01 Forester fuel consumption - specs v. real

[hbadorties]

Hello,

 

I have 3 questions regarding the fuel economy of the 2001 Forester S Automatic:

 

 

1. What are the factory specs for fuel consumption?
   
2. Under what conditions can factory specified fuel consumption be acheived?
   
3. What fuel consumption can be expected in real-life?
   

(Please note in your reply if you're referring to US or IMP gallons or use L/100km - I'm in Canada, eh?)

 

Partial answers:

1. I haven't found the factory specs but the fuel cunsumption specs I found at 123.com state 10.8 L/100km city and 7.4 L/100km highway.
   
2. nothing yet
   
3. Over at www.fueleconomy.gov users have reported 10.7/8.7 and 11.2/8.4 city/highway (L/100km). But who know how accurate that is.
   

Thanks!

[mattocs]

edmunds.com puts it at:

Automatic: 22 mpg / 27 mpg (US gallons)

 

So, if you average 24MPG then you're doing good.

 

 

Make sure you replace the filters, plugs, etc. There have been a few posts recently about getting better gas mileage...check those out.

[Johngenx]

My wife just filled her 2001 Forester "S" automatic yesterday after about 1.5 weeks of all-city driving. The trip odo read 501kms and she put 49L in it. That's pretty much dead-on 10.0L/100kms. We always seem to get 9.5L-10.0L/100kms in city driving, which is much better than the 12-13L/100kms we averaged with our 01 OBW. The Forester has the same driveline, but is about 400lbs lighter, so that would help in the city.

 

On the highway, we never break into the 7's with most of our highway driving in the low to mid 8L/100km range.

[nipper]

I dont think there really is any such thing as a true facotry spec for fuel consumption. There is a range that is acceptable, but that is really a wide range. Stated fuel mileage on the car (if american) is from the EPA test. There are two cycles, a city and a highway cycle. This is also when the car is certified for emissions. When I went to SUNY at Farmingdale for Auto Engineering we had the same machine the EPA used. It is done on a dynometer. Now the EPA uses a 2 axle Dyno to test AWD cars (very expensive toy). The driving cycle is done by following a graph and matching it with vehical speed. The EPA test is done with the car sitting still, and all accessories off. There is no wind load, nor AC load on the engine. The dynometer is calibrated to the vehicals weight (there used to be a sticker stating the test weight on the car ... dont know if there still is). During this test they would take exhaust samples at differnt intervals to determine emissions.

It is an outdated test method, which can be off as far as 50% if the vehical tested is a rolling brick. Here is a consumer reports peice on gas mileage.

http://www.consumerreports.org/main/content/display_report.jsp?WebLogicSession=QyS6mK0JwslxgwwSoVTZfKIgmQ1wO4lF721J4JMo4G5REyfHbaU2|1925311689994503424/169937902/6/7005/7005/7002/7002/7005/-1|-2228874226873203813/169937909/6/7005/7005/7002/7002/7005/-1&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=576255&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=333137&bmUID=1126480536596

 

That is the link for the article. The epa is actually consdiering ways to change the test to reflect the real world. one cant just go out and drive a car to determine the gas mileage, as the conditions must be repeatdable and always the same.

 

I have a 97 OBW 2.5l Auto and i get 19mpg with ac full blast, and 23 with it off on 50/50 city/highway driving (havent taken it on a long higway drive yet). My freind who has a brand new forester is seeing the same thing. When I had my legacy L with the 2.2 I got 21 (ac) 23/32+, I saw as high as 37. I got that twice in a row so i know its not a fluke.

 

I dont know if that helps explains the numbers. I was always happy with 21 or better in the city with no ac, and 28 or higgher on the highway.

[cookie]

And I live in the SF area so it gets a mix of freeway and city. I seem to average about 25 most of the time. The best I ever saw was 27.75 because the car is shaped like a brick and my foot is a bit heavy. From what folks I know see this is about average for a Forester in this kind of use. Some folks with the right driving conditions and good driving habits do better.

[Setright]

Yes, first off, you'r driving style makes a HUGE difference. When Opel was launching the ECOtec engines in the Vectra they invited a group of journalist to drive economically.

The same car on the same route managed 40mpg in the hands of one careful driver and bottomed out at 23mpg - lead foot?

 

The fuel stats from the spec sheets can only be used to compare different cars, real world motoring is not the same as when the cars are strapped to a dyno.