What am I doing wrong.

[Xist]

I understand that cars get better fuel economy at 45 MPH than 65, but while everyone claims the lights in the Phoenix area are timed, they do not seem to be timed well at all, and side streets cannot possibly be timed. I seem to hit those at least as often as at main intersections and then I cannot make the next main light.

If I were rebuilding my Civic I would finally get an MPGuino. I only drive highway in my Accord, but it is an automatic, so I cannot EoC.

My best tanks are definitely ones spent mostly on the highway.

I have lived in Page for fifty days and need to fill up my Civic. I am running out of gas after about 360 miles of city driving. I have logged 91 fill-ups and only two were under 400 miles for 10+ gallons, while I had several 500+ mile tanks, which must have been highway driving.

[JockoT]

Could the extra 3,000 ft of elevation have made a difference?

[Xist]

One of my best tanks was up here. Thinner atmosphere means less air and fuel and less wind resistance, but I definitely have less wind resistance, because I almost never hit 40 MPH. My engine also never warms up.

[JockoT]

Well I just filled my tank up after 434 miles and was amazed to have recorded a calculated figure of
62.5 mpg (UK)/51.98 mpg (US)/4.52 L/100 km.
So I must be doing something right!

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by puddleglum

The Echo really is happiest as a city car for all the reasons you mention.

It would still be supposed to fare better as an overall commuter than some 1.0L-engined cars I grew up driving

[oldtamiyaphile]

On my way home today I hit the CBD with 4.0l/100km (59MPG) on my SGII. I actually still improved a bit to 60MPG as I hit the city centre. I have a bunch of lights and up hill starts after that so I was down to 50MPG as I left the city.

Arrived home with 5.3l/100 or 44MPG on the SG. I've been observing a similar pattern for a while now.

In conclusion, it's almost impossible to drive my 2 ton van too slow for good economy.