Fill the tank, drive. Fill when needed, take number of gallons needed to fill, and divide miles driven by number of gallons.

IE - My last gas receipt:

161.7 Mi
5.511 gallons

29.232 MPG. Certainly my worst tank in a long long time. I was also a bit happy to get home and drive too, and it's been BLOODY hot here, so the AC's been on. I never use AC. Reasonable considering the weather and current driving habits.

 

i had one tank recently that i just didn't do anything special...i accelerated very quickly at stop lights, going really fast on the highway (80-90 mph), etc. i got 26 mpg on that tank.

then i went to atlanta from nashville last weekend...filled up right before i got on the highway and right when i got off the highway...got 37 mpg. i stayed under 80, but didn't "baby" it, but i wasn't horribly aggressive, except on one mountain (pretty much the only big mountain that requires truck warnings and such) i floored it cause i got behind someone who was going 20 and that wasn't doing it for me.

on the way back, i didn't fill up before getting on the highway (i had about 80 miles on the tank from driving from N. atlanta to downtown, then out to NW atlanta and then stayed there all weekend). i filled up as soon as i got home (i live right by a gas station), so there were probably 85 miles that were not straight highway driving...and i got 32.

other than the 26 tank, it's all been 30-32 mpg for the mix that i'm doing (i'd say it's probably 75% highway, 25% city streets). it started out 27 on my first tank, then as it broke in it kept getting better.

 

My 2006 got 32mpg on the first tank and about the same on the next few. This is mostly highway 75-90mph including some grades(central coast cali)with overdrive off.
I'm pleased!!!

 

On my last trip back to AZ from LA I drove at 70 mph and I ended up getting around 33 mpg. Not bad. And that was with the a/c on the entire time.

 

Hi on my scion i was able to maintain 37 on the highway driving 70-75 with the ac on and in the city 33-35 so far so good i got 2005 xa RS and i got almost 34,323 miles on it traveled already in 6 State NH,Maine,Ma,Washington,NJ,RI and planning to drive next week to TX

 

I'm getting 27 mpg now. however that is all city driving and with the a/c on. Overall, not bad, but I'd like to do better.

When I was commuting more, 50 miles 1 way, I averaged 31-33 mpg. If I kept it under 65 mph, then I could hit 35 mpg even with the a/c on most of the time. Going 65 or less in socal is hard, it takes a while to get used to being passed.

 

First tank... 326

Second tank... 338

Third tank... 368

I think my fourth tank is gonna be weaker than my third tank... on my third tank, I got to 71 miles before the needle even moved. I've got 64 miles on my fourth tank right now and the needle is already down past the first marking.

This is about 50% city 50% highway. I find myself going 40 like 70% of the time. This is traffic in my town usually limits me too. On the highway, I stay a steady 65.

 

Gotta divide the mileage by the gallons it takes to refill. Then you can track your actual mpg.

Even if you fill up ASAP after the fuel indicator starts flashing, it won't trip at the same level every time. Still, if that's what you're doing, your range is increasing. Always a good sign.

 

Wait... I'm confused... Can you explain EXACTLY how to do it? lol

 

Reset your trip meter when you refill. When you stop to get gas again, record the miles driven since last fillup.

Divide number of miles by number of gallons used to fill the car after driving so many miles.

Say I drove 328 miles since I last filled up. If it takes 9.2 gallons to fill the tank, I divide 328 by 9.2. This nets me an answer of 35.6 MPG.

 

It seems I may have the one of the higher mileage Xa's here, so I'll chime in. I have 72k on my car. I do LOTS of hwy driving to bike races around the country, but mostly in the southeast, so most of my trips are from 1-5 hours in length.

Here are a few things I've noticed:

1) I have a Yakima roof bike rack on the car. Before I installed the rack, I was avging 32-35 mpg. After installing the rack, it went to 30-32 mpg
2) The gas mileage is directly related to how hard you push your accelerator pedal down. IOW, it doesn't matter how fast you drive, just how quick you get up to speed.
3) If I drive like a grandma, I will avg 32 mpg
4) If I drive my normal, somewhat aggressive self, I avg 30 mpg
5) When I put the two bikes on top, I still avg 28-30 mpg
6) No noticeable difference in mpg with A/C on
7) Driving aggressively, A/C on, headwind, avg speed of 80 mph, 2 bikes on top...24 mpg.

I think that covers it!! I didn't buy the car just because of it's gas mileage rating, but rather because if it's looks and it's nimbleness around town. I am willing to give up some gas mileage for the fun of driving the car!

Mark

 

Wow. I just figured my mileage based on my first tank. I'm getting 39 mpg on a 50/50 mix of highway and city, and that's with running the AC 90% of the time.

Here's what I've been doing:
1. Upshift at 2500 rpm
2. Drive the speed limit
3. Coast up to red lights and on hills
4. Don't downshift to reduce speed

That's it. I'm blown away.

 

Shift at 2500? Daaamn. That's some extreme granny shifting.

I still can't force myself to drive like a granny for one whole tank.

 

I wouldn't say extreme. The owner's manual recommends speeds to shift at, and that's what it works to. Revving these little engines doesn't do much more than make noise.

 

my xA doesn't seem to make any power whatsoever until about 3k, then it almost feels like it's switching to another cam or something and it picks up noticably. I usually shift at 3500 to 4500 or so I think. I just don't quite have the patience to shift at 2500

 

i've got an '06, with...unfortunately...21,000 miles on it. at around 5,000 i was getting 35 mpg. but, then i got my intake, and started accelerating faster.

I agree with shifting at 3500 to 4000, i don't have the patience to go as slow as i can run or walk. but, if i remember right, i'm getting about 28-30 mpg now because i have a problem with a certain heavy right foot. it sucks with gas being 3.40, but...i'd rather have fun driving than saving a little money.

 

I am not too sure about the mileage on your cars I havent even got to pick mine up yet, but the last car I had was a new 05 suzuki reno which was totalled in a storm by a tree falling on it, and I ran into the same problem as some of you guys but I was only getting like 16 mpg when I bought it and it only has a 2.0L engine. What I was told and experienced is that the new cars were not getting the mileage on the sticker until about 6K miles after the motor was pretty much broken in. Its just a thought. Like I said I have no idea about mine. I pick it up at the end of this week and it will have like 300 miles on it from a delivery.

 

16mpg with a Suzuki Reno, probably a good thing a tree fell on it, I hope no one got hurt though. There must have been something wrong with it. I've got a '91 2WD Explorer that gets 23.5mpg with a 20 tank average, 90% interstate. So far my xA is getting about 37mpg. I don't have a lead foot though.

 

Hello all. New to the site and to the Scion XA. We purchased ours about 2 weeks ago (Flint Mica & 5 speed) primarily for commuting. Love it. We had to wait however 3 months to get it with the 5 speed.

Here are my gas mileage notes so far tracked at www.fueleconomy.gov, I am the person from WA.

This is based on driving a maximum of 60 mph on the free way feathering the gas, short shifting at 2,000 RPM, no AC, only running with the windows down less than 50 mph otherwise using outside air only by fan above 50 mph, basically driving it like your mama is in the car with you.

Also note, I changed the oil & filter at 100 miles (lots of aluminum shavings in the oil), again at 600 miles, and will do again at 1000 miles. What can I say, I break things in the old school method. Actually I was surprised at how much aluminum was in the oil in the first 100 miles. At 600 miles, the aluminum in the oil was about 20% of the first oil change. We'll see what it is at 1000 miles.

Date- Miles -Gallons- MPG- Cost- City %- Highway %- Notes
8/13/2006- 97.4- 3.054- 31.8926- 9.1- 100- 0- First 100 miles, engine breaking in

8/20/2006- 189.7- 4.921- 38.54908- 14.27- 10- 90- Oil changed, engine breaking in.

8/23/2006- 193.7- 4.411- 43.91294- 12.79- 50- 50- Mx 60mph 30min idle in trffc shrt shift 2K

8/24/2006- 187.2- 5.265- 35.55556- 15.47- 80- 20- Oil chng 2hr cmmt shrt shift 2k

8/26/2006- 107.6- 2.899- 37.11625- 8.69- 30- 70- Max 60mph esy cmmt shrt shift 2k

8/29/2006- 103.7- 2.399- 43.22635- 6.86- 50- 50- Max 60mph esy cmmnt shrt shift 2K

To date average 38 MPG.

 

Sounds like pretty good mileage. I've tried to define "easy on the gas" for an auto, and found that I accel so that it shifts at about 2500 rpm for getting up to 50+ speeds. I hold the gas pedal at one place while it travels the gears, and find that I'll give it a bit more if merging into freeway traffic or going uphill, maybe 3000 rpm at the shift points tops.

It shifts into 4th/OD nearly simultaneously this way, usually at about 40 mph I bleev.

Averaging 35-39 mpg, currently 13k miles.