MPG estimates vs. reality

[Tom Geiger]

my wife's new KIA optima is a much heavier four door with a 2.4 non- turbo motor that gets 37 mpg with four adults & a child on board at 70mph,& you don't time the zero to sixty time with a calendar. And we really enjoy the sirrius XM satellite radio, A/C,etc. I had what was a very strong for the day Pinto with a 2.0 motor, headers, & 2 1/2" exhaust system that was no faster, got nearly the same mileage, but no where near as good in handling even after springs,shocks, & widewheels & tires, true it was fun to drive, as long as you didn't mind your butt going numb if it was a trip that took over an hour. There are just to many advances in technology for those little pushrod"sewing machine" motors to keep up, let's compare, a 1.6 Ford in the EXP & 80 h.p. two seats & very limited creature comforts, against a fully loaded KIA Optima with a 2.0 motor that puts out 270+ h.p.,still think that the new cars aren't a little better?

It should go without saying that today's cars are 40 years of advancements better than a 1970s car. Think about it. When those 1970s were new, a 40 year old car was a Model A, quite a difference in car! And again there are 40 years of progress in new cars today. We tend to forget since it happened slowly over time, but if you want a wake up call, take a 1971 Pinto out on the highway for an hour. It's a rattly, noisy little box. Almost like flying a Cessna low, can't even hear yourself in the cockpit. We didn't know any better at the time, it was just the way things were. But a similar car (say Ford Fiesta) is quiet and handles like the largest car on the road.

Yes, it's fun to be nostalgic and build models of Pintos and EXPs, as long as we only remember the good stuff!

Edited February 16, 2014 by Tom Geiger

[lordairgtar]

Quite simply :

1.) More weight . I can gaurantee that my 2013 Civic weighs more than my 1972 Coronet (4 door , small V8 , 100% Detroit steel ) ! The ridiculous number of Air Bags (or "SRS" as they're called now) plus all of the computer and electronic garbage = 4,000 lb subcompact cars (!!).

2013 Honda Civic weighed in at 2716 lbs and the 72 Coronet weighed in at 3417 lbs

[DirtModeler]

Edited February 18, 2014 by DirtModeler

[DirtModeler]

Edited February 18, 2014 by DirtModeler

[Art Anderson]

I just heard on the news that a woman sued Honda, claiming her 2006 Civic got far less than the 50 mpg that Honda apparently claimed it would get.

Now I know that EPA mileage estimates are just that: estimates, and "your actual mileage may vary"... etc. But the woman apparently sued Honda, not the EPA. And she WON the case, and was awarded nearly ten grand.

I wonder what sort of legal precedent this could set. What's to stop anyone who gets lower mileage than the manufacturer advertises (which is basically everyone) from suing the manufacturer and winning their case?

Read the story here:

http://editorial.aut...48-a5440fce8ab9

Well,

Of course the plaintiff, attorney, and trial were held in....California.

Art

[Joe Handley]

Don't forget Hyundai/KIA were sued over questionable mileage claims and lost. They were claiming 40mpg yet the a number of people weren't getting that.

[Agent G]

I'd still like to know how my '05 Town Car averages 23 mpg during my weekly commute............................

Oh I know, it's powerful enough that it doesn't have to work that hard and I don't drag race stoplight to stoplight during my trip on surface streets.

Your mileage may vary.

G

PS. My '05 Civic is much much better. Love that lil' scooter.

[martinfan5]

I am getting about 23 mpg's in my 01 Maxima with its 6cyl

[Erik Smith]

Don't forget Hyundai/KIA were sued over questionable mileage claims and lost. They were claiming 40mpg yet the a number of people weren't getting that.

Hyundai. They gave us money back, though. Estimated 40 - testing put them at 38 or so.

[jbwelda]

> And she WON the case, and was awarded nearly ten grand

first of all, this often ultimately turns out to not be the case. though in this particular case the amount is so miniscule that aside from not allowing a precedent to be set, there is no point in a company the size of Honda fighting a settlement for that amount...that basically lunch money. but the classic case is the one of the woman who got a settlement of multi million dollars because she burned herself on the hot coffee at mcky d's. only she never collected that, it got overturned and if I remember correctly she only got actual medical bills and I don't think it even covered her lawyer fees for the original lawsuit. so my point is, its rare these non-common-sensical decisions stand the (legal) test of time. the law is an ass as one astute observer noted, and "this is not a court of justice, it is a court of law" as another saw it, but still things seem to get straightened out in the long run.

more to the subject I just bought a recent Toyota Tacoma 4X4 that is rated at 17/19 and I am getting 20+ consistently. that shows what driving a certain way (I don't typically tromp on the loud off every stop like most amerkens seem to do) will do for ya.

jb

Edited February 25, 2014 by jbwelda

[Agent G]

Jonathan that's one of the main reasons I have kept the Lincoln. The Cadillac that scheduled to replace her averaged 19-20 on the highway with a V6. Really?

G

[Joe Handley]

Jonathan that's one of the main reasons I have kept the Lincoln. The Cadillac that scheduled to replace her averaged 19-20 on the highway with a V6. Really?

G

Seriously, I can get better than that out of my 200 on the highway while burning E85?!

[Agent G]

Seriously, I can get better than that out of my 200 on the highway while burning E85?!

That's my point exactly!

Why does that happen?

A 200 is a great car, has a lot of options and cruises economically all while burning E85. I admit I'm spoiled by the Town Car, a 200 is not my size so to speak, but I think a 300 may be in the future for me.

G

[Joe Handley]

That's my point exactly!

Why does that happen?

A 200 is a great car, has a lot of options and cruises economically all while burning E85. I admit I'm spoiled by the Town Car, a 200 is not my size so to speak, but I think a 300 may be in the future for me.

G

My thoughts......

How heavy is the Caddy vs the Lincoln?

If the two areclose in weight, the V-6 could be working harder to move the bulk. The Gasoline mileage on my V-6 200 is only 1 city/2 highway less than the comparably equipped 4 cylinder car and I'm positive it has to do with power to weight. The 4 cyl/6-speed cars are probably less than 200 lighter than the V-6/6-speed cars but the V-6 makes 113hp and around 90lb/ft more and doesn't have to work hard to move the weight at all. Then it gets worse if you compare my fairly stripped down V-6 Touring (next model past Rental Drone) to a fully loaded 4cyl Limited, all those goodies could easily make up the weight difference.

Edited February 26, 2014 by Joe Handley

[Agent G]

'05 Town Car is listed as 4359 lbs, '14 Cadillac XTS is lised at 4015lbs. FWD and 4215lbs AWD. The TC has the Ford CVPI power train with a higher rear end ratio, a 4.6l V8 with a reported 240 HP.

The Caddy has a 3.6l, V6 with a reported 304 HP.

Interesting............................

I bet torque is vastly different and proves your point.

G

[Harry P.]

I average 20 mpg in my Mustang GT. Actually a hair over. Not fantastic... but not too shabby.

[martinfan5]

I should note that my MPG I am getting is pretty much 95% on the street, I do very little freeway driving between each weeks fill up, I am not going to complain about it, I was barley able to get 300 miles out of my tank, but did some maintenance and now I am able to get about 370 , the engine has around 304,000 on it

I am not sure what Jetta is getting, but I know its about 400 miles or so on a tank

Edited February 27, 2014 by martinfan5

[1930fordpickup]

Harry I do not know what my 2002 Mustang GT averages but the best I ever got was 30 on the highway one time. It helps to keep it under 85 . When you average over 90 the cops in Kentucky ted to give you a ticket.

[Evilbenny]

04 Ram 1500 Regular cab 4x4 5.7 Hemi, 5spd auto. 10.5 mpg city. 11.5 hwy 60 or 75 mph. It doesnt get any better at the lower speed. I only drive about 25 - 30 miles a week. Still cheaper to drive than my mother in laws Prius. I have no car payment and no maintenance issues in the last 5 years. I thought about getting something more economical but a payment is more than I spend on gas.

[Harry P.]

Harry I do not know what my 2002 Mustang GT averages but the best I ever got was 30 on the highway one time. It helps to keep it under 85 . When you average over 90 the cops in Kentucky ted to give you a ticket.

I've never even gotten close to 30. The best I ever did was about 24, during a 3-hour highway trip.

According to the EPA, my car is supposed to get 15 city, 23 highway. I get right around 20, 99% not highway driving... so I think I'm doing ok.

[1930fordpickup]

Well the time I got thirty it was an average of 55 or 60 in the rain for half of that tank. Driving from Toledo to Nashville.

[slusher]

I have a 05 Sebring the big one and I get 23 town 30 hiway it has 2.7 v6. My wife's 08 Pontiac G6 gets 18 to 20 town and 24 hiway with a 3.6 no matter how you drive it. Dealer said 30 to 38 on the G6 but it has never done it even with a tail wind....

[Joe Handley]

'05 Town Car is listed as 4359 lbs, '14 Cadillac XTS is lised at 4015lbs. FWD and 4215lbs AWD. The TC has the Ford CVPI power train with a higher rear end ratio, a 4.6l V8 with a reported 240 HP.

The Caddy has a 3.6l, V6 with a reported 304 HP.

Interesting............................

I bet torque is vastly different and proves your point.

G

I'll bet those numbers are for the AWD too, that can suck mileage down in regular conditions, or help it with nasty head and cross winds

[o-man]

I drive a 94 Civic. 1.6L 4 banger. In winter, it gets about 32mpg cruising 75-80mph. Most of the rest of the year it gets 36mpg at the same speed. I was fortunate to "keep" an 05 Z51 package Corvette for about a year. Cruising on the highway at 80mph, it consistently got 30mpg. Pretty amazing for a 400hp performance car.

[ZTony8]

I have a 2008 HHR,2.4 engine,5 speed manual trans.The EPA mileage figures on the Monroney label state 20 m.p.g city,28 highway.I AVERAGE 23 to 29 m.p.g. depending on the season.The highway mileage tops out at about 30-31 m.p.g. because the litlle thing is such a brick.I used to average the same 30-31 on the highway with my 93 Cavalier 3.1 V-6 automatic wagon!

The now ex wife had an '87 EXP when we married.You'd think it was built light until you tried to lift the hood.That hood must have weighed 100 pounds!