I have a 2004 MCS, and I cant seem to break past 22 MPG. I dont drive hard, and no matter what I do, or how much Im the on the highway, I cant seem to up the mileage. Think its a problem with the car? Should I bring it in? I mean, I got 24 MPG in my 98 Mustang GT...

 

Are you actually calculating the mileage or using the OBC?

I've found that I get much better mileage on the highway, but at legal speeds (55-60 around here) I use 5th gear rather than 6th and I get 28-30 mpg. In-town driving gets 22-24 depending on how heavy my right foot is.
Also, how many miles are on the car? Are you past the break-in stage? Mine has 3500 and the mileage is slowly creeping up as the miles accumulate.

 

Most of us with MCS can get about 27-28 mpg in mixed driving and over 30 on the highway. If you have alot of urban driving and heavy traffic then expect about 24-25 mpg overall. This is all hand calculated not using your trip computer.

Try Air conditioner off, make sure air pressure in tires is good about 34 psi,
drive a steady speed from about 40 to 60 mph when possible. Don't brake hard or accelerate too hard. Shift at about 2500 rpm and don't rev much higher than 3500 rpm. If you still get about 22 mpg then I'd take it to the dealer and have them check the PCV valve and hose.

When driven hard and reved up to 4500-6500 rpm the MCS will give me about 25-26 mpg overall without trying too hard.

 

I dont an OBC, so I calculate it when I go to the gas station. I wind getting like 240-260 miles to each tank...I think its totally unacceptable. So maybe I'll do like ya say, and just start shifting REALLY early, and see if anything changes.

I have about 3000 miles on the car, and the mileage has stayed the same since the day I got it.

 

bigpmj,

I too have a 2004 MCS. All of my driving is in the city with hardly ever any freeway jaunts. While I once got 23 mpg on a tank, the usual is 21-22 mpg. And here in Phoenix, the air conditioning is always on.

 

We got around 900 miles on the beast and the last fillup was about 10.6 gallons for 244 miles. Half of that was freeway with a little stop and go and the rest city with lots of stop and go.

 

10.6 gallons? That's awesome! I'm used to driving a Nissan Pathfinder and I get somewhere around 230 miles and then my fill up is usually about 16 or so gallons. It's going to be good to have a car that gets over 20 miles per gallon again!

 

Drive like grandma, get 30+ mpg. Drive like the car was designed for, and get about 25 on the highway (in an MCS). Thus, 22 is in the ballpark. So say the bazillion NAM threads on gas mileage.

I routinely get about 25.5 mpg on long trips. That's some stop and go and long stretches of 80+. I usually have the AC on when driving on the highway (around town it's not necessary for me, and it cuts into the power too much).

 

I know what you mean. I am glad not to see the needle move all the time!

 

I've got you all beat! When I don't go on the highway, I get around 19 mpg in my MCS. I commute about 4 miles per day and it's straight across downtown Chicago, typically at rush hour. On the highway I get about 31 mpg at 75-80 mph.

 

One day I got 7 mpg but it was a track day.

 

Yeah I think you should take it in.

My MCS is at 5000km / 3000 miles. My lifetime mileage is 27.1 MPG ( US gallons) with mostly city driving. The range is a low of 23.9 ( my first fillup which may not have had a full tank to start) with and a high of 34.2 on a couple of highway drives.

Your experience seems significantly different so I would get it checked out.

 

We now have approx 6000 miles on our '04. Tootles is the wife's daily driver, on wife's shorter days and weekends I get the pleasure of driving the Mini. With our combined driving we are putting 300-350 miles behind us each week. The wife's style is put the CVT in "D" and motor along around town. I prefer the manual mode and tend to tach 5-6000 rpms through the first four shifts. Living in western Nc the twisties just beg to be challenged . Taking these two driving styles into account we are averaging 29+, using the OBC and the a/c usage is rare. I have not had the pleasure of a highway trip so have no idea of that yet. Just an FYI, we purchased our Tootles "just window shopping" while vacationing in Charleston SC. The first 300+ miles she saw was at interstate speeds on the way home and that was 26.7. Can't wait to check milage on highway after break in. All in all, I am very pleased with milage.

 

 

I'm worried about mine... I get roughly 17MPG during city driving... usually under 40mph and i dont even break 200miles for a tank.

 

I feel bad..I just drove 113 miles today and the needed moved to 3/4 from full mark but then again that was mostly freeway driving.

 

Okay, so with the "low" gas mileage that most of you get, and with the rising gas prices, how do you all feel about your Mini's and the economical part of it? Is it still worth buying one if you anly get 22 mpg? How much would gas prices have to reach for you to not want a Mini Cooper anymore? How high would prices have to reach in order for you to be looking at the Hybrid range of vehicles?

 

I had a Prius for a day and although the gas mileage was 44mpg it does not compare to a cooper in looks or handling. Plus, nothing is free. Right now, there is huge premium to be paid in order to obtain a Prius and supposedly, it's sold out for a couple of years. So even if you can buy one you would have to drive a lot to pay for that premium. And you would be missing the fun of driving a cooper.

A good reason to buy one is to be green. We are looking at buy the Lexus SUV once it goes hybrid.

An expanded public transportation system that works is what's needed in the U.S.

 

You guys should be happy, one of our local members gets 15 mpg on a CVT!

 

Not to gloat, but yesterday I averaged 37.1 mpg in my MCS on a highway drive from Columbus to Cincinnati, at an average speed of 72.3 mph. This was on Shell V-Max premium. I was impressed with this fuel, as I think this is my best mileage to date.

 

I just returned to Tucson from a weekend trip to Silver City, NM. Did 80-85 with air and got 28 mpg! Three people and stuff on board too!

 

Maybe all you S owners would like to consider a Cooper for your next Mini purchase? My '04 is averaging 32-35 mpg in combined driving, and on a recent highway trip, I got 44 mpg!!!

 

once i got about 45mpg drafting (only for a short period of time... dont freak) behind a semi. Then i got afraid of rock chips and exited for a gas station.

har.

 

I don't drive too hard (well, usually ) normally shift below 4800RPM, A/C use is only when it's hot or humid (> 85F usually). Alta intake, v36 software...

Anyways, I've been getting about 25MPG in the city, highway- tho, has been around 32MPG lately... Drops to 31 with heavy A/C use... Thats running between 75-80MPH...

Like MGCMAN, I had an anomaly this morning. I had the climate control on "68F", with the fan on the lowest setting, no A/C. I was following a suburban (with mudflaps) most of the way- avg. around 70MPH (in and out of construciton)-
34.8MPG, according to the OBC. Was impressed :smile:

A couple of points to take in consideration, calculate the difference with a 5MPG improvement on your monthly fuel bill, S vs. non-S. For me, 32MPG vs. 37MPG. For me, going 1,200MI monthly (my summer driving diet)- this works out to 37.5gallons monthly, vs. 32.4gallons. At $2.15/gallon, this works out to about $20 more per month. A difference, but not massive in the long-run...

My friend has an 04 Prius, can't get over 52MPG on the highway... Tops he ever saw (avg.) was 53... He drives slow, too. But were I very concerned about fuel costs, TDI is the direction I'd drift. A Golf TDI, given current prices (@ $1.80/gallon), 48MPG highway- $45/month. Saves me about $35/month...

So you see, fuel economy can make a difference on the budget. But, IMHO, it isn't massive...

 

I've been getting about 19 mpg (calculated, not OBC) for my in town travel. It's not so bad I'd reconsider the purchase, but it is disappointing when my old car weighed 800 lbs more and got 6 mpg better mileage with V6 smoothness.