41.88 mpg on my first driving tank--trip that is 80-20 highway-city.

I hate to even write that down and jinx myself.

 

I've posted quite a bit on the gas mileage issue on this forum with my AT sport fit. Overall, during the first few months, I was getting about 30-31 mpg city AND highway. A few times on some out of town trips, I was getting close to 37 mpg. But it would never be consistent. I've learned that the Fit is indeed a strange anomaly of a car, with mileage all over the board. Even though my engine is broken in with over 7000 miles on the speedometer, it's still reporting weird inconsistent mileage readings. With the onset of the fall-winter months, along with the cold weather, my overall mileage dropped to 29 mpg, which is strange, since I don't roll down the windows and I don't use the AC. I honestly thought mileage would get better with the winter months, but it appears that it's not the case--it's actually getting worse! Today, my mileage at the gas station was only 28 mpg, which is really disappointing. I hope it doesn't worsen from this point on. Don't get me wrong: I love driving this Fit and everything about it, but if I could roll back time, I might think twice about buying it again. I bought this car in order to save money on gas, and it's simply not cutting it. As a Toyota driver from day one, I should have stayed loyal with them, knowing what I know now. I wish I knew how to drive a manual transmission, because after reading about the fantastic gas mileage MT Fit owners are getting, I am simply green with envy, and pissed about the poor mileage with my AT Fit!

 

I agree that the disparity between the MT and AT real world milage is a lot bigger than we all were led to believe.

But the real world milage of the AT Yaris is only slightly better than the Fit, according the the Consumer Reports tests. I think the EPA has to take a lot of the blame for doing their tests under such idealistic conditions. I'll be real curious to see how the numbers change when the implement their new testing standards (this year??)

AFAIK, the AT in the Fit is brand new and not in any of the other Fits/Jazzes sold worldwide. Maybe Honda needs some time to work out the kinks to make it more efficient. It still mystifies me that they didn't bring over the CVT for the Fit instead of designing a new traditional AT just for North America. Seems like a step backwards to me. If the CVT were available here, I may well have gotten that instead of the MT that I have (but I am very happy with my MT..).

PS - Driving an MT is not hard, it just takes some practice. It can be a pain if you're stuck in city traffic a lot and/or live in a very hilly city such as SF, but all the motions eventually come naturally, just as putting on turn signals before you turn is....

I find it harder to drive an AT now, because I have to actively remember NOT to shift, but I realize that MT is just not some folks cup of tea....

 

My second tank, 28 mpg. I jinxed myself.

Will we get better gas mileage if we use our AT's with the MT mode?

 

I thought the A/T was straight from the '01-'05 Civic.

A/T Yaris only slightly better? From Fuel Economy dot Gov

Yaris M/T 36.3
Fit M/T 34.9
Yaris A/T 34.6 <- them
FIT A/T 29.0 *
FIT A/T Sport 28.9 <- us
Versa CVT 27.7

According to that data, Yaris would be 19.7% mpg friendlier. The M/Ts are much closer though. Somehow the A/T unit in the Fit is leaving something to be desired, or the air/fuel mapping was changed, or goodness knows what.

* This one has only 5 entries, and I threw out the one claiming 43.0 with just 1 data entry.

 

The 2008 MPG calculation will indeed be changing away from an overly optimistic world (sorry Ford/GM/Truck owners).

Inside Line: EPA: New MPG Calculation, Sticker Coming for 2008 -


However, as stated in the article below from the house committee on Science and Technology, it wont make a lick of difference in forcing manufacturers towards more fuel effecient vehicles as the DOT does not recognize that perhaps things have changed since 1984.

House Committee on Science

I have yet to find specific details of what changes have been made, and the expected result. If you have this information, please post it.

-Ryan

 

I was talking about the Consumer Reports road tests of cars from their 12/06 issue. I've found them to come up with pretty good real world numbers over the years - they don't disclose exactly what their test methods are, though.....

They tested both AT and MT versions of both the Fit and Yaris as follows:
Fit base: AT
Fit sport: MT
Yaris hatchback: MT
Yaris sedan: AT

I don't know how much difference the using a Yaris sedan vs: hatchback made for the test, but the Fit AT base clocked in on their tests as 22/43 city/highway, and the Yaris AT sedan at 23/44.

There were a couple of other differences between the 2 yaris's they tested, one had ABS, one had side air bags (can't remember if they were in the same car). I can't remember if either/both of these were in the AT or not, but I don't think either way that would make much difference.

I didn't look up the Fit MT again, but I think it rated at 26/39, so better in the city and not as good on the freeway as the AT, but all still well below EPA in the city.....

 

I seem to remember reading something about this, but can't recall exactly. Even if true, AFAIK it hasn't been mated to the current Fit engine, so maybe that's part of the issue.

 

Geez, I got 25 with the A/C on in CA heat with crappy gas, what'd they do go to SF and drive uphill all day?

And 43, I'd love to get 36-37 consistently at least. Did they have the Yaris behind it helping it along?

I got 37mph at 55 mph *drafting* behind a semi truck! 43, hell I'd have to throw a rope over his bumper and turn the motor off!

From that article you linked:
"by including factors such as high speeds, aggressive accelerations, air-conditioning use and driving in cold temperatures"

I remember reading that the new testing method still doesn't take wind-resistance into account! (ie, still on the rollers?) Ford must love that one.

 

I've been keeping a record with every fillup for the past 3 months and my average with the AT Sport is about 30 mpg. The best I've been able to do is 32. Since the Fit has such a small tank, and I have a long commute to work (mixed highway & stop & go), I'm filling up every 3 days, so I have a pretty good idea of what affects the fuel economy. I saw an improvement at the end of the holidays, when I was commuting but the traffic was light. I was able to set my cruise control and maintain a steady speed. The Fit also did better when I wasn't car pooling -- I went a different route with less stop & go, plus I didn't have a passenger (he's a big guy). The worst results were around 27-28 mpg, mainly when I was either speeding to get where I was going, or getting stuck in heavy traffic, and the best 31-32 when I had more control over the traffic situation and could drive at a steady pace. That really isn't much difference, though, overall. I would like to get better than an average of 30 mpg. My Accord wagon, when relatively new, did about 32 mpg. I think that zippy little tranny and the fun of driving the Fit (love leaving knots of slow traffic behind whenever I can) has more to do with burning gas than anything else.

 

it has been about 3 weeks since i got my fit s. auto..therefore i can't say much.. but..in real world driving .. fit s auto should get.. around 30mpg for mixed hwy/local driving....sometimes little less sometime little more ...depends on lots of factors...

 

Here's my stats from Apr 30th, 2006 to Jan 20th, 2007

13,932.8 miles / 434.667 gallons = 32.0540 mpg (usa)

Am I the only one with 6-digit accuracy?

 

Fit Base Auto Milano Red

I'm disappointed that I only got 26 mpg on my first 1/2 tank. I have gone less than 300 miles, so I'm hoping it gets better with break in.

I drive pretty slow, usually at or under the speed limit, since the cops in my town will tag me for doing any more than 5 mph over the speed limit.

I use D3 for climbing and descending steep hills, to provide engine breaking.

Peeled out from a stop once--I think I'm accellerating slowly, but I guess not slow enough.

I also used D3 a few times to keep me from going over the speed limit around town but maybe that's why the gas mileage was poor. Perhaps I need to let it go into 4th gear to get the best gas mileage.

Do 60% city, 40% highway driving. Highway was a little fast at first, until I learned to cool it. It was so easy to do 80 mph, I didn't realize I was going that fast.

 

ok i got 2 fit at the same time one for me and the wife. the 2 of them are not Fit Sport thay are Fit Base Auto gas in her fit is 41 mpg she go the speed me i got on the parkway and hit 65 to 100 and get 31 mpg sometime 26 my truck and her van in 30 days was $325.00 in gas now on the 2 it $130.00 for 30 days so i am real happy with my fit and she love her fit her frist new car. so it true it how you drive the car when i got mine i baby it and seen over 425 on a tank of gas. then that it not a baby i run it hard it go to the shop for all it needs thay told me the car run 100% if you guy want to go fast you gas will not be good. i am just not happy i did not get the Sport fit there was not one in 100 miles i am adding to the fit now so it look like one.

 

You know, if you could swap cars for a tank, it might settle some of the 'car vs driving' arguments.

 

Tank 17 = 35.004mpg
Tank 18 = 32.303
Tank 19 = 33.502
Tank 20 = 31.276 (new all-time low)

A slight decrease in mileage that I will blame on the weather which is now snowing and cold.

33.640mpg thru 5696 miles.

-troy

 

adding my 2 cents to the big picture:
driving in suburb roads with mostly 40-45 Mph limit so acceleration/braking are to/from slightly higher speeds then city with longer straights. i do try to roll as much as i can to avoid full stop and since i ride motorcycle as my fun vehicle i think i'm kinda good at that (i hate to get my feet of the pegs (when i ride with friends we constantly play the game of who puts his feet down last. fun and skill building at the same time ). i do spend some time in stop and go also. together with very cold weather i came to 25.something MPG. not to bad

we also made a very spirited run to wisconsin dells. i was doing 80-90 most of the way( unless semis started to pass eachother or the radar detector became active) and at one very long bit downhillish stretch broke 100mph. the ride was fun and running that not really economical pace added up to 30.something mpg - also not to bad

 

Just to throw in my two cents as well, I am fed up with my Fit. I bought this car primarily for the milage. I was looking for a new car and found this to be perfect based on stats. I drove it and loved it. Now, the more I drive it, the worse the milage gets. It started in the low 30's; best tank was 35 mpg 300 mile trip non-stop. Now, 80/20 highway/city yeilds 26 mpg average. Nothing helps. I've tried everything. I dont speed, I dont accel quick, I let it warm for a few mins as is recommended, and nothing helps. One thing that I am sure that doesnt help is that I have to run the defroster constantly which in turn runs the a/c. I have read many places that the a/c shouldn't run below 40 F, if the a/c isn't truly on, then why does the accessory fan cycle on and off? Anyway, I think that I will trade the Fit in for something else before too long. I need to do some research on something a little bigger. Thanks for listening to me rant.

 

well the milage wasn't the main goal for me when choosing this car. i really like it in general. sure there are some minor things that bother me but over all it is an awesome car. the mpg is still better then anything else outside of hybrids. maybe a hybrid car will suit you better?

 

I dont think it would take a hybrid to get better than 26 mpg on the highway. I get about 26-28 mpg on the highway with my Olds Alero with a 3.4 liter v6. I have gotten low thirties on longer trips (33 mpg on a 550 mile trip). What does that tell me? That a car that is almost 800 lbs heavier with an engine more that twice the Fit's can get better mpg, then either it is my car, or something is very inefficient on the fit auto.