Hello. I have a 06 MCS with 48k miles that I had just bought. I'm getting about 20 city 26 hwy. I understand an "s" may get a little less because of the supercharger, but my Mom has a 09 Clubman with 24k miles and is getting 32/36. Mine is all stock with 17" run flats. Anybody have any thoughts? Car is in great shape and was taken good care of. Thank you, Brian.

 

It's about normal for the R53. At least it is for both of mine.Mine are both 6 speeds and if I keep my shifts under 3K I can get it up to about 24 in town. But whats the fun in that!!!

Also my wife gets High 20 low 30's in her 07 MCS

 

I think the average is 22 city and 29 highway, but as OldGameFreaK pointed out, it all depends on your driving habits.

 

Ive had my 06 r53 for a year and a half. Averaged 28mpg with majority hwy and about 1/3rd city driving.

My low speed fan resistor was shot (I would always hear my radiator fan cycling on high speeds at stops or through drive thru's). One weekend I replaced the fan relay. I also had slight roughness at idle. Sure enough my coil leads had developed some rust/corrosion. That same weekend I wiped clean the coil leads and applied di-electric grease to them. Its been about 4 tanks of gas since then and no joke Im averaging 31-32mpg driving the same routes at the same speeds as before.

Bottom line is fix anything that needs addressed along with a tune up (air filter, spark plugs) anything that may be due for replacement and I bet you can get it closer to the 30mpg range if you drive conservatively like me.

 

edit: deleted hijack and started new thread. Can't figure out how to delete post.

 

Hello. Thanks for the replies.
"Also my wife gets High 20 low 30's in her 07 MCS"

I am wondering then if the turbo minis get better mileage because of the turbo or is there something else about the second gen mini to account for the big difference in fuel mileage. My Mom has a Clubman and gets 10 miles more. Hers isn't a turbo. It's alright. This is still more fun than my ex astro van Brian

 

Oh yes, definitely the entire gen 2 engine is different. Turbos are more efficient than our old fashioned roots style superchargers. Also obviously a non boosted engine will be more fuel friendly than its boosted counter part.

A big difference in the boost of fuel efficiency for the gen 2's is the advent of direct injection vs our dated multiport fuel injection. I believe there are gearing changes in the transmission that differ between gen1 and 2 minis to keep the revs down on the gen 2s as well. Combine all the above and it more than makes up for the 5-10mpg difference.
The gen 2s are more efficient but in my opinion the gen 1s are more fun!

 

The newer engine is much more efficient. Heck, the 02 - 06 don't even qualify as "green cars" for parking on post, but the 07 on do. If you were looking for good gas mileage, you bought the wrong car.

 

Hello. I drive a '69 3/4 ton Chevy p/u and a '77 CJ5. This car is definitely better on gas. I didn't understand the difference in mileage between first and second generation. Thanks for clearing this up. I was concerned that there was something wrong. I do hear my fan running off and on while sitting still. Is that the engine or power steering fan and is the frequency normal? I agree that I am happier with a "blown" engine than one that needs exhaust to spool up. I drive semi and I'm tired of hearing turbo whistle all day. I would like to hear the super charger more, tho. (That will be another thread.) Thanks for the information. Brian

 

LOL, yep a lot better than those...

Are you running the AC? If you are then the fan will be running constantly. The PS fan will also cycle a lot and it is a much higher pitch than the other fan.

 

20 city seems low, and 26 hwy also seems low... my car is fairly modded with power adders, and even I still get 25 city and 28 hwy...

mayhap your car needs a tune up?

 

It is all relative...

You don't know how he drives the car.

 

Touché!!

brickren, you beating the h#ll out of that thing or what! lol

 

Considering that I do actually fence, your response is appropriate!

 

I'm at 24 city and 28-30 hwy, but mine is not stock and I have a hard time keeping my foot out of the gas... I did an economy run on a tank of gas once, never revving over 2K rpm in town and 3K rpm on the highway, drafting behind other cars, no abrupt starts, etc and I got 34mpg, but it was oh so boring...

 

Hi. I wouldn't say I'm hard on it. I'm only on my third tank of gas, but I do sport through the curves when the wife let me have my turn. I do try to keep rpms under 3k. Yes I run a/c. Hate the heat. Cold weather person. 60• is good. Reputable Toyota dealership serviced it. Don't know about tune up. They told me they changed the fluids. Hoping that they left trans fluid alone. I'm calling them tomorrow. I think my first priority is a guard on p/s fan and a CAI. What else should be in tune up? Plugs and wires? Brian

 

With only about 50k, the wires should be fine, plugs most likely fine, but old enough, temoving them will prevent them from getting stuck. One warning....mini's do tend to spit out plugs that are improperly tourqued, tearing the treads out of the head...a potentially $$ item. So use a tourque wrench...then check them a few days laters. Imo ngk plugs, stock temp if no sc pulley, but one step cooler if you have one...the same as the JCW...might ne time for a sc belt...
take a look at the pulley on the sc....if it is black, and looks like a typical alternator one it is stock...if it looks cnc machined with boltholes, it is aftermarket...means more hp and more ZIPP, but maybe less mpg...and a different size belt than stock.

 

PS
Choice of tires/rims also effect mpg...
17's tend to be heavy, and wide, some more rolling resistance (most performance tires are not known for low rolling resistance). Narrower tires on lighter rims tend to get better mpg.
Also many folks run non standard tire sizes to get more common tire sizes to get more choices and better tire $$...causes the speedo and odometer to be off...so mpg becomes off by a large %...common alternate sizes are USUALLY within 5% of the stock, but means you might ne traveling more/less miles than you think at a different speed.....
Your mpg seems to be fine, pretty typical.....the gen1 s is no high mpg car...simple motor and a sc, pushing a non aerodynamic brick down the highway...better than a truck due to weight, but vertical windshiel/grill are all draggy.....

 

Pst 2005 ps fans, inclufing replacemts, have a built in guard, plastic grill actully...basicly prevents plastics bags from getting stuck....
you need the oem duct kit to do much good...most fan guards don't protect the fan from grit...but checking the $180 fan at oil changes, maybe blowing it out and checking by runing 12 vilts thu tge plug to make sure it runs and it feels smooth should be enough.
Enjoy the new car, and have fun!!

 

Thanks. That is good to know about torque on plugs. Saturday project looking over car. Brian

 

I've been getting between 29-33 combined...I tend to baby the car for most of my driving, though. Every vehicle I've ever owned has gotten better than the EPA est. MPG...that being said I do enjoy a spirited drive on occasion

 

I bought my 05 MCS in mid August, It was getting around 27 mpg with mostly city driving. i saw that it was past service about 1,000 miles, since then i changed out the oil with some Castrol Titanium 5W30, changed the air filter which was covered with black residue all over, and replaced it with a k&m oem filter. I reset the ecu and service counter. I'm now getting 25 mpg babying it and shifting at 2.5k-3k RPMS. Should I be looking at any other issues that might be causing my poor gas mileage.

Thanks

 

Nope, that is normal mileage for that car in the city. In fact, that is better than most. The 1st Gens are not "green" cars so I am baffled why people think that they should get 40 mpg. The difference in MPG could simply be winter gas or your foot being a little heavier on the peddle.

 

Used to be you just needed a "subcompact" car. Now it has to be subcompact and "green". LOL !

 

Yup! I kid you not, the Gov has spots specifically for "green" vehicles. The newer MINI is there but the 1st gen did not make the cut.