CD Article: 22008 CanadianDriver Fuel Economy Challenge

[Schmengie]

I am a car nut & have had a wide variety of performance, utility, and economy vehicles in the past 40 years.  My vehicles have range from Mustang GT & Dodge Grand Caravans to Honda Civics & Mazda GLC. I have always been able to beat U.S. EPA estimates utilizing a careful driving driving style without holding up traffic.

I applaud CD's efforts to demonstrate the real world fuel consumption differences between aggressive and  conservative driving styles  It is  unfortunate that you choose wintertime to do so as that adds a big layer of complexity - as you acknowledged.  I encourage you to do this more in the future, during more reasonable weather.   

We North Americans have had adequate warnings about the "energy crisis", starting in the 1974 with the 1st Arab oil embargo.  We can blame much of our current oil woes on ourselves for driving unnecessarily large, powerful vehicles in a careless manner for the last  It is our own dang fault & we still don't seem to be learning the obvious very well.  Our concerns about our immediate confort is going to result in signficant long term for all of us. 

  You hit the nail right on the head. I clearly remember the mad rush to small, economical cars during the oil embargoes of '73/74 and '79. You couldn't give away a big Chevy or Ford guzzler in those days, I recall seeing quite a few of them abandoned at the roadside with 'FREE' signs in the windows. Fast-forward to the '90's and you'd be hard-pressed to know the embargoes had even happened. It is now time to pay the piper, and it's no one's fault but OURS.

[Toyadiesel]

     I purchased a 2007 Nissan Altima last year to replace our 2003 Ford Windstar.  Primarily this was done because we put on a lot of miles each year and fuel costs were rising.  The Altima ratings were 6.3l/100km or 45 mpg on the highway.  They were 8.9l/100km or 32mpg in the city. 
     The only one (rating), that has proven to be true of the EPA ratings posted on the vehicle, is the city driving one.  My car now has 32,000 km`s on it, so it is definitely "broken in". 
     I have just returned from a trip to Thunder Bay, ON from Ponoka, AB.  I kept track of all fuel used.  With 2 adults and 2 children and our luggage, at 115-120km/hr in Alberta the car returned 36.68mpg.  At 112km/hr it returned 34.55mpg on more than one tank.  At 102km/hr in Ontario, it returned 34.68mpg on the way down and 36.82mpg on the way back.  Cruise control was used for the entire trip. 
     Nissan had asked me to track the performance, after I complained about the incorrect economy rating.  Most of this driving was done on divided highway, so there was no passing of other vehicles involved.  The highway ratings for this vehicle were based on a 16 minute trip with a top speed of 90km/hr and a low speed of 62km/hr with an average of 77km/hr.  The car is never even actually on the road!  This is done on a platform with only the front wheels turning!  Is this to be considered an accurate fuel economy test?  I think not.   

[wing]

Ummm that is how ALL the cars are tested.

And if you read the fine print -- the ratings are not what you get but they are to be used to have a comparison between vehicles.  You can compare vehicle A's ratings to vehicle B's ratings using these figures but neither will return these numbers.

Plus adding 2 kids 2 adults and extra luggage adds weight, of course you will get worse -- the only way to possibly get better is to have 1 person in the vehicle, and run it light (like 1/4 tank of fuel) and drive no faster than 90km/h

[philmcneal]

hm CA driver still doing this eh? You'd think they hired some hypermilers by now

[Juke1]

     I purchased a 2007 Nissan Altima last year to replace our 2003 Ford Windstar.  Primarily this was done because we put on a lot of miles each year and fuel costs were rising.  The Altima ratings were 6.3l/100km or 45 mpg on the highway.  They were 8.9l/100km or 32mpg in the city. 
     The only one (rating), that has proven to be true of the EPA ratings posted on the vehicle, is the city driving one.  My car now has 32,000 km`s on it, so it is definitely "broken in". 
     I have just returned from a trip to Thunder Bay, ON from Ponoka, AB.  I kept track of all fuel used.  With 2 adults and 2 children and our luggage, at 115-120km/hr in Alberta the car returned 36.68mpg.  At 112km/hr it returned 34.55mpg on more than one tank.  At 102km/hr in Ontario, it returned 34.68mpg on the way down and 36.82mpg on the way back.  Cruise control was used for the entire trip. 
     Nissan had asked me to track the performance, after I complained about the incorrect economy rating.  Most of this driving was done on divided highway, so there was no passing of other vehicles involved.  The highway ratings for this vehicle were based on a 16 minute trip with a top speed of 90km/hr and a low speed of 62km/hr with an average of 77km/hr.  The car is never even actually on the road!  This is done on a platform with only the front wheels turning!  Is this to be considered an accurate fuel economy test?  I think not.   

Well I just got myself an 08 Altima SL, to date my mileage is 38 mpg combined, I think this excellent and needless to say I'm tickled pink with this purchased.  BTW my speeds are 90kmh secondary roads and 115kmh divided highways + the villages and the city.

[Mitlov]

hm CA driver still doing this eh? You'd think they hired some hypermilers by now

Hypermiling: because we'd all be better off if everybody was watching their scangauges instead of the road.

[philmcneal]

hm CA driver still doing this eh? You'd think they hired some hypermilers by now

Hypermiling: because we'd all be better off if everybody was watching their scangauges instead of the road.

you'd think i'd get in trouble because of my scangauge or my prius muti function display, but hey with no collision insurance and having 25% discount at ICBC... I think hypermilers are not as prone as say... a person talking on the cell phone?

[airbalancer]

hm CA driver still doing this eh? You'd think they hired some hypermilers by now

Hypermiling: because we'd all be better off if everybody was watching their scangauges instead of the road.

you'd think i'd get in trouble because of my scangauge or my prius muti function display, but hey with no collision insurance and having 25% discount at ICBC... I think hypermilers are not as prone as say... a person talking on the cell phone?

I would say it more dangers talking to your kids(or taking care of) in the car while driving then talking on a cellphone