I recently bought a 2003 MCS with some mods -- JCW exhaust, Dinan intake and Dinan stage 3 engine software. My MPG around town -- more suburb than city, so not really stop and go -- averages around 19. I can get up to 32-34 on the highway, but around town, it just, well, sucks.

Anyone else see mileage this bad? Any recommendations?

 

It just depends on your driving habits. If I take my time when I drive, I can average about 24-26mpg in stop and go. If I drive spiritedly I get anywhere from 20-22mpg. Highway I can get easily 36mpg. Combined lately I've been going 27-28. Just try different things to see what works best for you. Also check to see if the air filter is clean.

 

Early upshifting (2000-2500 rpm) is the key to better mileage.

 

Our 05 would average around 20 MPG, so that doesn't seem to far out of line. The R53 isn't a very efficient car if you drive it right.

 

Really it's true. I don't think I race around all the time. On the highway I'm overtaken all the time. I like to get on it a little from stop lights, but I'm typically not far ahead of the other traffic.

What could it be?

 

Bone stock, 2005, I can still get 17mpg if I don't hold myself back. It's about how you drive.

 

You can probably do better overall in city traffic by being really gentle on the throttle and coasting more rather than accelerating hard and braking to stops.

If you get a scan gauge II (hook it up to your OBDII connector under the dash) you can read throttle position and mpg instantly.
When you get going from a stop you can ease on the throttle and barely get much above about 10% throttle to get into the flow of traffic and save some fuel. You won't be fast but at least you can save some gas.

Most times I can get about 22 to 25 mpg with city driving but it isn't easy.
19-22 mpg would be expected. Watch your tire pressures and keep them up. Try not to carry excess weight in your car. Is anyone else driving your MINI besides you?

 

If I drive spirited, combo is about 25MPG>
THe other day i left of a long trip and set cruise at 70 and got
32 MPG.
I guess anywhere in between is OK.
boxcars

 

Nope just me. I thought I was driving pretty conservatively, but I'll try some of these suggestions and see what happens. Thanks, all.

 

this is true as long as you dont bog it, correct? then i would think youre just dumping fuel into the cat.

I have to say i really like this about the mini. it has the capability to be surprisingly efficient on the highway, while still have some zip around town. I dont know about you guys, but have an efficient highway car that still tears up the twisties (still not THAT bad mileage either) is a pretty good deal!

 

240whp and I get 29mpg on the highway. Around town? All bets are off

 

Put more air in your tires
Change your air filter
Change your oil (and filter)
Change your fuel filter
clean your injectors
Change your spark plugs
........and all of those "driving" tips.....

 

You don't want to hear the whine... if you hear the whine you have to make it louder and that equals poor gas performance. Someone mentioned shifting at 200-2500 rpm... I increased my MPG by 3 just doing that instead of 25 I get 28 and that drinving I-10W Houston at 5:00pm (for those who don't know I-10 turns into a giant parking lot at 4:30)

 

Sure hope you did not buy a 2003 MCS for good gas mileage One of the things that burns my A$$ is all the comments and questions I get while filling up like "I bet you get good mileage" and "That must be a cheep car to drive" The MCS is in no means an economy car, it is a sports car and a very inefficient one to boot. Heck I have gotten better mileage in my old 5.0 Mustang.

If I'm looking for economy I drive my TDI if I'm looking for FUN I drive my MCS!

 

We do our highway driving at around 70-75, almost always using the cruise control. In town we drive it harder (yes, it chirps the tires in second gear no problem!) but we keep the RPMs down when just driving along. So, my advice is to go ahead and accelerate as you like, but keep the RPM at 2,000 or less once you are at speed (even if the speed is 25 mph). We average 28 by the computer (admittedly a bit optimistic).

You're right about the MPG though. If I were buying a mini today, I'd order a well-optioned base model, not an S. My brother is getting ready to order a 2009 and he's doing that at my advice. He also priced replacement runflats for S models and said no way. An S not only costs more to buy, but it costs more to maintain and keep in tires as well. Now that my idea of "performance" is skewing toward MPG and away from torque/horsepower, I'd go with a base model.

 

See, that is the problem I have with the MCS. Why is it so inefficient? My wife has an 06MCS and gets similar mileage to that posted here, 22 city and 26-28hw in what I consider normal driving habits (not fast, not slow). But for a 2500lb car, that SUCKS. I know the S is designed for performance and I know it isn't an economy car, and I am fine with paying to play, but I think I'm paying too much.
One thing that bugs me is that I have a car to compare against. My car is a 1992 Porsche 968 with a NA 3.0L 4cylinder engine and 6-speed transmission. Granted, it is a different car and a different animal (apples to oranges?). However, it weighs 500lb more than the mini, has almost twice the engine displacement, more HP, more torque, and gets almost the same mileage. I typically get 20city and 26hwy. Not to mention it is 14yrs older than her Mini.

So that brings me back to the mini. Why would a car that is so small and weighs so little get such bad mileage? That is my rant for the day and hopefully someone has a better answer than "it isn't an economy car".

 

i really think it's all about driving habit. the fact that you can get up to ~34mpg on the highway means that the car is capable of being relatively efficient, but you have to drive it like an efficient car. given the potential performance of the car, that's not bad. also given the potential performance of the car, i bet most people couldn't hold themselves back at some point(s) on a tank that things like that really kills the mpg

 

Whatever it is, its better than my Jeep or GTO average of 15mpg....I'm averaging about 30mpg now with the MINI. Best was 34mpg on a long trip...I am getting exactly what I expected from this car so far.

 

I would love to get 34mpg on the HW. They must be going 65mph or something. anytime I'm traveling 75ish, the computer says 27mpg and when I checked the real mileage this past weekend traveling mostly 75-80 on cruise control it was 26mpg for the tank. I understand that I wasn't getting the maximum mileage out of the car, but you shouldn't have to drive UNDER the speed limit to get decent mileage out of a new car.


Anyone know how to DE-tune the car?

 

I got 48mpg going to work which is a 17 mile trip. just stay out of major boost and your good... be smooth weith the throttle... upshift @2750 rpm to stay in the band where you are not lugging it (15% pully). I have the wilwood BBK and the breyton mini magic sport rims if that helps. I was also driving 62 mph though, drafting behind a big rig...lol... and i stopped completely on the fwy 3 times! going 70mph i can get 38-40mpg... if i drive smart on the street shifting into neutral when i know i am slowing down or going downhill i can get 28mpg without being annoying to other drivers... its all on how you work mini... dont let it work you! hahaha

 

I think its simply all about mpg not having been on the minds of the designers. Think about it ...mpg was not their concern and we all knew what we were buying into.

We were all pretty happy with our mpg until the price of gas went through the roof. Too late to complain now. We could sell our MINIs and buy something like the Prius (sp?) ...but then we'd be miserable.

Yes, I wish I was getting better than 25 mpg around town ...but that beat's most of the cars I pass. So, I'm good.

Dean.

 

So, I took the advice offered above -- shifted between 2,500 and 2,750 -- and basically worked to drive more smoothly, and my mpg went from 17.9 on my last tank to 21.9 on my latest tank -- using the exact same routes every day.

20 mpg seems to be my psychological threshold. I don't feel like I'm driving a miniature Hummer once I'm out of the teens.

It sucks to do without my supercharger whine. But I've started thinking about it like ice cream or beer or any other indulgence that isn't good for you in excess -- I enjoy my whine in moderation.

 

I got a ScanGauge II recently and have been playing with gas mileage. I realized that in my current car (04 Mazda6), the mileage I'm getting corresponds exactly inversely with my lovely exhaust note. I find myself punching the throttle just a little more than normal because of the exhaust, and the MPG drops significantly.

I never really knew how much throttle position and gear selection affects MPG until I got the SGII. I've managed to change my driving habits such that I don't feel like I'm bogging it around town, but I still get 3-4mpg more than I was, and I'm getting 5mpg more than my car is rated for!

 

I get 31-33 mpg combined with city and highway through using cruise control on the highway. The results of 37 mpg on the freeway in 6th gear were surprising...

 

I'm averaging 35+ MPG combined. Mostly street.. and I am a VERY conservative driver since the gas prices spiked. I shift at 2k RPMS Gear 1 & 2 and then I shift at 3.5RPM and drop it directly from 3-6 to cruise. I coast to a red light in Neutral