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Lexus IS 350/IS 250 Real World MPG Numbers

vilivviliv Member Posts: 11
edited March 2014 in Lexus
Here's my question to other IS250RWD owners, I'd like to know what kind of MPG they are getting from them. At this point I am very disappointed from what I've gotten. After a week of having this car an average of only 23 MPG!! :mad: which it is pretty poor as the window sticker claims 24/32. I hope somebody here has any input about this. Ok I need to clarify that I am a conservative driver.

Comments

  • wco81wco81 Member Posts: 590
    What does your political philosophy have to do with gas mileage? ;)

    Is that mostly or all city driving?

    Yeah the EPA rating on the Auto RWD is suppose to be one of the draws of the car but if it's not living up to it....

    It's close though, unless that 23 MPG has a lot of highway driving.

    Are you calculating it or looking at the trip computer reading?
  • vilivviliv Member Posts: 11
    wco81 You got me here, I don't have to explain english is not my native language ;)

    I live in Miami (bad traffic), so yes mostly city driving with some expressway here and there, but is there suppose to be any difference between my calculation and the computer reading? :confuse: what's the average you're getting from yours?

    nyccarguy says something about the engine being "green" after only a week of driving... let's see... today the computer showed 24 MPG avrg after a busy day in traffic; maybe I need to be a little patient with this baby.
  • chaslewis2004chaslewis2004 Member Posts: 3
    I tested a RWD IS250 today, and now I'm wondering what the REAL gas mileage is. Cmon, owners, lets hear your stories. The window sticker says 25-32, I seem to remember, but I can't help wondering what the reality is. Thanks.
  • icp_professoricp_professor Member Posts: 6
    Just finished my first tank. IS 250, 18" wheels, premium package. 28.3 MPG, 90% Hwy mileage. Still in break-in mode. Expect MPG to improve another 3-5% after 20-30 K
  • waydewayde Member Posts: 198
    Responding to an earlier post. My first fill up was 24MPG (trip computer was right on).... this was about 50% hwy / 50% city. I was amazed at getting this good of mileage on the first tank for an AWD car. (My previous car, a Protege5, got about the same mpg and it is much smaller, lighter.)
  • toydrivertoydriver Member Posts: 227
    What gas mileage are owner's of the AWD version of the IS getting ??
    Any difference in winter driving vs. warmer weather ??
  • from_flfrom_fl Member Posts: 113
    Not sure about AWD mileage. My RWD is getting high twenties per tank.

    At winter time, you drive it with heater on.
    At summer time, you drive it with A/C on.
  • ricksterqricksterq Member Posts: 45
    What gas mileage are owner's of the AWD version of the IS getting ??

    Hi, I've had my IS250 AWD for about 3 weeks. I'm getting 26-27 MPG on a tank of gas. I'm at about 75% freeway miles. I use the sports mode quite a bit during city driving. Once I get up to speed on the freeway I throw it into auto mode.

    Any difference in winter driving vs. warmer weather ??

    Can't answer this one yet :( Sorry.
  • waydewayde Member Posts: 198
    I've only used 3 tanks so far... 22.5 MPG. This is probably 30% hwy, 70% city. I was very surprised at how good the gas mileage was right off the bat. I expect it will improve over time. Will test the hwy mileage when I take a trip home in the next couple months. (Friend has G35x and it gets abysmal mpg - more like an suv. ~17/18)
  • rocketguy3rocketguy3 Member Posts: 3
    Hi guys. Is there anyone here who has had the 350 for long enough to give a reasonable description of what kind of fuel economy I could expect from it?
  • truckasaurustruckasaurus Member Posts: 44
    I've had mine for a couple of months now. I'm getting 19.1 MPG with mainly city driving and not being too heavy footed on the gas peddle while I break it in. Thats according to the computer and calculating it myself.
  • rocketguy3rocketguy3 Member Posts: 3
    Thanks for the reply.

    You're using only premium, right? I hate how unbelievably terrible the EPA estimates are...
  • truckasaurustruckasaurus Member Posts: 44
    Yep, premium only.
  • maxidrivemaxidrive Member Posts: 70
    In average, I'm getting 24.5 mpg in mostly highway driving. Pretty damn good for a car this powerful!
  • rocketguy3rocketguy3 Member Posts: 3
    Wow, 24.5? That's better than the POS '97 Escort I'm driving right now. Do you think you could quantify what you mean by "mostly" highway driving? Like approximately what percentage?

    Thanks for the help.
  • maxidrivemaxidrive Member Posts: 70
    I'd say 75% highway and 25% city. Here are some numbers since I started tracking them...
    Miles Gallons Gas Mileage
    355.6 13.919 25.5
    355.9 14.207 25.1
    277.8 11.858 23.4
    348.1 14.586 23.9
  • truckasaurustruckasaurus Member Posts: 44
    Maxidrive

    How fast are you driving on the highway?
    Are you being gentle with it or making maximum use of all that power every chance you get :)
  • maxidrivemaxidrive Member Posts: 70
    Mostly 75-80 mph wth occasional bursts of acceleration up to 100 mph. I went to 120 mph just once in an early morning. :D
  • nrossnross Member Posts: 13
    Those mileage numbers sound just about right. In my IS250 AWD, I usually got about 23.7 mpg in an all suburban commute. Since my last fill up, I have been driving very conservatively as if there is an egg under my foot. I've done a lot of coasting, and drive with the A/C off, just to see what I can max out. Doing this, I'm getting 25.9 mpg, an increase of about 10%. I'm trying to see if I can get 400 miles on a single tank of premium. This is definitely better than what I expected before buying the car. My ES 330, with a 21/29 mpg rating, gets an average of 22mpg on the same suburban commute.
  • from_flfrom_fl Member Posts: 113
    I am getting ~31 mpg(75%-80% freeway).
    The car will go 400+ miles per tank.
  • richey02hgrichey02hg Member Posts: 69
    hey fl, thanks for the info...thats great mileage!

    which IS are you driving?
  • icp_professoricp_professor Member Posts: 6
    I am getting 29.4 average over 3700 miles based on trip computer. 80% Hwy. IS 250 RWD. Average speed on Hwy 75-80 mph.
  • cc12359cc12359 Member Posts: 31
    same as mine
    ecp power off
    f its on, it will go down to 19
  • from_flfrom_fl Member Posts: 113
    Six-speed Automatic.
    Freeway speed 60-80 mph.
  • nrossnross Member Posts: 13
    I have the IS 250 AWD. My typical drive is mostly suburban with some local traffic and some highway. Its a 40 mile round trip commute. At first I was averaging 23.8 MPG per tank, but after 5000 miles on the odometer I'm getting 24.2 MPG. When gas prices jumped over $3.00 per gallon, I tried my best to increase the mileage. I drove as if the was an egg under my right foot, and tried to coast as much as possible. I turned the airconditioning off. I got a 10% increase in mileage to 26.2 MPG per tankful. Not bad at all. For comparison, my ES 330 (2005) gets about 22 MPG on the same commute. This is interesting as the two cars have similar EPA ratings. However, the ES330 does it on regular fuel, while I put premium as recommended in the IS 250, so the mileage difference is almost a wash( when factoring the price difference of the fuel grades).
  • nrossnross Member Posts: 13
    I noticed my last post on May 9th stated the mileage as 25.9 MPG when doing a lot of coasting. Since the engine is more broken in, I beat that mark with the 26.2 MPG per tank. Some times its fun to do this. Some times its more fun to put the trans button on power or just shift for yourself and hammer it!
  • truckasaurustruckasaurus Member Posts: 44
    I'm getting 19.0 MPG For mostly city driving.

    An interesting number that folks might want to post with your MPGs is the average speed the computer says you have been going. Mine is 28 MPH.

    I need to get out on the country twisty roads a bit more often!
  • toydrivertoydriver Member Posts: 227
    I now have apprx. 2200 miles on the odo.
    My average mpg, since new, is 26.1 (combined city/hwy).
    On a single tank of gas I averaged 31.3mpg during a highway trip where I was driving interstate at about 70mph.

    On my previous ES300 I was averaging about 21mpg with combined city/hwy driving.

    The IS is much more "fun to drive" than the older ES and seems more responsive when accelerating from a stop (despite the lower hp/torque rating).
  • indexcindexc Member Posts: 8
    I have 7,600 miles on my IS 250 RWD. I have the 18" ISP Wheels. My average has been 28.4 mpg with 75%-85% highway driving at 70-75 mph. I can usually get right around 400 miles per tank.
  • getlexgetlex Member Posts: 3
    hi..curious as to why you keep refueling when the tank is 17.2 gallons capacity? you were refueling at 13 and 14 - did the fuel light come on? how much gallons do you have when fuel light comes on?

    thanks
  • freebird2000freebird2000 Member Posts: 6
    Anyone else with this problem? I got my 250 four days ago. It's now got 114 miles on it. The MPG calculator on the dash is showing that I'm getting an average of 13 MPG! Hello? Is that thing broken or what? i have done only city driving in LA so far, but seriously, my average speed is like 12mph. I think the MPG should be better than 13 MPG. Is it because the engine is new? Could this be because the the dealer did not use premium when they filled it up before i took delivery? i have not filled it up yet. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

    Thanks.

    Jason
  • samiam_68samiam_68 Member Posts: 775
    You need to go through a few tankfuls to get the correct MPG. What you're seeing is the result of the car idling a lot while still at the dealer.
  • carmonkeycarmonkey Member Posts: 32
    I recently ran 120 miles in my IS350 at an average speed of 110 mph and it got 16.32 mpg.

    To answer the inevitable question of where did I average 110 - check out http://www.bborr.com/home.html
  • mrolliemrollie Member Posts: 1
    My 250 has 4000 miles and has averaged since new 27.0. The current tank (Hess 93) is giving 25.9.

    Not bad for a fun little car.
  • freebird2000freebird2000 Member Posts: 6
    Just ran a full tank on the highway, about 340 miles no more than 10 miles in city conditions. Average speed 75 mpg (per the gauge). Fuel economy: 24mpg. THAT seems rather low. Any suggestions? Am using 91 oct. fuel and car has about 1950 miles on it. Got it in March...any thoughts would be appreciated... thanks

    Jason
  • nicecarsnicecars Member Posts: 4
    My IS 250 has average of 22mpg. I have about 50% hwy, 50% local. It is below my expectation caz I used to have a toyota camry, which delivers average of 25mpg for 100,000 miles.
  • carmonkeycarmonkey Member Posts: 32
    You're still in break-in. Give the car another 2k-3k miles to see a jump in the mileage.
  • jzalkinjzalkin Member Posts: 56
    I am at 28mpg with 70-80% hwy. I have found that it drops if using cruise control and dips at and above 80 mph.
  • ar39ar39 Member Posts: 61
    I've observed Sunoco premium gives me a better mpg over other brands of gasoline, with 75% hwy 25% city driving in my 2006 IS250 AWD.

    Sunoco 91 - 28.4
    Exxon/Shell 93 - 27.7
    BP 93 - 26+

    Measurements were taken in similar driving conditions. Also, these are not dash monitor reading but, miles/distance calculation. The car monitor shows variance of +1.3 miles.
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