Maybe you should view some sites that give hypermile tips.
I don't think a smart owner should have to use hypermiling techniques to get within 6mpg of the EPA rating in normal usage. You should just drive in a conservative manner, not use a bunch of tricks. Everyone here makes all sorts of excuses, but the fact is that for a lot of us, the mileage is a big disappointment. A microcar that for many drivers struggles to break 30mpg is just plain wrong no matter what the excuse!!
I believe I drive my MB C230 at about the same speeds and level of agressive driving as the Smart Cabrio. Under similar driving conditions, I get 42 MPG highway on the Smart, 30 MPG on the C230. In pure city driving, I consistantly get 26 mpg in the Smart and about 22 MPG in the C230. I really don't care about gas mileage, I don't drive all that much but it's fun to know. When people ask me, I tell them I get 50 MPG ;)
I drive my cabrio in sunny Sacramento, CA, with the top down as often as my scalp can tolerate the sun. With the top up, I run the A/C as needed at level 2 between 65-70F. My driving is 50/50 city/highway and about 50/50 manual/auto shifting. I have never gotten less than the rated 33 mpg in city driving and regularly exceed 36-39 mpg combined city/hwy. On pure hwy driving, I've gotten up to 46 mpg.
Don't know what to tell you except to have your dealer check it out or pay real close attention to your driving habits, including A/C use.
I've had my car for a month and put 2700 miles on it. On the hwy which is 90% of the time I have averaged 40.5 to 52.4 mpg. In town I can easily drag it in to the low 30's by keeping my foot in it big time. The best mileage occurs when you keep these cars between 2500-3200rpm and let it shift itself but control the points with your foot. Smaller motors are also subject to temperature extremes, they don't like hot weather. When the mean temperature is 50-70 degrees I bet your mileage will go up.
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.
Don't fret, I was recently slammed with a low of 27 mpg. This was after spirited driving up Highway 74 in Southern Ca. I drove about 110 miles and only 15 or so were spirited. My previous low had been 37.8 mpg (my first fill up) and maximum had been almost 54 mpg.
I'm averaging 45 mpg since taking ownership in late February and have 12k miles on the motor.
Try not to keep up with all other cars from a stoplight and drive around 60-65 mph max on the highway. It will settle in and you'll get used to it as a slow car and it will give you high MPG numbers.
I have averaged over 41 MPG on 21 tanks of fuel. Just over 5000 miles.
My lowest tank was 30MPG during early break-in.
My best tank was 57 MPG (half tank of fuel).
The past 13 tanks have been consistently over 40, with two over 50.
The turning point seemed to be around the 2000 miles mark. Before then, I had many tanks in the 30's, but since then, only 2 of 13 tanks have been that low.
When I took delivery back in March, I read a posting by Fredvon4, suggesting a method of break-in that stressed many short trips, heating the engine and then cooling it down before repeating it again. I followed his method religiously. I can't say for sure, but I would guess his break-in method has gone a long way towards my very decent mileage figures.
Driving a Passion. Worst tank was my first at 32 mpg. High was 51.6 when my son used it on a 195 mile round trip on local state routes this past weekend. Most of my driving is mixed suburban commuting (2,400 miles and counting) with the last four tankfulls being 36.6, 41.6, 41.60 & 41.63 mpg. I drive using the manual mode primarily.
No offense, but sounds like you have a heavy right foot! I would also check your tire pressures. You would be surprised how a pound or two can make a big difference, along with front end alignment.
I pay close attention to energy management and don't race about. I haven't seen over 29.5 mpg for months, in primarily city driving, with the top up, some A/C, typically in AUTO.
I am 'over' this car, much faster than I though possible.
Ditto!!!
We have two of these things and both have the same lousy MPG, the tires are at factory pressure, my wife and I drive slower than 60% of the cars on the road: always getting passed leaving stop lights. We keep the cars in Auto & try to shift using the throttle at no more than 4k RPM. We never drive on the freeway if we can help it and stay below 50 MPH in town. Still we hardly ever get better than 32 MPG and usually around 28mpg.
I really do think that an ordinary driver ought to be able to get at least 80% to 85% of the EPA rating by simply driving conservatively. With these consistant mileage numbers on TWO cars one can't halp but think they missed the mark. At this point I think smarts are just a hip fashion accessory pretending to be an economy car. I love the microcar idea, just not the excecution in this case.
Do you live in the hilly area of Tucson? There are some awfully step roads on the sides of the mountains there coupled with high temperatures. Both are mileage killers. I know nothing about Woodland Hills, but Tucson is tough on cars because of all the heat and elevation changes. Short trips are also death on mileage so 28-32 in town might not be so bad.
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