Real world mpg

[rtshinn]

What are your experiences so far with actual mpg on the Ford Fusion Energi?

 

I bought a C-Max Energi, and I find the highway mpg particularly disappointing. It likely has to do with the small SUV profile, and I was considering trading up to a Fusion Energi if it was markedly better.

 

X-way mpg (longer 100 miles)

In town mpg

EV range

 

I realize that until the weather warms up, folks from the Southern states will get better results than those in the colder climates.

 

[yojroz]

I can't give you any long term data, but my Fusion has 140 miles on it and I have used exactly 1 gallon of gas.  

 

There's no chance I'm getting 21 miles on the charge though.  As a matter of fact when I unplug and get in the highest it's even told me I'd get is 18, but I'm not getting that either.  I'm probably averaging around 16 on the charge.  BUT what's interesting to me is that the 47 mpg after that which is being so heavily disputed I seem to be going way over.  My math and my car's instruments are saying I'm averaging around 54.  I have a 65 mile round trip to work and I can't charge at work.  In the one full day I've driven there and back I used around .5 gallon.  

 

I've been very impressed with the regen so far.  Especially since my commute is on an LA freeway.  The farther I go in the heavy traffic the more and more regen I'm getting.  I think I'm averaging 3 regen miles per 10 driving miles.  Not bad at all.  If I keep all driving patterns the same that (mathematically) works out to 1960 miles driven on one tank of gas in LA with a 65 mile commute.  I couldn't ask for more.  But we'll see how it is once I have 3000 miles on it and I can give some more long term data...

[meyersnole]

That is pretty impressive.

[howardbc]

Hi. I haven't even picked up my Fusion Energi yet but was wondering what the mileage might be. I read the owner's manual and learned that I'll have a 14-gallon gas tank. I also read that there will be a minimum 1000-mile break-in period and to not try to figure MPGes until 2000-3000 miles.

 

So, since the Fusion Energi is rated 108MPGe (and I know that is an estimate), and since the gas tank is 14 gallons, if I start with a full gas tank and recharge the batteries every night, is it possible that I could get 1500 miles on that one tank? I multiplied 14 x 108. I do mostly city-driving but occasionally some expressway. 

 

Let me know if I am way off base. Thanks.

 

Bobbie

[meyersnole]

Hi. I haven't even picked up my Fusion Energi yet but was wondering what the mileage might be. I read the owner's manual and learned that I'll have a 14-gallon gas tank. I also read that there will be a minimum 1000-mile break-in period and to not try to figure MPGes until 2000-3000 miles.

 

So, since the Fusion Energi is rated 108MPGe (and I know that is an estimate), and since the gas tank is 14 gallons, if I start with a full gas tank and recharge the batteries every night, is it possible that I could get 1500 miles on that one tank? I multiplied 14 x 108. I do mostly city-driving but occasionally some expressway. 

 

Let me know if I am way off base. Thanks.

 

Bobbie

 

 

This is not an easy question to answer. Your mileage will vary is very applicable here.

 

Most of the complaints about mileage and don't look at mileage until you break the car in are coming from the hybrid drivers. With the PHVE there are some of us here who have barely run our engines. I have 543 miles on the car already and have not burned 3 gallons of gas yet. Now to get that mileage I am really trying. Even if its 30 degrees outside, I am leaving the climate control off. Window fogs, I crack the sunroof. Using the eco cruise to get up to speed, etc.

 

There is a good topic on EV mileage you might want to check out here: http://www.fordfusionenergiforum.com/topic/630-ev-miles/

 

You should also read the topic in this section to learn about how to get the most out of your car.  In short though, if you take lots of short trips and can keep the ICE off then you will get very good MPGe ( I am currently over 130 ). If you try and drive this car like you would a gas powered car your mileage will suffer greatly.   There is a very good coach screen that will help you.

[meyersnole]

Hi. I haven't even picked up my Fusion Energi yet but was wondering what the mileage might be. I read the owner's manual and learned that I'll have a 14-gallon gas tank. I also read that there will be a minimum 1000-mile break-in period and to not try to figure MPGes until 2000-3000 miles.

 

So, since the Fusion Energi is rated 108MPGe (and I know that is an estimate), and since the gas tank is 14 gallons, if I start with a full gas tank and recharge the batteries every night, is it possible that I could get 1500 miles on that one tank? I multiplied 14 x 108. I do mostly city-driving but occasionally some expressway. 

 

Let me know if I am way off base. Thanks.

 

Bobbie

 

 

Should have read that second part... 108 is the electric only estimate (your first 21 miles) and I think that was revised down to 100.  If you look at your sticker I think you will see that after 21 miles you go into hybrid mode and they estimate 43. So Theoretically you have over 600 miles on a full tank with a full charge.

[Scooter80]

Meyersnole beat me to it.

 

 

You'll never get 1500 miles on one continuos trip, no. But if you're talking about shorter daily trips with equally regular charges, you could feasibly NEVER need to refuel. Though the vehicle's fuel freshened mode will eventually use the old fuel whether you want it to or not.

 

As far as the range one tank of gas and one full charge will get you, you'd need new math. By EPA estimates, you'll get 21 miles on just the full charge. Then you'll revert to the 47 mpg for the hybrid mode, using the Gas engine with the now depleted battery. Sooooo... (21 miles + 14gallons x 47mpg) 679 miles. Very approximate, and expect less range due to the empty-reserve of the fuel tank which requires you refill well before you get to the bottom of the tank. Climate control, outdoor temps, cargo, passengers, etc will all deplete this range capability too.

Edited March 31, 2013 at 03:30 AM by Scooter80

[Energized]

Meyersnole beat me to it.

You'll neve Then you'll revert to the 47 mpg for the hybrid mode, using the Gas engine with the now depleted battery. Sooooo... (21 miles + 14gallons x 47mpg) 679 miles. Very approximate, and expect less range due to the empty-reserve of the fuel tank which requires you refill well before you get to the bottom of the tank. Climate control, outdoor temps, cargo, passengers, etc will all deplete this range capability too.

 

The EPA rating is 41 highway, not 47

[rtshinn]

I'm mostly interested in what the fusion Energi mpg is in the real world on the expressway and at what speeds. The complicating factor i sthat the first 20'ish miles will probably be electric.

[Scooter80]

The EPA rating is 41 highway, not 47

 

Hhmmmm, both wrong I guess. I could swear it was 47, but alas, window sticker says 43. Sorry for the error. Revised range is a best-case 623 miles.

 

Did these MPGs get revised by the EPA in the last month or so?

[rprobst]

I took delivery of my Energi at 150 miles, because my dealer got it from another dealer and had to drive it down from 120 miles away, plus it had been driven 30 miles at the factory for quality testing. The lifetime average when I took delivery was 25 mpg.

 

Now I have put a whole 'nother 50 miles on it, mostly on battery, and the lifetime average is up to 31 mpg.

 

So it seems to me that the dealer employee who drove it down from Sacramento to Sunyvale must have pushed it pretty hard.

 

 

[Energized]

Hhmmmm, both wrong I guess. I could swear it was 47, but alas, window sticker says 43. Sorry for the error. Revised range is a best-case 623 miles. Did these MPGs get revised by the EPA in the last month or so?

 

The EPA highway mileage I quoted is correct. 

 

The 43 on the window sticker is for combined mileage, not highway.

Edited April 2, 2013 at 02:13 AM by Energized

[pluggedin]

I took delivery of my Energi at 150 miles, because my dealer got it from another dealer and had to drive it down from 120 miles away, plus it had been driven 30 miles at the factory for quality testing. The lifetime average when I took delivery was 25 mpg. Now I have put a whole 'nother 50 miles on it, mostly on battery, and the lifetime average is up to 31 mpg. So it seems to me that the dealer employee who drove it down from Sacramento to Sunyvale must have pushed it pretty hard.

Is your car giving you your mpge's when you turn it off?

[Scooter80]

The EPA highway mileage I quoted is correct. 

 

The 43 on the window sticker is for combined mileage, not highway.

 

Well without arguing semantics, I believe combined would be a more accurate estimate in her case with her mostly city driving, but some expressway, but anywho.

 

Where did you find the estimated highway mpg?

[pluggedin]

I took a 20.6 mile trip today and at the half way point my trip 1 showed my mpge was 150.1. When I got home it was 144.3 with no gas usage at all. It was over 80 degrees while I was driving so I ran the AC both ways and I had miles left on the battery gauge. I didn't take note of how many but I thought it said 3...could have been one though.

 

Every once in a while I will show a charge of 25 miles when I unplug but it drops pretty quickly and before I have gone a mile will lose a couple of miles.

 

My trip today was on side roads, no freeway miles. Speed kills...the battery. But, my top speed was 55 mph with an average of around 35 mph and I hardly ever had to hit my brakes going but did have to stop a couple of times on the way home because I took a different route home. I used eco cruise when possible. Needless to say, I was very surprised when I looked at Trip 1 but extremely pleased.

 

My lifetime mpge's are 117.4 with 190.9 miles driven.

 

Most of my driving (around 80%) will be under 21 miles but when I do have to make those 60-70 mile round trips into Tucson or down to Mexico my mpge's will suffer greatly.

Edited April 2, 2013 at 05:52 PM by pluggedin

[meyersnole]

Honestly all these EPA numbers are hard to manage. From what I can tell, the mileage will vary wildly depending on how you drive it.

 

I wrote about this in another post, but if you plan to drive long distances on the highway, then you are probably better off not lugging the giant battery around and just get the hybrid. We talked about this in the Decisions, decisions thread http://www.fordfusionenergiforum.com/topic/513-decisions-decisions/?p=1053

 

I think the that the EPA is 108 for city driving all electric, but my lifetime is currently sitting at 138.2 (471 ev miles out of 565)... so what exactly does that mean? I had to work really hard to get that number, and I know that you could get really poor mileage if you don't mind the braking, accelerate hard, crank the AC, and travel at high rates of speed. But most of these behaviors will mess up the EPA rating of a Honda Civic as well. 

 

The window sticker says 100 and 43 though, and driven reasonably that is probably achievable.   

 

I made a simple spreadsheet calc that has the following cells

 

 

Total miles

electric

gas

 

I set the electric to 21 miles and have a cell that defines that at 100 mpge

then I enter the number of gas miles, calculate that at 43 miles.

then the total miles at the top is the combined mileage, with the avg being calculated [ =((B4/B3)*C4)+(B5/B3)*C5 ]

 

B3=total miles

B4=electric miles

B5=gas miles

C4=electric epa estimate

C5=gas epa estimate

 

I did this just to guess at what I would get at various miles driven to see how close I am to the epa avg... especially with all the whining going on. So far I am exceeding the projections... but in most cases I am driving mostly EV miles. In May I think I will take my first road trip. That will be interesting. I think the trip is right at about 500 miles, so I should be able to make that on a single tank! (Unless driving 75mph gives me horrible fuel econ)

 

Some interesting data points.

 

By the calculator, if you drive 100 miles you should achieve 54.97 mpge.

Your break even on Hybrid and PHEV is 300 miles at 46.99 mpge

[rprobst]

Is your car giving you your mpge's when you turn it off?

 

Yes, I set it to that option.

[Energized]

Well without arguing semantics, I believe combined would be a more accurate estimate in her case with her mostly city driving, but some expressway, but anywho. Where did you find the estimated highway mpg?

 

The sticker clearly states "43 MPG combined city/highway."  The EPA rating for Highway only is 41 mpg.

[Scooter80]

The sticker clearly states "43 MPG combined city/highway."  The EPA rating for Highway only is 41 mpg.

 

Yup, clear on the sticker. Got it. 43 combined. Combined. Not highway. Yup. Got it. Consider me schooled if you like. I was asking if you had any insight as to where you found the highway number of 41 you're quoting.

[TX NRG]

.... any insight as to where you found the highway number of 41 you're quoting.

 

http://www.ford.com/cars/fusion/trim/titaniumenergi/

[Scooter80]

http://www.ford.com/cars/fusion/trim/titaniumenergi/

 

TY

[rtshinn]

41 hwy would be excellent.

I would still like to see what someone gets on the Xway at about 75 mph on a long trip. I know, lots of variables.

[jberger]

 I have 250 miles on my car, I show 118 MPGe and 625 MPG.  

 

I gotta bring this up, because it seems valid to me:  What is the point of MPGe?  I really don't care what the carbon footprint used from plugging it in vs gas usage equivalent is.  I care what my MPG's are, and that number is amazing on this car!  I'll probably go 4-6k miles before a fill up, how is that not relevant? I just think MPG is a much more relevant number to talk about.  I understand it is costing $ per kwh to plug it in, and there is a carbon footprint usage to that, and the EPA certainly found it relevant to use the equivalent.  I just don't really find it important.

 

Sorry, had to rant a little about it.  I'm a gun toting conservative driving a plug in hybrid, I can't help it!

[pluggedin]

 I have 250 miles on my car, I show 118 MPGe and 625 MPG.  

 

I gotta bring this up, because it seems valid to me:  What is the point of MPGe?  I really don't care what the carbon footprint used from plugging it in vs gas usage equivalent is.  I care what my MPG's are, and that number is amazing on this car!  I'll probably go 4-6k miles before a fill up, how is that not relevant? I just think MPG is a much more relevant number to talk about.  I understand it is costing $ per kwh to plug it in, and there is a carbon footprint usage to that, and the EPA certainly found it relevant to use the equivalent.  I just don't really find it important.

 

Sorry, had to rant a little about it.  I'm a gun toting conservative driving a plug in hybrid, I can't help it!

Your numbers really are amazing. Like most of us, I am paying more attention to my MPGe's then I am to my MPG's. I have had my MPGe's as high as 130 but the moment I head onto an on ramp to the freeway they begin to fall and have been as low as 85. I will have to look at my MPG's but I am certain they are not as high as yours are.

 

Your car must not have seen a freeway yet and you must be charging at home and at work so you are almost always in EV. Right? I don't think anyone that travels the freeway at 70+ MPH for any distance at all will achieve your MPG's. Do you?

[jberger]

There is no way to achieve those numbers with taking the highway.  I drove 20 miles last monday (40 miles round trip) to go play some golf, got about 38 MPG on that trip.  My MPG dropped from the 999.99 it was at down to 285, so I can see how highway driving is a killer for this car.  

 

I have taken short trips on the highway, maybe 5-10 miles and they were achieved on all EV.  I have run out of EV miles within 2-3 miles of my home, and due to EV+ mode they ICE maybe ran for less that a 1/4 mile.

 

So, yeah, I know I wont get this type of performance if I drove further.