Wasn't that the M3 was following the Prius around their track. The Prius was getting flogged for all it could give, the M3 wasn't breaking a sweat. Still an interesting comparison.

 

Thanks for sharing the info, kev. At least it's good to know that there is nothing wrong with my car. I will try to drive it more on the freeway if possible to keep the MPG happy.

 

I get 33mpg like clock work.

 

Just an update. When I made the above post in August 08, Romi had about 2,100 miles on her.

Now at 16,000 miles, she is averaging 34 to 35 in town and near 43 on the highway at 70MPH, level, in little to no wind conditions.

 

Took a trip from Austin to Dallas this weekend. Had a slight tailwind, and managed to touch 40mpg right until I hit South Dallas, where the highway became a parking lot and ruined everything. My car is a Cooper S. Yes, I was pleasantly surprised.

 

Like a nerd, I've kept track of every tankful of gas since I bought my 2008 MCSa back in June 2008 (all 35 of them). I average 30.4 +/- 1.1 MPG (calculated) over the 13,000 miles I've had the car. The best I've done on a tank was is 33.7 MPG and the worst was 28.5 MPG. Most of my driving is to/from work which is a mix of highway speeds and stop-and-go. I'm an average aggressive driver (you have to be to survive in SoCal), but not a racer. The 33 MPG tanks are the vacation road trips we've taken in the Mini where I've tried to maximize mileage, so I doubt I'll ever see more than 34 MPG. Oh, and the OBC is typically high by 2 to 4 MPG.

 

^^^

That's odd, my OBC is really very close to my calculated mileage. Off by tenths.

 

i'm jealous of all you open highway commuters. i get 19mpg overall driving in nyc. it's a different kinda city driving here.

 

I say, "38 when I'm not driving like an *** ... 24 when I AM -- "

 

Right now I'm learning how to drive manual transmission in my MINI... and I'm averaging 31mpg in city/neighborhood traffic. Pretty good in comparison to my Jeep's 11mpg average.

 

I got 48.4 mpg last tank, but I was trying.

 

For Oakland Raiders Mini...

Yes, I am getting about 30mpg (70 - 80mph) when driving in "fun mode" and 32mpg (60 - 65mph) when in "let the world go by mode". I live in Concord and commute to Corte Madera. Using highway 4 I am doing about 80% freeway the whole way.

BTW - 09' MCS

 

We are getting 32.6 mpg in our JCW according to the onboard computer. 30% city, 30% rural, 40% highway. 93 octane Shell. I have been shifting at around 3500 rpm to 4000 rpm. Occasionally shifting at 4500 rpm. The wife shifts a little bit more conservatively around 3 to 3500 rpm. Also we are still breaking it in so the numbers probably will change. But I'm guessing I will still get around 30 to 31 mpg.

 

The onboard computer makes for interesting reading, but is not accurate. If you calculate miles driven vs. gallons added to fill, you'll get several mpg less than shown on the computer. Around town, mine gets 1-2 mpg less than shown...on the highway, 3-4 (or more) fewer mpg.

The computer is most useful for watching instantaneous mpg in order to understand the relationship between driving behavior and fuel economy.

 

I'm at roughly 30mpg.
considering my driving style, I'm impressed :P

doing a 2500km trip later this month, will try for 40mpg.

 

I'm getting between 42 and 44.5 mpg with a combo of highway and city driving, although mor highway than city. I've got a little over 10,000 on Fred now and he's been 100% trouble free so far.

 

Impressive feedback. Anxious to take my 2008 MC Clubman S on a road trip to Wisconsin this weekend (from Colorado). In town, on a very good commuting route, now getting 30.5 MPG (calculated). Freeway 90% of the way, expect to average 70-80 mph, and would love 40 - 45 mpg. Previous Mini was 2007 S, but always wanted the Clubman.

 

When posting your gas mileage, it would be helpful if you specify whether you are just quoting the onboard computer number or if you are calculating it based on mileage driven and gallons of gasoline added at fillup.

(There's a significant difference, so it isn't comparable data ). Thanks!

 

Mine is not from the OBC. It is what I've calculated based on number of miles driven and gallons to fill the tank. As others have noted, I find that there is a difference between what the OBC says and what I actually get. And usually the OBC overestimates the MPG.

 

Why is the trip computer so far off in it's calculations? Does anyone have any information as to why this is so? Mine varies between 3% to as much as 12%, but mostly in the 3-7% range (it is always on the optomistic side; computer says 37mpg, but I calculate 35). This seems shoddy to me, and should not be acceptable in the eyes of MINI and BMW. My other cars computers are spot on all of the time (Lexus & Volvo).

My refueling methods are as close to each other as possible: I let the pump auto-fill the tank until the first automatic "click-off" occurs. I wait 10 seconds (for the gas to settle down the filler neck and into the tank) then squeeze the trigger, ONE TIME ONLY, until the pump automatically shuts off again. I then make my calculations and compare to the on board computer. I have yet to get a reading within 1 or 2%.

MINI: How about a firmware upgrade to the computer? Or consider switching sources for future models.

I know that this is nit-picking, but hey...aside from a couple of small rattles from time to time, there's nothing else to pick on with this car

 

who knows? -- it's another mystery to me, too -- like the one about how the gas gauge isn't linear EITHER (but could be if BMW bothered). my only other theory is that the gas we both buy here in the Chicago area is formulated differently than what BMW expects ...

 

are you resetting the average mpg after each fill up? also on my mini it's pretty consistent and not off by that much from hand calculation.

 

My MCSa does show a significant "optimistic" bias with the OBC, and I do reset everything after each fillup.

 

Actually calculated was 29.5. So 3mpg difference.

 

32.6/29.5 = 10.5 % high reading on the OBC. That's consistent with my findings.