07 Yaris Hatch - Bad MPG?

[07liftback]

Originally Posted by Guinness

I typically got 36 mpg in the winter and 39.25-40.5 mpg in the summer with my 07 Hatchback. I’d say I’m not an overly aggressive driver.

That's pretty good. How many miles each way is your commute and how much highway driving vs city driving? I'm thinking people who drive farther distances on their daily commute would be able to achieve these higher numbers.

[Guinness]

Originally Posted by 07liftback

That's pretty good. How many miles each way is your commute and how much highway driving vs city driving? I'm thinking people who drive farther distances on their daily commute would be able to achieve these higher numbers.

I worked at 3 different jobs. First one was 55 km each way through country back roads where the speed limit was 80 km/h most of the way. There was many stop signs as I zig-zagged from home to work. I’d let off the accelerator as I approached a stop sign to minimize gas usage.

The other two were 20 km drives each way with most of each commute bring on highway. It isn’t a true highway as it has 70-80 km/h speed limits and 4-5 stop lights on it. Less of a chance to let off the accelerator for better fuel economy.

[07liftback]

Originally Posted by scylla

The newer Yaris have real time mpg meters in the dash lcd. The sweet spot for these engines seems to be 45 to 50 mph. With a tail wind at 45 on flat ground I can hold 50 MPG plus pretty easy. Where I get hit is in the lower gears thru town or at 80 mph. Lower gears 14 or 15 mpg. 80 mph upper 20's to lower 30's mpg.
It all averages out.

Hmm interesting stuff. I have a scangauge 2 and haven't really used it to track real time mpg like I used to. Might be useful to start using it again to know which gear I should choose when tackling hills. Are your tires filled past 40psi?

Originally Posted by Guinness

I worked at 3 different jobs. First one was 55 km each way through country back roads where the speed limit was 80 km/h most of the way. There was many stop signs as I zig-zagged from home to work. I’d let off the accelerator as I approached a stop sign to minimize gas usage.

The other two were 20 km drives each way with most of each commute bring on highway. It isn’t a true highway as it has 70-80 km/h speed limits and 4-5 stop lights on it. Less of a chance to let off the accelerator for better fuel economy.

Ah, my commute is very similar. I'd have quite a few stop signs as I live in the suburbs but the main road to the freeway is very similar to a freeway where it'd be all green lights for half a mile before reaching a red light. It continues like this for about 3 miles before I reach the freeway. Compared to the other cars near me that do jack rabbit starts and race towards every stop light, I'm probably the most civilized driver on the road without holding up traffic too bad unless they're a speed racer who likes tail gating...

PS: I just realized what the other guy meant when he said it's bad for my synchros when I downshift so much. I didn't make it clear that I drive a 5-speed manual transmission Yaris. I'd understand that downshifting with an automatic would play hell on the transmission and it probably wouldn't last 50k miles. The best part of driving manual is being able to take hypermiling to extreme measures as well as an extremely reliable transmission compared to autos.

[scylla]

Originally Posted by 07liftback

Hmm interesting stuff. I have a scangauge 2 and haven't really used it to track real time mpg like I used to. Might be useful to start using it again to know which gear I should choose when tackling hills. Are your tires filled past 40psi?

No, I keep my tires at 32 or 33 psi. I'm not a hyper mileage guy, my Yaris gets plenty good enough. Especially compared to my last vehicle, a Ford Ranger.

Though I would like to get my average up, I think the lower mpg is due to winter blend fuel + colder temps combined with a lot of lower gear driving with the 4 speed auto. Plus, during spring, summer and fall, I always have a bike rack attached to my hitch, empty or loaded. Not much I can do about those factors.