I purchased my R56 MC in October of 2007. Among the many reasons was for fuel ecomomy. My previous car was a 528 Touring/5spd that achieved mid to upper 20's. My MINI has averaged approx. 36.27009479 mpg. Since October 2007 fuel prices have increased nominally 28.1959067%. I try to limit my driving to the necessary, combine shopping, etc, accelerate conservatively (mostly), and drive close to the speed limit. When I am on the highway I am getting passed by most vehicles including the huge Pick emup trucks and SUV's flying past me. I am puzzled. Sooooooo, I am curious about how fuel prices may or may not have altered other MINI owner's driving habits.[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]

 

me too! i used to burn almost two tanks a week, and now am under 1.5

cruising speed is now 3k rpms on highway, not 4k

shift point is now 3k, not 4k

back roads are 5th gear, not 3rd

mileage is now 32, not 26

except of course, for autocross!

 

YEAH, after the big truck rally in DC over diesel prices, I thought I'd see a difference on the road. I generally drive about 5mph over the speed limit in most of my vehicles, those DARN trucks are still passing me going 80mph+, if they can't slow down to save fuel, I hope the prices break $5.00/gallon soon, we'll get rid of them by attrition then!

 

I can't say that I've been overly cautious about my driving because of fuel prices. Yesterday afternoon was a beautiful day here in Connecticut, so my wife and I went for a 100 mile drive through the eastern countryside in my '03 MC. The gas for the trip cost less than $15, which I consider well worth the enjoyment we got out of it. I'd easily spend that much to go to the movies for two hours, and we got about four hours of fun out of it.

 

ok ..i have to know your profession..

i am 99.9434556533 sure you are maybe a professor..engineer... ?

LOL

just kidding...
good record keeping is great.

and yes.. i see the big suv's passing me like i am walking.

love the mini.

 

I've got a buddy who drives. He tells me they're on the horns of a dilemma. They weren't earning a great living to start with and had to drive max miles per day to do that. When fuel prices go up they have to drive more miles to stay even; there is no way to make their operations more efficient.

So, if expenses go up and the only way to get more income is to drive farther per day, they've got a problem. Obviously, there is a tipping point where fuel consumption (costs) will eat up whatever gains (income) they can make by driving farther per day. Apparently, they haven't hit it, yet.

 

yes i noticed the same thing i have 2 drive 50 some miles roundtrip 2 work 5 days aweek so now i am putting the cruise on between 63-70 mph everytime i hit the highway
and i am being passedd like i am standing still

 

I drive more and I drive more aggresively with the MINI! I used to have a pickup truck and my girlfriend has a Murano. We used to drive her car more often to do errands since it got better MPG. Now with the MINI I drive much more since I get the better MPG and love every second of it!! My truck right now would be somewhere around $70 to fill up and my MINI is still under $50. With all that I drive it still can't equate to what the truck did, so I will drive the MINI pretty much any/every time!

 

I'm in the MINI more and more. Cheaper to fill up than the Jeep, better mileage, and certainly more fun to drive.

I have set my cruise control a bit lower- because of the better mileage and the fact that two highway patrolmen decided recently on separate occasions that the CR MINI should be the car pulled out of a line of traffic for speeding tickets.

 

I have been driving a lot of miles for a lot of years in cars, smaller trucks and motorcycles. The key to my long mileage days is no stops and maintain the same average speed usually not that much higher than the speed limits. Higher speeds require more concentration and wear me out sooner. I assume it's the same with the big rigs, especially all that time weaving in and out of traffic and tailgating everyone slower than they are. I just think they are bad drivers who LIKE driving fast frankly. Professional truck drivers used to be just that, PROFESSIONALS, now every minimum wage guy has his truck DL and seem to be some of the most dangerous drivers on the road, IMHO.

 

Hear hear. My parents and family used to do a lot of cross country driving to visit relatives etc. (couldn't afford many plane tickets!) and I grew up thinking truck drivers were some of the safest people on the road -- to include helping you more than anybody else if you broke down. I'm not THAT old, but MY how times have changed. Truck drivers used to be so courteous, not to mention safety-minded. Almost nothing could be farther from the truth now.

To link this in with the rest of the thread, however, because I"m now MUCH MUCH MUCH more wary (ok, sometimes SCARED) of the truck drivers, I tend to use more speed (and gas) trying to stay away from them. Same goes for SUV owners/drivers, even though I'm a truck owner myself!!!!! I can't believe how badly people drive. I just got back from Germany and driving on the Autobahn, where my average speed was 90mph gas price regardless!...so for ME to say I drive like I'm standing still is something! Gas prices there were worse - they charge the same kinds of prices PER LITRE!!! But in the Mini, the gas prices haven't stopped me...I just don't drive the truck except when absolutely necessary!

Happy motoring.

 

Cost per liter in Canada now for the area I live in is 1.32 a liter which converted to US gallon's would be a little over 5 bucks a gallon. I drive more now than i ever had with 3 vehicles and two teens nothing stays in the driveway long enough to cool down.

Cost in Europe for fuel is still much higher than Canada so I guess we are kind of lucky. Canada being the # 1 supplier of oil to the USA and we still pay more for fuel that is produced and refined in country.

Read an article on used SUV's in Florida and some car lots would not take them on trade anymore. I think North America will start seeing more sub compact vehicles on the road as gas prices rise.

 

I'ts not just the color of the MINI but the fact is a MINI = money for speeding tickets.

 

Yeah, the MINI stands out!

One of my tickets was courtesy of an officer near your home!

 

I am not a professor. I am a retired social worker and Federal Govt employee. Retired due to chronic Lyme disease. I do keep a spreadsheet on fuel consumption and I can cut and paste.

 

I have a 325i and an MCS. I used to drive the BMW most and leave the MINI for weekends and special trips. I have changed that pattern, however, and I now drive the MINI most. I also have been short-shifting and reducing speed - when I think about it! LOL

 

I wouldn't be surprised because that's where I got my father's day present last year.

 

If you think this is bad, consider that civil aviation has undergone the same departure from healthy (safe) culture. Pilot licenses are so easy to get that there is no inculcation of respect for safety and discipline. Folks treat private aircraft like they do their Chevy and they violate the disciplines designed to keep the skies safe with impunity--the equivalent not just of speeding and tailgating, but of running red lights and driving on the wrong side of the street.

Sorry. Pet peeve.

 

I like to laugh, under by breath, and smile, behind my hand, at the SUV drivers at the pumps. It is especially nice when I see them looking at my MINI as I tank it up and can see the wishful thinking in their eyes as they watch their dollar amount climb and climb and climb to almost stratospheric levels.

 

Even though it hurts to see the gas prices...higher gas does not cost that much more compared to owning the car (isurance, maintenance, payments)

Given an increase in gas of $0.50 per gallon:

10k miles per year / 30mpg * $.50gal= $166 per year.


Certainly every penny counts. Although it might become a major cost if my company cuts me to 32 hours a week...

 

I like when I got to fill up gas and I arrive after the SUV in front of me, fill up as needed (only a few gallons, he he) then leave before he is done.

Ha! I wonder if he'd notice? Maybe, considering his fill up bill must be huge.

I usually only pay about $30 or less for fill ups. I don't wait for empty since prices are climbing each day.

Anyway I have a scan gauge II and I use it every day to monitor mpg and efficiency. I don't think it's quite right because if I go by it I should be getting more than 30 mpg but I only get about 26 mpg right now. Still more testing to be done.

Interestingly idle and not moving shows throttle at 2% and engine burns 0.30 gallons per hour but just turning on the AC bumps it to 3% throttle and 0.40 gallons per hour, still idling and not moving. So more gas is burning stuck in heavy traffic with AC on I think.

Most of the gas is burned starting from a stop, not as bad at constant speed and one half gas use whenever coasting at steady speed. So ease off the gas when you can and likely you can save 10-30%. Also bad are long hills, mpg drops to about 20 from 50 mpg at highway speeds (easy on the throttle).

I still drive to work but I try not to do as many extra trips and I drive quite a bit more in reserve compared to before.

 

This reminds me of the letter of the month in this months motor trend. Basically, if cities were to better time its lights so we didnt have 30 cars stopping for just one car the fuel saving would be big!. I mean the way I see people in my town leaving lights is crazy, people in Lexus RX430's or BMW X5's basically flooring it. Crazy.

Yes, increased prices have affected how I drive. After paying 4.35/gal this tank I plan to do less pointless driving. I started shifting at around 3k rpm about 4 tanks ago, so that is nothing new. I still run it up to redline occasionally though, just for funzies or when making an aggressive pass against a crappy driver.

I am looking for a lighter/smaller tire and wheel combo, because the lighterness (made that up) will make it a bit easier to get going and the smaller size will help me out with all the driving around town I do (better gearing). Narrower cross section will help slightly. As it is now I run 225/45/17 on s-lights, I want to go to 215/50/16 on Rota's but that is an odd size.

 

I lifeguard at a pool and one fellow is a truck driver who i talk to when he goes into the hot tub. He explained to me that truck drivers are paid by how many jobs they complete, not by the hour so until that changes they will keep speeding because the sooner they get one job done the quicker they are paid and the quicker they can begin the next, so im sure they are still getting more money in there pocket by speeding then slowing down and not completing as many jobs.

 

Let me ask you guys a question. If you shut off your engine while stopped in traffic, or waiting in line for your burger, you'll save fuel, but I've heard that start-up burns more than simply idling for some amount of time. Is there a break-even point in terms of off-time below which it saves nothing?

 

We sold my Husband '99 Chevy S-10 Blazer to buy our MINI. We still own an '01 Dodge Durango that we used for Carpooling until Molly arrived . Now it is parked at home, now we only use it on days when either one of us has an appointment that makes it inconvenient to carpool, and to make runs for Big Box items, fill ups for the Durango $76. Molly is driven daily and to my surprise we even took her to the theatre last night and to the grocery store today, parking in BFE of course, but to save on fuel she is being driven more. Fill up for Molly $49. Getting closer to Break In Period.