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New personal best ever fuel mileage!

7K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  WildmaninME 
#1 · (Edited)
Just thought I would share that I achieved a new personal best ever fuel mileage from my Fiesta.
I just made a trip from South Central PA to South Hill, VA and was in the process of returning home when I toom these pics at a rest stop.

I traveled I-70 to 270, 495 around D.C. toleaving5 S to I-85 to SouthHill, VA. Temperature was high 70's- 90's. No rain. No hills or mountains to speak of. No A/C, I like the open air. Just recently I did 60,000mi service on my vehicle. 0W-20 motor oil, new air filter.

At the point I took the photos I was returning home. I was on my 2nd tank of gas. I had one fill up close to my motel with slightly less than a quarter tank left. I had driven 514 mi since I left home. It's about 370-380mi one-way. The average fuel mileage was set at a fillup just prior to leaving for the trip.

As you can see I have averaged 47.4MPG over 500+mi.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I have a checked my mileage with using math by using gasoline purchased by miles driven in the past multiple times. I got to say the computer fuel mileage has always been pretty close.
Last fall I took a vacation from PA to Cincinnati and then to Louisville, KY and back home. I checked my mileage pretty closely and kept track of my fuel purchases.
The numbers matched pretty close. Doing the math, I actually got a fractionally better fuel mileage than what the vehicle showed.


My one gasoline purchase on my last trip was using a credit card and paid at the pump. I didn't get a receipt and dont remember the exact amount I purchased. At the time of fill-up I really wasnt thinking about.

BTW, my final fuel mileage dropped till I got home. My final fuel mileage in the driveway at home was 45.2MPG. Drove a total of 792mi. On my return trip home, I caught heavy traffic around D.C. that was stop and go. Who would've guessed that!
 
#6 ·
i have a 2013 fiesta titanium automatic hatchback and just got 44 mpg on the last fill up,the best so far with my car,,i have to say that 39 seems to be a very good average year round for me it seems and 35 its the lowest but cold weather in wisconsin may have something to do with that i suppose
 
#7 ·
I squeaked out 40mpg once, and when it gets cold the mileage drops like a rock. (yes I've checked the tire pressures) Anything around 45 degrees F or lower and it just drops. My tank average is around 35mpg with my 15 manual transmission 1.6 liter, not nearly as good as I was hoping to achieve by now.
 
#9 ·
The really odd thing is I get nearly 40mpg with the AC running and two other people in the car. With nearly 15,000 miles on it now, it is certainly broken in. Going to try a full synthetic oil on the next change in a couple of weeks and see what happens, been using whatever the dealer puts in on a 5,000 mile schedule.
 
#11 ·
I have made a similar drive to your commute a few times (starting on the other side of the valley) and with the Focus I can get right around 40 or a bit higher. How fast are you driving?

There are some AWESOME coasting opportunities coming north into Syracuse on I81. What exit / route do you take? I imagine hopping on 481 and off at the first exit would be a bit easier on fuel econ than getting off at the S. Salina exit.

Coasting heading into the city during rush hour may not be a safe idea, come to think of it.
 
#10 ·
Long-Term Mileage Numbers for Fiestas

My two cars average out as follows:

2011 Fiesta SES/Auto @ 76000 miles: 35.6 MPG (55/45 City/Highway split with a fill-up best of 52.5 MPG)
2014 Fiesta ST/6 Spd @ 41000 miles: 31.4 MPG (51/49 City/Highway split with a fill-up best of 50.6 MPG)
 
#12 ·
I get off at nedrow, then it is 40mph in 5th gear, this yields massive fuel gains. Big problem I'm seeing is that under 60 degrees F my mileage goes down, at 40 degrees it goes down a lot.

This car won't hold speed during coasting on any of the hills, it always loses speed. Think I need to do some aero mods on it.
 
#13 ·
Something I've learned on my hybrid and may pertain the Fiestas in this case ... the gas engine needs to be at peak operating temp to get the best performance/efficiency. In cooler temps it takes longer to warm up from cold starts and may also be lowered by the air temp passing thru the compartment ... also lowering efficiency.

Dunno for sure, but in some ways it makes sense.
 
#14 ·
Absolutely! The oil is a bit thicker so it takes more energy to pump (oil temperature raises much slower than coolant). The engine also runs a lot richer when cold ... because it needs to to run and to get the converter to light off.


I get off at nedrow, then it is 40mph in 5th gear, this yields massive fuel gains. Big problem I'm seeing is that under 60 degrees F my mileage goes down, at 40 degrees it goes down a lot.

This car won't hold speed during coasting on any of the hills, it always loses speed. Think I need to do some aero mods on it.
Forgot about the Nedrow exit! I have coasted, on Rt 11 coming from Lafayette, halfway between Lafayette and the Nedrow exit to grocery store (Green hills?), in the Focus in 5th gear. Not a drop of fuel. Granted I was following a friend towing a Jeep with an Econoline, so we weren't really going too fast. The Focus doesn't seem to hold itself back in gear at all ... throttle doesn't seem to go below 16.5% open, even if it is using DFCO in gear. Obviously coasting in neutral ... coasts but uses fuel.
 
#15 ·
I need to get my driving lights installed in the grill, that will block off a chunk, and I may block off a bit more in the grille while I'm at it. The lower air intake is more than enough to cool the engine while it is moving down the road, but need to leave a bit for sitting at lights and while the AC is running (not that I've needed it but a couple of days so far).
 
#16 ·
Then I guess living in Phoenix does have its perks. Here I thought my SES was going to pay for it with all the 100+ degree weather. After Ford rebuilding my trans twice for the customer service bulletin or whatever it was in January, I've experienced better MPG. While before the rebuild, I was getting around 32 MPG, I am now averaging 38. I once got 45 the whole way while driving to Santa Monica, CA. All I could say was wow.
 
#17 ·
Drove from Bangor, ME to Greenwich, RI and back. Loaded down with food and gifts on the way down, and more food and the spoils of shopping on the way back. We achieved 43.67 MPG calculated on the way down, which is about 1.2 mpg higher than we've been getting on similar trips, but I had just recently (last 2 months) switched the car to 93 octane. Just arrived home and filled up at my normal station and calculated: 46.97 MPG! That's a record for our 2011 (5 speed hatch, 69K mi) Fiesta. Our trip was 95% I-95. The trip down had us stuck in traffic left over from an accident, which basically put us in stop/go situation for several miles.

I am more than thrilled with the result. Our trip computer had indicated 44.1 mpg pretty much the whole trip.

Just thought I'd share.
 
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