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Old 12-13-2012, 10:13 PM   #8 (permalink)
campisi
Chief Cook & Bottlewasher
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: California
Posts: 76

Xterra - '13 Nissan Xterra Pro-4X
90 day: 19.03 mpg (US)
Thanks: 11
Thanked 25 Times in 13 Posts
Same here. In my situation, driving a 2011 Subaru Forester AWD with Manual Trans I get about 32-33mpg on my daily commute to/from work and about 28-30mpg driving steady state 65-70 miles per hour on the freeway.

I take advantage of every slowdown to coast in neutral and there ain't much of that on a freeway trip. As well, my Forester is not aerodynamic at all so higher speeds kill efficieny. My daily commute speeds range from 35mph to about 60mph max. Commute MPG is also helped by the fact that the Forester is fairly light.

Interestingly, I also have a V8 Lexus LS430 (auto trans of course) which is exactly the opposite. On the highway I can get about 26-28 mpg doing 65-75mph but daily commuting will only get me 22-24mpg. This car is VERY aerodynamic but is also very, very heavy compared with the Forester. Weight is not much of an issue once you've got your vehicle up to speed (freeway driving) but is a very big issue in getting it up to speed (commute-type driving).
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