Nothing special

Odometer: 20897.1
Tank Mileage: 612.2
Gallons Added: 15.784
Long-Term Average: 40.9
Short-Term Average: 39.7
Calculated Average: 38.7

Nothing special on this tank. I had a couple days where I was running late for something and pushed for time and not mileage. One thing I see from looking at my notes: the displayed mileage is a touch (~1 mpg) optimistic versus the calculated mileage for the tank. This is only the fourth tank since I started resetting the displayed MPG with each fill, so the data are still a bit slim.

High winds

Odometer: 20284.8
Tank Mileage: 601.5
Gallons Added: 15.596
Long-Term Average: 41.3
Short-Term Average: 39.8
Calculated Average: 38.5

I drove all week after the marathon before I needed to fill. The last 150 miles were into a fierce headwind which dropped my mileage significantly. The 6-minute average dropped to the 30 mpg range. I am quite happy with the handling of the car in these conditions, even when I had that wind from the side. I expect I may start seeing somewhat reduced mileages as the weather cools as it takes time for the car to completely warm up in the morning.

Another milestone on this fill was the 20,000-mile service point. I went back to the same dealer as the 10,000-mile point. I scheduled this through the Ford Owner website. Also, the service tech I talked with when I dropped the car off seemed to better understand what was needed for this service point. The only confusion was an item not noted which is part of the scheduled maintenance for a related vehicle. It turned out that this car is designed slightly differently and that item doesn't apply. The work was handled well and I was out of there fairly quickly.

I forgot to mention the Fuel Economy graph resets that I am still encountering. At least I haven't had a recurrence of display resets I had earlier.

700 Miles!

Odometer: 19683.3
Tank Mileage: 700.0
Gallons Added: 16.508
Long-Term Average: 42.0
Short-Term Average: 43.3
Calculated Average: 42.4

I hit a few milestones with this tank. I finally drove the 700 miles mentioned in the advertisements for this vehicle. I broke 42 mpg for the tank mileage. I broke 41 mpg for the 5-tank average mileage. During this tank, I drove home from Ohio, drove my normal commute for 4 days (I took Friday off), drove to Lansing and back, and drove back down to Dayton before filling the tank. I love the flexibility this provides. (During this trip, it made a huge difference as there was a large price spike that I avoided by being able to delay my fill-up.)

One little annoyance that continues is the reset of the Fuel Economy history that is occurring with more frequency. I'll mention it to the dealer, but I have no expectation that they have heard of this any more then the total reset of the SmartGauge I reported to them last time.

[Posted 2010-09-22]

Long Delayed Fill

Odometer: 18983.3
Tank Mileage: 641.1
Gallons Added: 16.170
Long-Term Average: 41.4
Short-Term Average: 40.9
Calculated Average: 39.6

I long vacation was taken during this tank. I'm just getting caught up.

[Posted 2010-09-22]

Riding high

Odometer: 18342.2
Tank Mileage: 686.1
Gallons Added: 16.419
Long-Term Average: 41.6
Short-Term Average: 41.6
Calculated Average: 41.7

Just a touch further than the last miles driven record. More exciting is a new tank mileage record. While I truncate the values in the summary, I do record them in a more detail personal log. My new record tank average is 41.79 mpg. This includes an Interstate trip to Dayton for the the weekend, running around base while there and my normal commute on either side.

There was one exceptional leg. I had to go into work early Monday morning after I drove home from Dayton. I averaged 54.7 mpg over 25 miles on the short route that minimizes Interstate travel. Having almost no other traffic and most traffic lights flashing yellow really helped.

The 3-tank and 5-tank averages were also records, but I don't have them handy at the moment.

New Miles Driven Record

Odometer: 17656.0
Tank Mileage: 685.1
Gallons Added: 16.524
Long-Term Average: 41.2
Short-Term Average: 41.2
Calculated Average: 41.4

I hit 0 Miles to "E" on my way home tonight. By the time I got to the station I planned to used, I had just over 685 miles on the tank. This is a bit better than the previous miles driven record of 680. Commensurate with this is the most gallons added. I hope I never find out the absolute usable capacity of the tank. Assuming that the tank will take 16 gallons when on "E" seems to be well supported. That 16 gallons easily gets me over 600 miles of range and frequently over 650. The initial estimate for the next tank was 700 Miles to "E" when I started the car after the fill.

This tank included driving in Chicago for the weekend and the trip home (over 200 Interstate miles), a round trip to Lansing (150 Interstate miles) and three days of my normal commute (120 Interstate and 30 City miles). One thing about my commute: I have a choice between the route that yields the best mileage and the route that uses the least gas. They are very close, but that is the split on the averages.

2010-08-11 1906 ETA: My 3-tank (41.09, first time over 41) and 5-tank (40.71, first time over 40) averages are also records.

Not what they seem

Odometer: 16970.9
Tank Mileage: 646.8
Gallons Added: 16.146
Long-Term Average: 40.7
Short-Term Average: 40.7
Calculated Average: 40.0

My wife was looking at the numbers I've recorded for the various average mileage and was confused as they weren't moving as she would expect them to. For example, the previous fill had an improvement in Long-Term average of .8 mpg over the fill before. This was supposed to be a "lifetime" average, but it had reset with the display about 9,000 miles ago. For this to make sense, the tank average would have to have exceeded the long-term average by about 10 mpg. Also, the short-term average should have moved further in response to the same input as it is supposed to show the average over the last 2000 miles. Instead, the two averages seem to run pretty close to each other. In fact, calculating backwards from the calculated tank mileage, the long-term and short-term mileages seem to have a weight equal to about 1600 miles. Allowing for the possible differences in fills and 2000 miles is in the ball park.

This is all minor, but, with both car-generated averages running so close, I'll probably start resetting the displayed average more often (possibly for each tank).

[Posted 2010-08-10]

Now Beating the EPA

Odometer: 16324.1
Tank Mileage: 680.0
Gallons Added: 16.293
Long-Term Average: 40.7
Short-Term Average: 40.7
Calculated Average: 41.7

With this tank, my life-time average (calculated as all miles driven divided by all gallon bought) exceeds the combined EPA estimated mileage. (41 city/36 hwy for 38.5 combined) My lifetime average is now 38.52.

This tank set several other records: miles driven (680), tank mpg (41.7), 3 tank trailing average mpg (40.67). I also had a commute into work with an average of 47.6 mpg over 25.5 miles including 20 miles of highway. Finally, the estimated "Miles to Empty" after the fill was 711 miles. This was the first time I've seen over 700 miles displayed.

[Posted 2010-07-30]

Time Challenged

Odometer: 15644.0
Tank Mileage: 483.0
Gallons Added: 12.342
Long-Term Average: 39.9
Short-Term Average: 40.0
Calculated Average: 39.1

I had a number trips during this tank where I was under time pressure. I still did fairly well, but there were times when I just had to set the cruise at the speed limit and roll with it. I filled early as I didn't want to have to take the time while in Dayton. The great range of this car adds considerable flexibility in the timing of fuel stops. The extra range also allows one to be choosy about the price paid.

[Posted 2010-07-30]

Weekend Trip to Pennsylvania

Odometer: 15160.9
Tank Mileage: 604.3
Gallons Added: 14.823
Long-Term Average: 39.6
Short-Term Average: 39.7
Calculated Average: 40.7

This tank was just about evenly split between a highway trip to Erie, PA and my normal ~25 mile commute. I had a pretty good tailwind on the outbound leg to Erie. After the half marathon, I returned home bucking a headwind most of the way. The rest of the tank was normal commute service.

[Posted 2010-07-30]

Killer commutes

Odometer: 14556.5
Tank Mileage: 584.8
Gallons Added: 15.510
Long-Term Average: 38.9
Short-Term Average: 38.9
Calculated Average: 37.7

I had a week of commutes where I was running behind and didn't try for enhanced mileage. This is reflected in the lower tank mileage.

I like the segment mileage report I get when I stop the car. I wish this was stored in a location where I could retrieve the last 10 or so segments. I'm a data junkie and making it easier to collect the data would be a plus. Having the car send the report as an SMS or an email would be a way to do this.

One minor item: While the display, and longer term mileages, hasn't reset recently, I am noting that the fuel efficiency bar graph clears its data every so often. I haven't figured out a pattern yet. This is currently in the "that's odd" category as opposed to "that's annoying".

[Posted 2010-07-19]

Somewhat better

Odometer: 13971.7
Tank Mileage: 465.9
Gallons Added: 12.171
Long-Term Average: 39.0
Short-Term Average: 39.0
Calculated Average: 38.2

Still below the longer term averages, but better than the last tank. I had a day where I was operating the radios in support of a local bicycle ride. I changed the way I had the radio battery connected to the car and found a place in the shade where I could leave the car off and the windows down.

[Posted 2010-07-19]

Almost two weeks

Odometer: 13505.7
Tank Mileage: 601.8
Gallons Added: 16.438
Long-Term Average: 39.3
Short-Term Average: 39.4
Calculated Average: 36.6

Almost two weeks for this tank. This was mostly just a series of commutes. It also included extended idling to provide power for other activities. Definitely not the way to get high mileage.

[Posted 2010-07-19]

Three Months

Three months after the purchase is also 13 weeks. I have just over 13,000 miles on the car. At this point I am under 5K/month, but still over 4K/month and just over 1K/week. I am still happy with the purchase and continue to learn new things about the car.

I strongly suspect I will fall below 1K/week by the end of next week as I don't have anything beyond the daily commute planned.

Still catching up

Odometer: 12903.8
Tank Mileage: 452.7
Gallons Added: 12.441
Long-Term Average: 39.9
Short-Term Average: 40.1
Calculated Average: 36.3

This is the fill-up after the weekend trip to Chicago.

One thing I noted during this period is the AC power point operation. If I have the laptop and radio battery charger both connected at once, this is too much and the point shuts down. If I have allowed one of the other to complete charging, I can connect the second device without overloading the connection. Also, I have noted no additional noise from the AC power point above the noise provided by the car itself.

[Posted 2010-07-05 0008]

Catch-up

Odometer: 12451.1
Tank Mileage: 392.3
Gallons Added: 9.937
Long-Term Average: 40.5
Short-Term Average: 40.7
Calculated Average: 39.4

We filled early to avoid having to fill in Illinois.

[Posted 2010-07-05 0002]

Round Trip

Odometer: 12058.7
Tank Mileage: 676.2
Gallons Added: 16.358
Long-Term Average: 40.7
Short-Term Average: 41.0
Calculated Average: 41.3

This was a great tank. For the first time, I was able to complete my monthly trip to Ohio (~400 miles) without having to stop for gas. I did a day of work on either end and even did a side trip to Lansing before I had to stop for gas. There are several records:

1. Calculated average, this is the best ever for a fill-up.
2. Tank miles, just a bit more than my previous best and only 14 miles after E.
   
3. Miles to E range, 662 miles were on the tank when the Miles to E hit zero.

A/C is used all the time. There were times when the load of accessories (which includes A/C) was 5/7 of full scale. The A/C is very effective. I'm still getting used to the controls. Currently, my issue is change the volume when I want to change the speed on the cruise control. Finally, I think either I'm getting better, or the car is hitting another wear-in point as I'm getting >40 mpg even into significant headwinds.

Back to Normal

Odometer: 11382.4
Tank Mileage: 575.7
Gallons Added: 14.825
Long-Term Average: 40.3
Short-Term Average: 40.5
Calculated Average: 38.8

There were a few longer trips (~50 miles) in this tank, but most were in the normal daily commute range (~25 miles). Construction on this route has improved, so there is less stop-and-go through that zone.

A Couple Records

Odometer: 10806.7
Tank Mileage: 672.2
Gallons Added: 16.371
Long-Term Average: 40.3
Short-Term Average: 40.9
Calculated Average: 41.1

Part of this tank was the final drive home. This was about 400 miles all Interstate running between 65 and 70 mph. The balance of the tank was my normal commute during the remainder of the work week.

First record is the distance driven between fill-ups. This beats the previous best by over 30 miles. The second record is the calculated average for this tank. This beats the previous best by over .5 mpg.

The other event was the 10,000 mile service point. I learned that the local dealer I went to doesn't appear to understand "give me the 10,000 service". The book calls for tire rotation, oil & filter change. Apparently, I have to specifically ask for each part of the service. All I got was the oil and filter change. I got it for free, so I can't complain too much. I also mentioned the display reset, but they were unable to find any information on this from Ford. They had never heard of it. Sounds like the same that everyone else online is hearing. I hope they are willing and able to pass my report back to Ford. I may give a dealer closer to where I work a chance at my service points when 20,000 rolls around.

Bolder Boulder Road Trip - Day 6

Miles Driven: 559.8
Average MPG: 42.5

Today's goal was to make it home in one piece. This was accomplished. Today's speeds were a bit slower than the mountain end of the trip. The closest to city driving was on the Tollway around the south end of Chicago. I'm glad I got a bit further east than originally planned for yesterday as there was severe weather near the Nebraska/Iowa border. As it was, I had great weather for the finish of the trip.

Today also completes the second month I've had the car. I continue to learn more about how it operates and how to get the best performance out of it. I am currently averaging over 5000 miles per month, but I don't expect this to continue as most of that was in Month 2 and over 3000 miles was in this trip alone.

I continue to enjoy driving this car and feel it was a decision well made.

RTFM

Odometer: 10134.5
Tank Mileage: 556.7
Gallons Added: 14.667
Long-Term Average: 39.5
Short-Term Average: 39.5
Calculated Average: 37.9

At 10,000 miles, the "oil service soon" message became "oil service required". (I have this scheduled for Thursday after I get home.) While recording my numbers, I discovered something useful. The Reset button on the steering wheel will acknowledge the message. For the oil messages, they go away. For the low-fuel messages, an icon is added next to the temperature gage. I never thought to look in the book to see about how to get back to the normal display of temperature, but I'm sure it is in there. This works well enough for me and removes the annoyance factor related to the announcements.

This tank was pure Interstate except for getting to the hotel, food, and gas. The wind was significant and almost a 90 degree crosswind for most of the tank. Running with cruise control in hilly terrain between 70 and 75 mph didn't help.

Bolder Boulder Road Trip - Day 5

Miles Driven: 669.8
Average MPG: 39.0

Today was the race. This went well. [There will be more in a post in my running blog.]

After the race, I returned to the hotel for a shower and to change. I checked-out and started the trip home. I basically drove until dark, then spent the next bit looking for a place to stay. I did stop before midnight, but no by much. I was pretty wiped by then.

Today's goal was to leave less than 12, preferably less than 10, hours to go for tomorrow. I was around 9 hours from home when I stopped.

Mountain Surprise

Odometer: 9577.8
Tank Mileage: 515.5
Gallons Added: 13.365
Long-Term Average: 39.7
Short-Term Average: 39.4
Calculated Average: 38.5

The previous tank was filled with 85 octane fuel containing up to 10% ethanol. Most of the tank was used above 5000 feet. As usual for the elevation, I didn't notice any issues with the non-spec rating even with the acceleration up the mountain. (The manual calls for 87 octane as a minimum.)

All of the activity yesterday was on this tank. The tank has a net loss of elevation, but it also includes yesterday's activity which was a net zero with a min-to-max variation of over 3000 feet. Today's run was mostly downwind which I'm sure helped offset the use of cruise control.

Finally, at 9500 miles on the odometer, the "oil service soon" announcement came on. This showed in the area on the left of the display that normally shows the temperature and the transmission selection that is used for all such announcements. These announcements replace the normal display. I don't like not being able to see the temperature gage. [more on this tomorrow]

Bolder Boulder Road Trip - Day 4

Miles Driven: 139.0
Average MPG: 42.5

After getting my race package, I went for a short drive to get a couple of small counties and one off the beaten path. This was successful.

During my drive, I used the "low gear" position for the transmission. The book says that this keeps the engine running to provide enhanced braking. In addition to keeping the engine on, the transmission also sets for a low "gear". This is important as the dynamic braking provided by the motor-generators goes away when the battery is full. Of course, "L" tends to enhance energy collection, so the State-of-Charge tends to the maximum anyway. I'm not sure of the trade-offs, but I would like to see more aggressive use of the electric motor and less charge collection when in "L". I would expect braking to use the regenerative mode first (like normal) before engaging the brake pads. I would also like to see some indication of when the physical system engages so I know when I am adding heat to the physical system.

On the way back down Boulder Canyon, I used the camera on my phone for the first time.

Bolder Boulder Road Trip - Day 3

Miles Driven: 448.3
Average MPG: 38.8

Today's goal was to arrive in Boulder, CO. Along the way, 11 counties were run in 3 states. It was a good day, but I was getting tired by the time I got to the Interstate in Limon, CO.

I was very surprised that the Tomtom GPS did not have the hotel I was staying at in its database. I had it set for Boulder, CO. After filling in Limon, I used the SYNC Services option to get directions to the hotel. This worked very well. I spent part of the run into Boulder talking with my father using SYNC. Directions were announced with a tone and shown in the display in the center of the dashboard. Normally, this would be announced by voice in addition to the tone and display.

I prefer map-based guidance, but the SYNC directions are very usable and have been perfectly reliable. On this trip, there were two failures of the recently updated Tomtom with the currently available map data.

No Interstates

Odometer: 9062.2
Tank Mileage: 501.8
Gallons Added: 13.353
Long-Term Average: 39.7
Short-Term Average: 39.1
Calculated Average: 37.5

There was no Interstate driving on this tank. There was some running on dirt roads looking for county lines or quiet places to operate the radio. There was also a net increase in elevation with this tank. Winds were sometimes favorable, but there were also some significant headwinds. Finally, I used the cruise control in hilly terrain which doesn't lead to a good average.

Bolder Boulder Road Trip - Day 2

Miles Driven: 424.2
Average MPG: 38.0

Target today was Dewey County, OK. This was accomplished and a total of 9 counties were covered during the day.

Early Fill

Odometer: 8560.4
Tank Mileage: 400.5
Gallons Added: 10.472
Long-Term Average: 40.2
Short-Term Average: 38.5
Calculated Average: 38.2

As I was going to be running around away from the beaten path, I decided to fill early to avoid having to pay higher prices in the hinterland. Having a useful range well over 500 miles makes avoiding regional prices much easier.

This was the first time I have filled up at a station with NO live attendants. There was no one in the store. It was strictly pay-at-the-pump. I've done this after hours, but never as standard for that station all the time.

[2010-06-01 2326 ETA data]

Bolder Boulder Road Trip - Day 1

Miles Driven: 535.3
Average MPG: 40.4

I got as high as 43 mpg today, but the hills (and a need for speed) impacted this through southern Missouri.

With the three counties I operated from in Missouri, I have now operated in 200 of the counties in the US. I contacted, or was contacted by, over 30 different hams around the country.

Finally, I had a good visit with my father.

I broke 40

Odometer: 8159.9
Tank Mileage: 584.1
Gallons Added: 14.447
Long-Term Average: 40.6
Short-Term Average: 40.2
Calculated Average: 40.4

While it might be a slightly short fill, I am still happy to have finally had a tank with over 40 mpg. This tank was almost entirely Interstate with just a touch of highway and minimal city driving. About half of the miles where through a hilly part of Missouri.

The Road Trip Begins

Odometer: 7575.7
Tank Mileage: 637.6
Gallons Added: 16.462
Long-Term Average: 40.1
Short-Term Average: 40.1
Calculated Average: 38.7

This tank included the partial work week and the beginning of the road trip. I will be resetting the Short-Term average each day.

The main purpose of the road trip is to run in the Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day. Along the way, I will be visiting my father and running counties for those that might need them.

[Posted 2010-05-27 2325]

Spontaneous Reset, Take Two

The display (and the short- and long-term averages) was reset this morning when I started the car for my commute. Based on reading online, there is a fix for this. I will have this addressed when I bring the car in for its 10K service point next week.

On a better note, I had my best mileage for the drive in at 46.2 mpg. This included going through a construction zone on the Interstate.

New Best Tank

Odometer: 6938.0
Tank Mileage: 572.8
Gallons Added: 14.516
Long-Term Average: 39.1
Short-Term Average: 38.6
Calculated Average: 39.4

The Calculated MPG for this tank is the best yet.

This tank included a round-trip to the Dayton, OH area for a funeral. This was 400 miles of Interstate driving without an advantageous wind. The rest was mostly commute to work.

I also discovered that there is not enough metal on the roof to reliably hold a magnetic mount antenna at even low (~55) highway speeds. Luckily, there wasn't any significant damage caused when I discovered this. I will likely be adding a permanent mount in the near future.

Another Late Update

Odometer: 6365.1
Tank Mileage: 602.1
Gallons Added: 15.733
Long-Term Average: 38.8
Short-Term Average: 38.1
Calculated Average: 38.2

Started this tank running around Dayton then drove home on the Interstate (200 miles). The rest of the tank was typical workday commute.

[Posted 2010-05-24 1050]

Late update

[Actually posted 2010-05-19 1040]

Odometer: 5763
Tank Mileage: 543.0
Gallons Added: 14.469
Long-Term Average: 38.7
Short-Term Average: 37.6
Calculated Average: 37.5

A short work week followed by 200 highway miles into the wind.

This fill was with gas that may contain up to 10% ethanol. I didn't notice any significant impact on the previous fill from this station. Most likely, any impact was overwhelmed by other factors.

Green Grand Prix and Headwinds

Odometer: 5219.9
Tank Mileage: 547.6
Gallons Added: 15.493
Long-Term Average: 38.7
Short-Term Average: 36.4
Calculated Average: 35.3

This could have been worse. The first 77 miles of the tank was during the Economy Run of the Green Grand Prix in Watkins Glen, NY. Step one of the event is to top off our tanks. We also had to reset the reported MPG (what I call Short-Term). Then we have to climb this hill to get to the staged start. I was showing ~25 mpg at the end of that climb. We started with one minute intervals. One requirement was to stay within 10% of the posted speed limit. I was car #4. I passed #3 part way to the intermediate stop in Geneva, NY. I entered the required stop location immediately behind the #2 car. When I stopped the car, I noted 47.1 mpg for the leg and a current tank mpg of 45.1. The return to Watkins Glen is down the east side of Seneca Lake. My entry to Watkins Glen is aided by a steep downhill grade as we enter the city. I was all electric from the stop sign on that hill to the record point in town. Final average for the run was 46.6 (48.1 for the return leg). When I got to the expo, I had actually clicked up to 46.7 by the time I parked the car.

We had had strong winds mostly cross to the course during the Economy Run. They increased overnight and included some snow by morning. I was driving into this headwind using cruise control. I gave back a lot of the average mileage during the drive home. The worst segment was 100 miles with the average well under 30 mpg. I just didn't have the energy to eco-drive the whole way home. I can tell you that gravity wins vs winds (at least for what I was seeing). Any obvious downhill and I was getting respectable mileage. The following uphill...wasn't pretty.

New bests

Odometer: 4672.3
Tank Mileage: 634.5
Gallons Added: 16.157
Long-Term Average: 39.4
Short-Term Average: 39.4
Calculated Average: 39.3

I miscalculated my route to the Green Grand Prix and ended up driving beyond "E". I now know that there is an audio warning at zero in addition to the already discovered warnings at 50, 25, and 10 "miles to E".

I set new records in miles driven on a tank, gallons added during a fill-up, and calculated MPG for the tank.

I reset the Short-Term Average as part of the Green Grand Prix Fuel Economy Run. More on this later, but I did get 46.6 mpg for best in my class (and there was at least one other car, a Camry Hybrid, in my class).

A Great, If Irreverent, Review

Another FFH blogger pointed to this great review of the Ford Fusion Hybrid by Racer Boy.

It does mention "hippie chicks" and "dead bodies".

You have been warned.

Enjoy.

First Month

Odometer: 4037.7
Tank Mileage: 598.9
Gallons Added: 15.924
Long-Term Average: 38.9
Short-Term Average: 38.9
Calculated Average: 37.6

The nearly 16 gallons added to this tank represents the largest amount of fuel added in a fill-up. As I had only 4 "miles to E", this agrees with the suggestion that "E" is reached with about 1.5 gallons in the tank. I don't plan to deliberately test that theory (or find out how much of that I can actually use), but it is good that there is some consistency between theory and practice.

I am filling with "miles to E" left having driven more than 50 miles since the 50 mile warning. I'm real happy that this is case and I hope this stays reliable. I will likely do some work on getting a feel for the "real" distance to E at 100 "miles to E".

So far the first estimate after a fill-up seems to be a bit high versus the calculated range (miles driven plus final "miles to E"). I've not determined what value the car is using to calculate "miles to E". I need more data and the reset earlier may have added an additional unknown into the system.

Finally, I drove just over 4000 miles in the first month. At 3 weeks, I was still over 1000 miles a week. Last weekend was the first without significant driving. I actually went eight days before I had to fill the tank. I really like being able to easily cover over 500 miles between gas station visits.

A Feel-Good Car

Odometer: 3438.7
Tank Mileage: 594.3
Gallons Added: 15.721
Long-Term Average: 39.1
Short-Term Average: 39.1
Calculated Average: 37.8

I went on a bit of a road trip over the weekend. The major highway sections were into the teeth of a fairly strong wind. I was able to do well in the hills of northern Michigan. I can't get too unhappy about a tank that was largely highway driving with the cruise set to 70 for most of the distance. I still beat the highway mileage number.

A comment made over the weekend got me to thinking. The individual making the comment dismissed the car as just a "feel-good car". I guess the implication is that the only reason to get it was to feel good as there was no other justification. I wasn't sure how to respond assuming this individual was even interested in listening. I've always "felt good" about the car I was driving. This goes from the Mercury Cougar that was my first car (and really fun to drive), through the Fords and Chevy I got to drive, to the Subarus that were the first cars I've owned myself. I love to drive. I find it relaxing and a time when I can reflect on things. I've always had (in my opinion) strong reasons for each car I bought. Time has shown that each car worked very well at meeting my needs. When I stopped feeling-good about them, I tended to get another one.

As to my new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, there are many reasons to "feel good" about this car. This car can go 500 miles and still have plenty gas in the tank. I've wanted this since the 1980 Chevrolet Impala I drove with the "running on fumes" combination of 25 gals and 20 mpg. The thing that I first noticed about the Ford Fusion (and it's a little thing) is the sound the door makes when shut. I feel good about that every time I hear it. It reminds me of the 1975 Ford LTD I drove until I graduated high school. The LTD was the car that took me to my first job, that I took my first girlfriend on a date with, and that I used doing public service as an Amateur Radio operator support local Civil Defense. I can feel good about supporting a company that has survived the "Great Recession" without a government bailout. I like the display. I wish it had more gages, but I'm really happy with the amount of information available. I like the feel of the road I get and the responsiveness of the car to driver inputs. It has aggressive braking and plenty of acceleration if you need it. It is fun to drive. I can even spin the tires if I really want to, but I have to turn off the traction control first. It isn't a Mustang, but it is quite respectable for what it is. Finally, based on the normal pattern of my driving and the number of miles I put on cars, I expect to recover the cost difference in about three years (and gas stays above $2.50/gal). That is something to feel good about without getting into reduced emissions and the rest of that sustainability stuff.

An unexpected reset

Odometer: 2844.4
Tank Mileage: 608.9
Gallons Added: 15.578
Long-Term Average: 40.5 (reset during tank)
Short-Term Average: 40.5 (reset during tank)
Calculated Average: 39.1

I will need to figure out how I'm going to calculate, and report, long-term average mileage. One of the sites I'm recording my mileage on reports my overall average as 37.7 mpg.

Between the time we parked to go to lunch and the time I started the car after lunch, several items were reset: short-term average, long-term average, the dash display settings, and the fuel efficiency display settings. Trip A and Trip B were not reset. I have no idea what triggered this reset and no operational impact has been noted, but it is annoying.

I had 10 miles to E showing when I stopped. I already knew the low-fuel warning activated at 50 miles to E. This is accompanied by an alert tone. This tone is repeated at 25 and 10 miles to E. One thing that will make me feel better is that I drove more than 40 miles after the 50-mile warning. Fuel remaining goes down quickly from 1/4 to the low-fuel warning, but the slope appears better after that point.

Hiding Cup Holders

Tonight, I found two cup holders for the back seat.

There is an arm rest that folds down from the center of the upright cushion in the back seat. There are two cup holders in this arm rest. This makes more sense than there aren't any for the back seat.

Settling in

Odometer: 2235.5
Tank Mileage: 553.2
Gallons Added: 14.697
Long-Term Average: 35.7
Short-Term Average: Oops!
Calculated Average: 37.6

Collecting the data needs to get better. I forgot to record the Short-Term value. I was either 38.4 or 38.5, but I don't remember which. There was still 54 miles estimated to E for a tank range of 607. The estimate for full tank range after the fill was 643 miles.

The last quarter tank seems to be smaller. At least, there miles to go seems to be reduced at a faster rate than miles driven. At the peak, there was more than 640 miles in the estimated tank range. This started to be reduced noticeably in the last quarter tank. I'm now paying attention to miles driven in each quarter. I don't know yet if I just had a significant headwind or something. I am used to gas gages being non-linear. I just don't want to get caught out by an overly optimistic range estimate. The manual tells me there is some fuel left at E, but I really do not want to find out how much.

SYNC First Impressions

I've used SYNC to access music and podcasts on a USB drive. This works fairly well. I'm still getting used to how the drive is processed by the sound system, but it is well described in the Manual.

Today, I bought a new phone (my four year-old phone did not have Bluetooth). It was easy to "pair" the phone and the car. After that, it was easy to download the contacts in the phone to SYNC. I used this to call my father who said it sounded good. Sound quality was very good. I also like how I can check the signal strength and battery charge through the console interface. The only issue so far is that the volume of the call was enough down from the volume of the voice prompts which leads to a bit of a surprise when the next prompt is generated. I suspect there is a way to adjust this. I will be reading both the SYNC and the new phone manuals.

I continue to be very happy with this car.

Back in the USA

Odometer: 1682.2
Tank Mileage: 512.0
Gallons Added: 13.696
Long-Term Average: 34.7
Short-Term Average: 38.3
Calculated Average: 37.4

I've changed the "Monthly Average" to "Short-Term Average". According to the User's Manual, this display shows the mileage since last reset or last 2000 miles. I think I'll just let it run. The Long-Term Average can be reset, but that reset is deeper in the Setup menus. I plan to just let that one run as well. First range estimate after the fill is 633 miles.

On the way to Toronto

Odometer: 1170.2
Tank Mileage: 492.3
Gallons Added: 12.582
Long-Term Average: 33.3
Monthly Average: 38.1
Calculated Average: 39.1

We filled up a bit early to avoid having to buy gas in Canada. We should easily be able to get back to the US before we have to fill again. We had 148 miles to E for an estimated tank range of 640 miles. Long-Term average is now over 30 mpg. The Monthly average did get to 38.5 during the week while commuting.

As mentioned after the first tank, this tank included about 200 miles of Interstate driving with a significant tailwind. The two legs involved included a 44.0 and a 43.6 mpg segment average.

Per the Owner's Manual, we are now out of the break-in period. Based on statements made about the Ford Hybrid system, I should see some improvements over the next few thousand miles as the rest of the system wears-in.

First fill-up

Odometer: 677.9
Tank Mileage: 526.8
Gallons Added: 14.974
Long-Term Average: 29.7
Monthly Average: 36.6
Calculated Average: 35.2

I had to drive to Dayton, Ohio today. I spent most of the 200 miles driving into a quartering headwind. As I neared Dayton, the was a bong and the left-most part of the instrument panel changed to a Low Fuel Warning. This was apparently triggered when the Miles to E hit 50 miles. I filled with 30 Miles to E for a Full Tank Range of 556 miles. When I turned the car on after filling, there were 551 miles to E.

This is quite encouraging. I will be done with the break-in period of 1000 miles when I next fill the car. I had a significant tailwind on the return trip. Both segments of the trip home showed over 40 mpg. We'll have to wait for the next fill to see the full impact.

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid

I've been watching the development of new technology in the automotive industry for a while now. I've been quite intrigued by the hybrids from Honda, Toyota, and Ford. (I know there are others, but these the manufacturers whose products have figured strongly in my awareness.) I really want an all-electric car, but until that is a viable option, hybrids will have to do.

Another day, I may go into the full list of requirements that I had when looking for this car. The important ones were high mileage, long range, and NO hole in the roof. I also greatly prefer vehicles with predictable handling.

When the 2010 Fusion was announced, I was really excited. I liked the look of the car. I checked them out and I loved the huge trunk in the non-hybrid version. With the hybrid, I lose a bit of the trunk and the pass-through by folding the rear seats, but what is left meets my needs and the additional features add plenty of value to balance the equation. Ultimately, I chose the hybrid version as I wanted to reward the company for offering it and because I had more completely researched the options I did, and did not, want. I had also identified a car at a local dealer that matched my desires exactly.

This is that car:


I got this car with 151.1 miles on it and a full tank. I reset the Trip A, Trip B, both timers, and the Average MPG. I didn't know how to reset the Long Term Mileage, but it was 18.8 the first time I noticed it in the trip report. (Every time you turn off the car, you get a summary of the miles, average mileage, fuel used, and long term average mileage.) At this point, I'm planning to leave the long term number alone. I'm planning on resetting the average mileage each month.

There are many options in what can be displayed in the instrument cluster. Currently, I have Trip A (I use this for distance since last fuel fill.), a moving chart of the last 10 1-minute averages for mileage, and average mileage. Always displayed are odometer and miles to E. (Miles to E were reported as 475 when I got the car.)

Break-in is identified as the first 1000 miles. Mileage is supposed to improve during the break-in.

One motivation in creating this blog is providing more information on this car for others who might be looking into it specifically or the technology in general. There will be plenty of data presented.

For full disclosure, I do work for Ford Motor Company. The views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent those of Ford or any other entity. I have no special access to the designers or program managers. If I have issues, I would take the car to a dealer just like any other customer. Finally, any information presented is from publicly available sources or my personal experience with this car.