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MINI Cooper MPG-Real World Numbers

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Comments

  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    the best we can do is about 26 mpg in pure city driving. Have not taken it on highway to establish highway mpg.
  • akitadogakitadog Member Posts: 117
    I'm getting about 27 mpg in my '05 Cooper S. That's during an average commute-filled interval between fill-ups (between 9 and 11 days). I did get 31 mpg on a road trip once. I was doing about 75 with some spurts up to 90 during a 6 hour trip.
  • prushingprushing Member Posts: 1
    I am on my 4th tank on my 04 works S. I am using mid-grade for last 2 tanks, and I got 28 mpg average on one tank by keeping my foot in the supercharger. The next tank I averaged 35.1 mpg by driving posted speed limits and keeping it under 3 grand most of the time. My personal best was 42.6 mpg on 50 miles of hilly interstate, 65 mph, cruise control on.
  • rayt2rayt2 Member Posts: 1,208
    60k miles to date......best mpg 38 worst 31 . I average 34 mpg most of time with my 100 mile a day commute and doing 70 to 75 mph. Could probably do better if I followed speed limits :P but this car keeps telling me to "drive it".

    Prushing, are you going by the on board computer readout or real world calculations? 42mpg is oustanding, especially for an "S"

    Ray T. :shades:
  • akitadogakitadog Member Posts: 117
    I should qualify my MPG. It is based on real-world solar-powered calculator button-pushing after each fill-up (Tripmeter/Gallons).
  • mr_anton89mr_anton89 Member Posts: 72
    My new job requires me to drive 100 miles a day...
    I am looking for the best MPG with the CVT and was wondering if I should get the base, S, or Works. If getting the S means I only lose a couple of MPG then from what I hear its worth it. Thanks.
  • akitadogakitadog Member Posts: 117
    The CVT only exists with the base Cooper, not the S or Works (which is an S). The S automatic is a six speed conventional auto transmission that also allows for paddle shifting and autostick-type shifting. I think the S auto is down to 30 mpg highway (vs 32 w/ manual). Cooper CVT is 35 highway, if I'm not mistaken.
  • raydohraydoh Member Posts: 1
    I am looking for a competition head, camshaft and straightcut gears.
  • benttechbenttech Member Posts: 3
    2003 Cooper S JCW+other mods 6spd

    all depends on where/how you drive

    Agressive driving, daily commute of 60 miles on highways at 80mph at 3200rpm average 27.6mpg

    timid, 70mph/highway average 31mpg

    granny driving average 35mpg
  • room335room335 Member Posts: 1
    Base Cooper with CVT, according to on board computer have gotten 27.3 mpg overall on premium fuel for 9400 miles. With long trips the calculation has gone as high as 27.6, but fell to 27.3 with more in town driving. Of course freeway trips often see a speed of 80 mph
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    A little over 27,000 miles on my 2004 Cooper S right now.

    When I was driving back and forth between CT and VA twice a month I could average over 35 mpg for the whole trip. I only drive my MINI on weekends now since I have a company car but before I got the company car I was getting 25-27 mpg in pure city driving.
  • amazinglyfitamazinglyfit Member Posts: 9
    We have a 2003 Mini Cooper M/T with 35K miles. I've let the MPG run for long periods of time and it always has settled in at 29 to 31 mpg. The car has been driven 15% urban 85% highway and mostly unspiritedly. Best Milage was a trip from WY to CA - 37.9 mpg. This was speed limit driving on the interstate w/cruise control.
  • vandelayvandelay Member Posts: 2
  • vandelayvandelay Member Posts: 2
    For the Base Mini Cooper, is it really necessary to run premium gasoline?
  • minidrivermnminidrivermn Member Posts: 5
    Just took a road trip - about 210 miles each way - in my new 2007 Mini Cooper automatic basic model (not an S).

    I had been getting 26 in pure city driving without any highway, just as advertised, with lots of stop lights and above-average accelleration on my part with the A/C on.

    On the road trip, I paid close attention to mileage and how I drove. The best I got was a stretch of 90 miles at uninterrupted speeds of 40-55. During that stretch, which included some hills along the shore of Lake Superior, I got 38.8 MPG - and I had the Mini-bike rack with a mountain bike on the back. I don't know how much of a difference that made, but I guess maybe I could have come closer to 40. I got very close to the same mileage on the way back during that same stretch. On the entire trip back, it averaged 33 MPG, which included two bikes on the bike rack and higher speeds for the other 65 percent of the trip once I got on the Interstate.

    Without a doubt, mileage goes down pretty quickly at speeds of 65-85 MPH, and is ideal between 40-55. But at 70ish MPH, it will get in the 28-31 range with two bikes on the rear bike rack slowing me down.

    I haven't experienced winter driving yet, but in Minnesota it should be interesting after being used to a Jeep Grand Cherokee the past ten years.

    At 6-3, I was very comfortable in the Mini for my first long road trip since switching from the roomy Jeep. Very fun car to take on a road trip. I changed the steering wheel (which moves up and down, plus in and out) and seat position to a few different configurations to change things up and was comfortable each way. Great car so far in every way.

    I got lots of smiles and nods from drivers on the road. I think people were amazed at seeing two bikes being toted in such a fashionable way with the great bike rack that can be custom installed. (Be sure to pull those bike tire straps tight, though!)
  • tiff_ctiff_c Member Posts: 531
    On the road trip, I paid close attention to mileage and how I drove. The best I got was a stretch of 90 miles at uninterrupted speeds of 40-55. During that stretch, which included some hills along the shore of Lake Superior, I got 38.8 MPG - and I had the Mini-bike rack with a mountain bike on the back. I don't know how much of a difference that made, but I guess maybe I could have come closer to 40. I got very close to the same mileage on the way back during that same stretch. On the entire trip back, it averaged 33 MPG,

    The Bike rack actually acts like a wind brake and will really decrease your fuel economy even if it's just the rack with no bike in it, less so in city driving. Cops lose at least 4mpg by having a low profile light bar on their cop cars. But I'm sure it's worth it to be able to haul your bikes on trips.
  • nathanincnathaninc Member Posts: 12
    I average 35 mpg on my 2007 mini. I tried 87 octane instead of 91 and it dropped to 31 mpg. Needless to say the cost savings of regular vs premium does not justify the lower mpg.
  • hotchili1hotchili1 Member Posts: 1
    I am looking into purchasing a rear bike rack for my mini. I was wondering if you had any advise as to what kind to get. Did you purchase Mini's bike rack or another brand?
  • minidrivermnminidrivermn Member Posts: 5
    I bought the dealer bike rack. It's sleek and really secure. I didn't even consder any others. It holds two bikes on the back for minimum wind resistance. I drove two mountain bikes on a 150 mile each way trip this summer and it held up nicely. The straps are less convenient (it takes a little more dexterity to really tighten those tires on the rack), but once you get used to it, it's not bad at all. I'd recommend it.
  • blueguydotcomblueguydotcom Member Posts: 6,249
    I consistently get 30 mpg with mixed driving (including bumper-to-bumper) and lots of WOT. I've seen 28 with lots of AC and seen over 33 on longer drives.
  • morgan5morgan5 Member Posts: 13
    I have a 2006 Cooper S and given where gas prices are going, I want to know if anyone out there has tried burning regular gas in their Cooper S. If so, what were the results? I've been told, that the car's computer makes adjustments for the octane being used, but that information did not come from a Mini mechanic.
  • waterflamewaterflame Member Posts: 22
    Actually, the Mini salesperson told me this as well.I'm not sure what the mechanism is, but I think the onboard computer gauges the octane content of the fuel and makes adjustments accordingly.Not sure how it would affect acceleration or efficiency.

    On a side note, the difference between premium and regular is usually about 20 cents, which means that you're spending about $2-3 every time you fuel-up. Unless there is a significant difference to be gained in mpg by using regular instead of premium fuel, I don't see much of a saving over a year.
  • morgan5morgan5 Member Posts: 13
    Around here (Virginia Beach), the difference between regular and premium is more like 25 to 30 cents, but I agree with your assessment waterflame. Thanks for the reply.
  • freelejofreelejo Member Posts: 1
    For my non-turbo mini I have been fueling with 89 octane since 91 is not avaiable at all pumps in my area. For grinns I called the dealer service center yesterday to get their opinion. Before the mini I had an 01 Passant and it stated I had to run premium 91 Octane, but the service center said 91 Octane is he Euro rating and 89 Octane is the equivalent here in the states. However, the Mini service center said for the mini 91 is a minimum, but you can also burn whatever you want. What might happen is you might get a check engine light, and in the long run the regular gas will not do well for the valves. Since regular gas for mini doesn't burn as efficient as premium you will see a carbon build up on the valves which means down the road you may suffer with worse performance than just the loss of MPGs.
  • coupahcoupah Member Posts: 18
    The onboard computer on my '05 BASE convertible, 5-peed manual, calculated 35.3 MPG. I did not reset it for six months. I ran premium fuel per mfg recommendations.

    My '06 S, with a 6-speed yields just 25.2 MPG. I drive it hard and sporty, if you will.
    I use, per MINI (and BMW and Honda (maybe toyota)) Shell. They also recommend Cheveron and I think Phillips66/Conoco as THE fuel that meet their specifications but only SHELL is available in my area (Boston).

    The above mentioned companies collaborated and recommend those fuels for their engines.
    Much has been written about engine performance and durability relative to fuel and fuel additives. It goes way beyond performance loss/gain. Most important is cleanliness of the fuel system and specifically the injection system.
    I plan on keeping my MINI for a longtime and want to see how long it will last!
  • minidrivermnminidrivermn Member Posts: 5
    My top mileage for my Mini '07 (the lower priced model, automatic transmission) was on a recent 250 mile road trip. The peak MPG was 44.9 for about 150 miles of driving in the 40-55 MPH range on a highway with zero braking. For the entire 250 mile trip, with some 65-75 speeds, averaged 42 MPG.

    The cool part is for the entire trip I drove behind a Prius. The Prius got 47.5 MPG when I got 44.9 (I tried so hard to get it to 45 but I had to pass a car right at 44.9, and speeding up cost me that final tick) and for the entire trip, the Pruis did only 3-4 MPG better than the Mini. Pretty impressive. I drove it very carefully without A/C and almost no braking the entire trip. Just two passes at higher speeds.

    Otherwise, in mostly city driving, I'm getting in the 27-30 range in winter and summer with A/C running. With heavier highway driving, I'll tick up to 31-35 for the whole tank. The 40-plus is certainly the exception, but for a long road trip, absolutely possible. The key, though, is keeping the speed lower than you'd typically want, so it's a tradeoff going 60 instead of 70 in a 70 zone. I typically wouldn't be so worried about losing a few MPG ticks to get somewhere faster, but I wasn't in a hurry on this trip and wanted to test the absolute limits of the MPG in perfect flat 60 degree no rain no braking driving conditions.
  • coyotebluecoyoteblue Member Posts: 1
    Last summer we drove our 2006 Mini Cooper from a small town south of Houston TX to Phoenix Arizona and back with an overall average of 41.5 mpg. We also mostly drove at 60 miles an hour just to see what optimum fuel efficiency could be. Generally we get 36 - 37 mpg per tank commuting 20 miles to work.
    This summer we get to try with our mini clubman s which won't want to travel at 60 mph.
    Am looking for a 40mpg club bumper sticker.
  • morgan5morgan5 Member Posts: 13
    Everyone talks about highway miles when discussing MPG, but I'm more interested in around town driving. My daily commute in my 2006 S is about 15 miles in stop and go traffic (no interstate or highway). Usually, I get about 22 to 23 MPG around town. Now that the temperature is getting hot I am running the AC most of the time and my MPG has dropped to 18-19. Is this normal?
  • minidrivermnminidrivermn Member Posts: 5
    I've gotten 28 MPG under the worst of conditions - super-short stop and go trips with A/C on and somewhat fast acceleration. I'd say that's the bottom in the "entry-level" automatic transition model. It probably gets better as the car gets more broken in. That is using high octane gas. You don't want to use lower octane or it'll drive poorly at slow speeds, such as in parking lots, where you'll think there's something wrong with the car as it seems to search for the oomph to get going.
  • morgan5morgan5 Member Posts: 13
    Minidrivermn, are you driving an "S" with a supercharger, or a regular Mini?
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    18-19 seems rather low as I got about 25 mpg in a 2004 MINI Cooper S with a similar style although shorter distance commute.

    Are you using premium?
  • morgan5morgan5 Member Posts: 13
    Yes, I'm burning premium, but leven so, the MPG really seems to go down when I'm running the AC.
  • minidrivermnminidrivermn Member Posts: 5
    Regular Mini. Not the "S" with the supercharger. As I posted earlier, the range is huge. The worst case scenario is in the 28 MPG range (bad weather, hot weather with A/C, starts and stops, very short trips, heavy on pedal) up to a 250 mile trip of 44.9 MPG without braking once and driving 50-60 MPG and no heavy accelerating. I think that's probably about the widest range anyone could produce with a Mini. Typical mixed driving will for sure be in the 30s, but high-30s is only likely with mostly highway driving, below 65 MPH, and good weather without A/C.
  • nutomotr08nutomotr08 Member Posts: 1
    I have seen some postings regarding this but I will ask again anyway. I have only had my MINI for about a week. As I was leaving the dealer told me I should use 91 octane. It is not always available, so when I filled up for the 1st time, I asked the gas station attendant if I could use 92 octane. (I figured the higher the better!?) and they said yes, it really wouldn't matter. Since then when idling and at low speeds my MINI is really sputtery. Is this because of the 92 octane? What should I really use, despite what the dealer told me? I have heard different stories.
    Thanks in advance for any input.
  • busirisbusiris Member Posts: 3,490
    have seen some postings regarding this but I will ask again anyway. I have only had my MINI for about a week. As I was leaving the dealer told me I should use 91 octane. It is not always available, so when I filled up for the 1st time, I asked the gas station attendant if I could use 92 octane. (I figured the higher the better!?) and they said yes, it really wouldn't matter. Since then when idling and at low speeds my MINI is really sputtery. Is this because of the 92 octane? What should I really use, despite what the dealer told me? I have heard different stories.

    It is not the octane causing the sputtering. Your Mini will run acceptably well even on 87 Octane gas, although the mileage will not be quite as good. My wife's 2005 Mini runs on 87 octane beautifully. I would guess you are running a poor grade of gas currently.

    I would suggest using a different, name brand gas (ie, Shell or Chevron) for a few tankfuls and see how it performs.
  • ilovebatzilovebatz Member Posts: 1
    We took a stock mini (non-S) from Evansville, IN to the Pacific Northwest and back, about 95% hiway driving, 5500 miles, and achieved 39.5 mpg. We used premium fuel at almost every fillup, a couple times we used plus. Best tank was 45.5 mpg, worst was 35.0 mpg. Didn't keep track of which gas had ethanol. Speedwise we averaged between 65-75 mph for most of the trip. We thought about taking the CRV but took Mini instead. We did take out the backseat so we could fit our camping gear. It actually worked out quite well.

    I was impressed.

    Regards,

    Harry Faulkner
  • ltqltq Member Posts: 28
    I have a Clubman S, which shares the manual with the Hatch. It clearly states that premium is highly recommended, but also that 87 gas will NOT hurt the car nor void the warranty. Read the manual!! The knock sensor takes care of the car. As to whether the extra price of 91 gas offsets the poorer (as reported) mpg from using 87 gas, I don't know *yet* .
    I am getting 33mpg real (measured by gas fills of 91 octane) in mixed driving (31 mph average on a tank) on the turbo Clubman automatic (the worst mpg configuration). But I've got a couple of years of gas-pedal training from driving hybrid cars...... this makes a BIG difference.
  • bufnitabufnita Member Posts: 6
    08 Cooper MT...average 38-39 mpg, highway driving 42-45.5 depending on top speed. Have all season 15 inch wheels and when I switched for the summer for 16 inch runflat summer tires mpg dropped about 2 mpg...
  • tezzztezzz Member Posts: 15
    80% Hw 20% Local actual 31.8(Miles/Gal(pumped gas) on baord computer 32.4
    Avg. 75-85 M/H on a Hw
  • gasman2gasman2 Member Posts: 6
    I have an '09 classic and the speedo is 10% inaccurate. My actual speed is 10% less than both speedos say. I am from Canada so the readings are in kilometres but the difference is still there. This also means that my odometer is racking up milege 10% in error as well. Contacted dealer and was told there is nothing that can be done. I checked my speed with my GPS unit, knowing that is accurate. Anyone else with this problem? Makes gas mileage figures better than they really are.....
  • gasman2gasman2 Member Posts: 6
    My '09 classic has only 5000 kilometers (Canada) and the both the speedo in the tach and the large centre speedo say I am going 10% faster than I really am. I suspected an error so I checked it with my GPS. Contacted dealer and said there was nothing they can do. I explained that my odometer was also racking up kilometers faster than reality. My true mileage on this car is only 4500 kilomters. I believe the factory does this so when we check our mileage it appears to be 10% better than it really is. I am presently in discussion with the company to have the problem fixed. Anyone else having this problem?
  • rwsyclonerwsyclone Member Posts: 2
    I have an 08 MINI S and I just came back from my first service. I told the service advisor that my speedo reads 3-4 mph faster, depending on the speed, then I am actually going. I have checked via radar and my GPS. They said there is nothing they can do. I have the stock tires so this is not the problem. In fact they wrote on my service order that all of their cars, MINI's, read fast so as to avoid "traffic speeding." Needless to say I was, and am angry. I have owned many cars and trucks, including BMW, MBZ, Corvettes, and Porsches, and have never had a vehicle more than 1 mph off.
  • rwsyclonerwsyclone Member Posts: 2
    Yes, and I had the dealer give me crap three times on my 08 S. I also had the factory rep call me and he said that as long as it is within 10% of the real speed they are good to go. I have never had any other vehicle, Corvette, Chev, Pick up, BMW, or MBZ ever off more than 1 mph. This is crap!
  • orangeshoeskidorangeshoeskid Member Posts: 2
    I just picked up my 2009 Mini Hardtop yesterday and drove it 300 miles back home and got great gas mileage. The comp said 35.3 mpg and that was including all the in-town driving that the previous owner had already done with it. I'm going on a 600 mile trip in a week or so and will reset the comp before we leave to get a more accurate number. Oh, and this was all on regular gas too.
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Give it time. Judging mileage performance on a first tank can be deceptive. Certainly that first 300 miles doesn't get you into your normal pattern of driving.
  • orangeshoeskidorangeshoeskid Member Posts: 2
    Oh yeah, forgot to mention I bought it used with 60,000 miles on it.
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Well it's certainly broken in then :P
  • stevedebistevedebi Member Posts: 4,098
    "My '09 classic has only 5000 kilometers (Canada) and the both the speedo in the tach and the large centre speedo say I am going 10% faster than I really am. I suspected an error so I checked it with my GPS. Contacted dealer and said there was nothing they can do. I explained that my odometer was also racking up kilometers faster than reality. My true mileage on this car is only 4500 kilomters. I believe the factory does this so when we check our mileage it appears to be 10% better than it really is. I am presently in discussion with the company to have the problem fixed. Anyone else having this problem? "

    I seem to recall that Honda had to provide additional mileage warranties on one of their vehicles a while back, because it was reading the wrong speed, and therefore causing the warranties to run out earlier. There was a class action settlement. Do a google search on Honda Odometer Settlement.
  • adra21adra21 Member Posts: 3
    I've had this car for several years now and it consistently gets great mileage--I think the gas tank holds 13 gallons and I usually fill up when I hit 400 miles (am usually buying about 12 gallons of gas, to explain the math), but I've gone as far as 500 miles on a tank (all highway driving and making use of cruise control). Granted, I do a lot of highway driving, but I'm pretty happy with the mpg--just one more thing to love about my car.
  • puffin1puffin1 Member Posts: 276
    do you drive it in the snow? I have always wanted a Mini but, the horror stories about their transmissions have scared me away.
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