising gear!

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,186
    Most 6-speeds I see have the same gear for 6th, that the old transmission had for 5th... :(

    Edmunds Price Checker
    Edmunds Lease Calculator
    Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!

    Edmunds Moderator

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    well lets hope Soob isnt that stoopid! :-)

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    My Miata's 6th is actually shorter than 5th on the 5 speed manual models.

    Mazda gears them too close, if you ask me. I need a 7th gear.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    two more tanks now, both around 27 mpg, so I guess I'm just going to have to live with it. I was really hoping for 30, so my gas bill is 10% higher than I would have liked, but that only amounts to $10, maybe $12, a month so it's no biggie....I will miss the bragging rights more. :-|

    It uses 1/3 more gas than the Matrix did that it replaced, but it's at least twice the car in every other way, so it seems like a fair shake! :-)

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,186
    30.3 mpg on my last tank.. haven't been under 29 for the last four months, at least....

    But... I've been driving to get high mileage... If I just drove it, and didn't pay attention to it, I think I'd be down around 27...

    It was only rated for 20/27, so I'm pretty happy.... and the vehicle it replaced only averaged 23-24 mpg...

    Edmunds Price Checker
    Edmunds Lease Calculator
    Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!

    Edmunds Moderator

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    I am on my first trip of any length in it this weekend, and am pleased to note that for highway trips, at least, I can easily get over 30, seems to be about 31 mpg if I apply the standard method of subtracting 1.5 mpg from the dash readout to come up with true mpg (is always confirmed by gallons/miles calculations at fill-up).

    And that is without babying it, up over Donner Pass at 70-mph-plus with A/C running the whole way. And the extra power at highway speeds vs my Matrix is VERY welcome on that trip!

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    So...two tanks of gas for the whole trip, total of about 700 miles, one tank was 31 mpg and the other was 30 right on the nose. Not outstanding, but acceptable and not far off what I expected when I bought the car.

    '09 OBS 5-speed

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,186
    31.5 mpg... :)

    '08 Impreza sedan with manual tranny...

    Edmunds Price Checker
    Edmunds Lease Calculator
    Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!

    Edmunds Moderator

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    You rogue!!

    I know now I will never top 28 mpg in normal driving (and yes, that was once again the mileage reading on my last tank of gas, filled up on Wednesday).

    I have made peace with it, although this will definitely be my last Subaru in this lifetime if they don't improve the lousy mileage.

    Had my friend's '04 Accord for a couple of weeks, automatic instead of stick, more power, more weight, yet I managed 33 mpg in that car effortlessly, doing exactly the same driving that only nets me 28 mpg in my 5-speed OBS....

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,186
    The newer automatics have a much lower final drive ratio than our sticks.. They are loafing at 2400 RPM at 70 mph... You can't match that...

    Considering the power, AWD, and the relative inefficiency of the manual at cruising speeds (compared to the auto), I'm pretty happy with my mileage..

    After all, mine was EPA-rated at 20/27... :surprise:

    I'm doing a lot of coasting, though..(hilly area, here). I'll have to cut that out, come January, when I'm teaching my son to drive.. Can't enforce any bad habits...

    All that said.... Did I mention the 31.5 mpg on my last tank? ;)

    Edmunds Price Checker
    Edmunds Lease Calculator
    Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!

    Edmunds Moderator

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Well, I averaged more than 28 mpg (running average was 29-30) with my '97 OBS, and that car was made TWELVE YEARS before the one I have now. In all that time, this model's fuel economy has only gone down, instead of up like with most other makes and models. :sick:

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The big improvement came with the CVT on the 2010 Legacy - 31 mpg highway EPA, better than that Accord.

    The Impreza is lighter so imagine one with that drivetrain... :shades:
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,186
    No CVT for me.... I'll take my slushboxes with gears...

    Edmunds Price Checker
    Edmunds Lease Calculator
    Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!

    Edmunds Moderator

  • saedavesaedave Member Posts: 694
    No CVT for me.... I'll take my slushboxes with gears

    That certainly was my feeling when I drove the 2010 Forester and CVT 2.5i Outback sequentially. However, the sloppy handling of the Outback added to the problem of its excessive noise. The 3.6 Outback which I drove first was nice other than for the soon-to-be broken-off mirrors.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The CVT is more efficient than even the 6 speed manual, though.

    I wonder how they will do in the real-world. I'll ask around when enough are sold that we have a good sized sample.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    is my latest single tank reading - filled up today. After my disappointing results recently, I decided what the hey, I would stop focusing so much on saving gas and start having more fun with the car (!!), and I was surprised to find that the fuel economy reading dropped very little.

    For the first 5000 miles I have averaged 28 mpg right on the nose.

    '09 OBS 5-speed.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    My wife needed gas so she asked me to take her Forester on an errand. She was averaging 23.something in around-town driving (to be fair she takes short trips) but I decided I would try to maximize the efficiency as best I could, i.e. hyper-miling.

    It was pretty amazing - in all suburban driving, on a busy Saturday, middle of the day, I managed 29.7 mpg. With traffic.

    Definitely had to go slow, coasted to all the red lights, etc. But I was pretty impressed. I didn't take the highway once.

    YMMV is as true as ever. You'll get anywhere from 23 to 30 mpg in the 'burbs depending upon how you drive, and the length of your trips. Warm ups kill mileage.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Yeah, and all my miles are in the burbs, so pulling 28ish isn't too bad, I had just hoped to make the 30 mpg "cut".

    Interestingly, I completely ignored fuel-saving techniques in 200 miles of driving this weekend, because I ended up running late more than once, and despite that the dashboard readout said 30.0 when I got home! That would translate to a real-world 28.5, among my best results in this car. So I don't get it.

    I haven't been driving it all that much, 800-1000 miles a month, which is only 2 fill-ups per month, and I am wondering if I am losing enough to evaporation while it is parked that it is bringing my average down....

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    If you drove a lot, the engine probably stayed warm the entire time.

    Those warm ups kill ya.
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,756
    Yes, they do!

    I must say that, thus far, I love the PZEV on my car! Not only does the car warm up astoundingly fast (probably close to half of the warm-up time of previous Subaru vehicles), but it also burns very clean. So much so, in fact, that the other night when I had it in a shop to winterize it, I could not smell any exhaust at all after backing it into the space and letting it run for a minute or so. Now, if there is CO in there, that is not necessarily a good thing, but it sure gave the impression of clean. :D

    The only down side that I can tell so far is that it idles very strangely during warm up.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Meh, it's probably cleaner than the air around us. ;)
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    The only down side that I can tell so far is that it idles very strangely during warm up.

    Yeah, I noticed that too, it stumbles quite a bit and is generally fairly funky to drive when it's cold. But since my old Subaru did that too even when it was new, I just figure it's one more Subaru "quirk", and if it is somehow contributing to the ultra-fast warm-up this car does, I am all for it! :-)

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,186
    Days off work really kill my mileage... I generally get 10-12 days between fill-ups... I had five days off in the last cycle.. Those local errand runs really knock it down..

    My best tanks come when I only have one weekend in the cycle..

    Lower mileage is a small price to pay for days off, though.. ;)

    Edmunds Price Checker
    Edmunds Lease Calculator
    Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!

    Edmunds Moderator

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Hey, you should be grateful for 28.6! That is as high as I am ever going to get, except for all-highway tanks, it would seem.

    My mileage is very consistent, every tank is in the 27-28.5 range.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    today's fill-up was 11.75 gallons, 328 miles, for an average of 27.9 mpg. To make myself feel a little better, I am going to call that one a 28! :-P

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,756
    That's nothing, Stuart! My wife now drives our Forester almost exclusively. Here's the last fill: 9.2 gallons over 198 miles. :mad:
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Whoa, 22 mpg? Now I feel a little better, thanks! :-)

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,756
    :D

    I thought that would help. Me, on the other hand..... :surprise:
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    I get a little jealous when I am perusing the latest issue of my favorite car mag and I see that the new Audi S4, with AWD and a 333 HP SUPERCHARGED 3-LITER V-6 is rated at 18/27 mpg, which is the best my OBS with HALF THE POWER can muster......

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • louisj1980louisj1980 Member Posts: 5
    2005 WRX STI -- generally between 19-21 MPG depending on how much I am "on it" ;)
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    to a friend this weekend, and when it came back the mpg-meter had dropped two full points, on a 50-mile drive. So I must be doing something right....

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    another 28 mpg reading....sigh (376 miles, just shy of 13.5 gallons)

    This car is too much fun to drive fast, but I swear when I do I can actually SEE the gas gauge drop.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,186
    I've been in the 27s and 28s, since Daylight Savings Time... It's getting dark at 5:30 when I get off work, and the traffic home is a lot worse... :(

    Edmunds Price Checker
    Edmunds Lease Calculator
    Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!

    Edmunds Moderator

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Keep something in mind - 28mpg is closer to, say, 35 mpg, than 10 mpg is to 17mpg.

    You get diminishing returns, basically.

    28mpg is not bad at all. C4C replaced only vehicles that got 18 or less, so you're 10 over that qualification.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Well, welcome to the club! :-P

    juice: When you're used to getting 35 in a same-size vehicle, 28 mpg is still 25% more gas consumption. But the 35-mpg vehicle was a compromise in too many ways, and this 28-mpg vehicle is a lot less of a compromise, so I will try to live with the lousy fuel economy.

    It is way beyond time for Subaru to start taking this seriously. Diesels, hybrids, all-electric, you name it but they need to get on it.

    And the C4C standards were ridiculously low given that it is 2009 and global warming has been a known issue for well over a decade.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    You're getting better mileage than I am in my Miata! LOL :D

    Having said that, I'm all for improving efficiency. Let's see the CVT and the 31mpg highway the Legacy gets. Or a 6 speed manual.

    Diesel is interesting but around me it cost more than premium fuel, so that alone erases half the savings.
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,756
    Let me help you feel a little better again. Last Saturday I filled up our Forester and put in 9.694 gallons after 170 miles. Yep; 17.537 mpg. :cry:
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
Sign In or Register to comment.