I have tried various strategies with my Escape with varying results. My driving is generally 70% highway (smooth in the AM, stop & go in the PM) and 30% suburban/city.

The worst one was driving like I normally did. About 29 MPG that way.

The best was this current tank where I used coasting a lot on downhill stretches and when possible used the cruise control. I also make a concious effort (when the speed limit permits) to get to 35 MPH when in town. I found that it works well. No jack rabbit starts and calm decelerations. I also use 91 octane as I get about 10% better MPG than the cheaper stuff. Doing this is maybe going to allow me to get my first 500 mile tank.

Anyone have other tricks? Special air filters? Spark plugs?

 

Don't use the cruise control when its hilly. Keep a constant rpm and loose speed when climbing hills.

 

Don't bother with the 91 octane fuel. It doesn't give better milage, just prevents the engine from pinging under load. Our vehicles don't ping with 87 octane so you are wasting money on the more expensive fuel when you don't need to.

I'm currently getting 32MPG (for the last 2 tanks with my modified driving style) with my 06 AWD FEH. The key for me was trying to keep the RPMs as low as possible. I always try to stay under 2K and it seems to work well. I average about 62MPH on the highway and do let it slow down on the uphill climbs. I commute 60 miles each way and it's a pretty hilly route across the western half of CT. It's about 40 miles on the highway and 20 miles of secondary roads and city driving. When off the highway and traffic allows, I force it into EV mode on the downhill stretches by braking till I'm below 40MPH and letting it coast down the hills. I know the Prius guys say to avoid EV mode, but it works for me and gets me above EPA ratings. I'm on my 3rd tank in my attempt to hypermile with mine and I'm still making it. Good luck with your attempt.

 

I'm tryng to break old habits. This tank could be my 500 miler. Thanks. The cruise control on my car gets used on the straight aways. I do make an attempt to not use it on several sections of 25 here in Denver.

Anyone had luck with K&N filters or better spart plugs? Slick-50?

 

As for higher octane, I did do an experiment where I ran many tanks of low octane over a known path the did a similar number of tanks at higher octane. At the time the increase in MPG made it a wash with the extra money so I did it anyway as I could get a higher mile range. As I said, it was a wash. And that was with my 16 MPG Wrangler.

 

There are many variables that affect milage so without carefully contrlling the comparison, it's easy to see skewed results. You may want to consider retesting.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...ne+milage+myth shows how many sites report the opposite of what you saw.

 

As you say, there are a lot of variables. I think what I'll do is run 3 tanks of each of the two lower octanes and see what happens. My route I drive weekly is pretty repeatable as is the traffic. The temperature and AC usage does vary.

 

Those two have a large effect on milage so keep track of them in the comparison.

 

If you've read this before, you may note that I added some info about pulsing and red light racing, but the rest is the same.

Plan your trip and your route. It sounds simple, almost remedial, but as I've been driving, I've learned that the slope of the road, the traffic flow, and other elements can play a big part in your milage. Chose routes where you won't have to vary your speed much, and you're going downhill or over level roads as much as possible.

Don't dilly dally. When you start your car, put it into motion. Don't start the engine, then load her up, go back into the house, etc. Start up the engine and get driving.

Don't be a leadfoot. Rabbit starting from a stop, and going much above 65 tend to eat away at those MPGs.

Don't try to be an electric vehicle. EV mode is great, and it'll give you great MPGs, but that's then. That energy needs to be replenished, and it's most likely going to use the ICE to do it, causing you to get some terrible MPGs later. Use it wisely, and not excessively. It's a hybrid, and that's what makes it effective, when it's in hybrid mode. Now, that's not to say don't use EV mode, quite the contrary, you want to use it, in stop and go traffic, in parking lots, coming home, but don't try to do everything in EV mode all the time.

Follow the two C's: Coasting and Cruising. Try to coast as much as possible. When you see a red light ahead, let off the pedal and coast all the way in, things like that. (Don't worry about the battery, it charges when you're really driving about, so lay off the brakes unless you need them, allow yourself to coast.) Additionally, if you're under or around 40 mph, you can press the brakes twice in a row. Two solid presses in sequence, with the second one being at or under 40 mph will turn off the engine. When you start off from a dead stop, use the EV to get you rolling (I generally get to 15-20 mph before the ICE comes on), and then use the hybrid drive to get you up to crusing speed; don't floor it and don't mosey, then do what you can to stay at that speed for as long as possible.

Don't rush to a red light. If you know the traffic pattern, and you know that you can't hit the next light red, why bother wasting all the fuel and energy rushing up to that stop? Take your time, and save your fuel.

Don't be afraid to be passed by traffic. When you're coasting up to a red light, you'll probably be passed. When you're letting EV mode to get you started, you'll probably be passed. If you're on an expressway, you'll probably want to use a right lane. You'll still get there, and you'll be a lot more fuel efficient getting there.

If you have the A/N system, use it. Watch your MPGs when you're driving about, and the Energy diagram when you're in stop and go traffic to monitor your battery.

I find that if I'm in heavy, prolonged stop and go traffic, I switch gears to L (A braking mode where the electric motor recharges the battery by slowing you down; essentially EV mode in reverse) and then use EV mode as much as possible and let the slow down for the stop part of traffic to recharge the battery.

Get your oil changed. A bit of humor, but I got mine changed at 1000+ miles, and right after that, had a 2 MPG boost in my fuel economy. Before I was getting 30ish, and now I'm getting 33!

Also, if it's new, give it and yourself time to adjust. Find out for yourself what works and what doesn't. Most people report that at around 3000 miles there's an improvement, (I had one) and another at around 8000 miles.

 

One thing I'd like to add, check the tire pressure. I run my FEH tires at max sidewall all the time, but be sure that you check them and they are consistent with the recommendations or max sidewall or your comfort level. One tire with an "off" pressure can kill your mileage.

As for
I disagree with this philosophy. In my experience, the more I EV the better the mpg all around. Don't forget that the ICE is not the only replenishment tool for the battery. The regenetive (sp?) braking contributes significantly to the replenishment of the battery. I have been able to push 10 miles on EV in a low speed segment of a downhill ride, just by using the engine to brake (L mode) the truck. While the ICE runs later, it doesn't demonstrably reduce mileage.