So, I took my own advice!!

[RHeinz]

Recently, A WildTrack owner posted he was only averaging 12.8 MPG. I offered the following post:

“I would recommend trying this:

1) Find a highway that you can drive a constant speed on without bothering the other drivers. The road should be as flat as possible with shallow turns. No headwind and ambient temperatures between 50 and 80 degrees F.

2) Gently accelerate to 50 to 55 MPH. Hold that speed with your cruise control for a minute.

3) Reset your trip odometer on the fly. Watch the MPG display on the odometer until it is steady….perhaps a couple of miles or more while remaining on cruise control at the same speed without touching the accelerator or brakes.

4) This should be the MAXIMUM MPG that your vehicle is capable of. I’m guessing it should be around 22 MPG if not higher.

5) If it’s significantly less, like 15 or 16 MPG you have a mechanical problem. If it is around 22 or higher you have a driving skills problem.

Edit: Should be done in the final drive gear”

SO YESTERDAY, I TRIED IT!

2022 Badlands, Sasquatch, MIC, 2.7L. Driving down US HWY 290 in Houston (concrete “freeway” and fairly flat) at 65 MPH on cruise control, air conditioning off and outside temperature at around 65. No significant wind. No roof rack. Altitude about 50 feet above sea level.

Reset the Trip 1 MPG (on the fly) and it almost instantly hovered around 28 MPG! I have checked this MPG ”reading” and have found it to be about 1.5 MPG high. So, I was getting around 26.5 MPG at constant speed. I continued this for about 5 miles. The only significant differences were going over the overpasses. But still returned to around 28 MPG.

Theoretically, all Broncos should be getting this kind of constant speed MPG (+ or -) since it represents the energy required to push that weight and shape through the wind, plus the mechanical drive train inefficiencies.. Things that might make a noticeable difference are roof racks, soft tops, and tires (smaller or bigger). I’m guessing that there won’t be much of a difference in this value between either the 2.7L or the 2.3L engine.

So, if you think your crappy MPG is a vehicle problem and not a function of your driving technique, try this and post your results.

I’M CURIOUS…..

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[MadMan4BamaNATL]

I’m just a knuckle draggin Southern good ole boy!

Translation - I don’t give a hoot about no miles per gallon. Way I recon, anything over 5 is aereodynamiks n such.

 

[Lil Red Broncette]

In my opinion you gotta go the other direction as a check. A small slope that can help a whole lot is visibly unnoticeable.

I don't trust the car's reading, but you said you compared to actual, so I suppose what you did was compare the average MPG the car computes verse miles achieved over multiple fill-ups.

There are other factors such as rolling friction of the tires. Some are going to be worse and others better.

My Base with auto trans averages 24 mpg according to its computation over long highway drives, the sticker MPG is 22. My Black Diamond SAS with Manual trans I struggle to get 17 mpg average over longer highway drives, but again that is based on the vehicle's computation and while not controlled like you did I've tried to see what it tells me my MPG is on flat and level and I struggle (without a downhill) to get it over 21 mpg.

 

[Squatch]

I did one better in my Mustang GT. I sped up to a healthy number, hit reset on the lie-o-meter, and coasted... 99 MPG!!! All Mustangs should be getting that mpg or the driver sucks.

 

[stickshifthappy]

I'm adding a mast, and a sail to my Badlands when I have a tail or good cross wind !!!

WIND POWER BEE-OCHES !! I'm part of the solution now !!

 

[swooshdave]

I did one better in my Mustang GT. I sped up to a healthy number, hit reset on the lie-o-meter, and coasted... 99 MPG!!! All Mustangs should be getting that mpg or the driver sucks.

I can't even find how to get the mpg on our 2019 GT. I assumed they omitted it because, well... reasons.

 

[Squatch]

I can't even find how to get the mpg on our 2019 GT. I assumed they omitted it because, well... reasons.

I got 24.5 on a long fwy drive with cruise ctrl on at the speed limit.

 

[RowsKing]

Oddly enough when my wife drives the Raptor MPGs drop. A full tank estimates about 288 miles. But when I drive it and fill it up it will read 318 estimated miles. That means about 13MPGs for the wife, 15MPGs for me. It’s all about driving habits.

 

[SubmarineNuke]

I have a Wildtrak, I'm in the mid to high 17's....if I wanted "fuel efficient" I'd own a Prius.

 

[mountainbronco]

Only a flat-lander would measure MPG the way you did, but I understand, you simply don't have obstacles down there.

I live in Colorado, at 6500 feet and if I go skiing I drive up to 11000 feet and back down again! If you want to be realistic about your own vehicle's real MPG, you gotta write down every fuel purchase and miles on odometer, do this for about 1000 miles and then calculate. That is the ONLY real MPG data that will be realistic! (if you believe your vehicles read-out, well then it must have been just like on the internet......

You also need to consider if you are using regular 87 or 88, or super 91. Did you change your tires (size or tread), is the engine warm or cold when you do your thing, is the wind pushing or pulling or sideways - there are SO MANY variables, only a longer period measurement will yield anything useful or meaningful.

A good example: I have a trunk organizer with all my off-road related gear with recovery, tools and gadgets/gizmos. This weighs about 50 lbs. If I drive around without it, I get 0.5 MPG better mileage........................Your fuel tank, 20 gallons full weighs about 167 lbs - measuring with full or empty tank? etc. etc., you get my thought here..............

 

[2fast4u]

When my 23" Wildtrak gets here that will be my "fuel efficient" car my daily driver right now is my 2021 Shelby gt500

 

[Bmadda]

What I have noticed is that the computer seems to overly penalize for idle time. If I warm mine up in the AM it will lose 1-1.5 mpg vs what it was when I parked it. If I leave the driveway ice cold and just beat on the thing right away I'm not penalized...Although I would think proper warmup would help mileage, seems the computer wants me to drive it cold...wierd

 

[KnoxGnater]

I traded in a 12.5 MPG F-150, so I figure I'm no longer part of the problem with my now 15.8 MPG average.

What really matters is SMILES per gallon, and I'm definitely ahead of most econo-box mileage warriors.

 

[Headsong]

Fuel and outdoor temps matter, too. Last summer I was getting 21/22 on the highway....alas, no more, now down to 17/18....I figure it's the fuel they change formula seasonally. And from 80 degrees to 30.

 

[Yamahamer]

If you want to be realistic about your own vehicle's real MPG, you gotta write down every fuel purchase and miles on odometer, do this for about 1000 miles and then calculate. That is the ONLY real MPG data that will be realistic! (if you believe your vehicles read-out, well then it must have been just like on the internet......

^This.

I have a log book in every vehicle I own. Data from every time I fuel is entered into the log book, then every so often I enter the data into an Excel spreadsheet which calculates actual mpg. So I can tell you for a certainty that my 2016 F150 3.5 Ecoboost, bought new, averaged 20.5 mpg. That's for 68,366 miles of driving; I poured 3335.3 gallons of gas through it for a total fuel cost of $10,324.68!

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