First Fillup - Not Ideal

[Out and Back]

93.3 miles, 6.115 gallons, 15.3mpg

Granted, we drove home from a dealership by O'Hare during rush hour, so that was a huge ding on the mileage (took ~1.5 hours to go 30 miles). Still, hoping out next fillup starts with a "2" in the mpg category, especially since we're doing a mostly-interstate 400mi trip.

[4wheeldog]

Originally Posted by Out and Back

93.3 miles, 6.115 gallons, 15.3mpg

Granted, we drove home from a dealership by O'Hare during rush hour, so that was a huge ding on the mileage (took ~1.5 hours to go 30 miles). Still, hoping out next fillup starts with a "2" in the mpg category, especially since we're doing a mostly-interstate 400mi trip.

How do you know it was actually full, before you started?

[JAvendan]

yeah, toss that first one out and start will the tank that you filled up.

joel

[subiesailor]

Don't put much weight on average mileage till you get 10,000 miles on the car and yes sitting in stop and go traffic will Wipeout your average. Sitting in a parking lot in cold weather with car and heater running waiting for the wife you can watch your average drop through the floor.

[OBnube]

Originally Posted by Out and Back

93.3 miles, 6.115 gallons, 15.3mpg.....

That's not a fill-up, that's a top off.

[Soon2bSubaru]

Not to worry. My first few tanks in my '12 2.5 CVT were nowhere near what the EPA said I should get. I was quite disappointed. It has gradually gotten consistently better to the point where now, at around 11k miles, I average up to 31mpg hwy on a tank.

[lavarock]

Wait until you have some miles on the car. Also need more miles on the checks.
I just finished a 2400 mile trip towing a 2200 lb trailer behind a 2012 3.6R Outback. I used 120 gallons of fuel so that calculates to 20 mpg. Have not had any significant trips without the trailer. But I am sure it will be much better than 20 mpg.

[Kolenka]

You aren't the only one seeing overly low mileage when it comes to extreme city conditions. I'm getting about 20 mpg a tank when driving city, although my city conditions are pretty bad. I live in an area with a dense mass of long lights, which hurts a lot, and I don't get out of those lights very often. When I do get on a freeway, I am getting 30 mpg or more for the trip itself.

Still an improvement when I was getting ~17mpg in these conditions with a 2001.

[NinjaTurtle2.5]

I will reinforce this point, wait until you have 10k miles. You wont see high 20's or low 30's until then, maybe a bit before.

[reddoak]

Nonsense to the 10,000 mile theory. As far as the OP's mileage, what did expect from stop and go city traffic? I say 15 is pretty good.

First month I had my car, I got high 20's on an all highway road trip. It did improve marginally after that, but it certainly didn't take 10,000 miles to reach into the high 20s. By 2,000 miles it was good to go. It really hasn't gotten any better since then.

Actually, a little worse, but the tires affected it, so no problemo.

From Fuelly, my first few fill ups:

mpg

odometer

miles

gallons

price

fuelup_date

date_added

tags

notes

0	311	0	13.928	3.599	7/13/2011	7/13/2011 17:45
24.873	487	176	7.076	3.589	7/16/2011	7/16/2011 7:16		Bj's osceola pkwy
26.613	935	448	16.834	3.699	7/17/2011	7/17/2011 7:47		Drive to Pensacola.
27.683	1407	472	17.05	3.599	7/18/2011	7/18/2011 5:41		Drive back from Whiting Field. Hit by falling tree on I 10.
21.378	1595	188	8.794	3.639	7/28/2011 9:00	7/29/2011 7:15		Driving around town
30.08	2070	475	15.791	3.689	7/29/2011 22:00	7/29/2011 17:57		drive to pensacola
29.184	2561	491	16.824	3.619	7/31/2011	7/31/2011 8:30		Drive back from Whiting Naval Air Station. All highway.
22.287	2938	377	16.916	3.539	8/6/2011	8/6/2011 13:11