I know there are a ton of threads on this subject but I couldn't find anything exactly like this. I bought my 02 MCS around Thanksgiving and have consistenly gotten around 21 to 23 MPG. The only mods that I currently have are 18" wheels that came with the car and the Volt cat-back exhaust as of December. I drive spirited every now and then, but definitely not all the time. Does anyone have a similar situation or solution because 21 MPG seems kind of low compared to what others have reported?

 

Did you get the figure from the OBC or from your own calculations?

According to my calculations, the OBC is about 1-2mpg optimistic. I have a bone stock 2005 Cooper S with about 16,000 miles on the clock. I average about 24mpg mixed city and highway driving. During the summer months with the a/c on I see mileage in the low 20's in my OBC.

On the highway, the highest figure I saw on the OBC was 29mpg.

 

I figured it out with my own calculations. Glad to see that I'm not that myn is not that different than yours.

 

my obc reads 32+ but I hand calculate to 29 most times and have never gotten less than 27. '03 MCS with 87K. I once got over 400 miles on a tank.

 

I have had mine as low as 17, bone stock (keep in mind i am 18).

 

Before I moved and my driving habits changed (no more ******** traffic), I was averaging around 23...now it's 27, and I've added mods and drive harder. If I'm off of it, I end up around 29-30, w/ 32 on the hwy.

- Matt

 

Mine averages 24.5 mixed driving. I've noticed a decrease of about 2 mpg now that it's winter and they've added 10% ethanol to the gas here. Keep in mind I'm into the boost more often than not. Best I've seen was 30 mpg on the highway. I got 400 miles out of that tank.

 

I get about 32 consistantly with a 2007 Cooper S automatic that I put Shell V-93 in. njp

 

Once on a road trip I got 41mpg. I was drafting a semi at a most likely dangerous distance - I reset the mpg counter when I was behind the truck. I spent the better part of a day behind that truck, but with milage like that, who can complain?

 

could you possibly have a leak under the hood, that evaporates from the heat? i would think you would smell it, but its worth a look at all the fuel lines and hoses just to make sure.

 

A firm believer in the "I'm not tailgating, I'm drafting!" Policy.

 

Thanks for all the insight. I guess I'm not that far off and there is a fair amount of traffic around here. I just installed my Alta CAI last night so I expect to see a decrease in MPG at least for this tank. The sound is awesome.

 

make sure your wheels aer fully inflated. that will help. also if your old air filter was really dirty that might have been robbing you from MPG performance. do you coast ever? if i see a light turning up ahead i'll just coast into the bastard and save the gas. it's a fun way to downshift too and take off as it turns back to green. you should google hyper-miling. its super lame and not fun to drive that way but i did manage to get like 70MPG!!! i got close to 900 miles on a tank. you end up shutting off your car on the highway and all kinds of crazy S but it works. i use some of the stuff still on a regular basis like early shift points in traffic and drafting like a ****.

 

Justin, those 18" wheels may not be close to the stock circumference. That will change what your speedo and odometer reads. Also how long is your standard trip? My wife only goes 3mi. round trip and gets 21-22. Before when she commuted further we were at 25+. Just a thought.

 

My average trip is probably about 20 miles or so to work. I've got super low profile tires so I think the overall wheel diameter is fairly close to stock. (wheels came with the car and I will most likely be moving 17" wheels ASAP due to potholes) Good point though.

 

The hyper-miling idea sounds interesting, never heard of it before.

 

Only with semis on the interstate. I've learned my lesson on the street - I give ample following distance.

 

On the highway, I get 32-35mpg in the summer... I've done the hand calc. and its identical to OBC numbers.

Due to 10% ethanol in with that number drops to 28-30mpg.

Most tanks I get over 400 miles.
(I drive 100mi. /day with 90 of those miles on highways...)

HOWEVER, when blasting around the back roads, I have returned 11mpg. (Yes, it was serious fun )

 

No insult intended. I follow the same practice of watching Semis--they're very good for alerting as to when police are on the roads, too. Nice to know when you can go 70-80 mph instead of 60-65 on the open road.

 

Hi...I recently bought my '05 MC 5-spd......and this past week checked the mileage by both calculating and using the OBC.......used Shell premium, and it has been cold here in VA.........33.2 calculated,.....32.2 OBC consumption reading.........pretty accurate.
Also checked odometer accuracy on interstate.......reads one-tenth of a mile short in 8 miles...[read 7.9 in 8.0 actual]
Speedometer reads 1 mph fast at 70 compared to GPS.

 

You have manual transmission. Mostly city? What mix of urban vs highway traffic? How many miles a week? Anyone else drive it?

What is the exact tire size you have? Which 18" wheels? More weight and larger tires will give slower speedometer and less miles traveled than actual but only by a little. Wider tires give more rolling resistance.

If you have mostly short trips and urban driving then 21 to 24 mpg would be about right. Mixed highway and urban traffic about 25 to 27 mpg. Mostly highway 29+ mpg for manual transmission.

Best mpg? Try 16x6.5" wheels and 205/50-16 tires.

For street I use 15x5.5 rims and 175/65-15 tires. I can get 29 mpg at best.
With 17" wheels and 215/45-17 I get about 24-25 mpg.

 

in my o4 mcs modded, i get and average of 27 mostly city, and get average 40 when i do drive highway, draft a semi and it will usually stay in the 50's . i also keep it on the real time comsunption cause i like to watch it move

and why wouldnt anyone draft, proven fact on mythbusters, you will see a 2-5 mpg better with in a 100' of the semi, now granted they did it with a dodge magnum, and saw up to a 15 mpg better with in 20'

 

I have a stock MCS 05, no mods. I get a consistant 22.5, OBC and calculate. My driving style is very spirited, stop and go city, mostly short trips. Only 25k in 3 years. It amazes me that others get so much higher. I can only guess its the lack of daily highway miles that really does me in, but I do drive hard and fast. I didn't go Mini to drive like an old person!

 

I concur with the 3 people above. With my 06 MCSa on 17" wheels, I have drafted larger vehicles and enjoyed +40 mpg. I did this all the way to the Dragon last year, but after I had a 16% pulley and DDM CAI installed, that slightly dropped to upper 30's mpg. In typical stop and go Chicago traffic, I average around 25mpg.

As a side, I love "Mythbusters" and thought it was cool that they brought that fact to light. But I, like many cycling enthusiasts, always knew the benefits of drafting.

 

It's normal.