Just realized that my MCSCa gets the same mpg as my Mercedes S550 with 382 horsepower.

 

I'm not surprised. The new engines do a bit better...my R56 Cooper is getting over 40 mpg around town, but I'm trying. I think 38-39 mpg is very realistic on a manual R56 Cooper.

 

MINI is like that in many ways. It goes to extremes. Drive aggresively at 16 mpg. Drive like grandma at 36 mpg. Buy a base MINI for $20k. But a loaded MINI for $40k. With the 1 series coming (or with the Z4, or even maybe the 3) it makes it hard for an aggressive driver who likes their cars loaded to go with the MINI. (in some ways)

 

$110,000 Mercedes vs $30,000 Mini

$80,000 difference plus lower taxes & Insurance

The Answer is Mini S

 

Interesting - The '08 S550 is EPA Rated at 14city/21hwy while the '08 MCSCa is rated at 19/29 mpg. I have to admit that the 19 mpg city is not very impressive, but if you are seeing the same mpg then maybe you are having more "fun" in your MINI than your S550

I have an MCSC manual and typically get about 20mpg for a tank, and usually have lots of "fun" in a rather annoyingly urban commute

 

14 mpg would definitely be discouraging, but in my 19mi highway 4mi "city-like" commute I get 27-28mpg on average.

 

Hi everyone, a noob here, just joined a few days ago. I don't know if it's been mentioned, but starting in 08 the epa city/hwy ratings are based on a totally new procedure meant to emulate more realistic driving conditions. The previous testing basically assumed we're all basically 80 year old church ladies that take 10 minutes to reach 35mph... no offense to elderly church ladies btw.

Anyhoo, the gist of it is that the new ratings will show consistently lower figures for the same car configuration between last year and this year. The more miserly cars like the Mini and hybrids are hit the hardest and would show up to 4mpg lower than last year. So I would just say caution comparing sticker mileages between 08 models and the older cars.

Of course, actual mileages don't change.

Daniel

 

i'm enjoying 30 MPG in an overall rating without much issue. fun is the first priority then gas mileage. maybe you should try a manual or hypermiling. woot i got 78mpg to a tank once by coasting as much as possible and limiting the acceleration. i made shift points around 2300 rpm. i'll never do it again but it was cool to know that i could.

 

Ok, so I got 31.5 MPG on the freeway last night going 65 MPH @ 2,150 RPMS. But when I reset the computer for once I got into the City I got no more than 16.5 MPG. Combined I was getting about 23 MPG, which is not too far away from my S550 with combined driving (21 MPG).

 

You must have an exceptionally well tuned S550, going by the epa figures the 50/50 combined rating is 20mpg (16/24). Btw, I calculated using your figures and the mini combined mpg comes in at 24mpg, which imo is very good.

Today's efficient engines and aerodynamic design don't really show much of a difference in mileage anymore from the small cars to the large ones. Take for example my wife's 07 mini (non S). The new engine only shows a modest 3hp increase from mine, but the new design and the valvetronic valve control have turned hers into a little beast. She can trounce my car any time, and I know I am a better driver... doesn't help in the least. Not only that, but to add insult to injury, hers gets better mileage too. She gets over 400miles on a tank, I'm lucky if I get 380 miles, both of us in very similar driving conditions (80% hwy).

Honestly, I would be happy with the mileage you're getting in both your cars. I'd still pick the mini to drive though.

Daniel

 

Daniel,

Agree. The MINI's mpg overall is much better than 10 mpg (which I get on my 993TT).

 

i average about 31 on the highway and about 28 or so city driving.

and if the computer is correct i get about 28 or so for the whole tank.

 

Dbtk, you just mentioned one of the few other cars I would swap for the Mini... if I had the money.

Well, just did the mileage on my first full tank and got a disappointing 27mpg. This, compared to the wife's 32mpg is pretty sad, but considering my previous car got only 22mpg, it's a vast improvement.

Daniel

 

also keep in mind you prolly accellerate hard, cause its fun.

 

This thread had me wondering what our new MINI was clocking for fuel mileage. I keep fuel mileage/maintenance logs in all of our cars, and while we have been recording gallons, odo readings, trip meter mileage, and dollars, I had yet to sit and hand-calculate what the MPG might be on the MINI. I don't trust any of the computer readouts for MPG (on any car).

So....I did the calculations...and here is what we are getting....

Lowest mileage so far was the first tank, at 20.52 mpg.
Highest mileage so far was 26.47 mpg, with all other figures in-between.

I don't have an idea of what the highway mileage might be, as we haven't been on a road trip yet. These figures are all city miles.

Comparatively speaking, our Mercedes is beating the MINI in city mileage, with a 28 mpg average.

My final thought is that the mileage might improve, as the car only has 3700 miles at this time. Any thoughts on that idea?

 

Well, to confirm my earlier calculations on mpg I reset my OBC for pure city driving. Here is San Francisco with lights often not timed and hence resulting in multiple "stop and go" situations I am getting 14mpg. :-L

 

dbtk,
Wow - I commute in Pittsburgh, over some pretty good hills and through neighborhoods to avoid the boring stop and go. I get 23mpg if I am gentle (okay gentler) and I have had 16.5mpg when driving rather aggressively over the course of a tank. I can imagine your commute is slightly more stop and go, but 14mpg... Unless you are really pushing it, that just seems out of line to me. Makes you wonder if something is out of kilter...

 

CupOJoe, yes, here in SF the lights are rarely times and there is a lot of block to block stop and go. That said, I am fairly moderate on the gas pedal. However, I do notice that I am forced to upshift manually using the padel shifters as the transmission tends to hold onto a lower gear until about 3,200 rpms.