40mpg though EPA quotes 37/38

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The EPA numbers are for reference. Climate, driving style and region all play a part in your mileage numbers.
 
The EPA MPG numbers are there so you can compare vehicles to others in your class.
Also, if you average the two numbers (city & highway), then that is about what you can expect if you drive some city and some highway. Approximately anyway.

The EPA's FTP highway cycle isn't just cruising steady at low-drag speeds like you must have been doing to get over 40 MPG.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I've never had a (unmodified) vehicle that got EPA rating; everything has always greatly exceeded it.

I am a light driver.


+1
 
I often show 40 mpg on the car's computer but, every time I read it with my calculator, it's at least 2 gallons lower. My car is EPA'd for city:27/comp:31/hiwy:38. I have actually gotten >40 mpg when I read it but the dash screen showed higher still.
 
I notice the OP has Kansas as his location. That says a lot right there. Add hills to the equation and see if you get the same mileage.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I've never had a (unmodified) vehicle that got EPA rating; everything has always greatly exceeded it.

I am a light driver.


Same here
 
Originally Posted By: PimTac
I notice the OP has Kansas as his location. That says a lot right there. Add hills to the equation and see if you get the same mileage.


My Cruze actually seems to get better mileage through reasonably hilly terrain than over flatlands (aka Illinois).

It's an LT manual which is rated 32/38 IIRC. I've pulled over 40 out of it numerous times on long trips - I think best ever was 41.2, real math. It's legitimately hard for me to get the display number below 35 - my wife (who has put 35K on the car) can't get it over that. Driving style/skill.
 
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2008 Ford F150 Pickup 2WD 8 cyl, 4.6 L, Automatic 4-spd

EPA estimate -
Combined city/highway MPG: 16 (Mine is usually ~17.5)

City MPG: 14 (mine runs about 16)
Highway MPG: 19 (Yeah, 19-20 on a good day)
 
our CRV does exactly the same anytime I drive, hovering around 36-37mpg while its specification says 33 mpg on the hwy
 
I think it's a little harder to get an accurate mpg calculation when the fill up isn't much, such as when the pump shuts off, that sort of thing. The more you pump such as 10+ gallons is likely more accurate.

My Sonata's mpg readout is actually within ~0.3 mpg
 
I always try to fill up when the level is around 1/4 tank of gas remaining. I stop filling at the first click each time and hand read my MPG and compare to the vehicle's computer readout for MPG.
 
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I beat the EPA average on both my cars. Quite a bit on the Accent as it regularly gets +40 mpg.

Last year I started using CeraTec in my trans and was so impressed I added a 6% mix to my oil on both cars. The mileage immediately went up 1-2 mpg.

One thing I have found is if I fill before the low fuel light comes on, my mileage is always way less for some reason. I usually wait until the light comes on and then figure a gallon and a half is left for the miles to empty.
 
I would think manufacturers are pretty conservative these days because of some of the past issues with cars underperforming. My old 2012 Kia Optima Turbo for example always fell short of it's EPA rating, even with conservative driving.

A lot of people also don't seem to realize that if you drive a vehicle hard, it will get worse fuel economy. Some of my family members will tell me their cars get poor fuel economy, but rev it up to 4000 at every stoplight.
 
I find this thread ironic, but I'm also on ecomodder so go figure. My car is EPA rated at 42 highway and I routinely go over 50 mpg tanks and have gotten as high as 59.1 mpg. I honestly struggle to get down to 42.
 
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