This week or next week I'm going to take my dad's car (Passion Coupe just like mine) and try it out. He swears up and down his 2.0 upgrade has killed his mileage. I've been disputing that. He is a little discouraged he can't beat the mileage I get, he has been getting around 36-38mpg. I get 42.6mpg/32k + 40.5mpg/17.5k on my cars.
What I have been telling my dad. Slower isn't always necessarily better. I drive MUCH faster than he does while still keeping within limits of the law. Getting a Scangauge and learning how to use it properly has been my secret - been a user for about 3+ years. A/C use, it absolutely gobbles up your gas in town - I try to use it as sparingly as I can but I still use it a lot.
A/C use, it absolutely gobbles up your gas in town - I try to use it as sparingly as I can but I still use it a lot.
I am sparing with the AC as well. If I'm cruising home on the two lane (40-50 mph) and it's not too bad, I'll just put the driver's side window down. If I'm climbing a hill, I'll kill the AC for the hill climb. Nothing too drastic, but I am cognizant of its use.
Mostly for commuting (61 miles r/t) and am getting 47-49 mpg. This is from 7,000" to 5,000" and back up to the mountains every day. It's mostly freeway driving at 65-70. No lead foot as I make smooth starts and slowdowns. Just loving it.
It would be interesting to see these #s (mpg's in the 47-49 range) backed up with some data from a realistic source, like fuelly. There isn't a single Smart car listed at fuelly.com in that range.
I have a side question. I read the manual about only using 93 octane or else the car will explode. I do plan on only using 93 octane but I remember during the last gas spike and there was zero 93 octane to be had for three weeks in Columbia, SC. Can I use the low octane stuff or should I add a Octane boost to it?
From other posts I've read that a number of folks use regular exclusively without problems and that its use has even been OK' ed by Dave Schembri. My take on the consensus is that regular is fine if you can't get the good stuff, but that the few extra cents for 93 is well spent when you have the choice.
Something I haven't mentioned in this thread but mentioned it MANY other times before in other threads is you also have to take your road construction into account as well. I know every time I go up north I get much better mileage than I get in the south, I like to blame it on the roads.
My old Honda Insight had a built-in MPG meter and I could see a huge difference going just from county to county. Poor counties had worse roads, made with cheaper materials. Sometimes I could see a very dramatic decline.
We've had our '09 Passion since November '08, it has almost 8000 miles on it. Doing mostly 75% highway driving, we're averaging low 40s (usually 42 or 43 and change). It doesn't seem to matter much if we have the windows up or down or the A/C on or off. We leave it in D, unless my husband hits the minus paddle to downshift up a hill or through a yellow light. We also don't have heavy gas pedal feet, though... but we do routinely drive him at 70-75 MPH on the highway.
From other posts I've read that a number of folks use regular exclusively without problems and that its use has even been OK' ed by Dave Schembri. My take on the consensus is that regular is fine if you can't get the good stuff, but that the few extra cents for 93 is well spent when you have the choice.
When did dave do this. I never heard of him saying it is ok. I was thinking of trying 89 octane soon. Just might do it if Dave said it is ok.
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