[jon364]

Not sure if I’m driving the smart wrong or something but it’s very difficult getting more than 40 MPG. I drive pretty tame not trying to outrun anyone, somewhat granny speeds in the city and cruise at 65 mph on highway. The car has about 33k miles. All maintenance done except no spark plug change yet. Tires in good condition. 50 percent highway miles. Premium gas all the time

What do I need to do to get that 50mpg and above like what some others are claiming.

 

[SubRosa]

Won't happen in a 453.



Diesels? Certainly.


450, 451 gassers? Maybe.


SR

 

[twcom]

I have the Scan Gauge II and when I first got it I drove from NYC to Albany and Got 50mpg because I tried very hard. Lots of coasting and drafting never over 55 MPH. I haven't drove like that since. My work drive I show 34 - 37 mpg. Highway 37 - 44 mpg. With the paddle shifting I get better mpg then in automatic. But Fun is how I drive it. Let the MPG's fall where they may lol.

 

[OliverB]

I have never checked the accuracy of the mpg indicator in my 453 but I have seen +50 indicated many times. Just the other day it read 57.x after I followed a very slow vehicle for several miles. That’s the highest I’ve seen. I see +50 when I have been cruising 40-50 mph for several miles. Saw it regularly when I traveled almost 1/2 hr daily at speeds between 25-50 mph, light traffic and the few lights all green. But that’s not my actual average. Over thousands of miles the average is 41-43 mpg because I also do a good bit of Interstate cruising and AC takes a big hit in the Summer.

 

[Mailman]

Just checked my 453 on the 'third' screen and it's at 39.4 average since the last fill-up.


Yes, the A/C or even 'Auto' for heat seems to engage the A/C compressor (even when it's to warm the car up inside).
I routinely hit 45-48 mpg avg when the HVAC system is off.


Some notes on fuel.
Don't need premium on a non turbo but I'm assuming you're talking about a 453 and not a 451.
On the 'third' screen, I started out at 33mpg on Sam's Club 91 octane.
Then I ran Shell V-Power for a few weeks and was at 35mpg one tank, 36mpg next tank.
Both Sam's Club and the Shell use Top Tier fuel but both are E10 (10% ethanol)
I'm hitting a consistent 39-40mpg for the tank now using E0 91 (ethanol free)


I find E0 here: https://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=CO


I don't care about the cost (I pay $3.70 gal for the E0 91); at least I'm getting 15% more mileage 'back'

 

[benjamin_niemczyk]

2013 Smart Passion

After a summer of 30-35MPG I finally broke the barrier and have achieved 45-48MPG! But only under the below conditions. I drive weekly from NYC to Westchester and CT, routes that feature many hills.

The conditions:
A/C off
New spark plugs
New gas pedal
Filling tires to 36/29 every week
Driving on the highway as stated above, 55-65MPH
Keeping revs as low as possible

The main variable seems to be A/C. It makes sense. Taxes the engine. I notice more engine power when the A/C is off too. But I didn’t know my fuel economy would improve so dramatically.

I’ll enjoy this until the usual NYC November heat wave.

 

[Mister_smart_LA]

My first 2k miles in my '17 smart BRABUS cabriolet, I only averaged between 23 and 35 mpg's. It was all my fault. Driving like a complete maniac and literally struggling to move slower than 80 on the highways. The car is seriously capable of powerful acceleration. After having a few close calls with tickets and such I've finally tamed my ways and 'settled' for primarily the speed limits. Now knowing the ins and outs of the shift points with precision, achieving upwards of 44 mpg's with a good amount of power is actually not too difficult.



The 453 is capable of tons more acceleration power than a 451 thanks to BOOST. But if a driver deliberately drives a 453 with the same speed of an aggressive 451 driver, you will notice the 453 certainly achieves better mpg's than a 451. But the willingness and patience to do it will depend on the driver. :shrug:

 

[Audi2Smart]

I have a 2017 Smartfor2 and use the Fuelly app to track all of my mileage. My best fuel economy has been 54.3 MPG (highway, cruise control, no AC) my lowest has been 32.9 (city, no cruise control, AC). Average mpg has been 42.6. I routinely switch to neutral and coast when I can.

 

[Mr Pink]

I do about a three hour run regularly. about 1/3 at 70mph, the rest at 65.
For the 70 section I get right around under 40 but after the rest of the trip, it's usually 44+.
Just broke my record the other day with 47mpg

453, drive couple miles over speed limit, no AC some of the way, cruise the whole way and no stop and go for the win

 

[Dougg]

I've had two 451 smarts, first a 2008, now a 2012. I record fuel mileage on a computer spreadsheet, noting the gallons from the pump and distance from the trip odometer. Cumulative fuel mileage for the first one was 33.6mpg, and for the current one has been 34.96mpg, each over a span of ~12k miles. Both of them have achieved 42.5 a couple of times on the highway. But most of my driving is in town with 20 and 25mph speed limits, only rarely seeing 5th gear, lots of stop signs. The car is really great for local errands but clearly this is not ideal for fuel mileage!

That first 42.5 was encouraging as it was only the second day of ownership. I had bought this new car via eBay and picked it up in LA. Driving home I measured the fuel consumption from Redding CA to Yakima WA by way of Klamath Falls and Bend OR, involving a lot of steep climbs and higher altitudes. But moderate speeds, 55 limit much of the way.

My insurance agent had one for a while and commuted 6 miles to work in town on rural roads with a 50mph limit. He says he drove like a maniac and got 50mpg all the time! I suspect the clue to his success was the steady moderate speeds.