Wanted: driving tips for better MPGs

[Sylvan]

I never drove a manual before I got my smart. So I was excited that it didn't have a clutch, that made it so much simpler for me to learn. And I'm not doing too badly with it, either using the shifter or the paddles... Except going from first to second, at intersections, but I'm guessing that just takes timing, and practice.

But I can't get the really good MPGs that my hubby can, and I don't know what I'm doing wrong, or what he's doing right. I've done weeks of driving it in manual, and gotten around 35. Weeks of driving it in Drive and gotten around the same. But when he ends up being the main driver for the week, he'll get like 45! So I know the car's capable..

So I'm asking here for tips on how to amp up the MPGs. What can I do? I don't have the tach & clock pods, so I've been shifting when the arrows tell me to... But I hear that maybe I should let it rev more than that? How the heck am I supposed to "know"? I can hear it, but once the arrows start blinking, it sounds good to me, so why shouldn't I shift right then?

Please, any help would be really appreciated...

[Dave Van]

How many miles do you have on the car?? until about 1500+ the mpg may not be real good. Until I got 2000 on mine I did not check the mpg. Now I am getting 46-50 mpg on my base model Pure. Best advise is look up 'hypermileing' on the internet and follow that.....good luck!

[Christoph]

Theres quite a few things you can do to improve your fuel mileage, it just takes a little shift of your driving habits. Try to not accelerate as hard from a stoplight or stop sign, and if you travel at 70mph on the highway, try going 65 or 60 instead (wherever possible).
Keep in mind that everytime you push that gas pedal, you're using fuel. So the less (or lighter) you press the gas pedal, the less fuel you use. I've found it easy to keep in mind you want to drive as smoothly as you can, imagine you've got a tipsy bag of groceries on the passenger's seat.

Hope this advice helps, but don't forget to obey all your traffic laws and stuff, and make sure your safely operating your lil' smartie without potentially hurting yourself or others.

[Sylvan]

Originally Posted by Dave Van

How many miles do you have on the car?? until about 1500+ the mpg may not be real good. Until I got 2000 on mine I did not check the mpg. Now I am getting 46-50 mpg on my base model Pure. Best advise is look up 'hypermileing' on the internet and follow that.....good luck!

I've got over 3000 miles, and I've been keeping track of every fillup, the MPG each time, and even which gas station we go to, in case *that* makes a difference...

*lol* Maybe it's because it's a cabrio, and Hubby likes to drive with the top down, and I'd rather leave it up and have the AC on (I'm fair-skinned and burn easily)... Definitely going to have to try a week of no AC, come to think of it....

Thanks!

[Sylvan]

Originally Posted by Christoph

Theres quite a few things you can do to improve your fuel mileage, it just takes a little shift of your driving habits. Try to not accelerate as hard from a stoplight or stop sign, and if you travel at 70mph on the highway, try going 65 or 60 instead (wherever possible).
Keep in mind that everytime you push that gas pedal, you're using fuel. So the less (or lighter) you press the gas pedal, the less fuel you use. I've found it easy to keep in mind you want to drive as smoothly as you can, imagine you've got a tipsy bag of groceries on the passenger's seat.

Hope this advice helps, but don't forget to obey all your traffic laws and stuff, and make sure your safely operating your lil' smartie without potentially hurting yourself or others.

Drive.. without.. a lead foot... Is that possible? *lol* Kidding. Thank you, I will try to learn the art of the featherfoot!

[Suze]

It seems to me you have the perfect resource to figure this out - your Husband! Talk to him, ask about HIS tips, ride with him, watch how he drives, have him ride with you and give you a critique your driving style.

You'll get better answers to these questions than most of us, because your husband is getting great mileage with your car already. Lucky you!

Let us know when you get it figured out.

Cheers!

Suze

[Sylvan]

Originally Posted by notsobadyathink

It seems to me you have the perfect resource to figure this out - your Husband! Talk to him, ask about HIS tips, ride with him, watch how he drives, have him ride with you and give you a critique your driving style.

You'll get better answers to these questions than most of us, because your husband is getting great mileage with your car already. Lucky you!

Let us know when you get it figured out.

Cheers!

Suze

Welll... I'll ask him, although I can't say that he'll ride with me willingly. He *hates* how I drive, and wishes that the smart had more "oh sh**" handles so he could hang on for dear life, on the odd occasion when he does happen to be my passenger. *eyesroll* I think he's rather melodramatic about my driving, actually. Last time, he kept his eyes closed the entire time so he wouldn't have to see how I was driving. He pretended he was napping, but kept cracking an eyelid and making remarks about how close I was to other cars and the like... It's frustrating.

And I do ride with him, but I can't tell what he's doing that's different. I notice the arrows blinking several times before he shifts, but I can't tell what is prompting him to decide to shift when he does. He says that he does well with the MPGs because his buddies taught him to drive stick back in the day, and they taught him well, and he's been driving the Prius, and worked his way up to 50MPG on *that* this year, too! I'm not sure if it's something he can put into words, but dagnabbit, I'll try to make him!!

Thanks!

[Suze]

Originally Posted by Sylvan

Welll... I'll ask him, although I can't say that he'll ride with me willingly. He *hates* how I drive, and wishes that the smart had more "oh sh**" handles so he could hang on for dear life, on the odd occasion when he does happen to be my passenger. *eyesroll* I think he's rather melodramatic about my driving, actually. Last time, he kept his eyes closed the entire time so he wouldn't have to see how I was driving. He pretended he was napping, but kept cracking an eyelid and making remarks about how close I was to other cars and the like... It's frustrating.

And I do ride with him, but I can't tell what he's doing that's different. I notice the arrows blinking several times before he shifts, but I can't tell what is prompting him to decide to shift when he does. He says that he does well with the MPGs because his buddies taught him to drive stick back in the day, and they taught him well, and he's been driving the Prius, and worked his way up to 50MPG on *that* this year, too! I'm not sure if it's something he can put into words, but dagnabbit, I'll try to make him!!

Thanks!

Well, you've convinced me - it's your driving style.

A heavy foot on the gas and/or break is a mileage killer. Not to mention a very uncomfortable ride for your passenger.

You might try sticking with the the auto mode for a while. Practice smooth starts and stops. Once you get used to that and your mpgs improve, go back to manual mode and try to emulate the way the car felt driving in auto mode. Once you master this you'll love driving your smart all the more.

Also, if you show to your husband that you are an open minded, eagar learner, he might agree to helping you, much like his buddies taught him back in the olden days. Just MO, ya know.

Good Luck.

Suze

[Sylvan]

Originally Posted by notsobadyathink

Well, you've convinced me - it's your driving style.

A heavy foot on the gas and/or break is a mileage killer. Not to mention a very uncomfortable ride for your passenger.

You might try sticking with the the auto mode for a while. Practice smooth starts and stops. Once you get used to that and your mpgs improve, go back to manual mode and try to emulate the way the car felt driving in auto mode. Once you master this you'll love driving your smart all the more.

Also, if you show to your husband that you are an open minded, eagar learner, he might agree to helping you, much like his buddies taught him back in the olden days. Just MO, ya know.

Good Luck.

Suze

I don't know- no one else I've driven with complains as much as he does. *lol* When we test-drove the smart, actually, he freaked out when I was pulling a 3-point-turn and I had to just park it and get out and let him drive it- and we were only like 100 feet from where the car needed to be parked. Ah well.

But I'll try, I'll work on being a smoother driver, for my little smartie, if not for the hubby. *lol*

[Dunerunner]

Sylvan - Do you shift with the tach or by engine sound or by speed? Do you accelerate quickly or slow and smooth? Is the A/C on all the time on the coldest setting and high fan?

You might try just putting it in 'D' and forgetting about the shifters. Run the A/C sparingly, keeping it on 'Vent' as much as possible. Drive smoothly and accelerate slowly but enough not to interfer with the traffic flow. Good Luck...I think you could beat your husbands milage with practice!!!