SO when i got my car i was surprised at the low MPGs i thought they would increase as i go through break in. here i am at 3200 miles and am getting 20-21 mpg city and 26 highway. whats the deal? i am no lead foot either, i have tried quite a few tanks where i really try to get the best gas millage possible but it still stinks. anyone else getting poor mpg's??????

 

Hmmm... Im getting a 26 or so mpg average with lead foot driving and canyon driving on break in... I dont know why youre getting what youe getting...

 

I shift at 3k most of the time...and I have never once gotten 26 mpg...no matter what kind of driving I do.

 

You've never once gotten 26mpg..... are you saying you usually get less or more? MCS I presume?

 

I'm guessing your in a Cooper (non S)?

 

jcw driver here, i get 22...when i remove the lead from my foot

 

I average about 24mpg. I have an 05 MCS cabrio with Pilo CAI and Alta 15% pulley. I do a mix of city and hwy driving.

 

I average 24/27 MPG in my daily driving. The best I ever had was 37 MPG on a road trip and the worst is at the Dragon where I get about 7 MPG.

 

jcw here.....21 mpg....but who's complaining?

 

As my car's miles have tached on the mpg has improved. I can now do 31.3mpg if I cruise @ 60-70mph. Around town I do about 20mpg. But yah for the first month or so I hardly saw over 20mpg

 

I was in the same situation getting poor mileage. A couple months ago I did a computer reset and the mileage improved dramatically.

 

how do u do a computer reset? is there reset button or something?

 

Someone on MINI2 posted this. I followed this procedure and then for the first tank or two after the reset I drove like a gramma. I don't know if that is necessary but that's what I did and ever since my MPG improved by about 5 mpg.

1) With the key in the off position press and hold the speedo reset button, turn the key to position one and the screen will say test and a number.

2) Go through the list by pressing the reset button up to test 19 and then wait.

3) The display should then say"log i-off" then "log i-on" over and over again....when "log i- off" appears again press the reset button ....and now you are in the system software.

4) Scroll upto 21.0 Software reset. When reset appears press the button again and you will get a beep and you're speedo needle may vibrate a little (this is normal).

5) Turn ignition off then back on to position 2 for 10 secs then start your car and hey presto its done.

 

Sounds about like my mileage.

 

I average about 21 mpg with my normal daily driving that is mostly in the city.

When I have a week where I do a little bit of highway driving I get 24

On an extended road trip on the highway I can get up to 29. . .

 

I have had my 03 MC for about two months now. Averaging around 33 mpg.
Driving is a mix of 70% around town and the rest highway.
At 3200 rpms speed = 75/80 for a six hour trip to Maine got 36.7 mpg.
I have a bit of a lead foot, encouraged by the fun factor.
Big snow storm tonight, so will be wringing her out tomorrow on my drive to teach school 70 miles away.
Very pleased with mileage - do wish the MC had a sixth gear as it seems to be laboring in the 70-80 mph range.

 

I touched 40 mpg on my MC when it was stock going a steady 75/80 for hours. But normal daily driving i avg'd 35. Now i just have an intake, and i've gotten gotten as low as 31. I can imagine having crappy mpg on an S... i'd test it out every chance i got

But i've been reading alot of people's mpg dropping lately... I used to care alot. now i could almost care less, as long as i'm enjoying my MINI!

 

another factor that may not be accounted for is that the gas companies add MTBE to the gas during the winter. this will often drop your mileage a few mgp... possibly more depending on how it is driven. I don't know much about it, but I've always gotten better gas mileage in the summer (without a/c running) than I do during the winter.

 

That's about the best I get whether I hot foot it around that tank, or not. A lot of people brag about high gas mileage because that's what their trip computer is telling them, but we've found that gauge to be ridiculously incorrect.

"Ohhh, you creeped through traffic for about twenty minutes! You're getting 37 mpg!!!"

 

i've gotten my mpg down to 6.8 for a whole tank of gas. ummmmmmm. yes this was at the track.

 

In the 2004 MCS: 25mpg hard city driving; 26mpg usual city average per tank; 34mpg commute on Hwy 101 75-85 mph; 43mpg cruise locked-on at 65mph hwy, sixth gear.

 

I usually get much less. The best I ever got was 25 mpg, on a road trip...cruise control on the whole time.

 

I got about 23-24 mpg average during my first 2000 miles or so. But now I keep averaging around 27.3 to 28.0 mpg and that is highway and city together. Clearly Chattanooga is not a town with endless traffic lights plus our highways are not super busy. It helps to cruise in 4th gear at 40mph in town or cruise at just under 70 mph on the highway here and there if gas mileage is your goal.
Cheers,
Herbert

 

Well *****, judging by your listed locations, it looks like you're doing a lot of mountain driving, and at high altitudes along with steep grades I am not suprised at all. Plus, different gas additives for the winter time, the computer being off, and teperature all have an effect. Also, this is a MINI, not a hybrid. The gas mi. is not as good as it could be, but it was not the number one priority when designing the car, and it's still better than most SUVs, like my bosses Caddy Escalade, averaging 12.8 mpg! hahahaha... My avg, according to that crazy computer, is 28.9 right now, but it was 30.9 in August.

You can do the math yourself at the pump, but when you do also realize that you are calculating the TOTAL gas used, not just your mpg. Remember, your car uses gas to start and idle, not much, but enough to throw the calculated mpg off a few points.

Good Luck,
-Steve

 

My highway mileage gets way better when I cruise in 5th instead of 6th. And the car just runs smoother above 4000 RPM.
The best I ever got was about 28 mixed. And that involved an extended 4000-4500 RPM highway run. I seem to average about 22-23 combined if using 6th, and about 2 or 3 more not. I've had several software versions & it all seems about the same on any of them.
Screwy, eh?