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I was looking at the new base impreza and wonder what are the actual mpg that some may be getting? My older legacy is a 1.8 and barely gets 30 hiway which is not good. I am really in the market for a hi mpg car so maybe subarus should be passed up?

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How much mpg are you looking for? Pass up Subaru's?!? :eek: man have you gone stark raving mad!?!? just kidding...:);)

 

I get about 30mpg too, which yes it would be nice if it were higher but I figure it's not that bad for a vehicle, esp. not an AWD, though it kind of pales in comparison to say a MT Civic or something that might get 40mpg. Over 100k miles if gas is $3/gal the plain savings is $2500 for 40mpg vs 30mpg.

 

If you don't already have them, maybe fresh plugs+wires, good synthetic oil and drivetrain lubes, tires pressures, air filter, O2 sensor, etc, you might get a nice mileage boost.

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We have an '03 Impreza wagon... on our recent >3000 mile road trip we averaged around 28 mpg. I was hoping for 30 (nice round number) but the following things brought it down:

 

1) Frequent and strong side and head winds.

 

2) Driving in rain for quite a bit of the trip... and some of it sideways on gravel roads, and some through Mpls / St. Paul traffic and in small towns.

 

3) Speeds of 75-80 mph vs. 55-65.

 

4) (maybe) Gas with ethanol.

 

On 65 mph roads the car easily gets 30. It drops quickly above 65. For an AWD car it's quite good IMO. It's not a high MPG car though... if that's your primary consideration there are probably better choices out there.

 

Steve

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As Outback_97 mentioned, speed and driving style makes a huge difference in mileage. Wind resistance increase as a square of your speed so your cruising speed on the highway makes an enormous impact. I have a 95 Outback 2.2L and if I'm taking a long highway trip I set the cruise at about 68 mph and I'll end up getting 27 mpg, not too shabby considering the size and age of the car and it's AWD.

 

The other big factor is your use of the throttle when driving around town. If your drive like a granny (no offense to the grannies out there) you'll get better mileage. I have a Ford Focus with a 5MT and 2.3L engine that makes a surprising amount of power and it's amazing how driving style affects my mileage. If I shift with the idiot shift light (i.e. keep the revs way down) I can get 30 or more around town. If I open it up and have some fun it can drop as low as 24-25.

 

cheers,

 

matt

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