Low MPG on new 2012 Titanium Hatch

[VectorZ]

Originally Posted by timmytVA

Subscribing to this thread.

I have a month old Ti with handling package. The MPG is my only disappointment so far. I'm at a little over 1700 miles. Here's my MPG history:

• tank 1 - 23.65 (mostly city)
• tank 2 - 31.26 (mostly highway)
• tank 3 - 26.22 (75% city, 25% highway, albeit the highway was Washington DC rush hour traffic)
• tank 4 - 24.91 (80% city, 20% highway)
• tank 5 - 22.86 (almost all city)
• current tank dash read out - 21.6 (all city)

For me, city = busy suburban stop and go, to/from work, sports practices, grocery/Target etc. My work commute is 4 to 4.5 miles and 8 to 10 stop lights.

Tim

We have the same car, but much different driving conditions. You should set up a fuelly account and track your mileage. Click on mine for more info.

[kam327]

Originally Posted by TiPilot

Things definitely do improve over time.

Here's my latest:

Glad to see you're optimistic! But have you put a trendline through that data? Looks to me like overall you're gone up maybe 1-2 mpg, which is consistent with the analysis I did with fuell.com data a while back.

[HuskerFocus]

Originally Posted by kam327

Yeah something seems to be wrong with yours. A pure country road trip with minimal stops should yield over 40 mpg. I average 32 mpg with a suburban commute with some bumper to bumper and some city on the end.

I'd recommend getting a ScanGauge and seeing how you compare to this chart I made a few months back. This pretty closely matches a graph that Popular Mechanics published for the Focus and its competition. If you're not getting anywhere near these numbers in controlled conditions, you have more ammunition to use against Ford. If you just walk in a complain about mileage in general, they're going to dismiss you thinking that you must be a lead foot and not even realize it.



I've been looking to sell my ScanGauge if you're interested.

Nice image! I wondered what the curve would look like, but just now stumbled upon yours. I've been in those areas myself, so I haven't had any concerns with MPG.

Typically, with mostly City driving I'm ~30mpg. It is a suburban city, so it isn't quite a Chicago or other big city

[Wildsailor]

For those with Titaniums getting fuel economy in the mid to high 20's...you wouldn't happen to have the 18" wheels and the Titanium Handling Package would you?

[timmytVA]

Originally Posted by Wildsailor

For those with Titaniums getting fuel economy in the mid to high 20's...you wouldn't happen to have the 18" wheels and the Titanium Handling Package would you?

Windsailor, I have the Ti Handling package with the 18" wheels and sticky Michelins. I love the ride / handling balance the package has but am seriously wondering what the MPG effect is.

If others are averaging, say 27 MPG in driving conditions similar to mine, and I'm averaging 22 - can the 18" wheels and tires really be a 30% hit? I don't thik I thrash my car too excessively.

Tim

[Tra1969]

I have the 17" rims. After a short discussion with the service tech last Saturday, the Car is going in on Wed. 9-19-2012 to be hooked up to ensure everything is functioning properly. The car shows no signs of anything wrong that I feel would affect gas mileage. Does not miss, when I release the brake the car rolls forward right away. Tire pressure good and keep them rotated. The only issues I have notice is a slight shake occasionally when I start it, and not just when it cold. I will let you know what I find out, but I assume Ford is going to say everything is ok, we’ll see.

[Wildsailor]

Originally Posted by timmytVA

Windsailor, I have the Ti Handling package with the 18" wheels and sticky Michelins. I love the ride / handling balance the package has but am seriously wondering what the MPG effect is.

If others are averaging, say 27 MPG in driving conditions similar to mine, and I'm averaging 22 - can the 18" wheels and tires really be a 30% hit? I don't thik I thrash my car too excessively.

Tim

I am not entirely sure but what made me think of it was the idea that the SFE package, which comes with wheel covers that block off the air passage through the wheels, is worth 2 MPG highway. The 18" package is wider and may add to the frontal area. If the Focus is that sensitive that a wheel cover can make 2 MPG difference then wider tires and wheels may have an impact.

Two cars side by side, one with 16" and one with 18", doing a coastdown would verify.

In the meantime if those that are struggling to get to the numbers being posted for FE are all 18" Sport Package Titanium then that would start to fill in a pattern.

[suss6052]

Originally Posted by Wildsailor

I am not entirely sure but what made me think of it was the idea that the SFE package, which comes with wheel covers that block off the air passage through the wheels, is worth 2 MPG highway. The 18" package is wider and may add to the frontal area. If the Focus is that sensitive that a wheel cover can make 2 MPG difference then wider tires and wheels may have an impact.

Two cars side by side, one with 16" and one with 18", doing a coastdown would verify.

In the meantime if those that are struggling to get to the numbers being posted for FE are all 18" Sport Package Titanium then that would start to fill in a pattern.

I'm not sure that it is the wheel covers where they gained 2 mpg on the EPA cycle but rather the grille shutters and a few other tweaks which were more beneficial but were later applied across the line, so I'm not sure why the SFE still has a 2 mpg higher rating.

I've gotten 42.1 mpg approximately at 65 mph over 470.1 mi and 11.176 gallons of gas this past weekend in my SEL hatch with three people plus over night bags, water/ other luggage, etc.

So would the SFE sedan really have gotten 44.1 mpg at the same time/ conditions? I doubt it.

[TiPilot]

Originally Posted by kam327

Glad to see you're optimistic! But have you put a trendline through that data? Looks to me like overall you're gone up maybe 1-2 mpg, which is consistent with the analysis I did with fuell.com data a while back.

I haven't recently but overall I'm satisfied with my mileage now that the car's broken in.

Most of the time, my tanks are about 50/50 city/highway and I've been getting 31-33 MPG on those. So that's anywhere from EPA to EPA +2 for that driving profile. I don't baby the car and I push the go pedal in from time to time, so those averages are including that. Still, I generally drive for good MPGs.

On the highway, I can easily get 36-40 depending on my speed. Based on all the data I've tracked to date, it seems like Shell 93 Octane boosts my MPGs a little on the highway but there's not much difference when I'm all-city or half and half. Still trying to analyze that, thought.

[YesMAN]

Originally Posted by Wildsailor

I am not entirely sure but what made me think of it was the idea that the SFE package, which comes with wheel covers that block off the air passage through the wheels, is worth 2 MPG highway. The 18" package is wider and may add to the frontal area. If the Focus is that sensitive that a wheel cover can make 2 MPG difference then wider tires and wheels may have an impact.

Two cars side by side, one with 16" and one with 18", doing a coastdown would verify.

In the meantime if those that are struggling to get to the numbers being posted for FE are all 18" Sport Package Titanium then that would start to fill in a pattern.

Remember the Cruze Eco has big ole' 17" multispoke alloys, similar to our 17" wheels. So I think the solid wheel covers of the SFE are more of a marketing gimmick than any real savings provider. It has more to do with weight reduction; the steel wheels and plastic hubcaps weigh less than the alloys.

Also, if the Ti's 18" wheel option resulted in such a significant mileage penalty I would think the EPA would require them to test and rate them separately. But maybe I'm naive...