Topic: CanadianDriver's New Car Buyer's Guide 2005 - economy figures

[stodge]

Is it just me, or do these figures appear to be drastically better than most other site? I mean the Ford Five Hundred is listed as 25mpg (city) 38mpg (highway), whereas every other site gives figures of roughly 21/29.

[si]

I don't think you should lose sleep over this. People tend not to achieve figures anywhere near those posted anyway.

[stodge]

I'm not losing sleep - it's just that the figures are so different to everyone else's.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[AVToller]

Is it just me, or do these figures appear to be drastically better than most other site? I mean the Ford Five Hundred is listed as 25mpg (city) 38mpg (highway), whereas every other site gives figures of roughly 21/29.

Are those "other sites" by any chance American? That would explain the difference as our gallon is almost 20% larger. 

[Bullet Blue]

There are many different ways that gas milage can be affected. Anywhere from the type of oil you use, the air filter, the amount of weight in the car and so on.... if you really needed an exact number, try the website of the manufacturer and see what numbers they come up with. i.e go to ford's website if you need numbers for the 500.

[wing]

Yes, those are most probably canadian gallons.

[paulk]

They're regular American gallons.

CD is using the EnerGuide mileage numbers measured by Canada's NRC, not the EPA mileage numbers.  The EnerGuide measurement system seems to produce higher estimates, especially for highway driving.  If you look at the "50 Litre Challenge" results, it's probably fair to say that the EnerGuide numbers are more accurate for real-world highway driving than the lower EPA numbers.  For city driving, I think the EPA numbers tend to be more accurate.