What am I doing wrong to only get 42 mpg???
We own two hybrids, a three year-old Fusion and a 2015 Accord Hybrid that we've owned for about a month.
We love the car but regardless of how or where we drive, we can only max out at around 42 mpg. Has anyone seen this and have it ultimately improve? We drive on virtually flat roads and are pretty familiar with how to max the mpg on a hybrid.
We drive with the ECO button pressed, don't accelerate quickly, driving fairly conservatively.
Any thoughts?
We love the car but regardless of how or where we drive, we can only max out at around 42 mpg. Has anyone seen this and have it ultimately improve? We drive on virtually flat roads and are pretty familiar with how to max the mpg on a hybrid.
We drive with the ECO button pressed, don't accelerate quickly, driving fairly conservatively.
Any thoughts?
Tagged:
0
Comments
And they could be right. Wouldn't hurt to "start a file" though in case it never gets any better.
I'd start keep paper records and keep manually checking the gas mileage too.
Fuel economy is very much dependent on how you drive - meaning starts and stops. Continuous driving - as in a hundred mile between stops - results in good fuel economy, and driving in the city where you have to stop many times in a mile, results in poor fuel economy.
One of the problems of trying to use the sticker on a new car's window as a predictor of what you'll get is that the number on the window is the result of a standardized test - and while you can compare that number to other vehicles, it doesn't translate well to actual usage fuel economy.
Out of curiosity, how does the Accord Hybrid compare with the Fusion? I'm probably going to be choosing between the two shortly (although it sounds like you might have the previous generation Fusion)?
We own an Insight. Lifetime MPG on the Insight is probably around 40 - 41 (well over 100K miles). It is very easy to drop down into the mid-thirties with the Insight, with even a slight bit of quicker stopping or accelerating. The Insight has limited performance through limited horsepower... the get up and go just isn't there. Climbing grades is slow and noisy.
So, now the Accord Hybrid actually has better performance than the regular 4 cyl Accord. This additional power at one's command means no more struggling up hill, which costs power. It offers brisker acceleration, which costs power. As one becomes accustomed to the power and takes advantage of it, fuel economy will drop. The feel of acceleration is expensive indeed. And then, quick stops dissipate kinetic energy through heat. The only way to maximize conversion of kinetic energy to forward motion, is to avoid breaking. Regenerative breaking tries to recapture this kinetic energy and store it in the battery. The conversion process still loses energy compared to maximizing forward motion.
Therefore, when it comes to breaking, avoiding breaking really helps save fuel. To avoid breaking, one must begin coasting much sooner, anticipating light changes and so on. This was/is the technique used with the Insight (and now with the Accord). It also helped reduce maintenance, as the original brakes on the Insight lasted nearly 120K miles. The better half never adopted this coasting habit, and she usually gets in the mid-thirties in the Insight around town.
I'm assuming the reason that new owners are initially experiencing near rated mileage, is because they're babying their new purchase. With time and familiarity, one sees diminishing MPGs as one enjoys the performance it offers...without even realizing it--very gradually driving a little quicker and quicker--very easy to do in a car that has tremendous performance (relatively speaking) at the ready. The other reason for poorer MPGs is likely due to outdoor temperature, which diminishes battery capacity.
All in all, using the same driving techniques to get 40 MPG out of the Insight Hybrid, we're getting better to much better MPG out of a bigger, heavier, quieter car. Try doing some searches on hypermiling, read about the techniques, and experiment with it just a little. Learning the technique doesn't mean going all-out, but at least gives an understanding of how unbelievable MPGs can be attained out of any car (not just hybrids).
Final comment: Some of the magazine reviewers comment that their heavy-footed test drives are yielding MPGs in the 30s. One author commented that the hypermiling group achieved MPGs in the 80s (sounded like this was using the same car). Can't remember who published that, but I do believe the report from my experiences with the Insight.
The 2014-2015 Accord hybrids average 42-43 mpg. You're fine