MPG Summer v Winter

[P M R]

Hello,

 After driving very carefully over the last 2000 miles have managed to achieve 51.6  miles per gallon average.  This compares with the Winter low of 46.5 mpg.

Just curious as to the results other UX owners are/have achieved.

 

thanks for your replies.

[Fusspot]

It's not just UX owners; I think most models have a slightly worse fuel consumption through the winter. Extra heating, demisting/air con (and heated seats in some cases), all add to increased energy consumption.

As an aside, have any other Lexus owners noticed a change (improvement) in fuel consumption, once a new engine has been "run in", e.g. done 3-4K miles? My ES has improved by some 3-5% once I went past 3K miles.

Is the ECU leaning off the mixture a little maybe?

[Zotto]

MPG in hybrids are very sensitive to weather extreme conditions, in my experience the best MPG are in middle season weather, where there is no need for air conditioning, HV Battery works at ideal temperature and  thermal engine reaches relatively fast its working conditions; between winter and summer winter is worse, may be that in warmer climate zones the results are slightly different, as I am considering summer season with temperature over 30° C (and consequently AC on) and winter just around 0° C. Generally speaking, I found best results driving with dry weather at about 22° C. Another great difference is the lenght of journey, as  short ones need to warm up thermal engine more time s and in this phase is used much more gasoline (it is the same for traditional cars too).

[marv1478]

15 hours ago, P M R said:

Hello,

 After driving very carefully over the last 2000 miles have managed to achieve 51.6  miles per gallon average.  This compares with the Winter low of 46.5 mpg.

Just curious as to the results other UX owners are/have achieved.

 

thanks for your replies.

That's good MPG. I'm also getting Av 50.5 over the last 1000 miles

[Mr Vlad]

It takes a damn sight more than 4k mes to run an engine in Fusspot. More like 40k miles. The Golf GTi of just a few years back its engine was run in at 120k miles. Yes 120 Thousand miles. I'd say your mpg has improved because you have learned how to drive your car properly. 

In the 3 hybrid lexus cars ive had i could control the economy easily by how i drove it. Best in is300h was 58mpg worst was 33. RX450h best was 47mpg worst 22. As a comparison to none hybrid my is250 in the short time I've had it so far worst is 25mpg and best is an amazing 40mpg. 

As Zotto has stated. Hybrids work better in warmer weather than in colder.

Enjoy your UX as you probably have the best hybrid. 

[EvilRacer329]

I'm not sure I would agree...engine builders I've spoken to say that an engine is mostly run in within the first fifteen minutes of operation, and cars get that and more during their post-assembly check-up. I do agree that some people may need some time to adjust their driving to get the most out of the hybrid system, however.

Fuelly.com is my go-to for comparing real-world economy, and the UX does have Lexus/Toyota's very latest 4th-generation hybrid system, with a key focus on efficiency. As you can see from my signature badge, it's very easy to get well into the 50's. We'll see how much that dips over winter, but all my previous cars and motorcycles dip 10-20% when cold weather hits. It's mostly due to increased warm-up time and mixture enrichment in colder temperatures wasting fuel, I believe.

[Britprius]

Fuel consumption increases in the cold weather for a number of reasons.
Cold air is more dense, and therefore requires more energy to push the car through it. Water on the road requires pushing out of the way, and this can be hundreds of gallons of water moved by the four tyres in just a mile. Heat for the cabin comes directly from fuel burnt, and with hybrids just turning on the heater fan If the car is in ready mode with the engine not running will start the engine. Try it, and see. Even the shorter days requiring lights to be on along with window demisters, wipers, and heated seats all require electrical energy that is all produced from burning fuel.
Most car heaters will put out at leased the equivalent of 5 kwh of energy in heat. This is close to 7 hp of mechanical energy.

John.

[RgrWynne]

My wife has had 7 brand new Honda’s, 5 CRV’s, 1 S2000, 1 Jazz Sport. With each one almost exactly at 6000 miles the whole car was transformed and noticeably so much nicer to drive. The latest, the Jazz, I was waiting for it and it didn’t disappoint.

[malcolmw]

Yes, I have noticed this change in operation at about 10,000km (6,000mls) on several new cars I have had. Do the manufacturers program the ECU to change mode after a running in period?

[RgrWynne]

Never thought of that possibility, just thought it was the engine loosening up, and also there is a marked improvement in fuel use. It always fascinates me because road tests and reviews are nearly always conducted with new cars and a much better experience comes later.

[EvilRacer329]

Huh, that's really interesting. Is it a sudden change? If things like gears in the transmission are wearing together more slowly that might explain a looser or smoother feel, but unless there's an electronic trigger at a set mileage I can't explain a sudden change...

 

Nick

[UX250h]

I've had my UX250h for over a year, I've done 13k miles. I get another 3-5 more mpg in the summer.

[asinrutee]

very typical across all vehs petrol or diesel