[MetroMPG]

The contest, in a nutshell:

My dad likes to tell people about his car's excellent fuel economy specs, but he hasn't actualy ever calculated his own stats.

I've put a ScanGauge in his car (with his knowledge) to see just how well (or poorly) he's doing.

The person whose guess is closest to his actual fuel economy after 1 week of driving wins an Ecomodder window cling.

The story of the car:

My dad is leasing an '06 Toyota Corolla CE sedan, automatic. 1.8L of VVTi fury, built down the highway in Cambridge, Ontario.

It's the same car I used in the wheel skirt test.



He was driving a '97 Camry before this.

For some reason, he was just one of many consumers who flooded Toyota dealerships last summer to boost sales of the Corolla by a whopping 39% over the previous June's numbers. Go figure. Must have forgot to put on his tinfoil hat that day...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...?query=corolla

At first I wondered why he was "downsizing" from the Camry, and then realized he's been steadily "upsizing" through the years by Toyota's creeping model dimensions. In fact, this Corolla is virtually identical in size to the Camrys and an Accord he used to own in the late 80's:

Car ... Wheelbase ... Width ... Length ... Weight

87 Camry ... 102.3 in ... 67.4 in ... 182 in ... 2690 lbs
89 Accord ... 102.4 in ... 67.4 in ... 179.7 in ... 2676 lbs
06 Corolla ... 102.4 in ... 66.9 in ... 178.3 in ... 2502 lbs

FE specs for the Corolla automatic:

EPA city/hwy ... 30 / 38 mpg (US) (old figs) .... 26 / 35 (new figs)

NRCan city/hwy ... 7.8 L/100 km (30 mpg US) / 5.6 L/100 km (42 mpg US)

What's it capable of?

I haven't spent much time in this car at all, but I took it out for a boot this afternoon ... in pretty bad conditions:

• cold soak start
• short distance 5.6 km (3.5 mi.)
• wet & snow-covered roads
• 0 C / 30 F ambient

And saw 38 mpg (US) on the SG, giving it a decent effort (engine-off opportunity coasting; some P&G; driving without brakes, etc). The coolant didn't even reach full operating temp on the return leg.

This was in sub/urban driving, which is the type of driving my dad will likely be up to for the next 7 days.

What kind of driver his he?

I'd say "fairly typical." Rabbitty accelleration, late braking, inhabits the upper 50% of the speed range in a flow of traffic. Isn't into trip chaining.

I don't think we've ever had a conversation with the word "hypermiling" in it.

Contest ends sometime next Sunday (Jan 13/08).

So post up your guesses!

Feel free to revise them if new information arises (e.g. if I find out before next weekend that he's done any highway trips, I'll report back before wrapping things up.