California owners, what kind of mileage are you getting with your 2012 Focus?

JulesMaximus · May 21, 2011

We seem to get worse mileage here because of the additives they put in our fuel so what kind of mileage are you getting?

I drive 60 miles a day in commuting and a good 40 of that is on the freeway which means I'm traveling at speeds between zero miles per hour (stop and go gridlock) and 80 miles per hour.

I'm driving a Nissan Maxima now which gets about 18mpg city, maybe 19-20 during my commute. 1 tank of gas will barely last me 5 days or 300 miles and frequently I'm looking at 270-280 miles between fill ups and I'm adding 13-14 gallons of premium gas each time. I'm looking to save some money on gas and not have to worry if gas goes up in price even further. Going from premium to regular would be nice too.

RustySocket · May 21, 2011

I'm in WA which in its own stupidity has adopted CA regs as the standard for emmisions and fuel (etoh blends) all which have choked back mileage.

I drive about 100 miles per day in mixed freeway/urban city/rural roads and am averaging 35mpg after 2 fillups. The 80mph isn't helping your mileage at all and won't be much better than your maxima. I did a 30 mile sustained run at 79 (set on cruise) reset the meter and was only getting 23mpg on the dash. dropping down to 65mph and a reset on the same road (return trip which is fairly level) netted 32mpg over about a 15 mile stretch.

Don't have enough data to really give an accurate result but I am not seeing the EPA 37mpg freeway mileage under any conditions yet. However car is brand new and only has 520 miles on it.

As far as the car goes, I am really enjoying it, and it will save me money in the long run as my previous daily driver was a F350 Diesel which on a good day would get 12mpg.

I read somewhere that the focus would get better with time and some have reported better mileage running premium fuel, that doesn't really hold up to conventional science as the car is tuned to run on regular octane fuel, but I may try a tank or two just to see.

Very comfortable car to commute in and the handsfree tech in the car makes it a joy to drive in metro(Seattle) traffic.

lscrx · May 21, 2011

People who report better mileage with premium fuel (in a car that recommends regular) are just trying to justify the extra cost. Higher octane fuel doesn't make a difference unless the car is tuned for it, like my Saab. I even tested my Saab to see what it ran like on regular, same mileage but it didn't pull as hard.

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mysticbluebmw · May 21, 2011

lscrx said:
People who report better mileage with premium fuel (in a car that recommends regular) are just trying to justify the extra cost. Higher octane fuel doesn't make a difference unless the car is tuned for it, like my Saab. I even tested my Saab to see what it ran like on regular, same mileage but it didn't pull as hard.

Posted via FF Mobile

Actually, I read in some of the Focus literature, that stated recommended gasoline was regular, but you would see improved performance with premium. They did not, however, state what that improvement would be. I have found on several forums, members trying and failing to find out what that statement actually meant. I wonder if the car is already 'tuned' to take advantage of higher octane gas, but does just fine with regular, so it is marketed as such during these 'troublesome' gas hikes?

That said, I NEVER put in premium, if regular is recommend. No need to waste money and possibly foul the catalytic converter. Conversely, I never put in regular if premium is recommended. I am curious about that bit of information above, though.

JulesMaximus · May 21, 2011

mysticbluebmw said:
Actually, I read in some of the Focus literature, that stated recommended gasoline was regular, but you would see improved performance with premium. They did not, however, state what that improvement would be. I have found on several forums, members trying and failing to find out what that statement actually meant. I wonder if the car is already 'tuned' to take advantage of higher octane gas, but does just fine with regular, so it is marketed as such during these 'troublesome' gas hikes?

That said, I NEVER put in premium, if regular is recommend. No need to waste money and possibly foul the catalytic converter. Conversely, I never put in regular if premium is recommended. I am curious about that bit of information above, though.

I think the computer will retard the timing to prevent detonation when running regular gas. When you run premium it can probably advance it a bit to give slightly better performance.

JulesMaximus · May 21, 2011

RustySocket said:
I'm in WA which in its own stupidity has adopted CA regs as the standard for emmisions and fuel (etoh blends) all which have choked back mileage.

I drive about 100 miles per day in mixed freeway/urban city/rural roads and am averaging 35mpg after 2 fillups. The 80mph isn't helping your mileage at all and won't be much better than your maxima. I did a 30 mile sustained run at 79 (set on cruise) reset the meter and was only getting 23mpg on the dash. dropping down to 65mph and a reset on the same road (return trip which is fairly level) netted 32mpg over about a 15 mile stretch.

Don't have enough data to really give an accurate result but I am not seeing the EPA 37mpg freeway mileage under any conditions yet. However car is brand new and only has 520 miles on it.

As far as the car goes, I am really enjoying it, and it will save me money in the long run as my previous daily driver was a F350 Diesel which on a good day would get 12mpg.

I read somewhere that the focus would get better with time and some have reported better mileage running premium fuel, that doesn't really hold up to conventional science as the car is tuned to run on regular octane fuel, but I may try a tank or two just to see.

Very comfortable car to commute in and the handsfree tech in the car makes it a joy to drive in metro(Seattle) traffic.

I'd be happy with 35mpg. I think it would be lower though, around 30 with my mixed driving. I can certainly keep my foot out of it.

RustySocket · May 21, 2011

JulesMaximus said:
I'd be happy with 35mpg. I think it would be lower though, around 30 with my mixed driving. I can certainly keep my foot out of it.

Also remember if you get the MFT your first tank will get about 3mpg because you will spend the majority of it sitting in a parking lot with the AC on playing with all the cool features....[8D]

Ohuigin · May 23, 2011

mysticbluebmw said:
That said, I NEVER put in premium, if regular is recommend. No need to waste money and possibly foul the catalytic converter. Conversely, I never put in regular if premium is recommended. I am curious about that bit of information above, though.

My folks have a volvo station wagon that requires premium, and if you fill it up with regular or even plus, it simply won't run. Needless to say, they're looking to unload it rather quickly.

-B

Tony407 · May 23, 2011

RustySocket said:
Also remember if you get the MFT your first tank will get about 3mpg because you will spend the majority of it sitting in a parking lot with the AC on playing with all the cool features....[8D]

Yeah...I'm experiencing this myself.

Tony

California owners, what kind of mileage are you getting with your 2012 Focus?

JulesMaximus

RustySocket

lscrx

mysticbluebmw

JulesMaximus

JulesMaximus

RustySocket

Ohuigin

Tony407

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