What new car 08-09 has The Best MPG's

[BumblingB]

Originally Posted by CKaelin

Someone say YARIS? I just got one last week. 5 speed hatch back (lift back). I'm loving it so far! 12,500 OTD! Tacoma Buy back payed for most of it! On my third tank. (1st was dealer fill) First tank I drove "normally" 65-75 on highway, AC on, I got 37mpg. Tank I just filled this morning. I got 46.76 mpg! No AC, Didn't go over 60 on the highway. I am really excited about this little car!

Great going. Yaris is nice and once it loosens up your mileage will get better. Keep up your mileage logs.

[GasSavers_Char]

Originally Posted by Wazabi Owner

Great going. Yaris is nice and once it loosens up your mileage will get better. Keep up your mileage logs.

I almost got a Smart car myself, mainly because they are cute and economical, but also for the gas mileage. But, was not able to locate one here, so I started looking at the Yaris. Even they were hard to find as well, took me 3 weeks to get one and I've had it for a month and LOVING the gas mileage on this little car.

First tank 39, and that is city/hwy and a/c on
Second 43, city/hwy and no a/c all the time (just the really hot days)

And now, I'm on my third tank. Sure is better then the 2001 Saturn SC2 I had before getting this one. And like you said, the mileage only gets better once you get past 10,000 miles.

[Rayme]

I'm going to Chime in and give my opinion on the yaris.

I love Toyota, it's all I ever owned before my subaru (that I sold), I drive my GF's yaris alot, and all thing said, I'd never get one just because of the driving position, on the highway it's just a pain for me (I'm 5"10..normal height). The pedals seems too close to the seat and if you back it up the steering it too far. My right foot gets incredibly fatigued by having the pedal more vertically than most cars.

All that being said, if she had cruise control..it would be perfect . .. I love EVERYTHING ELSE about the car!

The MPG is incredible, the engine shift into overdrive just driving at 50 KM/H and the torque converter seems locked at any given speed, that thing means business MPG wise.

[Lug_Nut]

Originally Posted by Rayme

The MPG is incredible, the engine shift into overdrive just driving at 50 KM/H and the torque converter seems locked at any given speed, that thing means business MPG wise.

That's something I dislike at present about the auto in my Passat TDI, it doesn't permit simple forced top gear or lock-up, despite having a manual function.
Leave it in drive and 5th doesn't engage until 42 mph regardless of engine load or terrain. Move the selector to manual and 5th won't select until 40 mph, again regardless of load or terrain. Keep hitting +, +, + all you want, the controller won't allow 5th until 40 mph.
Drop below 40 mph and the transmission goes into 4th, whether in auto or manual mode, even when coasting with zero load. Unfortunately, in manual it doesn't return to the previous 5th, but remains in 4th until faster than 40 and 5th is re-selected. In full auto it will go up to 5th on it's own at 42 mph if the load is low enough.
I'm still learning the quirks of this car. I also have the software to access the electronics, possibly allowing modification of the transmission controller's factory default shift points.
The rest of the entire package is really nice. I'll tolerate and work around the transmission idiosyncracies.

[opelgt73]

Originally Posted by Lug_Nut

That's something I dislike at present about the auto in my Passat TDI, it doesn't permit simple forced top gear or lock-up, despite having a manual function.
Leave it in drive and 5th doesn't engage until 42 mph regardless of engine load or terrain. Move the selector to manual and 5th won't select until 40 mph, again regardless of load or terrain. Keep hitting +, +, + all you want, the controller won't allow 5th until 40 mph.
Drop below 40 mph and the transmission goes into 4th, whether in auto or manual mode, even when coasting with zero load. Unfortunately, in manual it doesn't return to the previous 5th, but remains in 4th until faster than 40 and 5th is re-selected. In full auto it will go up to 5th on it's own at 42 mph if the load is low enough.
I'm still learning the quirks of this car. I also have the software to access the electronics, possibly allowing modification of the transmission controller's factory default shift points.
The rest of the entire package is really nice. I'll tolerate and work around the transmission idiosyncracies.

That sounds like something you could hack.

[Hoopster]

Look at the 2007-2008 Spectra's and Hyundai Elantra's. The Elantra is so roomy it is classified as a mid size car even though it is a compact. Both cars look way better than the dinky Yaris and Fit. I've been AVERAGING 35mpg in my Elantra with an Automatic.

[GasSavers_roadrunner]

I would suggest you get a Yaris 5 speed. Mine has 23,000 miles, and I still have not had a problem. Also, great car on gas.

[Mike T]

Thanks for trying to interpret my comments....my point is: I could do a lot better, by pumping my (wide) tires up way past 32 PSI, or even changing them back to skinny wheels and tires the car came with, at 38 PSI, driving a little below the speed limit, etc. I did this during a four month long fuel economy derby our smart club had in 2005 and I averaged 71 US MPG during that time.

I didn't have a ScanGauge back then, nor did I draft, do any EOC or pulse and glide or even approach the tires' sidewall pressure rating. With some of the more extreme techniques I could have done more like 80 US MPG in our regular driving cycle.

What I do now is drive only slightly over the speed limit, anticipate traffic and so forth - not overtly wasting fuel - but I do not avoid putting the convertible top down (there is an obvious aerodynamic penalty) or using A/C or the car's heated seats + other electical consumers, I just drive it normally and have averaged 60.1 US MPG over my car's 62,000 miles. Today's fill was a bit better than that, about 60.5.

As for the supposed comparison with other cars, I have to chuckle.

I really wonder if anyone who needs more luggage space than a smart has would seriously consider buying one. I would think that anyone with at least half a functioning brain would figure their needs out before going out and buying something. If one wants a 4 or 5 seater, one buys one, end of story.

Me? I wanted a two seater full convertible car that was fun to drive, had passive safety features like 4 airbags and pretensioning seatbelts with force limiters, active safety features like ESP/ABS, heated seats, heated electric mirrors, A/C, tons of room for two people, excellent seats, rollbar and got excellent fuel economy. That was four years ago. I got the fortwo cdi.

I have not been disappointed!

I also have a Mercedes B 200 for family occasions, such as our recent trip to California, AZ, NV, UT, ID, OR and WA. It too is pretty OK in the fuel efficiency department.

[imzjustplayin]

Originally Posted by Mike T

Thanks for trying to interpret my comments....my point is: I could do a lot better, by pumping my (wide) tires up way past 32 PSI, or even changing them back to skinny wheels and tires the car came with, at 38 PSI, driving a little below the speed limit, etc. I did this during a four month long fuel economy derby our smart club had in 2005 and I averaged 71 US MPG during that time.

I didn't have a ScanGauge back then, nor did I draft, do any EOC or pulse and glide or even approach the tires' sidewall pressure rating. With some of the more extreme techniques I could have done more like 80 US MPG in our regular driving cycle.

What I do now is drive only slightly over the speed limit, anticipate traffic and so forth - not overtly wasting fuel - but I do not avoid putting the convertible top down (there is an obvious aerodynamic penalty) or using A/C or the car's heated seats + other electical consumers, I just drive it normally and have averaged 60.1 US MPG over my car's 62,000 miles. Today's fill was a bit better than that, about 60.5.

As for the supposed comparison with other cars, I have to chuckle.

I really wonder if anyone who needs more luggage space than a smart has would seriously consider buying one. I would think that anyone with at least half a functioning brain would figure their needs out before going out and buying something. If one wants a 4 or 5 seater, one buys one, end of story.

Me? I wanted a two seater full convertible car that was fun to drive, had passive safety features like 4 airbags and pretensioning seatbelts with force limiters, active safety features like ESP/ABS, heated seats, heated electric mirrors, A/C, tons of room for two people, excellent seats, rollbar and got excellent fuel economy. That was four years ago. I got the fortwo cdi.

I have not been disappointed!

I also have a Mercedes B 200 for family occasions, such as our recent trip to California, AZ, NV, UT, ID, OR and WA. It too is pretty OK in the fuel efficiency department.

So how many litres per 100km are you getting with that "smart car" anyhow? Do the pumps in canada have a readout for litres?

[Mike T]

Originally Posted by *************

So how many litres per 100km are you getting with that "smart car" anyhow? Do the pumps in canada have a readout for litres?

My pulse cdi cabriolet is averaging , which is the same as what shows in my signature translated to US MPG.

Yes our pumps read out in litres and have done since 1978.

When I was on a road trip through northern CA to Arizona and Nevada 2 weeks ago in the B 200, I had to convert those tiny US gallons (3.79 L) for my FE records.

We used to use Imperial/British gallons (4.55 L) in Canada prior to 1978.