I've been doing some searching on people's experiences with their Countryman's fuel efficiency. I bought a 'new to me' 2011 Countryman ALL4 manual tranny about a month ago with 9000 miles. I love her to death but like lots of other folks, have been sadly disappointed by the fuel economy.

I just did a road trip from Washington to Saskatchewan - she ran like a top but the fuel economy was CRAZY. I calculate it myself based on the miles driven and the gallons at each fill. It goes like this: 27, 34 , 30, 26, 23 (it was windy) mpg. HUH??

Oddly enough, the higher mpg were through the Canadian Rockies. The flatlands at 75mph were worse. I wasn't really tracking where I filled up, but it was always premium fuel.

Has anyone else seen this kind of variety tank to tank? I get that environmental factors, AC, sunroof, yada yada make a difference, but to that degree? My '05 MCS was a trooper that had a pretty steady fuel economy and nothing else I've ever owned has ever been this all over the map...

Thoughts??

 

Tire pressure can play a major factor in fuel economy. I'd also suspect higher speed cruising might diminish fuel economy--particularly in headwinds/crosswinds--since the MINI isn't the most slippery of shapes.

 

The biggest variation for me is that the amount of fuel I put in at fill up varies significantly from station to station. Sometimes I pull away and it drops one candy corn within 5 miles, while other times it's 30+. I don't know why it's so variable, but it does make MPG calculations kind of random.

 

i can see 6mpg tank on tank with the only difference being 10% ethanol or no ethanol

89 or 91 or 93 octane seems to make little or no difference in mpg, but ethanol makes a huge difference no matter the octane

i motor 21 miles one way to get fuel with no ethanol

on another note, my first fuel light goes out bewteen 75 and 77 miles every time

scott

 

Considering the terrain you drove through, I find your results unsurprising. I have seen similar variation in many cars I have owned on long trips through the mountain west over the past 45 years.

 

just saw this article...on average posted car mpgs are lower by 5.5% it has to do with varying ethanol levels and the different ethanol assumptions used by car manufacturers to calculate mpgs, link below.

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto...image_headline

 

What was your average speed for each leg of your journey ?

I believe when it comes to "forced induction" engines either turbo or supercharged mpg can vary depending on how fast you are driving.

In my 03 MCS, when cruising below 70 I easily get 31mpg. Anything over that and I average 25-26.

 

I agree that cruising speed makes a huge difference. If I set my cruise at 68, the computer says about 34 mpg on the highway. As I go up from there, the efficiency starts to drop off pretty dramatically.

50 mph through the mountains of New Hampshire was very high fuel economy. 70+ on the relatively flat highways of CT is a lot less.

I think it's partly a product of the type of engine and partly a product of basic air resistance.

 

I'm with Gray Raven, in all the cars I've owned, there is a top speed break point for millage.

By that, I mean, your mileage will improve for steady highway driving up to about 55 - 60, then as you go above that, you will hit a point where it dives off considerably. I've never had a car where millage was good above 70 Mph.

Put your OBC in the 'real-time' millage readout and lock in cruise control about 60 mph then watch it for awhile you will see it alter depending on wind and hills, but stablize at some point, then pop up to 75 mph and watch, it will probably be much lower in the at the stabilized points.

Also, weight in the car alters millage considerably, probably not a factor on your trip, but I get much better millage when it is just me in the car versus having the rest of the family in the car too.

 

some people just don't get good fuel mileage ...

my mom's cars always got horrible mileage, as long as she was driving, if i drove her cars i would get much better mileage than she did

her last car before she died was a buick rendezvous awd.... she got 8-10 mpg, she logged every fillup, i drove the car for about 6 weeks after her death, i got 18 mpg overall, 21 on the highway

i know one thing mom did that hurt her gas mileage, she could not maintain a steady speed with traffic, she would constantly be lifting off the gas then accellerating then lifting, nothing violent, but the constant varing speed kills fuel mileage

she was also a left foot braker ... a terrible habit ... just the slightest touch to the brake pedal can kill fuel mileage and brake life too

scott

 

I used to get much poorer mileage than now as I didn't pay much attention to it. Being a former road racer and autocrosser, I tended to be too impatient and too aggressive. But now I try harder, look far ahead, anticipate, time lights, and use only enough power to do what I want (when not engaged in sporting driving). I also practice 'driving with load' on rolling terrain and driving without (or minimal) braking when appropriate in light traffic. I think I have improved by 50%. I enjoy the challenge of getting better fuel efficiency during everyday driving situations.

I do use left-foot braking almost always when I drive auto trans cars (our cars are all manual now), but I recommend it only as an advanced technique. I've done this to develop braking sensitivity in my left foot because left-foot braking is occasionally handy in performance driving with a manual.

 

I've gotten very consistent mpg on other cars, but it varies a lot with my CMSA4.

If I baby the throttle and keep the RPMs as close to 2000 as I can, I get 27-28 mpg (mixed city/hwy). But if I drive it hard, I get 23-25 mpg.

I only got 23 mpg last week, and at first I thought it was from my new Oxspeed BOV spring. But probably it was just from spending the week testing the turbo out at different RPMs.