81.5 MPG in a Ford Fusion

[Joe Handley]

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090428/CARNEWS/904289981

Ford Fusion hybrid hypermiles to 81.5 mpg

By GREG MIGLIORE

A picture of This 2010 Ford Fusion cranked out 81.5 mpg.

This 2010 Ford Fusion cranked out 81.5 mpg.

FordThe 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid gets up to 41 mpg--officially. But with a little effort, you can easily double that.

That’s what a team of Ford engineers, a hypermiling legend and NASCAR star Carl Edwards managed to pull off this week, registering an average of 81.5 mpg in a 1,445.7-mile journey designed to show off the eco prowess of the new hybrid sedan.

The crew left Mount Vernon, Va., on Saturday morning and finished on the George Washington Parkway in Washington, running out of gas just before dawn. They clicked off the 1,000-mile mark--the original goal-- Monday morning, with Edwards at the wheel.

The EPA has rated the Fusion hybrid at 41 mpg in the city and 36 on the highway, besting other hybrids including the Toyota Camry. By using hypermiling techniques, such as accelerating smoothly and coasting to red lights, the Fusion drivers were able to considerably increase the car’s fuel economy.

Its official estimated range is 700 miles on a tank of gas, which the hypermilers doubled. The car was not modified and drove around Washington nearly continuously for 69 hours.

The drivers had hoped to get 57 mpg, but were able to easily better that. Other mileage tricks included closing the windows to reduce drag, shutting off the heater and air conditioner to cut the strain on the engine, and using momentum to help carry the car up and down hills.

They broke up the drive into two- and three-hour stints. Edwards, fresh off a dramatic crash Sunday at Talladega that saw his No. 99 car get airborne, said he was excited to be a part of the drive. He noted that he owns a Fusion hybrid.

Hypermiler Wayne Gerdes also was part of the team, which raised $8,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

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This article was last updated on: 04/28/09, 15:37 et

[Simon]

Very impressive. There's no doubt that the manufacturers are getting increasingly clever with fuel economy, though the consensus among petrolheads in the UK seems to be that ecomony-optimised conventional cars make more sense - and may actually be more economical - than hybrids. Audi have been involved in economy challenges for years, getting executive saloons to go 1,000 miles on a single tankful, and many small diesel cars will now manage 60mpg. Still, 81mpg in that Ford is excellent (especially if that's the smaller US gallon, is that still used in the US instead of the larger imperial gallon = 4.5 litres in the UK?). And if hybrids or electric cars are the future, we have to start somewhere - they can't be perfect straight away, in the same way that mobile/cell phones, microwave meals and Celine Dione's teeth weren't perfect to begin with

[Harry P.]

Still, 81mpg in that Ford is excellent (especially if that's the smaller US gallon, is that still used in the US instead of the larger imperial gallon = 4.5 litres in the UK?).

One UK gallon = 1.2 US gallon.

Also... you guys drive on the wrong side of the street...

[Aaronw]

Very impressive. There's no doubt that the manufacturers are getting increasingly clever with fuel economy, though the consensus among petrolheads in the UK seems to be that ecomony-optimised conventional cars make more sense - and may actually be more economical - than hybrids. Audi have been involved in economy challenges for years, getting executive saloons to go 1,000 miles on a single tankful, and many small diesel cars will now manage 60mpg. Still, 81mpg in that Ford is excellent (especially if that's the smaller US gallon, is that still used in the US instead of the larger imperial gallon = 4.5 litres in the UK?). And if hybrids or electric cars are the future, we have to start somewhere - they can't be perfect straight away, in the same way that mobile/cell phones, microwave meals and Celine Dione's teeth weren't perfect to begin with

As with all electric vehicles, the "environmental" aspect always ignores the elephant, how does the electrical production / batteries fit into the overall polution picture. If they would honestly factor in the production of batteries, disposal of batteries, and for electric cars the additional electrical production required it would be interesing to see where they truly stand regarding their environmental footprint compared to conventional gasoline powered autos.

The other issue is they pull stunts like this to show how fuel efficient they are, but it really doesn't matter because 99.9% of the drivers will not drive them like that. You can get some pretty spectacular MPG in conventional cars too using the techniques they used. From what I've been hearing hybrids are also very subject to driving habits, those with lead feet get much worse mpg than you would see in a conventional car of similar size and power. I've heard from a few who own them that it is hard to reach the listed mpg in real world driving.

I am in favor of hybrid vehicles, it is a worthwhile technology. We have hybrid shuttle busses here, and they are considerably cleaner than conventional diesel busses because their diesel motor is constantly run at its ideal rpm, the electric motors get it rolling so you don't get that plume of black smoke when the bus starts down the road. They do cost 2x as much as a conventional bus though.

I'm just tired of the smoke and mirrors being used to push an agenda. We had compact cars in the 80s that got similar mileage to the current hybrids, (didn't the standard Honda CRX get something like 51 mpg?) so it is certainly possible to do so with current conventional gas powered cars.

Edited May 1, 2009 by Aaronw

[lordairgtar]

Ahhh Hypermilers! It's fun to fill their rear view mirror with the chrome of a Peterbilt on the highway.