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Old 04-30-2013, 01:02 PM   #13 (permalink)
MetroMPG
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22,534

Blackfly - '98 Geo Metro
Team Metro
Last 3: 70.09 mpg (US)

MPGiata - '90 Mazda Miata
90 day: 54.46 mpg (US)

Appliance car Mirage - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage ES (base)
90 day: 57.73 mpg (US)
Thanks: 4,082
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I've always urged people (especially those getting really good numbers) to post details of their driving/environment. Context is everything!

Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedyCorky View Post
2) your route is boarderline cheating! its on flat, deserted backroads where you can legally and safely go 50mph
Don't overestimate the benefit of flat terrain. Hills could return even better numbers, provided the engine is off in the descents.

Where I drive it's not exactly the prairies - I regularly kill the engine going down hills.

The worst would be something in between: gentle hills that aren't steep enough to glide down the back side at a reasonable speed. (Of course the more you mod your vehicle, the faster you can glide!)

Also: I wish people would quit saying this type of driving environment isn't normal, or "real world". It may not be *your* world, but huge chunks (a lot more than 1%!) of the population live in areas like this: small cities/towns where there's an option of using secondary rural highways (instead of busier, high speed freeways) to travel away from/ in between them. Not everyone lives in a metropolis.

EDIT: and from your description of your driving environment, I'm sure you're right - you could easily be doing 90+ mpg if you drove where I usually do.
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Project MPGiata! Mods for getting 50+ MPG from a 1990 Miata
Honda mods: Ecomodding my $800 Honda Fit 5-speed beater
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has launched a forum for the efficient new Mitsubishi Mirage
www.MetroMPG.com - fuel efficiency info for Geo Metro owners
www.ForkenSwift.com - electric car conversion on a beer budget
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