In fact the Gas gauge is not acurate on the Countryman - I ran mine to empty and was able to get 40 miles after it said it was empty. Once I did that it would take 12.4 gallons. You can see the video here -

http://youtu.be/uRQg0lHphuY

I have taken it to Desert Mini of Las Vegas and they did a Puma Case. When I picked the Countryman back up, they said there is nothing wrong and it is "working as designed" Mini claims that the 2011 MCS CM can go 395 miles on a tank of Gas (Freeway driving), but I have yet to get even close to this. It comes down to this, Mini took the R56 engine and put in a new fuel system. This fuel system is not accurate. I am waiting to hear back from A tuning shop in Cali that said they would be able to tune it to get better gas mileage, but you would lose some power. If anyone knows of someone that makes a aftermarket gas tank - please post.

Thanks

 

was that with the sport mode on or off or somewhere in the middle?

 

No car has an accurate gas gauge it's all an approximation. With a smaller gas tank it becomes an issue. Learn to deal with it. I fill up when I get no lower than three candy corns. Remember gas gauges are mechanical devices and no one has been able to perfect it. 28.3mpg on a base CM is about normal. I have been getting between 28 and 32 mpg depending on how and where I am driving with no higher than 89 octane. If I ran it in sport mode, my mileage would drop

 

It's not just the Countryman gas gauges that are inaccurate. All MINI gas gauges are inaccurate.

But it is not impossible for a manufacturer to make accurate gas gauges. My Volvo has a gas gauge that shows how many gallons are left and it is very accurate!

Dave

 

This is my Fourth Mini and I never had this issue with any of the others.
1. 2004 Mini Cooper
2. 2005 Mini Cooper S
3. 2011 Mini Cooper
4. 2011 Mini Countryman S
All my other mini's were accurate to about 5 miles to empty. Remarks like "Deal with it" in my opinion are complacent. There is a real issue with the Fuel on the countryman. (Really just needs a larger tank, it is 2 gallons smaller then what is the R56. If you don’t think there is an issue, why are you even posting on this forum thread? In response to the question, this is with Sport Off. I have taken a poll of 50 countryman owners (Cooper, Cooper S and All 4) The consensus is that on average the CM gets 290-320 Miles to Empty.

 

I've gassed up 11 times total averaging 26.42mpg, 261.8 miles per tank, and abt 327 miles possible on brand name 93 grade. Mix of local and highway w estimated sport mode 10% of the time. (All4 w/ 18" turbo fans)

 

My gauge is pretty accurate. If I fill it right when the warning light goes off, it takes around 10.5 gallons and says there's about 70 miles left before empty.

I'm getting around 29-30 mpg if I'm shifting for efficiency around town and keeping my speed reasonable on the highway. I get get around 31 if I drive for pure efficiency, and I drop to 25 or 26 if I throw the car around and zoom everywhere.

 

The most I have put in is almost 12 gallons with 1 carat showing. I find that when I compare my gas gauge on the 07 MC with the 12 Countryman S, the gas gauge on the Countryman is more accurate than the 07. On the 07, I'd show 7 carats when I was about 1/2 a tank. Now I show 5 carats at 1/2 a tank (like it should be). Much more accurate rather than top weighted.

 

i put 12.2 gal in my 2012 cms all4 ... had no lights showing on the fuel gauge and the miles-to-empty showed 2 miles

scott

 

they are paying for fudging the mpg numbers, not the tank capacity

scott

 

Cool thread! I checked my Gas Cubby numbers, and in June I filled up to the tune of 48.99L (12.941 us gallons). I had just gone for an afternoon cruise with dad down through part of NE WA, and travelled the last 30km or so on "0 KM to empty". Made me a little nervous, to say the least!

 

Today I purposefully ran my 2016 Mini Countryman JCW all4 out of gas with 2 gallons in a Jerry can, sitting in the back seat.

Drumroll please.
13.3 gallons.
I was able to drive 23 city miles, after the "Miles -----" reading, it stopped dead. I mean just stopped! and I was able to safely coast to the side of the road, with my electric power steering.
I emptied my measured 2 gallons into the tank and it started back up with less than a 3 second delay.
I drove 5 miles to the nearest gas station and filled with an additional 11.52 gallons. Factoring the 5 miles at 25mpg. I figured 13.3 gallons total capacity.
I'm really glad to know what that "tank empty stall" feels like and now I know exactly how much I can "Kramer" the car when required.

 

You do realize that your electric fuel pump is cooled by the fuel IN the tank .....Right ?
Running it down to empty will also draw drbris from the bottom of the tank into the fuel system and crap up your filter....

 

Yep, and that issue with the fuel pump has been discussed here on this forum a number of times.

 

One time.
Stopped instantly, started up almost instantly. Overheating time was negligible and it's still under warranty.
I took one for the team here. ;-)

 

The pickup is already at the bottom of the tank, so you don't actually pick up any more debris than normal running.