Hey guys!

I was just wondering what the city drivers around here are getting for MPG on a regular basis. I ask because I've seen a 2-4 mpg decrease in fuel economy lately. Before i moved out to CA i was getting 33-35 MPG on a regular basis but my driving was almost ALL highway. Out here my fuel economy is around 29.9 MPG and seems to drop by .1 every week or so. My typical drive isn't necessarily city but it is shorter and the speed limit isn't consistent along the road I live on. (It goes from 50 MPH then drops down to 45 for a mile or so before going up to 55, and finally back down to 45 once i hit town.) There's also more hills and mountains and I spend more time in 3rd and 4th gear.

I'm just not sure If it's the change in environment, a change in my driving style (I tend to accelerate pretty hard plus there's a lot more traffic out here to contend with), or if something might be wrong that i should be looking out for.

I have around 24k-25k miles on the odometer. I changed the oil at 10K, 15K and 20K. I changed my air filter at 20k when i did the oil. I do have 205-50-16 Conti DW's on the car but i drove across the country with those and didn't notice any change in fuel economy (Everyone says you'll lose 1-2MPG though)

Is there anything i should look out for or is it probably just a combination of my new environment / more aggressive driving style.

 

I only avg like 26 mpg city/hwy combined here in Atlanta.

 

Live in Phoenix, and drive about 20 miles each way to work, freeway and surface street. Noticed that when I run the A/C (Phx is already mid-hi 90's), MPG will go down a bit. So far it's around 32 MPG, worst of 30 MPG, best of 40 on hiway. I leave for work around 6 AM, and the traffic on the (infamous) I-17 is already heavy, can't do a steady speed. Sometimes even come to a dead stop. I tried going in at 5:30 AM and it was worse.

I'm thinking it's the route you take, plus speeding up and slowing down. Doesn't help having to downshift a lot. Sometimes you have to accelerate kinda hard to take off, just cuz traffic can be aggressive. Lots of times I have someone right on my butt in 1st gear, cuz I'm only going around 15 MPH when I shift to 2nd. After I get going I'm OK, no problem with traffic.

Maybe think about an alternative route to / from work that could help you get better MPG. I have several ways to go and know which ones are "calmer" in the morning & evening. I'm not driving to keep up with traffic on those routes, which helps my sanity.

Ah yes, big city driving.......

 

HWY mpg is more a function of air resistance than tire rolling resistance given the speed you're travelling.

City driving at lower speeds the tires will have a greater impact on MPG.

It sounds like you're doing fine getting 30mpg or close. My current daily drive is 21miles OW on Atlanta suburban streets. Lots of stop lights. Speeds between 35mph and 50mph. I get between 29.5 and 31mpg depending on my mood.

 

Thanks for the input guys! It sounds like its probably just environmental factors. Everything was so much more relaxed in PA, plus 55MPH speed limit. I did a little test of my own and reset the trip odometer to get a fresh read and drove a little further down the highway (about 20 miles vs the 14 I go to work). When I got home my average MPG was at 32 which is closer to what I had back home. It was definitely the hills i have to go over that dragged it down.

I'm gonna blame it on hills, traffic, shorter drives, and higher speed limit.

 

I typically get about 28 or so, 80% city/20% HWY. If it's all or mostly HWY, I get in the low 30s.

 

I was reading the posts and thinking about my last vehicle (which I still have), a 1996 Toyota Tacoma P/U, w/ 4 cyl & auto trans. It averaged 21-23 with the same route I take now. That was pretty good for a little truck, but I'm getting 10 MPG better now with the Fit. Am sooooo glad I have the Fit. :-)

 

Location: San Antonio, TX
Car: 2010 base Fit
80% City/20% HWY: 31.2 - 34.3 mpg
Trips 5% City/95% HWY: 36.4 - 40.2 mpg

It seems if I do highway driving RIGHT after filling up it is easier to keep my MPG higher even if it is only for a few minutes then driving around town right after fill up.

 

Highway's the worst, what with that tiny little engine pushing that horribly unaerodynamic thing at speed.
In town you can get some really nice numbers if you do what you can to minimize braking.
Rural "highways" are where the really good numbers come in. The Fit loves putting along near 45 mph.

 

Idk, the best I ever got was on the interstate driving down the east coast from PA to Florida. I was averaging almost forty and maybe a little over that for a short period of time. I've never come close to that. I killed it a few states over when I got to Texas with the 80mph highways they have.

 

I have 40K on my 12 sport A/T and average 28-32 mpg with 95% city driving here in L.A.
I have a real lead foot and the traffic is horrible so I'm happy with the mpg"s

I also run 205/50/16 Kumho 4X tires.

 

When I was living in Orange County commuting taking surface streets from Irvine to Santa Ana (to avoid the hell that is the 55 FWY) I was getting low 30's. Like 32 mpg until I got used to driving the Fit and using engine braking a lot and all that and then it bumped up to about 35 or so.

I didn't start getting stellar mileage until I came to the Bay Area where everyone drives 65 on the freeway lol

 

30-31mpg on my car, mostly surface roads.

 

I get about 29-31 mpg

 

In the city, I'm typically mid to high 20's (Imperial Gallon). Highway I average mid to low 40's. To the OP. You mention hills, heavy traffic, fluctuating speeds, and short trips. These will all bring your mileage down. It's relatively flat where I live, but we suffer from traffic lights every couple of blocks on most streets, so I'm constantly stopping. That's why I can't get anywhere near the rated 40MPG imperial for city mileage. In fact, most of the time, I can't break 30.

 

I need to switch to imperial gallons. Will I get Airmiles with that?

(45mpIg = 37.5 mpUSg)

 

You won't get air miles, but you will get better mileage.

Before you start flaming me, I'm kidding! It *looks* like you get better mileage, because the imperial gallon is bigger, so it goes further.

 

Just to stir the pot, bought gas today and got 41 MPG, highest I've ever gotten. Last Sat, I drove out to Wild Horse Raceway for a car race (which didn't come off cuz of high winds and storm we had), so drove home. Was doing 65-70, roughly 80 mile round trip. Same tank of gas all week; going to work and home partial freeway and partial surface street. Thought I would get mid 30's and it came out 41. Sometimes it's wierd the way this car gets MPG. Not complaining, but wondering if it was the trip last Sat that helped the MPG? Anyhoo, gas was $3.479 per gallon at Quick Trip for regular.

 

What kind of weather have you been getting?

 

Times I've driven mostly city miles in San Francisco I got down to 26mpg but still overall with a mixture of city and freeway driving I still have an average of 32mpg.