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hey gang; we just picked up a lemon yellow cabriolet with 450 miles.

drove it home this afternoon (about 200 miles); started with a full tank of fuel ( I didn't fill it so who knows?) then refilled it when we got home. MPG of 44.3. all highway driving (didn't exceed 55MPH with A/C on).

Bruce
Leander, TX
Neat. Really an '06? (or maybe that was a typo for '09:confused:) Yellow is an awesome color just the same. :bigthumbup:

My latest and greatest:


 
Well.. we did our first little road trip last weekend..

Just New Orleans to Pensacola, FL and back...

Hauling 2 (not skinny) adults and 100 lbs of STUFF to the beach..
A/C on FULL the whole time and doing 75 - 80 mph...
Beep got 37mpg..

I would have liked to have broken 40.. but I'm not complaining..
smarts are really great highway cars after all.. what fun
 
Well.. we did our first little road trip last weekend..

Just New Orleans to Pensacola, FL and back...

Hauling 2 (not skinny) adults and 100 lbs of STUFF to the beach..
A/C on FULL the whole time and doing 75 - 80 mph...
Beep got 37mpg..

I would have liked to have broken 40.. but I'm not complaining..
smarts are really great highway cars after all.. what fun
25 more miles and you could of joined in our photoshoot that was in the Pensacola News Journal. :eek:
 
The mileage on our smart really got better after we went past the 10K on the odometer. Prior to that, we got 36-38 mpg each week. After that the mileage has been around 40-43 mpg for the commute to work. I rarely use the A/C. I have noticed the mileage to really do better on the weeks when you don't have get up to 65 mph pronto. That is usually when school is out of session or there is a state or federal holiday that week, resulting in less traffic.

I have found the "sweet" speed for this one to be at 60 mph. If I can go down the highway at that speed, the mileage is much better. That is when it goes to 42 or 43 mpg. You also need to get used to driving with a light foot and let the car itself do the acceleration. Tap the accelerator, and it makes a world of difference.

On weeks with traffic tooling along at 65 the mileage drops to around 40 mpg. That is with a hitch mounted bike rack and bike on the back 2 days out of the week too.

The usual commute for me is 12 miles one way to the office with the majority of it highway driving and the remainder city driving. I usually put on 30-32 miles a day.

Last week's gas mileage clocked in at 43.4 mpg. This week's came in at 41.0. Both weeks include the 2 days of bike travel after work.

I'm not complaining!!
 
Not so good Ave 29.5 mpg

i drive city, to include freeways.
Houston, a/c on, usually only one adult.
Put in a KN air filter 2 months ago.
Has 3,000 miles on it.
Best milage I have ever got is 31.5
Had oil and filter changed at 2,000 miles.
Use an iphone app to cal. my milage as well a paper cal.

Don't understand.
 
Our Smartie Cabrio just passed 4k mark. About 16 miles one way in interstate/city driving here in Vermont, most time just one person, no A/C but roof down at least 50 % time. All time average is 39.3 - tracked on Fuelly from day one.
 
Our Passion is a 2008 12,000 miles (Wii CAR) we've been getting in the 40 MPG, highest 48.5. we live on the central coast so we have city, country and freeway driving. Just love this little car.
 
Don't feel bad fpage..

mine is even lower than that... but my commute is the worst possible for millage.. only 2 miles to work.. and 5 stop lights and 2 stop signs...
engine never really warms up...
I have mine on fuelly but I am skewing the averages low I am afraid.
Why don't you all get up an half an hour early and go for a long drive on the way to work? Then you can take the long road home and arrive relaxed with a big smile. :D
 
2nd fuel up and the first time I got 39 mpg and this time I got 40.5 mpg!!! Things are getting better and better. I've read that the engine has to break in though. I'm babying it till it's over 1000 like everyone says. I'll probably still baby it then too!
 
I just drove to Chicago IL from Bakersfield California pulling an empty Featherlight trailer behind my Pure ForTwo. Gas cost $134. My mpg fell into the high 30s on Interstate 70, but I got better than 53 mpg hypermiling on Hwy 6 across the Great Basin.
 
I just drove to Chicago IL from Bakersfield California pulling an empty Featherlight trailer behind my Pure ForTwo. Gas cost $134. My mpg fell into the high 30s on Interstate 70, but I got better than 53 mpg hypermiling on Hwy 6 across the Great Basin.

In which state did you get your worst mileage? The reason I as is I took a similar trip this summer and found Kansas impossible. 2 fill-ups in Kansas and both under 31 mpg. :mad:

All other states saw normal mpg - My overall average is 39.



Just wondering if its me of if Kansas is a black hole for sucking mileage. But I guess you skipped Kansas and went north through Nebraska, eh?
 
After 30,000 miles, I think I can give a nice number.

Grand total average consumption: 44.8, (diligently logged in MS Excel)

My driving style includes running only Mobile or Sunoco 93, Royal Purple 0-40 oil every 7k miles, shifting at 3k rpm, and doing the speed limit. My best ever was 52.7 (Horray for 400 club!), and my worst was 38(not economical to drive when it's -14!)
 
Done my first road trip this weekend. Drove fro Fort Worth, TX to Shreveport, LA and back. My mpg was 38.5. I now have about 1,500 miles on my Smart. Still hoping it improves. In town I am getting about 30 mpg.
 
Hi Suze, No, Kansas isn't a mysterous sinkhole. It is on the Great Plains, though, so if you are fuel smart, you need to take the wind direction into account. Smart Cars are really susceptible to wind affecting mpg. Wind resistance becomes a factor about 35 mph and half your horsepower (gasoline) is used to push wind aside at 65-70 mph.

If you are driving into a 20 mph headwind, you will get the same mpg at 45 mph that you got at 65 mph without the headwind. That's the bad news.

The good news is that with a tailwind, you'll get your best mileage.

If you want to boost your mileage even further, the Smart Car has great downhill coasting ability. Return to high gear by keeping your foot completely off the gas pedal, shift to Drive (D) with the stick and immediately, in one smooth motion (you have one second to beat the computer), slide over to manual and forward into high (5). This avoids sometimes dropping into 4th with the new transmission shifting update.

The other big trick is to use the Constant Throttle Technique. Find the throttle position for your chosen cruising speed (keeping in mind that slower speeds give better mileage) and hold it absolutely steady, regardless of terrain. Simply allow your transmission to shift normally in automatic mode.

I have learned to detect a subtle, deep throb where the Smart Car gets its best fuel mileage. You can easily find it in 5th gear at 45 mph by applying the throttle very slowly and listening for the change. By recognizing this throb, you can beat the mileage of the auto shift by shifting manually to stay in this range.

I have to drive in my socks to get my best mileage. Even tennis shoes make my right foot too insensitive to hold the throttle perfectly steady. I don't know anybody else who does this.

Also, avoid mandated ethanol areas when travelling on long trips. Ethanol robs mileage. Most of these areas are near big cities but the 10% mixture is becoming more common. In Kansas, it is possible to make a big mistake by fueling with an orange pump handle. Orange pumps provide ethanol mixtures of 20% (E20), 30% (E30), 50% (E50) or 85% (E85). You didn't do that, did you?

Ptero
Lifetime average without towing: 52 mpg
 
The other big trick is to use the Constant Throttle Technique. Find the throttle position for your chosen cruising speed (keeping in mind that slower speeds give better mileage) and hold it absolutely steady, regardless of terrain. Simply allow your transmission to shift normally in automatic mode.
What the cruise control does; CC does help mileage.

...shifting at 3k rpm, and doing the speed limit...
Good ideas, unless the speed limit is 75.

I have learned to detect a subtle, deep throb where the Smart Car gets its best fuel mileage. You can easily find it in 5th gear at 45 mph by applying the throttle very slowly and listening for the change.
Others have described this as "lugging" the engine but it isn't; you've described it very well. :)
 
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