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As the manufacturers extract better mileage out of their designs, it will become much more difficult to beat EPA figures by a significant margin without significantly lowering your average speed.
The wife's Kia Sorento with the GDI 2.4 is averaging about 26 on her local stop and go driving. It's rated at 32 highway. Her previous car, an 09 Nissan Rogue, was rated at 27 highway. She regularly averaged 28 MPG in the Rogue driving basically the same routes over the years and tens of thousands of miles.
The Sorento weighs 3800 pounds, about the same as a Murano, while the Rogue was about 500 pounds lighter.
Best ever mileage for me in her Rogue was 33 MPG. I haven't driven a back roads 55 MPH average trip in the Sorento, but I would bet the mileage would be about the same.
I have seen over 32 on the Interstate and we recently removed the roof rack cross braces. In traffic I have seen 35 MPG, exceptional mileage from a 3800# CUV. Not overall for a trip but for 15 miles.
Bottom line, it was easy for her to beat highway EPA in her local driving in the Rogue. Best I have ever done with the Sorento is about 29 MPG on a local route drive, which is just about the same as I would have done in the Rogue.
I think cold weather (and we have nothing but E10 here) have a more significant effect on the direct injection engine mileage, both the E10 and the cold weather. It will be interesting to see what happens in warmer weather, and the EPA should stop using E0 in any testing since it is getting to the point where that fuel is no longer available in most of the parts of the country anymore.
regards
Mech
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