2013 Ford Escape to Tow 3,500 lbs.

[wincrasher]

I too always get the advertised mileage or better. Since the EPA reformulated thier calculation method a while back, my newer cars get better than the sticker. If you recalled, a few years back, all the numbers went down to get more "real" figures. It's just a matter of how you drive, how well you maintain your car, where you live (flat or hilly), and the weather (summer=higher mpg).

I don't know if mpg on the sticker is adjusted much for how the car/truck is equipped. I've bought trucks with tall rear diff and it should have gotten a bit less mpg, but that wasn't the case in the end.

Back in the day rental car companies used to spec their cars with more heavy duty transmissions and gearing options - that often explained why those cars got poorer mileage - my dad bought a few supposedly cream puffs from local rental companies - they ended up all being dogs.

[jstrubberg]

The EPA also doesn't consider terrain in the mpg rating process.

I don't live on a salt flat, so I deduct 20% of anything I see on an mpg sticker.


Impressive to see a car manufacturer bucking the trend to mark smaller cars as "0" tow weight. Thanks for the heads up.

[eamarquardt]

almost nobody gets the EPA milage...

Aint that the truth. In my 30-some-odd years of driving, I have never owned or driven a car in which I did not exceed the EPA ratings by several miles to the gallon. Yup, EXCEED. It all comes down to driving style. One of the car magazines recently tested a few of the new 40mpg cars, to see if they could really get that while still driving normally. So many people were complaining, they thought it was worth checking out. On the Hyundai they tested, they said on their normal evaluation tests, they got high 20s. However, when they drove like reasonable human beings, the car got nearly 50mpg. I recently rented a Toyota Corolla for a day. According to the trip computer, the previous renter(s) had gotten about 28mpg. I don't know where they drove it. I think it is EPA rated for about 35mpg. I drove it all day, from eastern Indiana to western Illinois and back, and got 43.5mpg. My own 1995 Honda Civic, with 235,000 miles, got 59.75mpg on my last road trip. I'd have exceeded 60mpg if I hadn't gotten stuck in traffic on the south side of Chicago. Yes, you really can stick a C-note back in your pocket every month, just by changing your driving style.

Please come out to California and teach me how to drive. I have the "lightest foot" of anyone I've ever seen. I drove nearly 250 miles in my new Traverse virtually all freeway, drove 60-65, it was mostly flat, and got 21.6 versus the 24 touted on the EPA rating. One could argue that I only had 200 miles on the car when I started but I'm not entirely convinced that the engine, transmission, and other moving parts free up with time getting one better mileage.

I also drove a Honda fit over 300 miles (won't do that again except under duress)and got 36 versus the EPA rating of 35. That time I drove 75 for most of the way. Go figure.

Gus