3.7 PUI 2015 - real world long term fuel economy

[Adam Janowski]

Hi all - fuel economy claims seem to have quite a disparity and I'll share my experience thus far

2015 PUI base 3.7 AWD

purchased summer time with 123,9xx miles and now has 6,000 additional.

engine shows 7,7xx idle hours on top of the odometer reading

came with snow tires - never removed them / changed all fluids shortly after purchase

through the first 4,500 miles, the vehicle display climbed to 19.8 mpg

over the 1,500 miles since, it's dropped to 19.7 mpg displayed. It's turned winter time and there's definitely denser air to push while driving and some inclement weather with resultant extra idling and worse MPG expected

I just ran my own calculations of 19.51 mpg on previous tank using 15.733 gallons over 307 miles per odometer.

I suppose the odometer itself could be off, but I choose to trust it and I'd say the displayed mpg is deemed accurate for my purposes.

so that's my result- 19.7 mpg over first 6,000 miles with 70% tread goodyear ultra grip snow tires

 

[peterk9]

It's been documented that the displayed MPG seems to be overly generous in most cases. I used this method to adjust mine but it doesn't appear to work on all model years.
How to: - AFE Bias - How to correct your MPG readout/display

Peter

 

[Adam Janowski]

not sure why some would be so far off, but mine seems quite accurate. the only other thing would be if my odometer was off, but i suppose i can check that via matching a GPS nav route chaser in near future

 

[VCFP153]

How slowly do you 20mpg guys drive? 'Cause I'm yet to see anything much above 17mpg on mine, and I bought it with 300 miles.

 

[Adam Janowski]

You know you don't have to have it in low gear mode the whole time you drive either LOL

I drive mix of city and 55 mph highway, mix of hills and flats and commonly 7 to 8 miles an hour above posted speed limits

I don't floor it to get up to speed and I also don't baby it but I do look ahead to corners and stop and coast when prudent

My vehicle has dual spotlights which I assume introduced some drag as well as a push bar on the front... if I was missing those elements I would get even better mileage theoretically

And I do plan on the gas mileage going up in the spring when I install regular tires and get rid of these winter tires.

I'm heavily considering going with a taller tire by about an inch and then just having the speedometer recalibrated

What are the details of your Driving Experience such that might be able to explain your lesser fuel economy? are you constantly pounding away on interstates where you're driving 70 miles an hour or greater?

 

[VCFP153]

What are the details of your Driving Experience such that might be able to explain your lesser fuel economy? are you constantly pounding away on interstates where you're driving 70 miles an hour or greater?

Yes.

 

[peterk9]

Yes.

That certainly doesn't attribute to getting good mpg.

Peter

 

[VCFP153]

That certainly doesn't attribute to getting good mpg.

Peter

While driving 55mph on the freeway doesn't do much for one's sanity, so I guess this is another example of life's many tradeoffs.

 

[Adam Janowski]

so many factors - impossible to rule out all variables.

sounds like it's about 12%ish more work to push through the air at 75mph than 62 mph, thus 12%ish lower fuel economy

i run 34psi in tires

i run 87 octane with 10% ethanol from same gas station most of the time

mine is a 2015 - last year before your 2017 slight refresh - i doubt the new one would be worse aerodynamically than the older model, but who knows

 

[VCFP153]

so many factors - impossible to rule out all variables.

sounds like it's about 12%ish more work to push through the air at 75mph than 62 mph, thus 12%ish lower fuel economy

Sure...let's go with 75mph...why not?

 

[KayGee]

Mileage reports seem accurate. I have seen my averages settle around 20 + or - if I do mostly consistent speeds 45-60 and coast/accelerate lightly rather than stop and go.

In heavy stop and go or 70+ highway, average seems to have settled more in the 17-18 range and dipping into the mid 16's now that cooler weather is back.

I run 36-37 psi in tires. One does need to be mindful of the throttle. Low teens is easy if you don't pay any attention to throttle and use it more heavily.