I have a 2012 Titanium on order and it was just built (5/7) so I hope to be picking it up within the next couple weeks...

One of the things I've noticed with my current car (2004 Toyota Matrix XR) is that I get better gas mileage at the roughly 4500 foot altitude around SLC then I do near sea level in, say California. Now it makes sense that areo drag would be less at higher altitudes so mileage would be better so I was wondering what folks in the mountain states are getting for mileage with the 2012 FF.

My lifetime average with the Matrix is about 33mpg, but if I were closer to sea level I'd probably be more like 31mpg.


Brian

I recently purchased a 2012 Subaru Impreza (sorry not a Focus). The manufacturer's mileage claims are 27mpg city and 36mpg highway. I just took the car on two round trips to Florida from Denver (over 9000 miles in less than 3 months of ownership...to visit a very ill and close relative).

I actually found that I get worse gas mileage at altitude or in cold temps (below 45 degrees or so). I'm pretty sure its due to potentially lower octane fuels and/or the ethanol content used here. I also found a lot depends on the quality of the gasoline used. Since I was bored on such a long trip I kept records on gas mileage including brands of gasoline used, average sustained speeds, calculated vs. computer calculations etc. I found the cars trip computer ALWAYS optimistic by 1.5 to 3 mpg!

On the last trip just a couple of weeks ago I did get 36mpg (calculated) average on three tanks One tank was close to 37 mpg (not bad for an AWD). All these occurred on fairly flat roads, 60 to 65 mph avg. and 65 to 70 degree avg. temps. When temps went above 80 degrees I saw noticeable drops in mileage as well. Over the two trips I found that at 75mph I averaged 32 mpg, 70mph-33.0 mpg, 65mph-35 mpg. I got the best gas mileage with Shell, Chevron, and BP fuels that had no ethanol added (looked for pump stickers or signs that said no ethanol was added. "Pure gas" is often advertised a lot down south and I believe its worth an extra 2 mpg or so). Worst gasoline was Conoco confirmed by three tank fulls and by as much as 3 mpg poorer). I also got poorer gas mileage when I filled up at the big independent chains (Love's, Racetrac, Kangaroo, etc). I think they may buy from who's ever offering the best deals to them and not necessarily the best gas.

So in summary, I believe gas quality, speed, terrain, and outdoor temps and head winds have as much or more impact on gas mileage than altitude alone does.

Well I've had my 2012 Ti for not quite a year now and have just over 17,000 miles on it and my net average over that distance is closing in on 38mpg. I just did a road trip (SLC->Vegas->Tonopah->SLC) and the last leg, from Tonopah, I got over 45mpg at a cruising speed of mostly 60mph. To be fair I had a pretty decent tail-wind and the elevation at SLC is 1800 feet lower than Tonopah so I was bound to benefit from that but still, 45.4mpg and 540 miles on a single tank.

I took the long route going north on 376 just outside of Tonopah until I hit the 50 then 50/6 all the way past Delta (yes, I took the long way). I did have a head-wind heading to Toolele on 36. The low fuel light didn't come on until I hit the 15 at 15/36. When I filled up the pump clicked off at 11.5 gallons and I topped it off, as I normally do, with an additional 0.4 gallons for a total, over 540 miles, of 11.89 gallons.


Brian