Fred H. (mpg)

[Fred H.]

I have a 42 Cabrio with about 1700 miles. The very best mileage is have gotten is 28.5 MPG. I have been back to dealer twice and the computer check says that the engine is running right. Does anyone else get this poor mileage? The sticker says I should get 33 around town.

Thanx.

[drmickeyer]

Never less than 37mpg (when wife and daughter drive it). I average 40 - 42mpg. Our driving is city/highway 50/50. I did notice that after around 3000 miles we were consistently better. I have not attained the upper 40's/low 50's that some on the forum have reported. Good luck.

[ms bea]

2700 miles on my cabrio now....best mileage 33-34 50% freeway, 50% city, san Francisco. Worst mileage 26-28 in the city. Drive with a feather foot, 60-65 on freeway. It was in the shop for 3 days, they tested the mileage and got 38 and say that's acceptable, I keep reporting mileage back to the service manager everytime I filll up and ask if there's anything new, they know that other cars have the same problem too and don't know what's wrong!!!!

[kannonvaggon]

Our Cabrio has about 3500 miles. It got 43 MPG on the very first tank of gas, and now still gets about the same day in and day out in the burbs. We will see right at 50 MPG out on the highways if we keep the speed down to around 55-60 MPH .
My wife always drives with a light foot using auto-shift and I usually use a just bit higher revs and the paddles.

If our Smart was to get less than 30 MPG on a full tank of fuel, and I wasn't running wide open at the time.... I'd be getting the car fixed cuz sumthin ain't right.

YMMV

[Old smart]

Originally Posted by Fred H.

I have a 42 Cabrio with about 1700 miles. The very best mileage is have gotten is 28.5 MPG. I have been back to dealer twice and the computer check says that the engine is running right. Does anyone else get this poor mileage? The sticker says I should get 33 around town.

Thanx.

Could be your attention (read, "inattention") to historically effective engine break-in regimens, conforming with, but exceeding what the perfunctory Owners Manual admits. Yup, I started at 29.6. Every fill-up during my break-in procedure has produced incrementally better mileages (all around-town use): 29.6, 31.9, 32.0, 35.7, and now 36.1 at 1175 miles. I expect it to increase but slowly taper-off until about 3000 mi. Throughout, the engine has impressed me that it is getting "livelier."

Situ: S.E. VA, Summer - hot, humid, constant A/C; 93 octane.

N.B. The jump from 32.0 to 35.7 was coincident with the termination of a "stressing," 485 mi. stint on 5W-30 fossil oil, thence back to synthetic.

[Dunerunner]

Originally Posted by Fred H.

I have a 42 Cabrio with about 1700 miles. The very best mileage is have gotten is 28.5 MPG. I have been back to dealer twice and the computer check says that the engine is running right. Does anyone else get this poor mileage? The sticker says I should get 33 around town.

Thanx.

Fred - Bet you're running the A/C on high fan at the coldest setting in at least 80 percent humidity and ambient temps around 85 degrees. Your A/C and the smart are trying to dehumidify Florida! I'm kidding you but this has historically been the reason for repetitively poor mileage reports. Try running in recirc on the coldest setting with the fan on high until the cabin cools to comfort zone then bump up the temp slider to 66 deg. or higher as you are comfortable. Buy a car cover or 'California poptop' to keep the cabin cool while parked. Give the little thing time to get broken in and keep a light foot on the gas.

[SuperGeek]

Yes, how you drive really makes an impact on this car... only three cylinders, remember. Push it hard like you're trying to match the performance of the bigger cars around you, and you'll get 20-25mpg. Drive like Grandma and you'll get 50mpg. So, aim for somewhere in between, and ask "Do I really need to race to that red light just ahead?" Let the jackasses pass you. I find a lot of people stay behind me almost thankful that someone's saving them gas money by lowering the average speed. Maybe they're laughing too hard to pass, though.

A/C has about a 10-20% impact on mpg, Recirc is a big help. Keep temp slider at 70-75 if you can, and on a Passion, put a sunshade between the shade and panoramic roof. The pano roof transmits enough heat to make you demand more A/C. The A/C compressor will turn on and off when the internal temp reaches the set point.

[jonnysan]

Originally Posted by ms bea

2700 miles on my cabrio now....best mileage 33-34 50% freeway, 50% city, san Francisco. Worst mileage 26-28 in the city. Drive with a feather foot, 60-65 on freeway. It was in the shop for 3 days, they tested the mileage and got 38 and say that's acceptable, I keep reporting mileage back to the service manager everytime I filll up and ask if there's anything new, they know that other cars have the same problem too and don't know what's wrong!!!!

Will not necessarily get you the best mileage numbers. If you are slowly and deliberately applying more accelerator to increase speeds from where you are to where you want to be AND YOU ARE EXCESSIVELY LUGGING THE ENGINE DOWN (so that is sounds like an 18 hp garden tractor {plowing the garden} with the vibrations to go along with it... ) You will not get good mileage no matter how feather footed you are driving the car. The rpm's on this car need to be kept up near the 2500 to 3000 rpm range for optimum mileage depending on what gear you are in, ofcourse. Cruising speed of 60-65 should be defaulted to 5th gear and around 3000 rpm's. It's the driving at the slower speeds in too high of a gear that are probably screwing your gas mileage up.

Just a thought or something you can try to modify to possibly notice a positive change in your mileage....admittedly the mileage you are getting is terrible.

[WickedMessenger]

I don't see much mention of it, but convertibles have a TERRIBLE coefficient of drag with the top down. If the EPA estimates don't give the Cabrio lower economy estimates, they must do all the testing with the top up. Cd for the Pure or Passion is about .32 and the Cd for the convertible is about .7. Are you driving with the top down? Driving with the top down and AC on? That will kill your economy. Also all the other things everybody says. Maybe you should view some sites that give hypermile tips.

[Westfield 11]

I am in the same boat as you, neither of our cabrios gets better than 31mpg around town and usually under 30mpg. We have seen a lot of sub 30mpg fillups in our combined 7k miles. We are actually rather slow drivers, don't make jack rabbit starts and don't speed. We leave the car in Auto most of the time and always use the a/c. BTW if your car came with a/c does the mileage sticker indicate mpg with a/c on or off?

This is a cute little car, but the gas mileage is disappointing......I can't wait until other carmakers enter this market! We will always have a microcar for errands, but probably not a smart if VW or Honda come up with a better alternative. We will hold onto our smarts until there is a better choice on the market though. Something with a normal gearbox that does not require an explanation for how wierd it is and why.