I have had my MC for a month and if I drive mostly freeway with some city I am getting about 35MPG. My first tank was almost all city stop and go with and average speed of 23MPH and I got 28MPG.

 

Well.. the utility I get from driving 70-75mph far out-weighs the 4-5mpg I would gain by getting flipped off by all the other SoCal motorists. hehe

 

I would say no, that's not normal for an MC.

I also drive nearly all highway at 70-75mph, and consistently get 33-34 mpg. When I limit myself to 65, I get 37 mpg.

 

MiniMarki, I think it's not the speed but the revs that are dropping your gas mileage. I typically cruise around 73-74 mph and let the CVT keep the revs below 3000. On a road trip, I get about 34 mpg, with everyday mixed driving around 31-32 mpg.

 

02 MCS, ~50k miles

Last month, I made a trip down to my friends university. The trip consisted of a ~150 mile highway drive (low-mid 70's), some city driving while there, and 150 miles back (with a little traffic jam in the middle). The OBC said I was getting 38 mpg when I made it to my friends house and was down to 36 mpg when I got back home and to the gas station. I hand calculated my mpg and came up with 32 . 4 mpg difference . My normal commute yields 32-33 mpg OBC. Not bad for a MCS from what I've seen but I'm still pretty disappointed how optimistic the OBC is. I have seen over 40 mpg on the OBC when cruising ~50 mph in 6th.

 

the only really solid averaging I'm seeing here is from MiniBetterThanBeer and MaxN - LONNNNNG distance averages. One year for one, 37,000 miles for the other... anything else doesn't pass the "statistically significant sniff test." Given that we're all reporting statistical estimates here, those seem most worthy of respect.

Want to change your MPG? Driving habits effect them most.
Change gears at 2400 rpm
never use the brake - means you already wasted gas
keep the windows closed
keep your tires properly inflated
ride by yourself with no luggage
fill the gas tank on cold mornings - the gas will expand as the day heats up
never never hear the whine of the supercharger again

Or, one can just drive like a nut and still know you're getting better milage than 65% of the country... <grin>

 

Agreed! ^^^

The reality is (IMO) when one drives the MINI as it 'should' be driven/we want to drive it...in the FUN, 'Let's MOTOR!' kind of way, it is NOT about good mileage! Never the twain shall meet!

 

I'll roll over 100,000 miles in a couple of weeks (took just over 3 years). "Statistically significant" enough for ya?

My commute is 75 miles each way, almost all highway. And I've been calculating my mpg the whole time (by the tankful, not the OBC).

Like I said: 33-34 mpg averaging 70-75 on the highway, 37 if I behave.

Of course, that's an MC not an MCS.

 

yep, that is MIGHTY significant, to use a technical term.

Steady state, "zero delta vee" driving will produce pretty nice results.

Apparently the typical "peak of the MPG curve" happens around 40mph for most cars. technical point, not practical point, of course. lock that cruise control on the long haul, whatever speed.

glad you're getting the good gas milage - I certainly don't envy you doing 37,000 miles a year. while you're beating my MCS's performance by, say, 5mpg on the highway, you're about 2.5x my annual milage. hope you got the good radio!

 

First thing I did when I drove it home was park it in the garage, rip out the stock stereo and speakers and put in a completely new sound system.

I usually keep my cars for 8+ years, so with my long commute it was worth it.

 

I was about to come in and gloat at my constant ~30mpg in my S, regardless of type of driving. Even with an autox thrown in, I'd get 29mpg.

But yesterday I filled the tank for the first time after putting on the snow tires, and it was around 25mpg! Nokia 185/65/15 with a paltry 30psi all around. I was running the runflats at 40psi. Tires and tire pressure really makes a difference.