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According to the EPA fuel economy page:
Do EPA fuel economy estimates account for the use of ethanol blends that are common today?
No. The EPA fuel economy tests use 100 percent gasoline, and no adjustments are made to account for ethanol. Most conventional vehicles using E10 (10 percent ethanol) will experience a 3 to 4 percent reduction in fuel economy.
Also they list the difference for some e85 cars in the e85 -vs- e0 for example a 2012 Impala is 13/16/22mpg on e85 and 18/22/30mpg on pure.
I would say the 2012 Impala is programmed to take advantage as much as possible on the e85, that year uses the new high compression, direct injected, variable cam phasing, 3.6 that makes 300 hp. Michigan state police vehicle testing that year ran both e10 and e85 during the testing and the Impala (as well as other e85 cars) ran quicker and faster with the e85. The Impala ran a 15.81 sec 1/4 mile at 91.5 mph on regular and a 15.53@93.45 on e85. Top speed went from 149 mph to 150 with the e85.
I understand how e85s cooling properties and high octane can make more power but with 33% less energy the e0 I don't see how it will ever improve economy even if you specifically designed a engine to use only e85.
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