I have been thinking about buying one, as a second car. Some people claim incredible MPG numbers-one guy (on Edmunds.com) claims he gets 65 MPG-I think this is impossible.
For those of you who own one, what MPG do you typically see?
I’ve haven’t reset my Trip B meter since I got my car about 7500 miles ago. It’s currently fluctuating between 43.9 and 44 MPG. That’s with really trying to keep it up though. Eco mode always on, Climate Control always on auto, unless it’s REALLY hot out I let the car shut off at red lights, use cruise control at every possible moment, rarely using sport mode etc. I’d imagine if I weren’t actively working on increasing it, it would probably be in the upper 30s. By not actively trying, I mean not using cruise control and keeping the engine running at red lights (but still keeping ECO mode on and not using sport mode).
The people that are averaging 65, assuming this is an average over more then, say, 1000 miles or so are probably hypermilers…that’s not a particularly safe way to drive.
On short trips, it’s not that hard to keep it up that high. There have been plenty of times where I leave the gas station (resetting the Trip A meter) and get to work 5 minutes later with average of 60 or 70MPG. I certainly couldn’t keep that up over more then a few miles. Also, some of those people you read about are stripping off any excess weight. Taking off the rear (pretty much useless) wiper, removing the back seat etc.