Gas Mileage -- 2.0 Zetec

LOADRUNNER · Oct 31, 2006

Bear with me... this isn't really a performance question.
We recently bought a 2003 ZTW wagon, fully loaded, but with the 5-speed manual on the 2.0 ZETEC. What sort of gas mileage should we expect?
On our first tank, which was maybe 70% in town errand running and 30% highway, we averaged 24.0 mpg.
Seems low to me. Appreciate any feedback as to what mpg you're all seeing.
Thanks!

besthaticouldo · Oct 31, 2006

if i drive completely in town i could get anywhere from 16-28 mpg depending on where i shift. it i shift around 3k-3300 i will get better mileage.

if it highway i would get somewhere around 29-30 depending on speed.

hope that helps.

jeeptofocus · Oct 31, 2006

I tend to get 26-29 mpg with 70% city driving. On long trips I can get upwards of 35mpg. I shift between 2000 and 2500 rpm's and very easy on the throttle. Raise your tire pressure to improve your milage. Ford recommends something like 33-35 psi, but when I ran 38-40 psi, I was getting much better numbers than I am now at 33-35 psi. Also another thing to look at is your plugs and air filter, if those are bad, time to replace them.

The single best thing that I did to improve my milage was to replace the stock airbox with a cone filter. For like $40, it improved my milage enough and when I took a cross country trip, it more than paid for itself.
Hope this helps.[thumb]

bruinsh · Oct 31, 2006

speed is also a LARGE factor in MPG on highway. If you go 75-80 MPH then u get much less MPG than if going 55-60 MPH. Try this: shift at 2500 rpm or below and try to go all roads posted at 55 MPH (so even if you speed, u'll still be under 70mph). You should get at least 300 to 380 miles to the tank. If you do not, something is wrong (running to rich, air filter is dirty, or something like that). One thing that deff hurts the MPG as well is how hevey your car is. If you have you and all your friends filling your car up, the car has to use more gas to get the same power, esp going up hills. Just a thought. hope this helps

jeeptofocus · Nov 1, 2006

bruinsh said:
One thing that deff hurts the MPG as well is how hevey your car is. If you have you and all your friends filling your car up, the car has to use more gas to get the same power, esp going up hills. Just a thought. hope this helps

I dont mean to nitpick but the first part is true. But your car must use more power, thus more gas, to go the same speed when under a load, ie: passengers or any extra weight. Not necessarily use more gas to make the same power.

besthaticouldo · Nov 1, 2006

also dont shift too early, because you will lean out the car and it will cause the duty cycle on the injectors to go up and more fuel to be used. ha

seanlokkesmoe · Nov 1, 2006

haha doodie cycle

FocusBoy58 · Nov 1, 2006

I found that on the focus i have 3 that they get the best milage at 75-85 i ran 380 on a modded engine and 405 with no mods 430 i ran out of gas.... i had to test it

ktwelsch · Nov 1, 2006

I used a product called "SeaFoam" and dumped it into my throttle body, It cleans out carbon deposits in the engine...I've been getting better gas mileage after I cleaned all that crud out.... (New intake works wonders as well

)

LOADRUNNER · Nov 1, 2006

Nobody likes a luke warm beverage...

OK, Focus... ya had me and ya lost me.
After reading other posts on mpg, it seems that mid-20's around town is normal. That's poor.
I've always driven a high performance car, while my wife prefers something very economical. After two 5-speed SHO's (great bang-4-buck), my current car is a 2000 Saab Viggen. If you've ever driven a Viggen you'll understand... the thing is an absolute kick in the pants to drive. Stunning acceleration + an enormous cargo hold (nearly as large as the ZTW). That Viggen delivers 24-25mpg average back & forth to work. On open road runs we've gotten 34 mpg several trips, and 31mpg on a 4,000 mile vacation out west, loaded with gear.
So... why can this 130hp stick shift Focus, wieghing 200 lbs less that the Viggen, not provide significantly better mpg? That's a let down. Nice wagon, but it should deliver either great mpg or exciting performance... Saab managed both... I'm only asking Ford for one.

SkyPilot · Nov 1, 2006

i found at least in my focus when the cold weather hits mpg drops alot i average about 27-29 city during the summer and 22-24 during the winter, i have an atx too but i would figure it would be about the same

jeeptofocus · Nov 2, 2006

Re: Nobody likes a luke warm beverage...

LOADRUNNER said:
OK, Focus... ya had me and ya lost me.
After reading other posts on mpg, it seems that mid-20's around town is normal. That's poor.
I've always driven a high performance car, while my wife prefers something very economical. After two 5-speed SHO's (great bang-4-buck), my current car is a 2000 Saab Viggen. If you've ever driven a Viggen you'll understand... the thing is an absolute kick in the pants to drive. Stunning acceleration + an enormous cargo hold (nearly as large as the ZTW). That Viggen delivers 24-25mpg average back & forth to work. On open road runs we've gotten 34 mpg several trips, and 31mpg on a 4,000 mile vacation out west, loaded with gear.
So... why can this 130hp stick shift Focus, wieghing 200 lbs less that the Viggen, not provide significantly better mpg? That's a let down. Nice wagon, but it should deliver either great mpg or exciting performance... Saab managed both... I'm only asking Ford for one.

thats why the Saab is a $30,000+ car and the Focus is a $15k car

zx3_boy · Nov 2, 2006

i get 29-32 city/highway

venomfocus · Nov 2, 2006

Ive gotton 32mpg. with a LOADED car driving threw the hills of tennessee. and im heavily modded. tuning and cruise control

focusdarko · Nov 2, 2006

man the best i've ever gotten is 24mpg no matter where i drive, highway or street. i guess i kinda got what some people would call a "LEAD FOOT" [driving]

DaZeDFoCuS · Nov 2, 2006

damn.... im lucky if i get 300 miles outta 1 tank

focusdarko · Nov 2, 2006

300 miles on one tank for me would be awesome but very doubtful for how i drive. but would be nice, ill slow down one of these days

slowpileof-focus · Nov 2, 2006

im getting an average of 14 mpg combined highway and city my only mods are k&N filter and "lunchbox" removal for a car this slow and this light its a gas hog my expedition with a 5.4 v8 gets 18mpg im starting to hate my focus

salvaged_S2 · Nov 3, 2006

lets see, my dad normally averages around 32mpg and thats just split 50/50. hes got the S2 so it has mtx, 205/50/16 wheels that run at 38psi, or i may jump it too 42 as these fuzion tires suck (too soft). it also has an aem intake and some new emission parts/sensors. car regularly gets fuel additives.

but i think hes been getting 28mpg, and keeps coming to me saying his gas mileage sucked, because he hears im getting 35+ out of my contour. he doesnt understand how im getting better gas mileage out of my car when it weighs more, yet arent too much different as of motors. but im always able to better people when it comes to gas mileage because i can usually learn the car and know how to drive it. there are sweet spots. my old saturn i modded, i beat the hell out of it for 80 miles (full throttle) then drove it on the highway the rest of the tank. i pulled 42mpg and i averaged 38 out of it, and it was one hell of a fun thing to drive. like a high 14 second car, but too much fun.

lepak91 · Nov 3, 2006

24.7 MPH with mostly highway driving. I suppose I could get better if I kept it under triple digits [cool]

Gas Mileage -- 2.0 Zetec

LOADRUNNER

besthaticouldo

jeeptofocus

bruinsh

jeeptofocus

besthaticouldo

seanlokkesmoe

FocusBoy58

ktwelsch

LOADRUNNER

SkyPilot

jeeptofocus

zx3_boy

venomfocus

focusdarko

DaZeDFoCuS

focusdarko

slowpileof-focus

salvaged_S2

lepak91

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