Many readers have commented they get more mileage than sticker..

But also have read instances where they actually get below sticker MPG..

I'm planning to get a used Fit (07, 08, or 09) and was wondering if I get one of those, is there anyway Honda can remedy it or is it a lemon for life? I'd assume the probability of me getting one of the under-performing MPG ones will be higher in the used market, thanks.

 

I think you are mistaken.

I also think you need to find those cars that are "under-performing" and get more details about them. You might be missing out on details, such as where they are driven and how they are driven.

For example, I'll get just about 25 or so mpg while I work, doing deliveries. This is in a suburban area with plenty of stops but thankfully, not traffic jams. The more stops or traffic, and it'll easily get worse.

On the other hand, if I go out for a drive and not while working, I can easily pull 30 or more mpg... even 40 mpg if I'm far enough out in the burbs.

Having lived in San Diego for a couple of years, I can tell you one thing, my MPG would be higher in SD, since I would do much more highway driving there, than I am doing now in Chicago's burbs.

So, what I'm saying is... you boiling it down to "lemons" is way oversimplifying it.

 

I've gotten as little as 33 mpg on a tank of gas and as high as 44. For those who get far less mileage than suggested, I'd look at how hard and how fast you drive, your tires, and how aggressively you maneuver, as well as how much weight you carry in the car. I have been commuting up to 100 miles a day (thankfully only about 60 now!) and driving 75mph on the highway still nets me about 33 mpg. Now that I've slowed down again, I am right at 39 mpg (I'm no longer working hard at hypermiling). Avoid cold air intakes and other power mods for best gas mileage.

 

The EPA guidelines are based on a test of their idea of what an average driver would do.

The differences between individual drivers, as well as the influence of geographic areas, in defining "city" and "highway" are large.

City, depending on who is defining it, can include:

- Driving at a steady 45 mph through suburbia
- short freeway jaunts within the city
- low-traffic residential streets ~25-30 mph with a few 4-way stops tossed in.
- stop-go traffic.
- creeping urban traffic with more time spent stopped than moving.

Highway can be anything from:
- wide-open western interstate highways with 75-80 mph speed limits.
- 65 mph eastern freeways.
- 55 mph backroads
- mountain passes
- inter-urban expressways with occasional traffic jams.

Now toss in temperature differences, elevation changes, and differences in driving style, and you can easily see a wide spread of differences. I typically see a 3 mpg drop on my average if I'm commuting to work - a ~1 mile climb at 25 mph up the side of a small mountain kills my average. In the real world, my average ranges from 25 (lots of climbs up that hill/mountain, city traffic jams, the occasional drive-through, and hard acceleration to get up to speed on outdated on-ramps with short or nonexistent acceleration lanes) up to 39 (65-70 on mostly rural freeways with no A/C)

I used to try to impliment some hypermiling techniques when I had the Element, but honestly, if I'm getting over 25 mpg, who cares. The Fit is so cheap to maintain and operate that it's hard to find the motivation to punish myself while driving. The difference in annual fuel costs from 30 mpg average to 35 mpg average (assuming 12000 miles/year @$3.10/gallon) is less than $200 ($1240 vs $1062). It's not worthwhile to make a nuissance of myself on the roads.

 

Occam Good summation.

I would add a Rural/Suburban category as well.
Most of my daily driving isn't any where near city conditions as is common for many drivers today I would think. I don't have a stop and go day and my drives average about 30 miles a day.

EPA is hitting a gross definition of our driving habits and it leaves a lot to be desired. They've also redefined how they 'run the numbers' some how as well. The published numbers took a hit a year or two ago to make them more 'realistic' but they turn out being a bit conservative. Lower the standard to keep consumer expectations in line I guess...

Talk with the NYCBoy's and they're seeing MPG's in the 20's. Caught in a gridlock give you 0MPG no matter how efficient your ride is.


K_C_

 

if i'm doing all city driving i get around 23-24mpg...can't seem to get much better and sometimes worse. Lots of hills around here though

 

Hills kill the fits mileage worse than any vehicle I've ever owned.

 

I've gotten as low at 17 MPG on a tank of gas. I drove the sh*t out it for a week straight. I've gotten as high as 36 and average is about 30 MPG. So, it's all about how you drive. Personally, I'm not to worried about saving a few MPGs so I usually rev to 4500rpm or higher before shifting and I'm happy with what I get.

 

I'm thinking that it's all about driving technique. I'm rarely putting the gas pedal to the floor. I've learned to be light footed, even when I'm in a giddy-up hurry. 4500RPM is the sweet zone.

 

All of my driving is rural highway driving at a constant speed.

Mileage is affected mostly by speed. Above 65, look out. Headwinds, look out.

Remember: If you double the speed, you quadruple the drag.

Yesterday: 360 miles, 10.1 gallons, steady 65 mph with cruise and a/c on, two adults and light bags.

Cheers.

 

I've been getting under the city MPG for the last 2 fillups -- 23.5 mpg and 20.6 mpg -- but I'm not too concerned because that coincided with moving to a different area. Now I'm in suburban Philadelphia, where I have to contend with stop and go traffic and hills, LOTS of hills. I think hills will kill your mileage faster than anything else. Before, my average was around 33 mpg.

So I'm not entirely sure you could say under EPA mileage is the car's fault without taking into account the area you're driving in.

 

One more thing...

That @#$%&@#!!!! ethanol in the gasoline (don't tell all my neighbors who are growing the corn). Runs best on straight 87 octane.

Cheers.

 

Hmm the worst i have gotten is about 32.1 with 4 people in the car and AC blasting city. The best was 45mpg and this was with the GF driving on the highway. I have a 08 AT Sport. They get good MPG as long as u know how to drive. I mean even if i ramped on it with 4 people i will still get around 30mpg which i think is great for a fun non hybrid car thats sexy

 

I also don't believe some of the unusually high mpg averages reported here. Lots o' kiddies on this site who are more likely going to misrepresent their numbers for the "cool" factor- or they won't mention that they have removed weight.

 

Not sure what you mean by Unusually High Mileage, but there are some extreme hyper-milling techniques that will provide exceptional numbers. Not my style, but it is fun to see how softly you can drive a FIT.

I'm averaging 38MPG in my rural/suburban world.

Don't bash the kiddies_ I'm 63 and what I really love about my FIT is it's bringing "kiddie" out in me...

So what's your MPG???

K_C_

 

First tank got 38.3

Second tank got 35.6

This tank getting 37.5+

All three tanks were mixed city/road construction/highway, with A/C blasting. Not to bad for only rated at 30 mixed.

 

since the car is so slow in the summer time with the heat/humidity/ac running, i floor the car in every gear (not to redline, but to get the car going).

i doubt im making the advsertised mpg...

 

Certainly a person can better the mpgs listed on the sticker.

All I am saying is that this message board has a large set of "look at me folks", which is going to lend itself to more "fish tales" than reality. Do you really think everyone on here is telling the (full) truth about their mpg?

I haven't calculated my overall mpgs yet, but I would assume it is somewhere around 30 or 31 (stock 2010 MT). I have had tanks come in under 28, even though I am a conservative driver. My 5 mile, 16 stoplight/stopsign commute wrecks my mpgs.

 

That's been my experience. At most I have one trip a week that involves the interstate, the rest is all local roads. My mileage so far is mid to high 20s. Of course, when I'm cruising on the interstate, I can see the average mileage shoot up.

 

I immediately recognized the full potential of a hyrbid when I started paying attention to the fit's guage... being on electric only for the first dozen or so mph, would really help my mpg.