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What kind of Mileage should I expect driving in hot weather?


ThatAutGuy
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Hi,

 

I got my C-Max only a week ago and have hardly driven at all (maybe 40 miles total, I'm not back at work and doing daily commute until next week).

 

I know about the break in period and what not, so far the avg mpg shows around 34/35;

 

Living in Miami, it's practically impossible (at least for me) to drive without AC. Even these past few days, with the temperature in the 80s, it gets hot really fast in stop-and-go traffic.

 

Knowing that AC will usually run, and seeing as it will rarely be less than 80 / 85 degrees outside - what kind of mileage should I expect (or could I reasonably expect) from my C-Max?

 

-- Mike

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TAG,  are you talking about the "Lifetime Summary", or individual trips that the vehicle tracks, or are you referring to "Trip 1" or Trip 2" numbers?

 

If it is "LifetimeSummary", then perhaps there is a lot of idle time on the car lot dragging the number down a little.  You might consider resetting the "Lifetime Summary" now to reflect your actual use going forward.  There may also be a value of 'breaking in' your vehicle for a few hundred miles before you do a reset.

 

If you are referring to the mini trips the vehicle tracks, then they can be all over the place subject to the length of trip, elevation differences, battery charge to begin trip..................................................  It is not unusual to have a 2 mile trip with 18mpg or a two mile trip with 75 mpg.

 

If you are referring to some longer "Trip 1" or 2, which may more closly reflect your 'actual' results, then 34/35 is just fine, since your use is so very, very minimal at this point (and AC impact).

 

We have about 550 miles on ours, and here is our experience.  Short trips around Seattle hills gets us 35 to 45 mpg trips.  Short trips (60miles+-) to and on the freeway are getting us roughly 40 - 50 mpg.  Driving around a flatter city north of here I was consistently getting 50+ mpg (no heat or AC).  Our "Lifetime Summary" is currently about 43.5 (we reset ours at roughly 200 miles).  That said, today will be our first fill-up and I expect it to show roughly 40-42 mpg because it appears that the numbers on the trip computers for the C-Max are slightly inflated, say 5%.  Also, keep in mind that to get hybrid gas mileage, you have to drive it like a hybrid, a bit more deliberately with regard to braking & acceleration............. 

 

Hope that helps.  

 

Nick

 

Oops, forgot about your AC - guessing minus 5-10%, 40+ mpg still sounds realistic to me (at the pump).  Sorry for missing the 'hot weather/AC' intention of your thread.

Edited by C-MaxSeattle
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Hi Mike.  I can't answer your questions because it won't be 80 F here until July or August LOL, but I believe that I read that the AC shouldn't affect your mpg.  We have had our C-Max for nearly three months and we have gotten anywhere from 4.2 L per 100 kilometers to a pretty steady 5.7 L.  I notice that when we have 11 C days my mileage improves significantly and meets and beats EPA standards for the C-Max.  We notice that our car goes into EV much faster now then when we first bought it.  We have 2000 kilometers on it.  Temps right now are about 5-8 C daily.  Mild and rainy.  Lucky you to have 80 F weather!  Enjoy your car.

Edited by Laurel
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AC is much less of a drain on the electric system than the electric heat. Of course AC reduces efficiency but it won't be nearly as much as all of us northern folks are seeing with heater use in the winter...

This is what I found to be true with my previous Priuses. Also, using Auto Climate seems to help mpg in winter over running the heater full force.

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