New personal best (again) 40MPG!

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I've hesitated on any major mods because I doubted this car would ever even get good enough mpg to make it worth it. Now that I've seen consistency in the high 30s, I'm reconsidering it. The 2.0L engine is always going to be a liability that will likely prevent anything close to 50mpg. With that said, my recent thought of picking up a used 2003 HCH is fading as I've now seen several owner reviews that were more than rants; they had specifics of concerns worth worrying about.

Apparenly Honda has tried to salvage their reputation by reprogramming the cars so they won't be so hard on the batteries and now are essentially underpowered cars without the electric motor to add assist. The new programming allows very little assist to protect the batteries, and thus, you're left with a 73hp 2400 pound car. Unless I see a way to fix or deal with the problem, I'm going to have to wait to get what I want (a 40+mpg (EPA rating) 5-speed standard, ideally with auto-stop/auto-start, hybrid or not, good in snow, enough power to safely drive in the mountains--for under $10k used (actually, under $7k now, but I hope to save some more as the Acura's resale drops)). Hopefully either Honda will fix the problem or I'll be able to pick up something a year or two old from the newer cars coming out from Ford, Scion, et al in 2012.

[user removed]

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Thinking about your elevation challenged situation I would be the absolute best car for you would be a Toyota Echo with a manual transmission. The basic stripper with AC would take less fuel to climb and coast down those grades just fine. They only weigh just over 2000 pounds.

Not expensive at all, no timing belt and utterly reliable.

I know you have pretty much decided to keep your car but if you wanted to get probably about 10 more MPG the Echo would be a great choice, but find a really nice low mileage example.

I averaged 57 in mine once using EOC.

regards
Mech

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Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

Thinking about your elevation challenged situation I would be the absolute best car for you would be a Toyota Echo with a manual transmission. The basic stripper with AC would take less fuel to climb and coast down those grades just fine. They only weigh just over 2000 pounds.

Not expensive at all, no timing belt and utterly reliable.

I know you have pretty much decided to keep your car but if you wanted to get probably about 10 more MPG the Echo would be a great choice, but find a really nice low mileage example.

I averaged 57 in mine once using EOC.

I have a friend driving an Echo right now and he says he's getting 42mpg and he's not a hypermiler, so I can believe they're capable of impressive results. What surprises me is how well they hold their resale value, at least locally. For such an inexpensive car to start with, I was shocked to see the only two listed locally with less than 150k miles selling for over $6k!

The Yaris and Echo are both on my short list right now if the right one comes up at the right time. There's a chance a friend will be selling her low mileage 07 Fit soon, which will likely be out of my price range, but it's on my radar as well.

What I'd give to get my old CRX HF back... Then again, I really doubt my two 'girls' would appreciate the "back seat"... on the otherhand, they've been in more awkward places...

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Originally Posted by ZOMGVTEK

Its surprising you can get that kind of MPG out of that car. I struggle to get over 25 MPG in my Accord. But the fact that its a auto, and 10ºF outside starts to kill the possibility of any crazy driving techniques.

40MPG out of a car that isn't unbelievably slow is great.

Some of the biggest benefits come from the smallest changes. Driving to Glenwood last week I passed the sign that indicated the change from 65mph to 75mph speed limit, I drove up to the limit and noticed my mpg drop from 48-51 (@65mph) to 41-42 even after my speed stabilized. I slowed down to 70mph and it stabilized around 46-48mph and decided that was a worthy compromise on my time vs. cost. I've also learned to shut off the engine when I'm at a stop light if I can see the "white pedestrian" light on the cross light. I can easily turn the car back on when the cross light turns yellow and the "red flashing pedestrian" turns solid.

Sure, I have a unique commute that gives me up to 65mpg driving into work and 31mpg on the way home. However, last weekend made it clear, on the open highway this car could average over 40mpg at reasonable highway speeds with some good technique and some discipline. This is also with aggressive snow tires (Hakkapalitas), 10% ethanol winter gasoline, headlights on, and morning temperatures averaging 24F lately. If I hang on to this car over the winter I suspect with LRR summer tires, pure gasoline, longer daylight, and warmer temperatures I should be able to get a peak around 45mpg this spring.

[SentraSE-R]

If they've widened the hwy to Glenwood Springs to 2 lanes in each direction, you can safely drive 5-10 mph below the PSL w/o inconveniencing anyone else. Then you'll see some real mpg improvement.