Reasonable MPG or not?

[Nightangel451]

I brought my Yaris a little under a month ago and just filled my gas tank for the second time. I did my MPG calculation, and got 26. This is obviously lower than the average stated by Toyota. Does it fall in the realm of reasonable? Some things to note:

- It's been HOT here (hitting 100 F most days). The A/C in the car has been running pretty much constantly at mid-high levels.
- 95% of my driving has been "City" driving. This includes commuting 2 miles each way to my office. I calculated I stop-and-go an average of 6 times in that distance, one way.
- Car has 4800 miles total.

Thanks for any help/advice you can give. This forum is awesome; it already helped me realize the low coolant temp warning I was seeing was normal.

[edmscan]

I personally find that to be low .. but I pretty much never drive with the air conditioner on .. so I really don't know how much that affects your mileage. The one thing that I find helps .. is DFCO on the Yaris. All I know is that the Yaris is capable of some pretty good numbers so there is always room to improve.

[bentjazz]

I have around 13,000 miles on my Yaris, and am only now getting the kind of mileage that I expected when I first bought my car. I don't know why it's taken this long, but my best tank this summer was 38.36mpg and I haven't gotten below 37mpg this summer. I keep my tires inflated at around 40psi, keep my speed down as much as possible, and coast whenever possible. I'm betting your MPGs will go up as time progresses and as you become more comfortable with the car, particularly since you have a 5 speed. I'm getting my MPGs with an auto tranny....I can only imagine what I'd be getting now if I had a stick. My two big regrets in buying my Yaris---not buying a 5 speed manual and buying a black Yaris (hard to keep clean).....
Other than that, I'm happy.....

[edmscan]

Originally Posted by bentjazz

My two big regrets in buying my Yaris---not buying a 5 speed manual and buying a black Yaris (hard to keep clean).....
Other than that, I'm happy.....

Interestingly . . I have a 5 speed and wish I had an Automatic (from what I have seen on the forum here .. the mileage is about the same) .. and I do have also a Black Yaris .. and I will have to agree, Black is a pain to keep clean. I think that white would have been a better color to have.

[roadrunner]

"Does it fall in the realm of reasonable?"
YES, considering what you wrote.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by roadrunner

"Does it fall in the realm of reasonable?"
YES, considering what you wrote.

Wow! Other than tire psi, slower speed/acceleration, staying in the highest gear possible, limiting A/C.....what else are you doing to get the MPG numbers that you are getting?

[DJYojimbo]

If u have cruise control i would use it. I use my cruise control all the time time as long as i'm not too close to other drivers. The MPG gauge helps a lot too!

[bentjazz]

edmscan,
I hear ya. I really wish I would have bought a white or silver Yaris. Oh well, now I'm stuck with my black tinted window looks like a Batmobile for small people Yaris for the next 300,000 miles. Ha. I'm really not complaining, actually. All I really care about is reliability, and we've got it pretty good in that respect with the Yaris.

Nightangel,
Another thing I'd recommend is buying an Ecometer from MicroImage. I eyeball my Ecometer more than my center guage cluster. It's pretty addictive, actually. But in all reality, it helps to control ones fuel consumption in real time. And MicroImage is the cheapest you'll find for the Ecometer, so.....

[schume]

Being that you're complaining of 100 degree temps, you must be east of the Cascades :) Your commute is extremely short. Factoring in the other items, 26 is probably about right. You need a lot more miles on your car before you start getting better numbers. I didn't break 40MPG highway until around the 8000 mile mark. Take a few road trips and keep it around 60. :) I need to go to Montana next month, maybe you can drive me? Good excuse to get some break in miles on your car!

[b20vteg]

i get 40+ going 75-80mph. haven't gone over 80 yet, so not sure about 80 and beyond...

[Idahotom]

My last tank, using air much of the time and on my usual combo of rural and secondary roads along with a little 60 mph freeway driving came in a bit lower then normal. Only 41.86 MPG instead of mid 40's.... Trying to account for this I remembered several times while running around in town doing errands, and of course with the dog riding along, I had left it idling and with the air on! Yeah, terrible for a hyper miler, but even with the tinted windows and the Polar White, and the windows down, no way was I leaving him in the heat. Plus it was a good excuse (responsible pet owner) to keep my own sorry ass cooled down!

60K+ miles, 44 lbs air pressure in the tires, Scan Gauge, no spare/rear seat/hub caps/jack/any extra junk carried, and careful driving, and never over 65 mph! Usually barely 60 and mostly 50+ on the secondary roads.

[roadrunner]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Wow! Other than tire psi, slower speed/acceleration, staying in the highest gear possible, limiting A/C.....what else are you doing to get the MPG numbers that you are getting?

I do nearly everything possible. It would take pages to mention.
Some quick stuff............
Scanguage II
Grille block
No air ever
EOC often
Only use my Yaris to and from work, total mile 40, rolling hills
I drive off hours to and from work
Stay off the highway
oversized LRR tires at 44 psi
Coast up to lights and stop signs
I do not hold up traffic!
More stuff go to CleanMPG for tips on hypermiling
Roadrunner

[Kaotic Lazagna]

I've recently been driving with the A/C on since it's gotten pretty hot here, on fan speed of 2 and on recirculating. On the past three tanks with A/C usage, I've averaged no less than 40 mpg. With 40 mpg being 50/50 city/highway driving.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by DJYojimbo

If u have cruise control i would use it. I use my cruise control all the time time as long as i'm not too close to other drivers. The MPG gauge helps a lot too!

Unfortunately the '07 MT liftbacks (and possibly all '07s?) don't have the MPG gauge that the '12s have . I haven't added cruise control yet. Good to know you feel it helps re MPG. Thanks for the info.

[edmscan]

According to my ScanGauge .. I get better fuel economy when I drive myself as compared to my cruise control. I haven't really gone for a long road trip to test this out .. but just viewing the scangauge info this appears to be the case.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bentjazz

edmscan,
I hear ya. I really wish I would have bought a white or silver Yaris. Oh well, now I'm stuck with my black tinted window looks like a Batmobile for small people Yaris for the next 300,000 miles. Ha. I'm really not complaining, actually. All I really care about is reliability, and we've got it pretty good in that respect with the Yaris.

Nightangel,
Another thing I'd recommend is buying an Ecometer from MicroImage. I eyeball my Ecometer more than my center guage cluster. It's pretty addictive, actually. But in all reality, it helps to control ones fuel consumption in real time. And MicroImage is the cheapest you'll find for the Ecometer, so.....

Silver was my (unavailable) first choice re my Yaris, as I have found re my past experience that silver cars show dirt the least. However, after moving to SE Texas (after getting my Yaris) my next car and each one after that will be WHITE as long as the manufacturer makes what I want in white. I purchased a BLACK car new back in the 90s with NO A/C. I will NEVER make that mistake again.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by b20vteg

i get 40+ going 75-80mph. haven't gone over 80 yet, so not sure about 80 and beyond...

Great MPG considering your speed! I think those of us in areas where the metro is pretty flat (Phoenix, Houston, etc) have an easier time getting better MPG. I know personally that it was harder in the San Francisco Bay Area to reach 40 combined. You also have the added advantage of being at a higher elevation than most flat metros.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Idahotom

My last tank, using air much of the time and on my usual combo of rural and secondary roads along with a little 60 mph freeway driving came in a bit lower then normal. Only 41.86 MPG instead of mid 40's.... Trying to account for this I remembered several times while running around in town doing errands, and of course with the dog riding along, I had left it idling and with the air on! Yeah, terrible for a hyper miler, but even with the tinted windows and the Polar White, and the windows down, no way was I leaving him in the heat. Plus it was a good excuse (responsible pet owner) to keep my own sorry ass cooled down!

60K+ miles, 44 lbs air pressure in the tires, Scan Gauge, no spare/rear seat/hub caps/jack/any extra junk carried, and careful driving, and never over 65 mph! Usually barely 60 and mostly 50+ on the secondary roads.

Mee too re idling with air this summer (just more situations (than last summer) when it has been necessary). Just before summer started I was averaging almost 42 combined and now I've dropped to just barely over 40 combined. I keep track in my mind the miles on tank at each bar drop and I can tell the MPG drop is largely due to idling with the A/C on. In this climate during the summer, especially when the sun is up, it is hard to make any other choice.

I'm in lockstep with you on the MPH and careful driving (doing both), but I'm not willing to go without hubcaps. After reading CTScott's reply to another poster that a stock wheel and tire will fit (albeit with a bump), I'm thinking of partially going your route and eliminating spare/jack/and extra junk and then getting a stock steelie with stock tire mounted on it only to put in the car on long trips (adding a jack as well). I've tried increasing PSI for each tire in the past, and when I go over 40 (especially 44 or higher) it feels as though I'm driving on bricks and I don't like how the ride at that PSI level makes my body feel, so just not willing to do it. I keep my PSI pretty much at 38, sometimes 39. Re your dog, I agree. As much I try to squeeze out every bit of extra MPG that is comfortable to do, keeping a beloved dog comfortable is MUCH more important than extracting better MPG.