First week of ownership over. I'm going to be tracking my mileage from the beginning. First - the starting mileage is 98155. The only thing I've done at this point is to put a new stock air filter in. It's a 5 sp. manual.

My driving has been mostly city driving. 36 miles were on the interstate, driving at around 70 max. I'm in Nashville, and Nashville is fairly hilly. I've also been moving so I had several round trips (on the interstate) loaded with about 400 lbs of "stuff".

I'm using regular unleaded and I'm filling up until the pump shuts off.

So, with all of that out of the way, my first fill-up is at 98278. Trip computer reads 122.4. Gallons are 5.24. Price - 3.229. Therefore, initial mileage is 23.3.

I'll post again sometime next week.

 

With the exact same car (color and all) I am getting 30 combined in chicago. I have little to no hills, HEAVY daily traffic (most of my highway is stop and go), and limited highway at highway speeds (70- 85 MPH).

 

This is sort of an agnostic thread. Basically, I'm going to be adding to the record of real world driving. I'm not editorializing very much personally (woe is me and/or I'm the king of the world!), but comments such as yours are welcome, that's for sure. The thing is, this will be precise (as much as is possible from filling up from a gas pump, that is). This will be actual numbers, and the only expansion will be regarding unusual conditions and/or a/c use, highway vs city, mods, etc.

I should have mentioned that I only used the a/c for about 10 miles. That's going to change in the coming weeks though <chuckle>. At the moment, I'm still hauling around about 100 pounds of stuff, although that's basically like having Emma Stone in my passenger seat...oh wait, it's not *exactly* like having Emma Stone in my passenger seat.

I'm still learning the rhythm of the car in terms of shift points, 1st gear startup, etc.

This should be fun.

 

Oh yeah, my daily commute to and from work is 3.1 miles each way. I make that round trip commute twice a day twice a week. The other two or three shifts (depending on my schedule) are one time commutes.

I'll probably get a tune up in the next couple of months (might go the cool plug/91+ route). I'm at 60% on the oil reminder, so I've got a ways to go on that. I'll be changing to Rotella synthetic at oil change time. I'm seriously considering a Weapon R manifold and compatible intake somewhere in the next 6 months or so.

 

That 3 mile commute will kill your MPG. I wouldn't bother with spark plugs--OEM is just fine.

 

Oh yeah, that's for sure. Plus I'm doing a lot of stop and go short trips because I'm learning my new neighborhood and I'm trying to get some time behind the wheel of the Fit. The spark plugs won't be for MPG but more for slightly better performance (in concert with some of the things that I'm planning to do in the future).

 

If you aren't familiar with it already, you might be interested in registering with Fuelly; it's a very convenient (free) way to track gas milage. It works quite easily, and can compute a bunch of more or less interesting stats.

 

I'm not familiar so thanks for the heads-up!

 

I would walk if I worked 3 miles from home.

 

Not if you waited tables.

 

it's cant be more than a 10 min bike ride?

 

Wasn't trying to be a wiseguy but, most people would trade there left $*^ for a job that close to home.

 

I wasn't either. But I do at least 3 miles during my shift. When I do lunch AND dinner shifts in a day twice a week (with a few hours in between shifts), walking to work isn't really very palatable. Plus, I *still* have to park about 1/2 mile away. It's funny, I had what most people think is a good commute *before* I moved to this neighborhood about a month ago. I used to have a 6 mile interstate commute (about 12-15 minutes door to parking lot depending on the traffic). Now it's even better. No interstate and half the distance. When I work the night shift, I don't have to worry about the bad traffic going into downtown which always gets backed up on the interstate (morning commute comes after the morning rush hour traffic) . Plus, even if I get stuck late from lunch, if I have only a couple of hours, it's not a big deal to run home and chill out for a few minutes.

Yeah, it's pretty cool.

 

Yeah, but this is Nashville. I wait tables, so there are a couple of issues. One is hygienic and the other is it's pretty hilly. There's a guy who lives in the neighborhood who does it occasionally, but he's also a personal trainer in his spare time. I don't think he even sweats <chuckle>.

It gets pretty humid in these parts and I would be sweating before I got to the end of my street (my house is at the bottom of a hill - no chance to even work up a head of steam).

Having said that though, once it gets to be Sept., I'll probably do it a few times. The thing is, I'm not really saving that much gas or time when it comes down to it. It's only 9 minutes from door to parking lot. I'd rather cycle when I don't have to worry about my presentation at work.

 

Today - 98396, trip computer 118.6. Gal. 3.562 @ 3.289. Reg. MPG 33.1. This is with 65% city. Did my weekly 45 mile round trip interstate slog to the radio station where I do a dj slot on Friday afternoon. Since I just finished that yesterday, I thought I'd gas up this morning to get an idea of a greater mix of highway than last time. I was able to use cruise control for about a third of the drive (set at 70). Still had lots of stop and go driving in the city mix but had some stretches of "parkway-type" driving at 45 - 50. No A/C use.

The next biggest variable other than the city/highway ratio is that I checked the air in my tires about 20 miles in. Turns out that I had 2 tires at 28psi. The other two were at 34. I decided to bump up the fronts to 38 and the rears to 36.

As far as my driving habits, I'm not doing a lot of hi-revving yet, but I'm not driving like a snail either. I'm trying to establish a sort of a baseline. Once I get a few tanks under my belt, I'll start winding 'er up.

I'm going to try to run my next tank almost dry.

I signed up for Fuelly, so I'll be adding a badge shortly.

 

I personally think 3 miles is not an ideal commuting distance. It's way too short for bike commuting, as you go just far enough to start sweating and have to take a shower, but get no real workout. Car commuting MPG sucks. Too far to walk.

Only solution: Segway – The leader in personal, green transportation

 

It's not ideal only if you're concerned about saving a few pennies in gas or prestige in a super high MPG. To me, it's awesome, especially when I'm doing it a couple of times a day several days a week. I'll take a 9 minute drive with a few red lights over getting a higher mpg with a 20 mile commute (or even my old 6 mile commute). I like a two or three song commute. I don't want to be able to listen to In a Gadda Da Vida and be pulling up just as it's ending (not that I'd listen to it in the first place, mind you). I like to be there almost before I know it.

 

I can't tell you how happy I would if I could get rid of my hour commute to work each way. That is one of the main reasons I ended up with an economy car. Here in Chicago the gas is outrages ( I filled up today in the suburbs for $4.47 a gallon).

 

Agreed. We have a guy at work who does an hour commute each way. In a Buick LeSabre! Gah!

At least he's got a small farm. That makes up for it a little.

Me? I'm happy to be living the urban life. I have a cell phone tower that I can see from my porch, I have a laundromat with two pool tables and a Ms. Pac Man machine (once I get my dryer fixed and my washer hooked up, that will be irrelevant), and 6 Mexican restaurants, 2 Thai places, an Ethiopian restaurant, and a Middle-Eastern buffet within a mile. Not bad. Plus, there are a million small auto shops within 5 minutes. I'll find one that I trust eventually, but hopefully later than earlier.

 

Disclaimer: I'm a cycling nut.

For 8 years, I commuted on a bicycle to my job, which was close to 3 mi. away. Yes, there is a lot of strategizing (prep) work so you can do some more work (cycling).

I got the funniest responses from co-workers. In winter, where I often arrived in three layers and subfreezing temps, I'd get chided if I didn't ride. Some people thought it was really cool, others felt threatened by anyone not driving to work. Never understood the last one.