Somewhat disappointed

[YarisOwnersDad]

I just returned from a trip in which I logged 962.2 miles on 23.735 gallons of gas, for an overall average of 40.54 MPG. I was expecting higher MPG than that, since it was almost entirely Interstate cruising.

OK, tell me if you think I should have done better on MPG given these facts:

1. The car is an 09 Yaris sedan with auto tranny

2. I used the A/C all the time on this trip.

3. I keep my tires at the recommended cold inflation pressure and do not over-inflate to get higher MPG.

4. I had two 44 lb sacks of dog food that I picked up early in the trip in the back seat. (I would not be coming back through the town where the pet food shop was located during regular business hours, so I had to pick up the dog food at the front end of my trip and carry it around in the car for the rest of the trip.)

5. I used cruise control set for between 65 and 70 MPH, depending on where I was.

6. The car had about 7500 miles on it at the start of the trip.

So, do you guys think I got the MPG that I should have expected to get under the conditions as described above, or should I have gotten higher MPG?

I really thought that I would get 44 or 45 MPG.

Yes, I know I could have slowed down to 55 MPH and gotten way better gas mileage, and I could have done this or done that, but that is not the question. I'm only asking for opinions about whether or not I got the MPG I should have gotten for the conditions I have listed.

Tom

[thebarber]

40mpg seems about right for highway at 32psi tire pressure + a/c

[tomato]

I think you got a pretty good MPG considering these conditions.
I get low to mid 30's (city driving though)

[BailOut]

The dog food alone sucked away 1 MPG, so with the a/c, higher speed and lower tire pressure I'd say 40 MPG was normal.

[talnlnky]

I think the OP's car is on par. I noticed you had it on cruise... if you had any significant down hill portions (long distances) of highway, then I'd say take it out of cruise.... unless the auto can manage DFCO in cruise control.... Can it? I dunno, I don't have an auto, it wouldn't surprise me though if you had to be out of cruise.

In my car this is a huge difference in speed/economy once you get over 50-55mph. and REALLY big once you hit 70mph.

[Loren]

Yeah, 40 is about right for those conditions.

[Altitude]

Sounds about right to me too. I did a 1700 mile (one way trip) this summer in an LB MT doing 75/80 with AC and averaged 35. I had hoped for more too but as you indicated 55/60 is the magic number for best MPG in the Yaris.

[kuyachris84]

that's not bad... id say wut u got is expected

[kac]

I agree with pretty much everyone else here. Shouldn't be dissapointed with those numbers at all. It's above EPA estimates so you should be happy with it. BUT if you're still dissapointed, drop some weight, add some air pressure, and slow down a little, then enjoy the gains. Rock On!

[TLyttle]

Seconded on all that.

[YarisOwnersDad]

Thanks, Yaris Buds.

Obviously, I am not out to get every fraction of a mile out of a gallon of gas, or else I would slow down and would shun the use of the A/C. I want to get the best mileage I can get while driving the speed limit and using the A/C when it is needed.

I forgot to mention that for about half of those miles on that trip I had a 120 lb passenger, so I had about 200 lbs of extra weight, counting the two bags of dog food.

Thanks for your replies, Peeps.

Tom

[thebarber]

its surprising how much speed, weight, a/c and tire pressure make a difference in the yaris mileage sometimes...

mainly speed though (er, but i wouldnt know about a/c since i don't have it)

[R2D2]

Identical to what I've observed also-hard to get great mpg over 60.

Driving on highway with AT, AC, tires at 44 psi and keeping to 65 mph I can only do about 42 at best. 55 I can get much better.

R2

[Cosworth]

Originally Posted by YarisOwnersDad

I just returned from a trip in which I logged 962.2 miles on 23.735 gallons of gas, for an overall average of 40.54 MPG.

5. I used cruise control set for between 65 and 70 MPH, depending on where I was.

Tom

Well, it's probably about average. But, what kind of terrain did you drive the car? If it's going up a mountain and back, it's probably very good. But, if you drove on flat surface for ~960 miles, then you should've been able to do much better.

[YarisOwnersDad]

Originally Posted by Cosworth

Well, it's probably about average. But, what kind of terrain did you drive the car? If it's going up a mountain and back, it's probably very good. But, if you drove on flat surface for ~960 miles, then you should've been able to do much better.

I meant to include the terrain as one of the conditions that I listed, but I forgot.

The terrain was about as flat as it gets. Most of those miles were in Illinois.

Tom

[advocate]

Here's what I like to do: I turn on the AC to generate cold air and then after a minute or two turn it off. The air remains cold for about a minute and I turn it off when it becomes too warm. I wait as long as I can until the car becomes too hot to be comfortable again and then I turn the AC back on!

Also making sure the AC is cooling you off and not the needless parts of your Sedan will help. I would close the unused vents for sure, and the back ones if there are any (I drive a liftback so I don't know if the Sedan has rear AC vents).

[b_hickman11]

Originally Posted by YarisOwnersDad

I just returned from a trip in which I logged 962.2 miles on 23.735 gallons of gas, for an overall average of 40.54 MPG. I was expecting higher MPG than that, since it was almost entirely Interstate cruising.

OK, tell me if you think I should have done better on MPG given these facts:

1. The car is an 09 Yaris sedan with auto tranny

2. I used the A/C all the time on this trip.

3. I keep my tires at the recommended cold inflation pressure and do not over-inflate to get higher MPG.

4. I had two 44 lb sacks of dog food that I picked up early in the trip in the back seat. (I would not be coming back through the town where the pet food shop was located during regular business hours, so I had to pick up the dog food at the front end of my trip and carry it around in the car for the rest of the trip.)

5. I used cruise control set for between 65 and 70 MPH, depending on where I was.

6. The car had about 7500 miles on it at the start of the trip.

So, do you guys think I got the MPG that I should have expected to get under the conditions as described above, or should I have gotten higher MPG?

I really thought that I would get 44 or 45 MPG.

Yes, I know I could have slowed down to 55 MPH and gotten way better gas mileage, and I could have done this or done that, but that is not the question. I'm only asking for opinions about whether or not I got the MPG I should have gotten for the conditions I have listed.

Tom

what was the average outside air temp. during the trip?

[YarisOwnersDad]

Temps were probably 60°F for the lowest and 85°F for the highest. Most of my driving was done during the warmer part of the day, so I would guess the average would be close to 80°F.

Tom