I have a 2 week old Focus Titanium hatchback that has me worried with a few issues, the big one being MPG ratings.
On first tank of gas I got 23.5 MPG, and half way through 2nd tank the computer says about the same. This basically with just daily commute driving about half city streets and half 55MPH freeway. I drive carefully and usually get numbers better than EPA ratings on everything else I have driven, so this worries me.
I spoke to the dealer and they say it needs to break in to get best results. This makes some sense, but I am expecting at least 10 MPG higher out of this car (33+ on average)and that seems like a big jump for just "breaking it in" to fix.
Anyone have any insight on if this is normal or anything I should check?
I can tell you from real world experience that the 18's have an effect on MPG.
With the 18's on, and with my driving, I was averaging about 8.5L/100km (33.2mpg).
With my winters on (195/65R15 91S BF Goodrich Winter Slalom KSI on steel rims) my mileage improves to 7.3L/100km (38.7mpg), that is a considerable difference.
I'm running just shy of 14 L/100. 300 kilometers to a tank with one stint of hard driving for 2 kilometers. This should be a lawsuit in the making. It's false advertising and misinformation. Ridiculous. I'd have bought an F-150 if this was the mileage I was going to get
In case this happens to anyone else..I was getting about 26MPG average total, then I went and bought premium gas. I am now getting 30MPG. I also purchased this from a different gas station, so may I now go back and buy 87 again from a different gas station to make sure they werent selling bad gas.
My 2012 Titanium hatchback has been sitting in the Ford dealership for over a week now waiting for parts to replace the clutches. They gave me a 2012 SE sedan to use and I have been driving that since.
I fuel up at the same gas station, I've been driving the exact same route to work and I haven't changed my habits. Here are the comparisons (average):
Titanium Hatchback: HWY 7.6L/100km CITY 8.0L/100km
SE Sedan: HWY 6.5L/100km CITY 6.8L/100km
I don't do much city driving, most of my commute is on highways.
Mine goes back to the shop tonight. Took my road trip to kasas city from Michigan. 4 tanks all highway and cruise control at 70 mph. Got 31.3 to 33.8 on all four tanks. Ouch! That's not 40 mph. We will see what they say this time.
Really, That is what I should expect from this car. I have a fellow employee with a 2012 SE with 17" rim, pretty much the same as mine with out the MFT and some bells and whistles, and she gets 42 to 44 mpg's at 70 mph. I had a 2011 Ford Fiesta I got 42 with at 75-80 mph in colder weather going to the UP in Michigan. So why do some Focus have no issues getting 32 in city and 42 on highway and other can't even climb out of the 32's + no matter what. I've had this issue all summer too. The results are the same with in a few mpg's not 10 MPG.
Do you have evidence other than their verbal claims to get 42-44 mpg at 70 mph?
I can see 42+ at a steady state 65 mph easily, but that extra 5 miles per hour adds a lot more to the aerodynamic drag forces and speeds the engine up from 2400 rpm at 65 to at or over 2600 rpm at 70 mph.
Again if you were so satisfied with the Fiesta why trade it in after only a year or so for the Focus?
The little bit of extra room and some of the better stuff that came with it and the sporty look. I only did so after seeing the 2012 window sticker was only one or two MPG less then the Fiesta's window sticker was in 2011. To be totally honest with you, I drove the fiesta like a go-cart. I expected a drop in fuel mileage, just not this much. Looking a Fueleconomy.gov I don't understand why half the cars perform well and half perform poor. Seems like with the cruse control on with similar cars the results should be similar with in a few MPG's, not ten MPG. If I got 38 mpg on the highway I would have a celebration. Remember Min. speed on Michigan interstates is 55 MPH and you would be ran over at that speed. I heard the new escape's are getting my mileage and are AWD and bigger. This just frustrates me. I 'll Just wait to see if the dealer finds something out. Probably won't find anything, but at least they and I tried. And They also gave me a loaner a while back and for two days, Computer said it was getting better mileage they my car, but I didn't have it long enough to really see if it stayed like that.
Thanks for the input. I will have to look at my rpm's the next time I'm on the highway to see what they are, so at 70 mph I should be around 2600 on the tac.
I have had my SEL for a month now and do about 60/40 City/Highway driving and am not getting over 25 mpg. Prior to adding highwaymiles in, I was getting 15 mpg with 100% city driving.
Is there something wrong that I should bring up with my dealer? Is it just because I am in constant stop and go or because it is winter?
Driving conditions, driving style, temperature, terrain, wind, winter gas all make a huge difference in fuel economy. Try this: get to a reasonably level highway where you can hold a constant speed for a fair distance. Set the cruise control at 60 moh and reset the mpg part of the trip computer. After 5 miles or so you should show average mpg in the high 30s. If so, your car is in all likelihood fine; your disappointing mpg is because of your driving conditions or style.
Unless you have a sticking brake or grossly under inflated tires, there are a very limited number of mpg harmful things that can be wrong without the car throwing a code.
That's almost exactly my average too for the same. I had like 75% highway driving and an average of like 28.3mpg. Straight highway driving (fill up, drive 8 hours on the highway at like 68mph) yielded around 33mpg.
Never got even close to the 37mpg they state on the EPA lol that must have been at 55mph.
I've been tracking mine since Sept. of 2012. Highway best at 70 to 75 mph is 31.5 to 33.8 mpg's Back country roads and some city diving is running 26.5 to 30.5 mpg's I'm pretty sure this is the best mine will do. I think if I slowed down to 45 to 50 mph on the freeway I might squeeze the 37 mpg's out of it or at least that is what Ford told me, but that would have to be in the summer time and not the winter with the thicker air again that is what Ford told me. But If I get to frustrated over it it just take my 2003 f-150 for a ride and at 12.5 to 13.5 mpg I look forward to getting back in the Focus. Below are my actual Fuelly numbers:
Basic Stats
28.6 -- avg MPG
26.0 (-4.5) last MPG
33.8 (12/28/12) best MPG
With a whopping 570 miles on my Focus, I am averaging 27-28 mpg with 90% city driving. My commute to work is about 3 miles and a LOT of stop/go. Also, here in Phoenix, we are on "summer blend" fuel which contains I believe 10% Ethanol. It is also 100+ degrees here during the day.
I have the 5spd Ti Hatch with the Handling package (Stiffer suspension and 18" rims). The car is rated as 26 city 36 highway or 30 combined.
When I do all city driving, I can easily beat the city rating...but not by much. I get an average of 27mpg for all city driving. If I do all highway driving (100%...doesn't happen often), I can get 38. However, most of the time, I do a combined driving ratio of 60% city, 40% highway. In that scenario, I get about 28.
For me, I think the tire and stiffer suspension makes the car take a hit in mileage.
Our other Focus, and SE Sport with the DCT, can easily average 32mpg combined under similar driving circumstances.
I went from a 2008 Focus Sedan 5spd and it pulled 36 to 45 mpg. I typically ran 80-85 on hwy and 90% hwy driving. If i had to drive 55-75mph I would pull 40's easy. I traded it in for a 2012 5door with sports package 6spd auto. It's pathetic in MPG. Same driving conditions I am happy to get 28-33mpg. I noticed the 6spd requires higher rpms on hills than the gear ratios of my 2008. thus the torque was maped better in 2008. I have had equal MPG in rentals like sonota's and malibu's. I cannot wait to dump my Focus just for the fact of that. I would take my 2008 focus back any day over this POS.
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