Gas Milage 27 mpg

[Melvintex]

I Have 2008 Passion.

I have filled it up, and the second time I have put 175 miles and 6.7 gals of gas.

About 27 mile per gal.

Not very good.

Is that because the car has only 1000 miles on it an needs to be broken in?

Or air filter problem?

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by Melvintex

I Have 2008 Passion.

I have filled it up, and the second time I have put 175 miles and 6.7 gals of gas.

About 27 mile per gal.

Not very good.

Is that because the car has only 1000 miles on it an needs to be broken in?

Or air filter problem?

I'm only guessing, but I would think that the combination of the car being new AND you being new to the car is what is resulting in your poor fuel mileage. (poor for a smart, that is)

It's not a rice burner, not a tuner or drifter, so drive it as such. Ease into the gas and keep the RPM's down. As been posted on here and as I've seen myself with mine, when you get about 4,000 miles or so on it, you will notice your fuel mileage going UP.

But only if you're NOT driving it like you stole it.

Good luck!

[mrbadexample]

my first tank was my lowest MPG, that was 37 MPG, i'm getting close to 50 MPGs in my daily commutes in the spring. on a recent trip, i hit 61.6MPGs in a trip from illinois to indiana (powerball tickets
the smart gets the best economy in 60-80F. in these temps it warms up quickly and doesn't need the fan up front (radiator).

[chieftmc]

And don't forget; you'll take a big hit using A/C in the city, not too bad on the freeway but a hit none the less

[John_H]

We've just been talking about this. You shouldn't even need a search function to see a discussion on Gas Mileage.

One of the biggest contributing factors to low mileage is short trips. If the engine doesn't have a chance to get up to temperature, it doesn't get to peak efficiency.

Take a day trip to Dallas or San Antonio and you should see a very pleasant tankful of mileage. If you can do it on a cool day so you don't need A/C, you'll do even better.

Oh - and don't speed too much on that highway travel. 65mph is more efficient than 75mph.

[forestacademy]

Take your readings over time. Different Pump shut offs and things like that can make a big difference

Since your just getting started with the car, get yourself on Fuelly | Share and Compare Your MPG and you should become an MPG nut in no time.

This way you will be able to notice seasonal differences from different gas blends as well as AC use.

The First two tanks mean nothing

And let it get down lower in the tank, Evan when you get to the final gallon of gas you you should still have 30 miles to go. Plenty of time to find a station unless you live in the middle of the tundra.

[jimvw57]

If you want to help train yourself as to how to drive for mileage, get a ScangaugeII. It plugs into the diagnostic port and will give you readouts while you are driving as to what your MPG is. You can then see quickly how much gas pedal to use to get the best mileage. Plus you can reset some of the engine error codes and read codes. It will work on other cars too. (has to be an OBDII car)

[jwight]

Houston - at this time of the year it's all A/C, all the time. You can try driving 65 but the rest of the traffic will not appreciate it. Big city, lots of short trips. Pretty much all the conditions for lower mpg. One thing that may help is getting the windows tinted (legal) to reduce the A/C load. Once it's broken in the mpg should should increase.

[SE TX]

We've had our smart cabriolet in The Woodlands for about 14 months, and have about 7500 miles on it. Our best mileage was about 39 mpg back in Jamuary. Our worst was about 28 mpg...eight different tankfuls...all last summer driving with a/c on. Our average is slightly over 33 mpg, overall. We We seem to get better mileage when I drive (manual mode) than when my wife drives (automatic mode). 90 percent of our driving is around town, with an occasional trip into Houston. The a/c is obviously a big factor. I think driving with the top down is another, as is having two different drivers (and driving styles).

[bgsharley]

Should I change the oil myself, or get the dealer to do so?