C-C-C-Cold! Perf-f-f-f-f-f-formance.

[vnmous1]

Sure, we see 32-34 mpg around town with a light foot (and reasonable, seasonable temps). Hiway mpgs range from 29 at about 60-ish to 26.5 at 75 mph. Somewhere between 70 and 75 is the ugly zone for the FEH from a mpg standpoint. By the way, it's a FWD '09.

 

So...yesterday I take a 300 mile run downstate and it was WINDY with sustained winds of 20-25 mph and gusts of 40+. And of course it was almost right on the nose. At 70-75 mph I averaged 22.8mpg. Temps were in the mid 20s. It was cold here last week, too with local temps in the low 20s and high teens. City mpg fell to around 24 with normal driving. Why? Heat. The heat is cranking to keep the cabin temps up...the windshield needs the occasional defog which means you can't run in econ mode. Today's return trip saw less of a headwind, but temps around 10f. About the same thing....+/- 22.5-22.8.

 

Once I got into the city, the mpgs started climbing, but certainly not a the rate it does at a reasonable ambient temp.

 

Al Gore is wrong. Global warming is our friend. I'm going to throw out all my stick deodorant and buy nothing but aerosol. Al obviously doesn't spend his winters in Chicago!

 

Thought you all might be interested in a road report. BTW....just a tick over 2,000 miles on the clock. Overall...thrilled. Hate the interior color as it picks up every micron of blue dye from jeans and makes it look like crap. Seat covers forthcoming.

 

bj

[rscalzo]

Wow, I get about 23 on my trips to and from NJ to NH at a steady 70-75mph. The truck is even more cost effective not that gas has dropped so much.

[Donaldo]

If it's any consolation, any vehicle's mpg will drop in cold weather, not just hybrids. I've been able to use the econ mode for defrosting my FEH, you just have to crank it up a little more than the defrost mode. Both modes run air through the compressor which helps dry it for defrosting.

Check out the Wet Okole seat covers BTW, they've been working great and are easy to clean in my experience.

[RichT]

same here; mileage has gone from 30+ to mid 20's since the temps dropped into the 20's and 30's. it's probly from having to produce heat and keep the defroster running. still not bad, all things considered. let's hope the new pres keeps his promise to encourage electric vehicles. it's a national security issue.

[twolostminds]

With the crazy weather we've been having here in Central NJ our last tank (12/15-morning of 12/28) netted us 28.07MPG. Yesterdays nice weather got us just over 36 MPG on our weekly 40+ mile Sunday trip.

[fmorriso]

Winter driving in the Virginia suburbs of DC brought mpg on my AWD '09 FEH down to about 24 mpg. Now that Spring and slightly warmer temperatures are on the way, I'm seeing more like 27-28 mpg. The first nearly 3000 miles have been 90% city driving. As the traffic lights along my main route to/from work are slowly removed as it turns more and more into a limited access highway, I'm not idling at as many traffic lights. I did a "reset" on the Navigation system's fuel economy screen at 2000 miles and plan to do it again around 4000 miles to see what effect that has on the reading.

[FEH2009]

Winter driving in the Virginia suburbs of DC brought mpg on my AWD '09 FEH down to about 24 mpg. Now that Spring and slightly warmer temperatures are on the way, I'm seeing more like 27-28 mpg. The first nearly 3000 miles have been 90% city driving. As the traffic lights along my main route to/from work are slowly removed as it turns more and more into a limited access highway, I'm not idling at as many traffic lights. I did a "reset" on the Navigation system's fuel economy screen at 2000 miles and plan to do it again around 4000 miles to see what effect that has on the reading.

The cold did an number on my mileage also. A little warmth has had a huge impact on mileage - with mid 50's this weekend I averaged between 36-40 mpg in mostly city driving.

[SU-FI]

You'll also get less mpg's in winter due to winter gas, i lose 2mpg in my escape in the winter.

[ImACarNut]

Sure, we see 32-34 mpg around town with a light foot (and reasonable, seasonable temps). Hiway mpgs range from 29 at about 60-ish to 26.5 at 75 mph. Somewhere between 70 and 75 is the ugly zone for the FEH from a mpg standpoint. By the way, it's a FWD '09.

 

bj

 

I hear you about the mileage at higer speed, but I wonder about your mileage at 60. If I keep the speed to a max of 60 I can easily get 34 MPG highway and with temps now in the 70s, I just turned a tank at 39 MPG. This is with no special techniques. Has your mileage improved now? I'm driving a 09 MMH FWD.

[65fairlane]

Don't forget about tire inflation. When temperatures drop in the winter months, it's easy to lose around 1 mpg just from the pressure change in tires. The EV battery performance also drops in colder weather. Keeping the vehicle garaged will improve the situation so the battery doesn't have to take as much time warming to optimum temperature.