Anyone else getting 20 mpg in a 2013 2.5 ?

[ScottyNorq]

Originally Posted by djz

2013, just over 5K miles and I get below 24. In fact, the only time I got over 24 was on a drive from Los Angeles to Sacramento. I had the cruise control set at 75MPH and got just under 25MPG on the last leg of the trip after I had gotten through the stop and go traffic in SoCal and after I had gone over The Grapevine.

I do not wind this thing out at all and I can't even hit the low end of the mileage scale.

I am getting about 24mpg with my 3.6 with only 300 miles on it so far. That's on the freeway. On the street I am getting like 19 mpg.

[gomjabber]

I think my last tank was 22 or 23, pretty typical for this time of year.

[beninma]

I'm only on my 3rd tank on my 2013 2.5i.. first tank was ~22mpg or so, second tank was 23mpg, the trip meter is hovering between 24-25mpg on the 3rd tank so far.

Winter driving, mostly city.. my commute is 25 miles and frequently takes 1 hour the traffic is so bad. (Boston Area) Temperatures since I got my Outback have never really gone above 45 degrees Fahrenheit and I have probably driven the bulk of the miles with the temp in the 25-35 degrees Fahrenheit range. I have taken a few drives on the weekend where traffic wasn't as bad, but those were never more than 30 miles each way I think, followed by a wait that let the car cool off (mostly visiting family). I am varying the speed, sometimes driving 60-65 on the highway, sometimes 75-80, but obviously spending a lot of time creeping in traffic.

It does seem to be starting to loosen up since I got to around 600-700 miles.. and you can feel there is noticeably less drag (tires, driveline?) for whatever reason when it's in the 40s versus the 20s.

I was definitely pretty concerned the first tank but if it gets up to around 25-26 with the current driving conditions I'm in I'll be pretty satisfied I think. That and the CVT makes it pretty heavenly to drive in really bad traffic compared to my old car, which was a 6MT.

[rico567]

Since we don't need AWD or the "roughing it" attributes of the Outback, reports like this are making the possibility of buying one more and more remote. It's all very well to talk about winter blend gasolines and winter cold warmups, etc....but it is what it is. And we're now driving a car that's 9 years old, about the same curb empty weight as an Outback, the engine of which was designed in 1985, and it gets 25-26 in town and 30-31 on the highway winter and summer, year in, year out, and is now at 140K on the clock.

I was somewhat mollified when I thought I could at least equal those figures with the 2.5 Outback, even though we'd take a hit in performance from the 220 hp turbocharged 2.3L 4 in our SAAB. But given the figures I'm seeing in this thread (and have read similar reports elsewhere), this may be the dealbreaker.

[AO River]

20mpg seems pretty low, even considering all your factors. Have you checked the tire pressure?

I just took a 300 mile trip with winter gas, 90% highway driving at 80mph WITH a rooftop box and still averaged 24mpg. And I only have 700 miles on the odometer.

Unless you have a really heavy foot around town, something else is coming into play..

[bmobuell]

Update.... 20.5 mpg. On fourth fillup
1444 miles. And this last tank was suburban driving, lights about a mile apart, and some freeway and rural driving.
Tire pressure is right at spec.
That's rediculous.
How much longer should I wait before I take it in or call SOA ?

[subaruman49]

Sorry to hear about the poor gas mileage ..Subaru makes a great car...........but are not known for getting great gas mileage. Add that to the winter fuel mix ( usually a reduction 15 % in mpg ) and traffic......forgetaboutit.... One of my friends is a MASTER technician..over 35 years experience......As he always states " Just because its newer.......doesn't mean its better...My older Subaru Outback got MUCH better mileage than my 2003 and 2006..............

[subiesailor]

Both my subarus never posted good mileage till I had nearly 20,000 miles on them. Even today with 40K on the new one - we get 19-20mpg in San Francisco. Traffic, Steep hills, Long lights just wipes out mileage. Add cold Winter temps and fuel your mileage takes another hit.

Subaru prior to the new CVT vehicles was never viewed as having competitive mileage to CARS. SUV's like the Explorer YES! Much better mileage similar size and power WAY better mileage than the Explorer. As an Example...

Today the newer cars with CVT's and better engines have had a decent jump in mileage - IN THE RIGHT CONDITIONS!!! My Subaru today gets a Much wider range of mileage over my old one. The old one couldn't do back to back 28-29-30mpg road trips unless it was being towed down hill for much of the trip. The new one has posted those type of numbers many times in IDEAL conditions. Flat ground 55-60mph speeds, mild temps, no wind etc etc. Which the old car would never do!

[sounddevisor]

To add another data point - I have a 2012 MT, with just over 8000 miles on it now. I live in NYC, so a worst-case scenario is brutal stop-and-go traffic through impressive urban congestion - on the other hand, I tend not to drive IN the city any more than I can help it, and the stop-and-go gets balanced (in terms of mileage) by a lot of long-distance highway trips.

That said, over the last year I have seen tank averages from 18.5 (on a tank where it was almost entirely city driving) to 25.5 (mainly highway.) I also clocked a trip average of 29.9 going from Boston to NYC with minimal traffic, and averaging somewhere north of 70 mph.

I usually keep the center console gauge showing avg. mpg, and it's been very interesting to keep an eye on that and see how different types of driving affect it. Sitting idle, either while doing errand and waiting for my girlfriend, or just sitting at red light after red light, will make the mpg plummet, even if I drive very smoothly and economically while I'm actually moving. And on the other hand, on the highway with cruise control set to 73-75 mph will still get me well over 25 mpg as a trip average.

I have read numerous reports of mileage continuing to improve over the first 10 - 15,000 miles. I can't say I have much personal evidence for that, but I'm hoping that my overall average mpg will continue to go up.

[mcbrew]

Originally Posted by Robert D.

20mpg seems pretty low, even considering all your factors. Have you checked the tire pressure?

I just took a 300 mile trip with winter gas, 90% highway driving at 80mph WITH a rooftop box and still averaged 24mpg. And I only have 700 miles on the odometer.

Unless you have a really heavy foot around town, something else is coming into play..

Don't know if you're talking to the OP or me... But I will respond. I check my tire pressure at least once a month, or if there is a big change in ambient temps. I keep it a little above the recommended.

Highway driving is going to be better than city. No doubt about it. I get 23 MPG towing my camper, and have gotten as high as 31 MPG. Keep in mind that me numbers are calculated, not the display, which was optimistic in my car. I have it dialed back to -4 and it seems to be about right.

I have always gotten very good mileage, because of my rural highway commute. I only started getting poor mileage because of my 2 mile commute on a 50 MPH rd with about about 14 stops. My old commute was nearly 32 miles with only about 16-18 stops. BIG difference. Like I said, my engine is not fully heated up when I get to work (or home). I can watch the temp on my OBD2 scanner.

There will probably be a bit of a difference in the summer.