So I just refueled my Ford...

[TraumaRN]

I posted awhile back about how I got my new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid...and a couple people asked that I update with how my fuel economy is and such. Well as promised here is an update and a big one for me.

I just refueled on Saturday afternoon. For the tank of gas I drive 832.3 miles. I refueled with 16.60 gallons of gas. Which equals out to 50.138MPG. In a mid-size sedan just looks like a normal car save for the small hybrid badge of the rear and drivers door panel.

I must say I'm hugely impressed with the car. And before anyone asks, yes I hypermile my car but I don't do anything I consider overtly dangerous. I accelerate smoothly and slowly, I pulse and glide, I drive the speed limit or just a tick under it. I keep the car in electric vehicle mode as long as I can. I use cruise control whenever I can especially on the highway.

And heck as of right now I stand to blast past the 832 miles I got previously. Right now my car is telling me I have 730 miles to empty and I've already driven 143 miles. I might be able to break 900 miles on a tank. I say that because my four drives since I refueled I've averaged 58.6mpg.

Quite the awesome car.

 

[dug777]

I was given to understand that not using cruise is more efficent than using it, at least if you know what you are trying to achieve (ie. maximising fuel consumption, not maintaining exactly the same speed up hill and down dale)?

Anyway, most impressive

Is the Fusion what we get as a Mondeo?

 

[thedarkwolf]

very impressive

 

[ballmode]

I want one

 

[sindows]

Originally posted by: dug777
I was given to understand that not using cruise is more efficent than using it, at least if you know what you are trying to achieve (ie. maximising fuel consumption, not maintaining exactly the same speed up hill and down dale)?

Anyway, most impressive

Is the Fusion what we get as a Mondeo?

Nope, completely different vehicle, completely different chassis. There are rumors that the next gen Ford Fusion will share bits and pieces of the Mondeo but I highly doubt it. The Mondeo platform is just too expensive to use for the Fusion price range.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: dug777
I was given to understand that not using cruise is more efficent than using it, at least if you know what you are trying to achieve (ie. maximising fuel consumption, not maintaining exactly the same speed up hill and down dale)?

Anyway, most impressive

Is the Fusion what we get as a Mondeo?

all depends on the response characteristics of your cruise control system. mine happens to be a bit of a leadfoot, and really likes keeping speed, so if i drop more than a few MPH on a hill or something, it will put the gas down very far. then again, my 5th gear is rather tall (80 mph @ 3k rpm on a 4cyl )

 

[Thump553]

Extremely impressive. My wife gets about 47-48 mpg in her Prius, probably 70% highway driving (bad for mileage in a hybrid). No hypermiling on her part at all, except I have the tires inflated two pounds over the standard, and extremely normal US driver type driving (not smooth, accelerate too hard, etc.).

What does an average/low end equipped Fusion set you back?

 

[thescreensavers]

op you accelerating with cruise control also? you should do it also. Not dangerous just stay in the right lane till you you pick up speed. And keep adjusting the speed if the car in front of you slows.

 

[Jumpem]

I wish they would make an AWD wagon variant.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

all depends on the response characteristics of your cruise control system. mine happens to be a bit of a leadfoot, and really likes keeping speed, so if i drop more than a few MPH on a hill or something, it will put the gas down very far. then again, my 5th gear is rather tall (80 mph @ 3k rpm on a 4cyl )

due to aggressive fuel cutoff i think that short pulse and glide could be more efficient than cruise

 

[halik]

Very impressive, though for me it's still more financial sound to drive an 8 year old audi that gets 22-24mpg. The incremental cost of a new car + hybrid premium+ high insurance premium is far more than 100% improvement in gas milage.

 

[TraumaRN]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

all depends on the response characteristics of your cruise control system. mine happens to be a bit of a leadfoot, and really likes keeping speed, so if i drop more than a few MPH on a hill or something, it will put the gas down very far. then again, my 5th gear is rather tall (80 mph @ 3k rpm on a 4cyl )

due to aggressive fuel cutoff i think that short pulse and glide could be more efficient than cruise

I mix my cruise control use. It depends on road conditions, how hilly it is, traffic conditions etc...Safe to say I use a mix of both pulse and glide, and cruise control to achieve my numbers.

And for my driving today I'm at 57.1mpg combined for all my trips. Gone 167miles on the tank and the car is telling me I'm 698 miles to empty.

 

[TraumaRN]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: dug777
I was given to understand that not using cruise is more efficent than using it, at least if you know what you are trying to achieve (ie. maximising fuel consumption, not maintaining exactly the same speed up hill and down dale)?

Anyway, most impressive

Is the Fusion what we get as a Mondeo?

all depends on the response characteristics of your cruise control system. mine happens to be a bit of a leadfoot, and really likes keeping speed, so if i drop more than a few MPH on a hill or something, it will put the gas down very far. then again, my 5th gear is rather tall (80 mph @ 3k rpm on a 4cyl )

The CC on my car is well...sluggish at best(but in a good way for your fuel economy) and because of the electronic CVT it tends to keep the RPMs wayyyyyyy down. And even in cruise control if the engine isn't need it'll completely shut it off, which is kinda nice.

 

[StageLeft]

50 mph is nice and it's not a tiny car.

Very impressive, though for me it's still more financial sound to drive an 8 year old audi that gets 22-24mpg. The incremental cost of a new car + hybrid premium+ high insurance premium is far more than 100% improvement in gas milage.

Not just you but everybody, from a financial perspective I think OP paid mid high 20's for his car vs scoobmaster who got a 2008 with hardly any miles for something like 10.5k, but still this is pretty good mileage. Hybrid is coming along decently, it would be nice to see more used cars in coming years.

 

[imported_Imp]

Can't wait till I can afford a hybrid. I think I burned an eigth of a tank on Friday in stop and go (moved 2km in 40 minutes at one time) in the city and on the highway with our Civic. Got to see the end result of an SUV rear ending a limo though.

I mainly drive in the city too, so it would be amazing to have one.

 

[SparkyJJO]

What is this "pulse and glide" thing? Is that the annoying type of driving where you speed up and slow down constantly?

People like that on the highway annoy me. Just keep an even speed please

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
50 mph is nice and it's not a tiny car.

Very impressive, though for me it's still more financial sound to drive an 8 year old audi that gets 22-24mpg. The incremental cost of a new car + hybrid premium+ high insurance premium is far more than 100% improvement in gas milage.

Not just you but everybody, from a financial perspective I think OP paid mid high 20's for his car vs scoobmaster who got a 2008 with hardly any miles for something like 10.5k, but still this is pretty good mileage. Hybrid is coming along decently, it would be nice to see more used cars in coming years.

I think in 5-10 years it will make sense to buy used hybrids, till then I stick to my used german cars. People scared of maintenance costs = value for halik

 

[cheesehead]

Honestly, I'd be pretty tempted to buy one of these over a Prius, Insight, or Camry hybrid.

Nice to see that domestics are starting to offer serious competition to their Japanese counterparts.

 

[Uhtrinity]

Originally posted by: DeathBUA
I posted awhile back about how I got my new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid...and a couple people asked that I update with how my fuel economy is and such. Well as promised here is an update and a big one for me.

I just refueled on Saturday afternoon. For the tank of gas I drive 832.3 miles. I refueled with 16.60 gallons of gas. Which equals out to 50.138MPG. In a mid-size sedan just looks like a normal car save for the small hybrid badge of the rear and drivers door panel.

I must say I'm hugely impressed with the car. And before anyone asks, yes I hypermile my car but I don't do anything I consider overtly dangerous. I accelerate smoothly and slowly, I pulse and glide, I drive the speed limit or just a tick under it. I keep the car in electric vehicle mode as long as I can. I use cruise control whenever I can especially on the highway.

And heck as of right now I stand to blast past the 832 miles I got previously. Right now my car is telling me I have 730 miles to empty and I've already driven 143 miles. I might be able to break 900 miles on a tank. I say that because my four drives since I refueled I've averaged 58.6mpg.

Quite the awesome car.

Nice, I am impressed.

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: ballmode
I want one

 

[Uhtrinity]

Originally posted by: dug777
I was given to understand that not using cruise is more efficent than using it, at least if you know what you are trying to achieve (ie. maximising fuel consumption, not maintaining exactly the same speed up hill and down dale)?

Anyway, most impressive

Is the Fusion what we get as a Mondeo?

Yes, cruise can't anticipate a rise and therefore can't compensate by speeding up. Cruise will sense a drop in speed and give more gas killing mileage. A driver on the other hand can ease the speed up before the rise. It can make a huge difference when trying to max your mpgs.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: Skoorb
50 mph is nice and it's not a tiny car.

Very impressive, though for me it's still more financial sound to drive an 8 year old audi that gets 22-24mpg. The incremental cost of a new car + hybrid premium+ high insurance premium is far more than 100% improvement in gas milage.

Not just you but everybody, from a financial perspective I think OP paid mid high 20's for his car vs scoobmaster who got a 2008 with hardly any miles for something like 10.5k, but still this is pretty good mileage. Hybrid is coming along decently, it would be nice to see more used cars in coming years.

I think in 5-10 years it will make sense to buy used hybrids, till then I stick to my used german cars. People scared of maintenance costs = value for halik

I agree to a point. I would love something like a used Audi. But my bosses Audi has a CEL that won't go away...even after hundreds of dollars being spent on it.
Also, you are doing a classic oranges vs apples comparison. Compare new cars to new cars. Otherwise, arguments will just go in circles.

 

[Doggiedog]

Nice mileage.

I'm only getting about 20MPG in my car. My trip computer tells me I can get 400 miles plus on a full tank but in reality, it's only about 300 miles or slow.

 

[alphatarget1]

Does it use the electric motor on highway cruising speeds? If not, is there sound from the engine? I have always wondered.

 

[rh71]

impressive but boring to drive a car like you describe... unless you're having fun... then have at it.