Topic: State of Charge: Fuel economy restatement of six Ford models highlights folly of Energuide's 'Twilight Zone'

[Autos_Editor]

Much fuel economy mistakes, very Ford, such rebate, Wow!

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[tpl]

Looking at the numbers in the table I'd have to say that if I ran Ford I would not be giving any money to anyone.  The MKZ is the only one with really different numbers and even that is only 1L/100 km and I am 100% sure that that could be accounted for by different driving styles and the infamous   YMMV statement.

[redman]

"The largest refund in Canada will go to Lincoln MKZ Hybrid buyers..." Great news....that should make 11 Canadians happy   

[tooscoops]

meh... twilight zone for people who don't do homework... the cars get the same fuel usage they got last year... i've already had a bunch of people come in saying that "your cars are all going to get worse mileage next year"... nope.. they aren't. just the measurements will be different and more accurate.

when someone asks the fuel economy of cars, i show them the numbers and then explain the real world expectations. i wouldn't feel comfortable telling some guy to expect 4.8l/100 with his new dart, when i averaged 7.0l/100 during the 4 months i drove one...

[Noto]

i averaged 7.0l/100 during the 4 months i drove one...

  whoah - do you do nothing but drive 90km/h on the highways?!  I couldn't get anywhere near 7.0L/100km even on a 3-hr stint on the highway in a 2.0L Dart.

...but I digress (mostly just to at Tooscoops here).

It's better for Ford to follow suit with Kia, apologizing and giving these cash cards.  It keeps customers more loyal than saying "yeah, we lied/erred/whatever, deal with it."

[EV-Light]

meh... twilight zone for people who don't do homework... the cars get the same fuel usage they got last year... i've already had a bunch of people come in saying that "your cars are all going to get worse mileage next year"... nope.. they aren't. just the measurements will be different and more accurate.

when someone asks the fuel economy of cars, i show them the numbers and then explain the real world expectations. i wouldn't feel comfortable telling some guy to expect 4.8l/100 with his new dart, when i averaged 7.0l/100 during the 4 months i drove one...

7 sounds optimistic...Fuelly says the average is 8.1

[tooscoops]

that sounds about right for most darts... mine was manual with the 1.4 turbo, so the one they advertise at 4.9 or whatever... i steadily had it averaging 7.1, and actually had it down to 6.9 avg for the 6000km i drove it..

but yeah, my drive is pretty good... pretty flat, 90% highway and i tend to be a steady driver with no jerky start stop stuff...

[ArticSteve]

"The largest refund in Canada will go to Lincoln MKZ Hybrid buyers..." Great news....that should make 11 Canadians happy   

      

[dirtyjeffer]

7 sounds optimistic...Fuelly says the average is 8.1

Fuelly doesn't have a rating for my Rio5, but fueleconomy.gov has a rating of 7.6...just filled up on my way home tonight and my car was at 6.8...i think the testers in here often average around 8...i seriously have to wonder how they drive it to use that much fuel...i get the whole "give 'er" to test it acceleration, but i certainly don't drive in a manner to try to get the best fuel economy, and my driving is 90% city...oddly enough, when my wife drives my car, it's often 1L higher...she should be an auto reviewer.   

[Noto]

i seriously have to wonder how they drive it to use that much fuel...

My mother averaged 11L/100km in the Corolla.  'splain that.  I can't.  I tried flooring it repeatedly from every stop light over a 2km drive and only saw 9.6L/100km.

[EV-Light]

explain to me how can I get 12L/City in both of my cars...? one has 365hp, the other one has 170hp! LOL I don't know how to explain...

[mixmanmash]

I really think if one can master how the ECU reacts to your inputs, you can really get great fuel economy.  In my Odyssey for example, I know that it will shift up on gear if I get it above 55 and it won't drop out of that gear if you are going below ~47.  So on a 50 road, I'll get it up to 55 so that it shifts up.

Simple things like that really affect the economy.  I've adjusted my driving style and have gotten significant improvements on fuel economy.  No jack rabbit starts, if you see at a distance that the light has turned red or traffic is coming to a stop, ease off the accelerator pedal.

[tooscoops]

yeah... that's my new challenge as i get older.. it's not longer how fast can i go, or how quick can i get to 100.. it's how good can i get the fuel economy?

wrangler is at 11.8 currently. in a 285hp, mud tired, 3.73 rear end, no roof brick.

[X-Traction]

i seriously have to wonder how they drive it to use that much fuel...

My mother averaged 11L/100km in the Corolla.  'splain that.  I can't.  I tried flooring it repeatedly from every stop light over a 2km drive and only saw 9.6L/100km.

I've seen someone get 13mpg in circumstances with a car where I normally got 20. 

Some people continuously switch back and forth between the gas and brake pedals to adjust their speed, and some seem to have their brakes on most of the time.

[mixmanmash]

i seriously have to wonder how they drive it to use that much fuel...

My mother averaged 11L/100km in the Corolla.  'splain that.  I can't.  I tried flooring it repeatedly from every stop light over a 2km drive and only saw 9.6L/100km.

I've seen someone get 13mpg in circumstances with a car where I normally got 20. 

Some people continuously switch back and forth between the gas and brake pedals to adjust their speed, and some seem to have their brakes on most of the time.

This.

[tooscoops]

my ma-n-la, she hovers over the brake and two foots it... so she kills fuel (and her brakes)... but it's always the car's fault, not her own.

[dirtyjeffer]

i seriously have to wonder how they drive it to use that much fuel...

My mother averaged 11L/100km in the Corolla.  'splain that.  I can't.  I tried flooring it repeatedly from every stop light over a 2km drive and only saw 9.6L/100km.

Lots of idling?

i don't think so...it's just how they drive it...when my wife drives my car, my fuel economy is always in the 8s...she gives it fairly aggressive throttle off the line (which isn't too bad), but then doesn't seem to coast in traffic as much...i usually pick my speed (say, 65 km/hr) and keep it around there, which doesn't really require much in the way of throttle application to do so...she seems more about give 'er, then brake aggressively at the light...it isn't race car driving, or really annoying floor it starts and 4 wheel brake lock up stops...tough to explain perhaps, just more aggressive on the throttle and brakes than i am...i still accelerate nicely, but more smoothly up to speed, then more coasting...my last tank of gas was 6.8 and i don't drive to conserve fuel (per se), but you wouldn't be waiting behind me in traffic either...i'm pretty good at blending in with traffic quite well, so i'm not Jaques Villeneuve on the streets, but no granny either.

[JohnM]

All of the numbers quoted here seem like the Twilight Zone to me.  I just got back from a 500km round trip on low traffic, very hilly secondary roads and got 4.3 in the Prius.  Speeds 80 to 100km but this route really did favour the Prius.  And yes, I was making an effort.

Looking at the Ford initial and revised numbers, If I'd bought one, I'd have a fit.  Over the years, there have been so many cases of manufacturers rigging their test numbers it boggles the mind that it still happens.

Probably mid-level management under the gun to deliver or else.  A huge incentive to cheat.  But really this is an executive failure as they have demanded unrealistic results and they should have understood through their own engineering expertise that they couldn't be delivered.  Smacks of a promotion rather than an engineering based company.

Cheers,
John Meyer

[fstrdr]

Except that the combined fuel ratings, at least, are still a lie.  I rented a Fiesta 1.6L A/T for the week, and the best I was able to average on a HIGHWAY trip was 7.9L, so thanks, but no thanks.  My Audi A3 TDI (Diesel) averages 5.6 consistently.

[tooscoops]

that number seems crazy... 7.9? no good indeed.