Real world mpg

[yojroz]

One very handy trick I've learned is to use the cruise control as much as possible.  It's unbelievable to me how much more efficiently the car drives itself at a constant speed than I do.  I don't have the Adaptive Cruise Control option but I've even learned to use the + and - in cruise control to speed up or down when possible.  I get much closer to my electric predicted miles when doing this...especially at high speeds.  I guess I tend to be on the gas more than I need to.

[pluggedin]

One very handy trick I've learned is to use the cruise control as much as possible.  It's unbelievable to me how much more efficiently the car drives itself at a constant speed than I do.  I don't have the Adaptive Cruise Control option but I've even learned to use the + and - in cruise control to speed up or down when possible.  I get much closer to my electric predicted miles when doing this...especially at high speeds.  I guess I tend to be on the gas more than I need to.

I agree with this. I do have adaptive and I find that even on streets with a 35 mph speed limit I will set the cruise control and the car will keep a safe distance from any cars in front of me and slow down or speed up as necessary. Cruise control does do a better job then I do.

[Peter Kiener]

I may have posted in the wrong place, sorry. See my comments as a reply under EV range

[MonkeyButt]

I picked up my Energi up about 2 weeks ago and since then I have put over 1700 miles on it. Around town the MPG will be hard to judge since you can charge at anytime. I have driven the car to both Las Vegas and Lake Havasu city from Orange County CA. For both trips I avg'd about 38.5 MPG. I think that is good for a mid size car. My prius plug-in avg'd about 46mpg for the same trips. The fusion is a MUCH better car than the Prius, so I will take the slight loss with a smile.

 

For commuting I drive to LA everyday from OC, so far with one charge in the morning and driving 100miles each day, I have avg'd about 52mpg, the prius was 58mpg.

[meyersnole]

I picked up my Energi up about 2 weeks ago and since then I have put over 1700 miles on it. Around town the MPG will be hard to judge since you can charge at anytime. I have driven the car to both Las Vegas and Lake Havasu city from Orange County CA. For both trips I avg'd about 38.5 MPG. I think that is good for a mid size car. My prius plug-in avg'd about 46mpg for the same trips. The fusion is a MUCH better car than the Prius, so I will take the slight loss with a smile.

 

For commuting I drive to LA everyday from OC, so far with one charge in the morning and driving 100miles each day, I have avg'd about 52mpg, the prius was 58mpg.

 

Welcome to the boards, Monkeybutt!

[pluggedin]

Welcome to the boards, Monkeybutt!

Ditto! Where in OC, MonkeyButt? I lived in Cowan Heights (Tustin) for awhile and in San Pedro before moving here. Also had a place in Parker, on the AZ side, two miles below the dam on the river.

Edited April 13, 2013 at 01:07 AM by pluggedin

[Energized]

I picked up my Energi up about 2 weeks ago and since then I have put over 1700 miles on it. Around town the MPG will be hard to judge since you can charge at anytime. I have driven the car to both Las Vegas and Lake Havasu city from Orange County CA. For both trips I avg'd about 38.5 MPG. I think that is good for a mid size car. My prius plug-in avg'd about 46mpg for the same trips. The fusion is a MUCH better car than the Prius, so I will take the slight loss with a smile.

 

For commuting I drive to LA everyday from OC, so far with one charge in the morning and driving 100miles each day, I have avg'd about 52mpg, the prius was 58mpg.

 

Welcome to the board.  Great numbers so far, especially for a car with an engine that hasn't broken in yet, although at the rate you're racking up miles, that won't take much time.

 

What speeds were you traveling on the trips to Vegas and the river?

[MonkeyButt]

Welcome to the board.  Great numbers so far, especially for a car with an engine that hasn't broken in yet, although at the rate you're racking up miles, that won't take much time.

 

What speeds were you traveling on the trips to Vegas and the river?

I had my eco cruise control set at 75 for both trips

[jeff_h]

 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!

 

A gun-toting conservative in Seattle?  Probably kinda lonely.

 

But I agree with you, when I hear the term "MPG" I want to know how many miles per gallon of gas I am getting.  There are probably a lot of variables involved in figuring out that MPGe thing and sure it's a valid figure that computes the electricity usage as well, but I'm not overly curious about that - though if some are and wanna obssess on it, go right ahead and dig in....

[rprobst]

Actually among the dedicated automotive ecologists, there's apparently a lot of controversy about MPGe. The EPA decided to invent MPGe instead of using the equivalent SAE definition (forget the number of it), and the consensus of the non-government engineers and scientists seems to be that MPGe is poorly defined. I'm no expert on this controversy, have just seen some of it from the outside.

[rbseem]

Hi everyone...brand new to the board.  I just picked up my Energi last week and so far I'm very happy with it.  My question is how is the cruise score calculated in the Fuel Efficiency Coach screen?  My acceleration and braking are rated nearly perfect, but cruise is extremely low.  I set the car to cruise immediately on the highway (most of my miles) and keep it between 70-73 mph.  I have adaptive cruise control, so I don't ever brake on the interstate.  I also keep cruise in ECO at all times.  Any ideas?

[Russael]

I'd have to guess that you're crusing too fast.  Most vehicles get their best fuel economy around 55-60MPH... the active grille shutters close at 62 I believe.  When I get mine (hopefully at the end of May), I'll probably drive it the same way I do all my other rides, at 65MPH.

[Energized]

Hi everyone...brand new to the board.  I just picked up my Energi last week and so far I'm very happy with it.  My question is how is the cruise score calculated in the Fuel Efficiency Coach screen?  My acceleration and braking are rated nearly perfect, but cruise is extremely low.  I set the car to cruise immediately on the highway (most of my miles) and keep it between 70-73 mph.  I have adaptive cruise control, so I don't ever brake on the interstate.  I also keep cruise in ECO at all times.  Any ideas?

 

From what I can tell the cruise score goes down based on speed.  I was cruising at 75+ and received a bad score.  I haven't checked but would expect a good score would be obtained with speeds in the low 60s, which allows for more frequent transitions into EV.

[jsamp]

 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!  

 

MPG is a false number if it includes the electric miles.  You are still putting something into the car to make it go, in this case it is electrons instead of gasoline.  It is still using energy to go, it is just getting that energy from a different source.  You just can't measure electrons in gallons.  MPGe is "one" way to account for that, though many argue that it is an inaccurate way.

 

Another way to look at it is that if your car ran on both gasoline and propane (or Hydrogen or whatever), yet you only counted how much gasoline you used to drive 100 miles and ignored the propane use you would look at the mileage and think you were doing great.  You can't ignore the propane.  The same is true for the electricity.  Getting a meaningful number from both gas and electricity is a difficult task and nobody can agree on a method to do that.  So the best we have at the moment is MPGe.

 

The 625 is not including any electricity at all, so it is a truly over-inflated number.  There should be a "total efficiency" number that combines the fuel and electricity for a true efficiency.  That would land somewhere between your 118 MPGe and 43 MPG (combined, rated by Ford). 

[bibolton]

I drive mostly in town so for five days of the week, I use no gas at all. On my weekend trips to our coast house (159 miles one way through hills) and two 45 mile trips to the dealer for a repair, I got about 48.9 mpg. If I combine all it comes out to 74.4 mpge. I am shooting for that 100.mpge and will let the group know if I ever hit it. I have a full battery today and will drive to the coast using EV Later mode because I have much local driving to do once I get there.

[Energized]

I received the following stats for a recent trip.

 

This was 90% highway averaging approx. 62mpg, with some sprints to 75mph mixed in.   Mild temps, vent mode for most of trip with some A/C at the tail end of the journey.

 

89 miles

51.6 EV miles

4.0 regen miles

71.4 mpg

1.2gal

 4.9 kWh

98% braking score

 

I left with a full charge and arrived with several miles still on the big battery

[rtshinn]

Excellent

[jberger]

MPG is a false number if it includes the electric miles.  You are still putting something into the car to make it go, in this case it is electrons instead of gasoline.  It is still using energy to go, it is just getting that energy from a different source.  You just can't measure electrons in gallons.  MPGe is "one" way to account for that, though many argue that it is an inaccurate way.

 

Another way to look at it is that if your car ran on both gasoline and propane (or Hydrogen or whatever), yet you only counted how much gasoline you used to drive 100 miles and ignored the propane use you would look at the mileage and think you were doing great.  You can't ignore the propane.  The same is true for the electricity.  Getting a meaningful number from both gas and electricity is a difficult task and nobody can agree on a method to do that.  So the best we have at the moment is MPGe.

 

The 625 is not including any electricity at all, so it is a truly over-inflated number.  There should be a "total efficiency" number that combines the fuel and electricity for a true efficiency.  That would land somewhere between your 118 MPGe and 43 MPG (combined, rated by Ford). 

 

Thanks for posting that, good explanation.  

 

Though MPG is still an accurate figure given the amount of gasoline usage per mile driven.  So I guess that can be argued too?

 

I find it astonishing that I am pacing to drive nearly 6,000 miles before I need to fill up.  Though "fuel freshness mode" will probably make sure that doesn't happen.

 

It has gotten to the point where I purposely do not charge at work anymore, just to burn some gas!

[pluggedin]

Thanks for posting that, good explanation.  

 

Though MPG is still an accurate figure given the amount of gasoline usage per mile driven.  So I guess that can be argued too?

 

I find it astonishing that I am pacing to drive nearly 6,000 miles before I need to fill up.  Though "fuel freshness mode" will probably make sure that doesn't happen.

 

It has gotten to the point where I purposely do not charge at work anymore, just to burn some gas!

6,000 miles on one tank of gas is just crazy! You are obviously someone whose driving habits this car was designed for. I would need to drive a second car, for freeway miles, to get the results you are getting.

[jberger]

6,000 miles on one tank of gas is just crazy! You are obviously someone whose driving habits this car was designed for. I would need to drive a second car, for freeway miles, to get the results you are getting.

 

I'm moving next week, and am going to have to take the freeway instead of side roads like I used to, so I won't be getting that type of performance anymore. =(

[Brad Schuck]

Although I had several issues with my Energi at first, the dealer "reset" (similar to a reboot?) my car and now things are starting to settle down. My commute is 100 miles per day. I start off with a full charge and run in EV Later for the first 24 miles because it's flat and the hybid gets better mileage on a long flat drive (about 50mpg). After droppping off my carpooler, I drive another 23 miles to work in the EV+ mode. When I get to work, I plug in to my Level 1 charger and recharge until lunch. The lunch trip is purely EV and takes up about 8 miles which I recharge before going home in the same modes. My average MPG right now over 1700 miles is an astonishing 97.6. This blows away the myth about the car not being viable for longer commutes. If you can charge at work or a nearby station, this is truly the car for the 100 mile commute. On the weekends, we charge with the level 2 and we use no gas at all for the entire weekend. So, based on the numbers, my commute mileage is around 83mpg and the weekend mileage is 999.9 MPGe.

For my money, the Energi far outweighs the Hybrid in both MPG and cost with all of the tax advantages and rebates.

[pluggedin]

Although I had several issues with my Energi at first, the dealer "reset" (similar to a reboot?) my car and now things are starting to settle down. My commute is 100 miles per day. I start off with a full charge and run in EV Later for the first 24 miles because it's flat and the hybid gets better mileage on a long flat drive (about 50mpg). After droppping off my carpooler, I drive another 23 miles to work in the EV+ mode. When I get to work, I plug in to my Level 1 charger and recharge until lunch. The lunch trip is purely EV and takes up about 8 miles which I recharge before going home in the same modes. My average MPG right now over 1700 miles is an astonishing 97.6. This blows away the myth about the car not being viable for longer commutes. If you can charge at work or a nearby station, this is truly the car for the 100 mile commute. On the weekends, we charge with the level 2 and we use no gas at all for the entire weekend. So, based on the numbers, my commute mileage is around 83mpg and the weekend mileage is 999.9 MPGe.

For my money, the Energi far outweighs the Hybrid in both MPG and cost with all of the tax advantages and rebates.

While it was distressing to see you having problems right out of the gate it is comforting to know there is a dealer out there that has the expertise to work on the Energi and actually fix the car. It's great to see your numbers improve so dramatically. Happy driving to you :shift: .

[doug]

We have only about 260 miles on ours but we are between 120 and 165 MPG now.  However, we drive mainly short city trips and recharge during the day so it's mostly battery for us. 

 

As far as MPGe vs MPG, it really depends on why you have a plug-in. 

 

For me, it's all about using less gas so MPG is all I care about.  Our power is nuclear based with zero emissions so I'm not worried about carbon from our electric supply.  In addition, even if it was from coal, we'd still have a lower carbon footprint on electricity than gas and it would be from an American made source that doesn't require imports like gas does.  I'm not really anti-oil.  I just believe burning up a limited resource in a 20% efficient combustion engine is not the best use of that resource.  Better to use our oil for industrial products and other high value uses.  If we are going to extract it, then using it to make lubricants and other products at least won't release GHGs.

[jsamp]

Although I had several issues with my Energi at first, the dealer "reset" (similar to a reboot?) my car and now things are starting to settle down. My commute is 100 miles per day. I start off with a full charge and run in EV Later for the first 24 miles because it's flat and the hybid gets better mileage on a long flat drive (about 50mpg). After droppping off my carpooler, I drive another 23 miles to work in the EV+ mode. When I get to work, I plug in to my Level 1 charger and recharge until lunch. The lunch trip is purely EV and takes up about 8 miles which I recharge before going home in the same modes. My average MPG right now over 1700 miles is an astonishing 97.6. This blows away the myth about the car not being viable for longer commutes. If you can charge at work or a nearby station, this is truly the car for the 100 mile commute. On the weekends, we charge with the level 2 and we use no gas at all for the entire weekend. So, based on the numbers, my commute mileage is around 83mpg and the weekend mileage is 999.9 MPGe.

For my money, the Energi far outweighs the Hybrid in both MPG and cost with all of the tax advantages and rebates.

Brad,

  Great to hear you are able to take such advantage of the Plug-in.  That's where this car really shines.  Unfortunately for me, it would be only one charge per day which would take forever to pay off the price premium for an Energi.

 

  On another note, you are not getting 999.9 MPGe.  The car can only get somewhere around 100-120 MPGe.  You aren't even getting 999.9 MPG though the computer tells you you are.  It is ignoring the amount of KWh that you are using and applying all the mileage to the gasoline. 

[pluggedin]

What screen do I need to view to see what my mpg's are, or what do I need to change? Since I changed everything to MPGe I don't seem to be able to see just mpg's.