I never use cruise control and I usually drive between 60 and 80. I try to speed up down hill and coast uphill, it sorta works. I get about 32-34MPG going to work and about 36-38MPG coming home. But sometimes I get a little heavy with my foot and that kills my tank average...

 

I would seriously consider giving cruise control a shot at those speeds. As long as you're staying at all consistent in your speed you'll likely do better, and if you do gradual speed adjustments by increasing/decreasing the cruise setting rather than doing it yourself, that might make for more fuel-efficient travel as well. And you can always hit the gas or brake as needed for more abrupt speed changes. But my experience before deciding to consistently use the cruise control on highways was that I'd look down and see I was driving at say 30 mpg, decide that was a little low, pull my foot up just very very slightly, and without noticing any real change in my speed the FE would drift up to 40. I have faith that the cc computer, in these conditions, has better ability to stick to the minimum fuel required to maintain speed. It does occasionally try to jet up hills though, so that's sometimes worth tapping the brakes for and trying to use some light footwork to make it over with small loss of speed but much better FE, and you can pick up again by resuming cruise on the way down.

Give it a shot and see if that helps bump up your FE. If not you can always go back to the way you do it now, right?

 

Yea I guess your right, no harm in trying it out.
I will try it for a few days and report back.
Thanks for the input!

 

As a fellow Rhode Islander I can relate to your question. First I think you will notice an improvement after you get about 5000 to 7500 miles clocked. After that the climate changes in the R.I. Mass. area will play a significant part in your fuel consumption. I now have just under 20,000 miles on my 2007 model and I find the mpg to be very consistant. I enjoy between 35 and 36 mpg in the winter months, and between 38 and 39 mpg in the summer. I do mostly highway runs at 65 to 75 mph. The breakdown is about 65/35 and I do not either baby it or push it hard. I see no reason why you should not be able to get at least these results. Good luck, enjoy the car.

 

Only the cruise control knows exactly the amount of throttle to apply to keep the car at a constant cruise speed. I drive 2 miles from the main highway to our house on a rather rough paved country road. I found by dropping to 25 mpg and using the cruise my mpg actually increased. Thats 4 total miles per outing where there is no traffic.

I used the cruise on the highway and when in town unless there is a red light ever block.