Bad gas mileage...19 mpg

[Crafted]

MAN! I *wish* I got 19... my '15 PIU with 3.7 AWD gets a solid 15. 16 if I really baby it...

 

[J_C]

Absolutely. But only insured the PIU this evening after buying some civvy wheels for it - I've barely driven it on pavement. Most of that tank was burned by my friend who was driving it back from Nashville for me (like he stole it - he was driving circles around me in the '98 Taurus, which is why we had to fill up again to finish the trip), and then a lot more of that gas was burned out at idle while I was tweaking, inspecting, cleaning, & adjusting things, and on a couple of really brief test runs on my property (10 acres) at relatively low speeds. So while I expect it to go up when I drive it "normal" (yeah, right!), I don't expect it to double.

It's hard to believe you're drawing conclusions without even normal driving cycles.

These do get poor fuel economy and it can be the sum of many parts.

1) Large, heavy vehicle
2) High ground clearance
3) Often outfitted with large, heavy wheels
4) Tires might be underinflated
5) AWD
6) Extra drag from boxy frontal area and roof rack, mirrors, etc
7) Different shift strategy for PIU, geared more towards performance than economy. They "might" also have a different battery BMS charging strategy to keep the battery topped off at a higher charge level, where the primary purpose of the BMS for civilian vehicles is to eek out slightly higher fuel economy.

Explorers, both PIU and civilian, were never the right vehicle to choose if you care about fuel economy.

My '14 3.5L NA gets around 10MPG in daytime heavy stop and go city driving, a little higher when the streets are less congested at night, and around 20MPG highway, but I live next to an interstate and take it often, but seldom long distances, seldom even 10 miles at a time so it's barely warmed up. I drive it neither conservative nor aggressive on the highway, just keep up with traffic.

 

[Steve8316]

It's hard to believe you're drawing conclusions without even normal driving cycles.

Yeah, well, I'm not. I only posted my experiences, with the background details.

 

[Lightnig]

Apparently I an anomaly, I am disappointed when I don't maintain 22 mpg

This was my usage for the month of May.

That said, I am running 90% highway miles at ~ 65 mph.

I don't drive with economy in mind, just drive. And nothing unusual mechanically, just stay on top of normal maintenance and keep my tires a bit over pressure ( ~ 38 psi ). And no, tires are not wearing odd, nice and even, but nearly time for another new set though, it's been almost 18 months and 40k miles.

 

[peterk9]

Since the vehicle readouts are usually generous in their calculations, have you done a manual calculation? I use Fuelly.com which does it for you and my actual MPG is often less than what the readout shows.

Peter

 

[Lightnig]

I tracked it manually for a while, was close enough that it made no difference to me

 

[Inter-scepter]

V6's
....all the power of a 4 cylinder with the gas mileage of a V8

LOL, exactly.

 

[Jeep driver]

The Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (CVPI) engine is a 4.6-liter V8. In earlier years, the CVPI engine was rated at 239 hp. Later models, saw an increase to 250 hp.

MPG ratings were 14 city and 21 highway.

My 2014 PIU Explorer with the 3.7-liter V6 engine produces 304 horsepower. Over the last 40,000 miles I have averaged 20.5 mpg's. It has more HP than a Crown Vic, and All Wheel Drive.


.
2011 Crown Vic window sticker.
.

 

[jwolfe]

Hello all. I recently became an owner of a 2019 Ford police interceptor utility and I'm loving the car a lot. The only thing is I'm getting bad gas mileage. What's normal on these? I'm getting on average 19 mpg and that's driving lightly. I'm not driving fast or anything. Is the mileage that bad on the interceptors? I have the 3.7L. I read the civilian explorers get up to 27 mpg on the expressway. I'm getting 20 max. Seems a little low. I used to have a police interceptor sedan and I was getting close to 30 mpg. I should be getting around 25 at least for highway. Seems like the Tahoe's get better mileage than this Interceptor utility. What's your take on it? Is that normal or a little low mpg? If I would have known the mileage was this bad I would have gotten a truck Lol. Anyways loving the interceptor a lot, runs great! Glad to be a part of the community.

I just drove 285 miles and got 21.1 mpg which I thought was great. Mind you I haven’t checked the air filter etc yet. I’m sure a few small things it will get 22-23 on the highway.