[1SmartB]

I have seen the threads regarding the real world mpg's and how everyone is trying to maximize mpg's. We are still babying ours while breaking it in so we are getting around 35.

What are some of the least mpg's when you drive it hard and fast?

 

[iwantmysmart]

high 20s (28-29)...lead foot, mostly city driving, high 30s-low 40s highway at 80

 

[SuperGeek]

Rush hour traffic

8am, on Airport Blvd in Mobile, AL - seems like the lowest mileage any car will get will be on this road. 4 minute stoplights. I hit at least 3 of them along my 4.4 mile route. Stop and go traffic approaching the lights. I've gotten 23mpg some days, per my Scangauge (avg speed 12mph). Those days I have to accelerate hard to keep up with the big trucks behind me (they WILL bully the small one in front or zip around you if they're late for work, which they usually are).

But today I went in to work for a special project, same exact route... I got 43.1mpg (city!), avg speed 21mph... so the stop and go traffic makes a huge difference. On my first highway trip through 4 states, my first tank was 37mpg, second tank got me 44mpg. It'll be better next month after I've learned to drive more smoothly.

So, 23mpg city is my worst so far... and I know the reason for that is the traffic. The same traffic and route in the Explorer gets me 8mpg, so I really am happy with my purchase. Sure, a Prius could probably get better, but I like this little thing. The soccer ball sticker I saw on a Prius just killed it for me. Please, for the love of God, nobody put a soccer mom sticker on a smart!

 

[bumblebee]

My low is 36.5

 

[Smart pizzaguy]

I had one fill up that was 100% pizza delivery(very aggresive acceleration, lots of stop and go). MPG for that tank was very slightly over 30 MPG. I've typically been averaging right at 40mpg with mostly in town driving.

 

[1SmartB]

Thanks for the replies. I look forward to buzzing around in my smart and still getting 30mpg. I just calculated the mileage from our mother's day trip and we got 35mpg all freeway, that was in windy conditions with the car loaded with us and the dog, and doing 80mph. We were squirming around quite a bit in the wind and actually had to slow down a couple of times to keep from sailing off the road.

 

[darrelplant]

We took our first out-of-town drive on Saturday. I filled up the tank before we left and calculated that we'd been getting about 34.25mpg in the city. We drove out on I84 to Hood River from Portland and back (about 65 miles each direction) and tanked up again. Just 31.7mpg. However, we were doing high speeds much of the way, and there were stiff winds, including a headwind on the way back to town that might have been as much as 30mph through the Columbia Gorge.

 

[nycsmart]

This may NOT be the car for you if you are in NYC the stop...wait...stop capital of the US. I have clocked in at UNDER 25 mpg. This is all NYC driving. So would I trade in my smart for a prius....No. But it's important news to share for those who are looking for gas savings as their #1 reason for choosing the smart. I am not sure why I am getting such poor milage. To be truthful I have never measured my BMW 325 in 100% NYC driving so I can't say what that would read.

 

[Westfield 11]

27 to 29 mpg in town and 35 mpg @ 80 mph

 

[HGB]

29 mpg and it made me feel sad, so now I'm keeping the RPM's down and coast to the traffic lights. I trust the next fill up will yield some good numbers.

 

[anthony94114]

21. Hilly San Francisco kills it hard.. and that was b-a-b-y-i-n-g it.. driving it as if there was an egg btw my foot and the pedal. The car's also had some significant mechanical issues, so maybe that was affecting it.

 

[factor9]

MPG Comparison

Thanks for the replies. I look forward to buzzing around in my smart and still getting 30mpg. I just calculated the mileage from our mother's day trip and we got 35mpg all freeway, that was in windy conditions with the car loaded with us and the dog, and doing 80mph. We were squirming around quite a bit in the wind and actually had to slow down a couple of times to keep from sailing off the road.

1SmartB - I took I-580 from San Mateo out to Stockton and I-5 up to Sacramento last week during the same rough weather system, and we hit 45+ head winds all the way. I had two in the car plus luggage and the A/C on to keep out the dust and dirt, BUT I tried to keep my speed down to 65 to 70 mph. I got 43.5 mpg for the trip. So, the speed seems to be the big difference. A few days later, only one person in the car, no winds, no A/C and same speed along I-80, and I got 53.4 mpg. Hope that helps.

 

[nycsmart]

Wow as low as 21 in SF! 25 in NYC! Maybe it's NOT such a great city car afterall!

 

[aslusers]

Wow as low as 21 in SF! 25 in NYC! Maybe it's NOT such a great city car afterall!

I think when the smarts are getting 25, the guzzlers are getting 12.

I have a theory about mileage variations. If people shift when the arrow comes on, the gas mileage will be better. (Of course, the arrow shift reminders are set for maximum mileage not power or speed) So, those who shift more aggressively will have much poorer gas mileage in circumstances where they need to stop and start more often.

Case in point, my mileage in the suburbs of Indianapolis is high 30's low 40's with tons of stops and starts. I try to shift whenever possible when the arrows tell me to.

Highway driving sort of evens out the differences between aggressive accelerators and old lady drivers like me.

Maybe NYC and SF simply demand quick accelerations more than Indy.

Holly

 

[Dean Smith]

Mileage has gone from 27 to 41 MPG. 1500 miles on car. I don't think we will see consistent mileage until we hit 5K. LONG break in period.

 

[bonforte]

San Francisco.

20.8 MPG average!

 

[bonforte]

21. Hilly San Francisco kills it hard.. and that was b-a-b-y-i-n-g it.. driving it as if there was an egg btw my foot and the pedal. The car's also had some significant mechanical issues, so maybe that was affecting it.

Anthony. I am also 94114. I am getting 20.8 MPG. I can't imagine our hills are killing the MPG this much. I am bringing the car to the dealer so they can test it. They say they have seen this 1 other time and couldn't fix it. If that happens with mine, I am going to ask for a loaner car for a week to compare. I think there is something wrong with the car.

 

[bonforte]

20.8 MPG!

I drive conservatively, but I can't get better than this. I use http://www.fuelfrog.com to track my mileage. I am trying to work out with the dealer the problem.

 

[bonforte]

By the way, I have done trips on the freeway for 100+ miles. Same thing 20 MPG. I think there are problems with some Smart cars.

 

[HGB]

Brought the smart up to 37 mpg with last fill up. Then sticking to the same driving style the next fill up yielded only 32. Two things that I believe influence these numbers 1) The A/C is on almost constantly, which works very well btw and 2) when the tank is filled up the last 2 gallons are put in very very slowly. I never top it off though.