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2013 Fuel Economy

6K views 27 replies 20 participants last post by  bikerlbf406 
#1 ·
I just did my first fill up after buying my 2013 Focus. Well First fill up I paid for. The dealer went with me to the gas station right after buying it and filled it up for me. Now that it has had 2 fill ups, I was able to calculate my fuel usage. I got 23.7 mpg out of it. That was with 95% city driving. My gauge cluster shows 24.4 mpg. I did put about 100 miles on a partial tank of gas in the 4 days of driving I did in it before signing the papers to buy it. Right now the car has 400 miles on it. Is that MPG about right? I know I've heard the car gets better gas mileage after it breaks in but I don't know if that's true or not as this is my first brand new vehicle. Also I did do some fast take offs and all with it one day which I know hurts the fuel economy a little. It has the automatic transmission in it.
 
#3 ·
My first tank was like 23mpg, I've since gotten to the point where I average ~30 and I'm usually 70-80% city driving.

Sadly though even with 90% highway the highest I've ever gotten hand-calculated was just over 34mpg :(

Though, highway/freeway speeds in FL are 70mph speed limit and that certainly is at the point where mpg starts to go down.
 
#4 ·
My first tank average was 33 even after subtracting the 18 miles from delivery (3 when it came off the truck, 9 put on during the test drive and another 6 for some reason when they went to prep the car for delivery. My cumulative average is nearer to 34.9 mpg over the past 5000 miles or so.

With a peak thus far of 42.063 mpg at 65 mph for extended periods of time (well trying to make as few stops as possible, didn't quite make the trip there and back on one tank of fuel, but didn't push for no stops either. That was with three people in the car and the weight of at least four people + overnight bags.

Normal work commute is about 10 miles each way, occasionally getting stuck in traffic there and back, about half city streets and half freeway, but since the actual interstate portion is only about 3 miles it doesn't really pay to go 70 unless you're in a hurry as the mileage would suffer quite badly if you were to accelerate to 70 and then come to a complete stop at the base of the exit ramp or somewhere along it after just a couple miles.

The first few days after I got the car I was seeing all kinds of ecomode messages I've never been able to see since, such as more details on how much time percentage wise of the trips were done with a cold engine. Now it either gives me the trophy or does not, even though all five leaves of both flowers are usually full all the way, but not if I've gotten into a bit of a mood where I need to wind the car out a bit more.

I guess I'm maybe trying to glide it up into higher gears and stay there if possible in traffic, and trying to leave enough space to coast down somewhat when its time to slow down. That doesn't always work.
 
#6 ·
I've got a '13 too and I am around 75-80% city/residential driving. I am averaging between 27-28 mpg both computer and calculator. I've got 1400 mi on so far. I am more than happy with the MPG numbers considering I have a bit of a heavy foot (attributed solely to the fun that I have in this car).
 
#7 ·
Got my 2013 last Saturday and filled up once. The computer said 36.5 but calculated 34.7. So far this tank the computer shows 38.6. Took a 200 mile roadtrip and the computer showed 40.5 for that 200 miles. Have not filled the second time yet. Car has about 600 miles on it.
I live in the country and have no city traffic to deal with.
Love this car!!!!!!!!!
 
#8 ·
Just completed a 400+ road trip. First 2 tanks were calculated 40 and 39.6 mpg. The third which is only 1/4 used shows 36.3 but was bucking a 20-30mph headwind all the way home from LaCrosse.
Enjoyed the ride and handling of the Focus through southern Wisconsin.
 
#9 · (Edited)
[read]The 2012 owners manual states:
"We do not recommend taking fuel economy measurements during the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of driving (engine break-in period). You will get a more accurate measurement after 2,000 miles–3,000 miles (3,000 km–5,000 km).

Guessing the 2013 would be similar but too lazy to verify...anyways, My experience was:
0-1000: low-mid 20's
1-2000: improved to just under 30
2-3000: improved to low 30's
3-4000+: low/mid 30's in mixed driving, finally seeing 39~42 on the highway

When I hit the 1,000 mile mark, the change occurred between fill-ups...
998, 999, 1000 >>Ding - Level Up! - 5mpg fuel economy upgrade unlocked[lockdance][woot]<<

Subsequent improvements were also noticeable, but much more gradual.

I did a LOT of highway driving, which may or may not have something to do with the slightly longer break-in. [dunno]

Also, it seems theres a slight power increase as the engine breaks in.[race]

Give it some time and the occasional full throttle run, it'll break-in nicely.

As a side note, a few folks have noted the 18" wheels cost a few mpg as compared to the 15-17" wheels...YMMV

Cheers[cheers]
 
#10 ·
Mine didn't seem to follow the same pattern.

For the first four tanks from delivery to just under 1300 miles the average was =34.2 in mixed driving (mostly commuting 10 mi or so per direction per day.

From 1300-2500 or so miles the average actually went down to 33.88.

From about 2500 to about 3300 the average was 35.74

From 3300 to 5027 or so miles the average was 35.68.

I've had a few tanks in the lower 40s, and one at 42.1 over 470.1 miles with three people in the car, but even the first tank averaged 33 mpg even after deducting the 18 miles from delivery from that figure.
 
#11 ·
I see fuel mileage is all over, but I guess for the low mileage on the car (under 500) I'm not doing to bad, since I do weigh over 300 lbs myself, have about 75 lbs of tools and crap in the hatch, and about 1/4 of the time had a 250 pound passenger with me, and at times had two 200 pound passengers with me, and I know all the weight does decrease my fuel economy some.
 
#12 ·
Don't sweat it. It'll improve a little bit over time. Biggest thing is gonna be your driving style. I usually stick it on cruise at 65 MPH. Anything over that and it'll start dropping quickly.



 
#13 ·
Yeah, my net average for almost 11,000 miles is 37.4mpg. My first tank was about 33mpg. The Mk3 FF is very sensitive to city driving and particularly stop-and-go city driving and if your commute involves a lot of stop-and-go it will be hard to get much more than mid 20's. In fact, if you drive nothing but stop-and-go you could well be less than 20mpg though that is unlikely. At the other end, if you do nothing but sustained medium speeds of, say, 50mph you should easily see 40mpg.

Last month I was in Yellowstone and since the max speed limit is 45mph that was about as fast as I could go. I did 3 full tanks worth of driving or something over 1300 miles and I average about 44mpg for those 3 tanks even though it involved some stop-and-go with people stopping to snap pictures of Elk, Bison, etc...


Brian
 
#14 ·
Well I know its been a while since my last post, however do to the little amount I drive, I'm only filling up my tank once a month. I did have put $10 in my tank between tonight and the last fill up. After combining the 2.8 gallons I put in about 2 weeks ago and the fill up of 9.8 gallons tonight and dividing that out of the miles I've put on total since last fuel up, I managed to get 27.7 mpg out of this tank, and I only have 742 miles on the car total now. That was with 90-95% city driving. Keep in mind I do weigh 325 lbs, about half of the time had a 250 lb passenger, and one trip with a 3rd 200 lb passenger. I also have about 75 lbs of tools and all in the hatch. So I say it was alright. I'm hoping it gets better yet with higher mileage and after it breaks in completely, but I'm happy to see the improvement and don't feel as bad.
 
#15 ·
Just returned from a 2000 mi trip to Montana. We were bucking a 30mph headwind going 73mph and got 29.4mpg. The rest of the trip was also bucking a headwind of 10-13mph and going 71-75mph and got 34mpg. All tankfulls were calculated by hand. Some of the computer mpg's were more, some less than actual. All were interstate hwy.
 
#18 ·
My MPG has been crappy since day one and has not gotten that much better over time. I have a '12 Ti with 18"s. I mainly do city driving and average MPG I get since I have been tracking it is 24.9 mpg.

No this is interesting. For the most part I have been driving a bit more conservatively to get better mileage. But recently I said screw it, I am tired of driving like Grandma! I accepted the MPG and now started driving a bit more spirited! Like when I had my GTI.

The funny thing, I am starting to get better MPG now! Go figure! Maybe because I am getting to the higher gears faster?? Who knows! But at least I am having some more fun now!
 
#24 ·
5MT here. I was hitting 27 to 28 in the city with very little to no freeway driving. I also had under 1000 miles on the clock. Post 1000 miles, I hit 30 in the city. Add a K&N air filter, now I get 33 in the city and 37 freeway.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2
 
#25 ·
I know this is obvious but folks often forget: MPG is directly related to the amount of work you're asking your car to do. As such, it's usually not helpful comparing MPG numbers with each other because we're all asking for different things from our cars. I've had tanks ranging from 35.9 MPG (all-highway road trip) to 22.8 mpg (a week when I drove to work and averaged 6 miles per hour).

As they say, YMMV. There are so many variables to consider, so the best you can do is to drive another car through the same environment and see how your Focus does relative to that.
 
#27 ·
Driving Style and GDi

Hello all -

I'm new to the forum and was wondering if there are any special driving techniques required with the GDi to achieve maximum mileage? I have the 5MT SE model. Should I actually follow that stupid little shift light when it tells me to downshift earlier than I'd prefer, or should I just follow my instincts and do what I'm used to? If I were to follow the shift light religiously I'd be in 5th at 30 mph and going nowhere fast.

I ask because I've grown up with conventionally fuel injected engines and GDi is new to me. I've read on and off about "keeping the engine loaded," and cruising at 2,500 rpm (the racket of which drives me nuts), cruising at the lowest possible rpm and anything in between. Color me confused.

I'll post an intro thread some day, when I'm awake.

Thanks,
Tankinbeans
 
#28 ·
Well I just rolled in to the 1K mile mark. 1015 miles when I just filled up tonight. I also achieved my best fuel mileage at 29.4 mpg at 75% city driving. Now that I broke a 1K miles maybe ill get lucky and break the 30 mpg when fueling up next month.
 
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