I have always exceeded the EPA highway mileage on my last 2 cars. 91 Merc
Tracer and 98 Ford Escort, both std trans.. My new car a 2007 Ford Focus is
a automatic 2.0 Liter Duratec. 27-34 MPG or so says the sticker. Driving
responsibly, I have never exceeded 31 MPG.
Is this what other people get or is it low?
John
Andrew Rossmann - 17 Feb 2008 14:31 GMT
> I have always exceeded the EPA highway mileage on my last 2 cars. 91 Merc
> Tracer and 98 Ford Escort, both std trans.. My new car a 2007 Ford Focus is
> a automatic 2.0 Liter Duratec. 27-34 MPG or so says the sticker. Driving
> responsibly, I have never exceeded 31 MPG.
>
> Is this what other people get or is it low?
How many miles? Is it fully broken in? Are weather, speed and other
conditions comparable?

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Kruse - 17 Feb 2008 15:20 GMT
> Is this what other people get or is it low?
I'd wait until summer when the gas is formulated different before I'd
be worried about gas mileage.
tww1491 - 17 Feb 2008 22:04 GMT
> I have always exceeded the EPA highway mileage on my last 2 cars. 91 Merc
> Tracer and 98 Ford Escort, both std trans.. My new car a 2007 Ford Focus
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> John
The Focus has a 4 speed automatic rather than a 5 -- I recall -- which may
make a difference. We have looked at the Focus and the Fusion as
possibilities for an around town car for my wife rather than her Honda
Pilot. I have an 06 Accord I4 (2.4 ltr) with an automatic and get 32-34 on
the road with 28-30 to work and back with a 50/50 mix of I75 and around
town.
CPQ - 18 Feb 2008 00:12 GMT
I have 2400 miles on it. I'll give it a while longer. If anyone out there
has a Focus let me know what your getting - John
>> I have always exceeded the EPA highway mileage on my last 2 cars. 91
>> Merc Tracer and 98 Ford Escort, both std trans.. My new car a 2007 Ford
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> the road with 28-30 to work and back with a 50/50 mix of I75 and around
> town.
jamesd43081@yahoo.com - 18 Feb 2008 12:10 GMT
> I have 2400 miles on it. I'll give it a while longer. If anyone out there
> has a Focus let me know what your getting - John
07 SES Wagon, usually 35MPG Highway, OH to FL considerable load,
Around town about 25, I obey speed limits though.
Jim
C. E. White - 18 Feb 2008 12:49 GMT
> I have always exceeded the EPA highway mileage on my last 2 cars.
> 91 Merc Tracer and 98 Ford Escort, both std trans.. My new car a
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> John
A couple of thoughts:
Are you driving the same speed now as with the other cars? I've kept
gas mileage records for years, but some can't be compared because the
roads I typically drive on now have much higher speed limits, and even
higher actual speeds. The EPA tests assumes a relatively low top
speed.
Have you checked your odometer. For whatever reason my last 5 Ford
have had odometers that under report the actual mileage traveled, by
3% or more. On the other hand my last two Japanese vehicles have
odometers that over report the distance traveled (my Frontier was 5%
fast). This can make a significant difference in comparisons. Honda
and Toyota are both notorious for "fast" odometers, so you might want
to check the odometer with a good GPS, or at least against the
interstate mile markers. My Sister's Civic thinks it is ten miles
further to my parents home than my Fusion when we start from the same
place (147 mile trip for me, 157 for her - the truth is in-between
according to the GPS).
Your previous cars were manuals - perhaps your shift strategy was more
"mileage friendly" that the automatics. Or maybe with the automatic
you are accelerating a little harder without really meaning to.
CPQ - 18 Feb 2008 16:55 GMT
Good point, I drive pretty much the same roads I have in he past but the
Odometer is easy enough to check.. The car is very "peppy" compared to my
other ones. I do notice that the transmission does a lot of shifting as we
are in a hilly area. I will check the odometer.
- John
>> I have always exceeded the EPA highway mileage on my last 2 cars. 91 Merc
>> Tracer and 98 Ford Escort, both std trans.. My new car a 2007 Ford Focus
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
> "mileage friendly" that the automatics. Or maybe with the automatic you
> are accelerating a little harder without really meaning to.
Barney Gumble - 18 Feb 2008 18:14 GMT
I happen to have an 07 Focus a/t. It is used for mainly highway driving. I
have put 25k on it in 6 months and have noticed the following.
* any speed over about 60 the mileage drops significantly.
* A/C on in the summer, or even the winter with the defroster also causes
the mileage to drop significantly.
I have had a best tank of about 37 mpg on summer gas going no faster than
about 60. Worst tank of 24ish on winter gas doing 75+mph. Neither tanks
had the A/C going. Big difference! Oh, and I use mobil 1 5w20, fwiw.
> I have always exceeded the EPA highway mileage on my last 2 cars. 91 Merc
> Tracer and 98 Ford Escort, both std trans.. My new car a 2007 Ford Focus
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> John
tww1491 - 22 Feb 2008 00:07 GMT
>I happen to have an 07 Focus a/t. It is used for mainly highway driving.
>I have put 25k on it in 6 months and have noticed the following.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> about 60. Worst tank of 24ish on winter gas doing 75+mph. Neither tanks
> had the A/C going. Big difference! Oh, and I use mobil 1 5w20, fwiw.
This tends to support the need for a 5 speed automatic. My Accord runs at
2500 rpm at 75 which is a big factor in the mileage I have received. A
manual Focus ought to do better,
>> I have always exceeded the EPA highway mileage on my last 2 cars. 91
>> Merc Tracer and 98 Ford Escort, both std trans.. My new car a 2007 Ford
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>>
>> John
CPQ - 25 Feb 2008 00:26 GMT
A five or six speed would be good. I also will put the Mobil 1 in and
anything else that might help. Ford recommends BP for gas, but Gardner MA
doesn't have one and not sure where the closest is. I see Mobil has a high
performance Oil Filter also. I will try what I can.
John
>>I happen to have an 07 Focus a/t. It is used for mainly highway driving.
>>I have put 25k on it in 6 months and have noticed the following.
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>>>
>>> John
Timothy J. Lee - 07 Mar 2008 06:38 GMT
>I have always exceeded the EPA highway mileage on my last 2 cars. 91 Merc
>Tracer and 98 Ford Escort, both std trans.. My new car a 2007 Ford Focus is
>a automatic 2.0 Liter Duratec. 27-34 MPG or so says the sticker. Driving
>responsibly, I have never exceeded 31 MPG.
You probably have a very fuel economical shifting style with a manual
transmission.

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