Question Of The Day: Your Mileage Will Vary
Question: Last June, I bought a new Toyota Camry Hybrid for its advertised fuel economy--40city/38hwy mpg's; however, the car gets between 24-28 mpg's. The service manager at the dealer said the car was fine and that my driving, the weather and other variables applied to diminish fuel efficiency. Do I believe him?
Answer: The dealer was being truthful when it was stated that your actual mileage will vary. According to the EPA, your mileage will be influenced by many factors including:
- How & Where You Drive
- Vehicle Condition & Maintenance
- Fuel Variations
- Vehicle Variations
- Engine Break-In
Because of this, the fuel economy ratings are a valuable tool in comparing the relative fuel economy between vehicles, but it may not be a perfect predictor of your own fuel economy. Here is a link to some tips, provided by the EPA that will help you maximize your mileage: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml
In addition, here are some articles that discuss how you can get the most miles out of your (increasingly expensive) gallon of gas:
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/103164/article.html
http://66.160.188.111/strategies/436
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/articles/105528/article.html
- Posted by
- Lee Scott January 17, 2008, 6:35 AM
- Permalink
- Categories:
- Buying New Cars, Driving, Fuel Economy, Tip of the Day
I agree with some varation. But yours seems HUGE.
if the car is to get 40mpg in the city. A 24mpg is a 40% drop. at 28 is a 30% drop.
THATS HUGE. The picture you so, has a varation range of about 17%. yours is double
I agree that your observed mpg is significantly lower than the estimate. Evem the non-hybrid, four cylinder Camry should be in the range of 24-28.
Was the 24-28 mpg result calculated by measuring the miles driven on a certain amount of gas or by reading a built-in mpg meter in the car? My car has an mpg meter and the numbers fluctuate greatly, moment by moment, depending on if I'm accelerating or cruising.
Just so you are aware, this is not my vehicle. It was a question I received via e-mail from an Edmunds user.
delawaredude asks a good question: how did this person come up with her 24-28 mpg reading? In my experience people are not very good at measuring and reporting fuel economy. It might have once gotten this low but it's hard to imagine it getting this bad all the time. But then again, it's hard to imagine what bad drivers some people are. The answer to this question lies in a combination of all these factors.
several publications have tested the Camry Hybrid and they average around 31-33 mpg. so 24-28 is pretty bad for a normal driver
Lee then I geuss that hybrid owner is getting a run around.
i'd be ticked off if I paid my 3 grand more for the hybrid, and not get better millage then the 4 cylidner.
Edmunds out to also write back to the person and send him these URLs:
http://priuschat.com/forums/fuel-economy/14701-new-owner-want-mpg-help-read-first.html http://priuschat.com/forums/knowledge-base-articles-discussion/37214-why-don-t-i-get-epa-mileage.html.
Many of the tips should apply to the "HyCam". It seems pretty clear the user is unaware of how the EPA tests are conducted and that he's also quoting the old (wildly inaccurate) EPA method numbers. By the MY 08+ method, the HyCam is now rated 33 city/34 highway instead of 40 city/38 highway.
28 city mpg is also exactly what Consumer Reports got when they tested the HyCam at http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/new-cars/buying-advice/most-fuelefficient-cars-206/. It also makes it the 3rd most efficient (currently available) vehicle they've tested. FWIW, their city test must be pretty harsh because a 06 Honda Civic EX auto rated at 30/40 (pre-08 MY method) achieved only *18* city and 43 highway.
cwerdna: I will pass that along, thanks!
opfreak - I think you misunderstand the EPA fuel economy tests, esp. the ones for pre-MY 08 cars. A car is NOT necessarily SUPPOSED to get either the EPA city nor the highway numbers when driven on a real road w/real conditions. Read the PDF mentioned at http://priuschat.com/forums/knowledge-base-articles-discussion/37214-why-don-t-i-get-epa-mileage.html and also look at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml and http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml.
The 40/38 quoted by the letter writer are the old method ratings. http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=435406 mentions they found shortfalls in 90% of the vehicles they tested.
For pre-MY 08 vehicles, only the city and highway test are run on a dyno and according to the very specific schedule and procedure and the amount of fuel used isn't even measured. Afterwards, the figures are adjusted downwards 10% for city and 22% for highway before they got on the window sticker. For MY 08+, they've added tougher tests.
opfreak - Sorry one more post. "i'd be ticked off if I paid my 3 grand more for the hybrid, and not get better millage then the 4 cylidne" is quite a misrepresentation.
Per my above link http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/new-cars/buying-advice/most-fuelefficient-cars-206/, CR got 28/41, 34 overall w/the Camry Hybrid and is again the 3rd most efficient (current) vehicle they've tested.
They also tested the 07 4 cylinder Camry and got 16/36, 24 overall. The HyCam is clearly MUCH better.