Why isn't the fuel economy better?
 

I don't get it, I really don't. These are lightweight cars. They aren't all that powerful or fast. They don't make a lot of power or torque. Yet the fuel economy ratings are lower than some other cars that are 1000 lbs heavier and more powerful & faster.

Am I alone in thinking that these cars should be rated at least 25 city and 35 highway, at the absolute minimum? I mean, a freaking BMW 328i is a boat compared to the FT86, yet it has the same city fuel economy rating and gets 4 more mpg on the highway.

Maybe I'm being too critical, but I honestly thought that such a small and lightweight car would be more fuel efficient, especially with a 2.0 engine that makes modest power.

the rating on the car is much less than the actual #'s you get in real life. This is the only car i have ever owned that does that. In other words, i am amazed that it gets almost 40mpg .. for about the same power as the Scion TC in a lighter car ... the TC cant get 40 if it were going downhill for miles..

for a toyota sports car, im happy with 30-40... if you drive it like a grandpa u will get 40 -- if u have fun with it its still around 30 plus or minus - i find myself driving alot because of the great mpgs... + its a respectable sports car - slowly becoming one. :)

Almost 40? Wow, that's not bad at all. I didn't consider that the rating might be lower than real-life figures.

I get about 27 mpg mixed.

My Miata gets 29mpg on the same drive. It has 70hp less, and weighs about 4-500 pounds less as well. You'd think it would get 40mpg, but it doesn't.

It's about gearing, frontal surface area (wind resistance), tire selection, etc.

The automatic transmission FRS is geared for better fuel economy, though that also makes it slower.

@rikdrt1 is right, very few cars get better than rated fuel economy - hence the infamous disclaimer "your mileage may vary" ;) I get about 10mph above EPA in the Accent, but the BMWs are guzzlers. I'd guess that in the case of the twins it's due to how the tests are set up; probably they end up revving the engine more than people are actually doing in daily driving or something like that. Maybe someone who knows more about how EPA ratings are derived can chime in.

i got about 30 mixed driving in the auto, and so far, i've been getting 33.4 in the manual mixed driving.

IMO normally aspirated technology reached its pinacle when Honda released its RSX type-S in 2002. Ten years later Subaru's balance of horsepower, torque, mpg are virtually the same. How about the S2000? The extra output results in a huge decrease in fuel economy.

The answer for better fuel economy are turbos and bigger displacement/lower compression. Another forgotten factor is emissions. For argument's sake, cleaner burn engines use more fuel per say. The reason why the CR-Z's mpg isnt that great..

Although Im happy with my fuel economy(25-38mpg) and the uniqueness of the flat 4, deep inside I know it's old technology that cant be improved any further.

I live in a hilly place where my MPG's are always lower than EPA's estimates. For instance, my Prius is currently averaging 43mpg compared to 50 mpg estimated. My family owned a Scion xD that averaged 22mpg, and as of now our FR-S is averaging 23mpg which I'm quite surprised about, but happy with.

my auto FRS is averaging 25.8 mpg in my daily commute to work (5 miles one way with all city); but i've been able to get the digital mpg gauge to go 40 mpg when i steadily cruise 65mph on the freeway. it really depends on driving habits and road conditions.

Oh, good. I average about 25mpg with 60/40 highway/street split. I thought there was something horribly wrong. I guess it's just the hills here. :thanks:

I have this pic in another thread buuuuut....
Attachment 18739
it was at 42.9 when i was pulling out my phone and changed down .1 during idle lol
but really, i'm getting 34 mpg and im not a conservative driver so idk what the fuss is about

I've been averaging 27-29 and that's cruising speeds of 60 - 70, stop and go traffic every morning and not being gentle on the throttle. I'm pretty happy with that.

Yeah buddy find another car, or do just a little fucking research, its a fuckin rwd drift oriented car, i get 32.8 driving like a mad man......

How are you getting that kind of mileage on yours? My avg after 1400 miles so far is 30.8mpg MT, commuting to work 70/30 fwy/street going around 70mph.