14 Month Fuel Economy Results & Impressions

[Gimp]

I am a fourteen month owner of a 2012 Edge 2.0 EcoBoost and I would like to provide my comments on my fuel economy results.  I've posted parts of this in answer to discussions in the Edge forum but have decided it would be a good idea to post a consolidated version here.  It's lengthy, but I have a lot to say.  To start, as of my last fill-up yesterday I had driven 23,858 miles and used 929.32 gallons of fuel for an average fuel economy figure of 25.67 MPG.  The EPA rating for the vehicle is 21-City, 30-Highway, and 24-Combined so I’m just above the Combined rating.

 

My results:  My driving profile has been 80% metro-Detroit driving 76 miles per day in a mostly highway, rush hour commute.  Depending on the conditions, that can be a little or a lot of stop and go, intermixed with highway speeds of 50 to 70 MPH for a few miles if I’m lucky.  Each day varies depending upon rain, snow, and accidents.  I think these driving conditions generally fall in the “combined†category.  About 10% of my mileage is local trips to the store, etc. in urban driving conditions, and about 10% of my total miles have been ‘all highway’ trips going north and south on I-75.  But, since I’ve carried a canoe on top of my vehicle for those trips my highway MPG hasn’t been much above the combined MPG rating due to the increased drag.  I had a canoe rack on top of my car for 6 months of last year and even without a canoe that introduced a drag that probably had a small negative impact on my MPG.  A single all highway trip of 400 miles at 65 – 70 MPH with the roof rack but no canoe yielded an MPG of 29.56 as estimated through a fill-up.

 

Measuring fuel efficiency:  Determining fuel efficiency on the Edge isn’t really easy.  The fuel economy meter on the dash gives immediate feedback and has called my attention to my own driving behaviors that decreased fuel efficiency.  I can verify that rapid acceleration is a significant factor in reducing fuel efficiency.  You can even see the significant impact of going uphill versus flat terrain when the engine is clearly working harder, even if you can’t hear it or notice the grade.   However, I don’t think the average MPG displayed on the meter is especially accurate.  There is a setting for 5-minutes, 15-minutes, and 30-minutes which implies to me that it’s reflecting your fuel efficiency average for those short time periods rather than your entire trip.

 

Filling up the tank and measuring fuel use the old fashioned way is also not very precise due to the design of the filler neck.  When I know that I’m down to a quarter of a tank remaining, it takes about 14 or 15 gallons to get to back to full.  Almost every single fuel station nozzle kicks off at 11 or 12 gallons so I end up trickle filling the last three gallons.  It is an iffy process that relies a lot on my ability to hear the fuel.  That’s often difficult due to background noise so my fill-ups to ‘full’ may vary by half a gallon to gallon.  However since I’ve recorded every single fill-up with this many miles I’m pretty confident about my long term 25.67 average.

 

30 MPG expectations:  I think that people are making a mistake by focusing on the 30 MPG highway rating of the EcoBoost Edge.  It sets up false expectations.  First of all, the highway rating comes from an EPA driving profile and the EPA profile for highway isn’t 70 miles per hour.  My casual observation is that the best “highway†mileage comes at a constant (no stopping and starting) speed of between 55 and 60 MPH.  It’s hard to find that driving condition but I think you can easily meet or exceed the 30 MPG rating at that sustained speed.  When you start going over 60, the MPG (based upon the meter results) begins to decline as the speed increases.  When you go over 70 MPH, the MPG begins to drop much faster as you push toward 75.  That’s an impact of exceeding the optimal point it’s tuned and geared for, and the increased wind resistance which is significant.  Carry a canoe and watch the tension on the tie down straps and you will get a much stronger appreciation for the differences in wind resistance on a vehicle between speeds of 45, 60 and 70 MPH.

 

Fuel choice:  I picked up my car in the winter and ran it on regular for a couple of months.   Out of curiosity I tried a couple of tanks of premium but didn’t notice any difference.  In June I decided to try the premium fuel again.  The weather was getting warmer and I was starting to use the air conditioner.  My seat of the pants impression was that the premium fuel gave me a noticeably better pick-up than regular fuel.  I also think that I was getting slightly better fuel economy.  At the current price of fuel, premium is 5% or so more expensive than regular.  If it gives me better pick-up and about 1 MPG better fuel economy, it’s a fair trade.  I’m not an automotive engineer, but I think that the better fuel economy is somewhat a result of the improved low end torque, which means that I can use a lighter foot on the accelerator than I would with regular to get the same pick-up.  I used premium all summer although I experimented with regular a few times, and then switched back to regular full time in mid-September when the weather was cooling off.

 

Purchasing the 3.5 or the 2.0:  When I made my purchase decision the EcoBoost Edge was just being released and there was no customer feedback available yet.  I was interested in it because of the very positive reviews of the F150 EcoBoost owners.  However, due to the $995 dollar price premium I wasn’t sure if it was worth it.  Comparing the 22 MPG combined rating of the 3.5 and the 24 MPG combined rating of the 2.0 and my anticipated 20,000 miles driving per year I figured it would take me close to 4 years at a 2 MPG increase in fuel efficiency to make up the $995.  I normally keep vehicles for 6 or more years so it would have eventually paid off but I was leaning toward going with the 3.5 engine as a known product.  Note that   I did not calculate the probability that the EcoBoost might bring a little more back in resale value so there is that to consider.

 

The thing that made up my mind for the EcoBoost Edge was the driving experience.  My test drive of a 3.5 Edge went fine although I didn’t really like the way the transmission shifted in my test vehicle.  Since I hadn’t read any complaints I assumed it was just because I wasn’t used to it and that both the transmission and I would adjust over time.  Then my salesperson at the dealership let me know that first EcoBoost had arrived and he told me that I needed to drive it.  He seemed surprised by his own test drive.  So I drove the EcoBoost and had something of a “wow†experience.  The specifications reflected that it had better low end torque than the 3.5 (for those that don’t understand torque, think improved pick-up / acceleration) and its actual performance showed it.  The pick-up was great and the transmission seemed to shift much smoother.  So smooth that I had a hard time detecting the shift points.  I really liked that acceleration and that combined with the increased fuel efficiency was what sold me on the EcoBoost Edge.

 

Here are a couple of last comments:  I don’t like to let my wife or daughter drive my Edge.  They both seem to enjoy the turbo too much and they really enjoy the fast take offs from a light.  If my fuel meter is showing an average MPG of 28 and then they take it out, it always returns at the 22 or 23 MPG level.  That really messes with my fuel efficiency.  I personally like to save the turbo for a highway entry when a semi is flying up behind me.  Also, a co-worker purchased the 3.5 after I bought my Edge and we compare notes.  His driving style is similar to mine and he’s about 2 MPG below my results.  Right where he should be.  While the 2.0 ended up working for me, it might not be the right choice for everyone and I could easily recommend the 3.5 choice to a friend.  I’ll just end by saying that I have no regrets.

[FORDPOWER]

Wow thanks that is a great right up.  I am looking into buying a new ecoboost and this is really help full.  I have always purchased the cheapest gas that I can put I think I might see what a tank or two of the premium does for me.  However it is really cold here right now so I might wait until spring since it didn't seem to make that big a difference for you in the winter.

 

Thanks again

[Gimp]

As a follow-on, here is a government website that discusses the EPA driving cycle that is used to establish the city and highway MPG figures.  There are a lot of variables, but just taking a simplistic look at the highway column you can see a top speed of 60 MPH and an average speed of 48.3  That's rather eye opening. 

 

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml

 

Honestly, if I were an automotive engineer I'd be desigining my vehicle parameters to get the most efficient numbers in this test schedule because that's how the government scores you.  Every fraction of an MPG improvement is important as it impacts your corporate fleet average.  Every foreign and domestic brand probably does that.

[Gimp]

I just went over 25,000 miles today so I did a bit of math with my results.

 

1st 5,000 Miles Average MPG = 25.376

2nd 5,000 Miles Average MPG = 25.677

3rd 5,000 Miles Average MPG = 25.816

4th 5,000 Miles Average MPG = 25.738

5th 5,000 Miles Average MPG = 25.938

 

I don't think that you can really draw any conclusions out of this since I've alternated between regular and premium fuel, and I was carrying a canoe on my roof for about 10% of the miles.

 

Edited February 8, 2013 by Gimp

[Gimp]

Here is another unscientific observation on my fuel economy.  I thought I'd make a longer term comparison of Regular vs. Premium fuel in the winter and here are my results:

 

1.  19,964 miles to 23,874 miles on Regular fuel yielded an MPG of 25.875

2.  23,874 miles to 26,035 miles on Premium fuel yielded and MPG of 26.36. 

 

I have pretty much driven the same routes throughout, and would note that the last two weeks on premium saw lighter (less stop and go) traffic due to people taking winter vacations.  That would have yielded improved mileage for a couple of tanks of premium.  My conclusion is that the underwhelming .485 MPG improvement I saw is not worth the extra 30 cents a gallon.  In my long initial essay in this thread I believe that I noted that I hadn't noticed any difference last winter after running through a tank or two of premium.  Now I'm confident of my initial observation. 

 

My lifetime average MPG at 26,035 miles now stands at 25.73

[Gimp]

- This weekends observation of the impact of aggressive driving on fuel economy: 

 

On Saturday morning I filled up my Edge and loaned it to my daughter for the day so that I could perform some maintenance on her car.  I don't like giving her my car because I know she has the aggressive need to get to the next red light as quickly as she can.  After my fill-up the display showed my projected range to be 463 miles.  It's usually within 10-miles of that figure for me.  So my daughter returns the vehicle with 110 miles of actual use and the display is now saying the range is 307 miles.  The projection range has dropped by 156-miles for 110 of actual use.  Essentially, her aggressive ate up an extra 46-miles worth of gas that I wouldn't have used if I'd gone to the same place and back, perhaps a minute or two slower.

 

As an aside, I now have 27,575 miles on the odometer with a lifetime average fuel economy of 25.75 MPG.  At this rate, I might reach a lifetime average of 26 by the time I reach 100,000!  When I get to 30,000 miles I'll post again with my most recent 5,000 mile average.

[robertlane]

- This weekends observation of the impact of aggressive driving on fuel economy: 

 

On Saturday morning I filled up my Edge and loaned it to my daughter for the day so that I could perform some maintenance on her car.  I don't like giving her my car because I know she has the aggressive need to get to the next red light as quickly as she can.  After my fill-up the display showed my projected range to be 463 miles.  It's usually within 10-miles of that figure for me.  So my daughter returns the vehicle with 110 miles of actual use and the display is now saying the range is 307 miles.  The projection range has dropped by 156-miles for 110 of actual use.  Essentially, her aggressive ate up an extra 46-miles worth of gas that I wouldn't have used if I'd gone to the same place and back, perhaps a minute or two slower.

 

As an aside, I now have 27,575 miles on the odometer with a lifetime average fuel economy of 25.75 MPG.  At this rate, I might reach a lifetime average of 26 by the time I reach 100,000!  When I get to 30,000 miles I'll post again with my most recent 5,000 mile average.

 

Here's your daughter >   

[Gimp]

I've just hit 30,004 miles and roughly 17 months of ownership.  Here are my latest fuel economy results:

5,000 Mile Average / Total Average:  1^st = 25.376 / 25.376, 2^nd = 25.677 / 25.5269, 3^rd = 25.816 / 25.6261, 4^th = 25.738 / 25.6531, 5^th = 25.938 / 25.7097, 6th = 25.982 / 25.755 

To summarize, my lifetime average MPG is 25.75 and I've seen about half an MPG in improvement between the first 5,000 miles and the most recent 5,000 miles.

 

I put my canoe rack on yesterday so I'm assuming that the increased drag along with air conditioner use is going to drag things down a bit over the next few months.

 

To date I've had no mechanical problems with the vehicle.  I did just notice that the Ford oval on the front has begun to discolor and I don't think that should be happening, but that's the extent of my issues.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Gimp

[robertlane]

I've just hit 30,004 miles and roughly 17 months of ownership.  Here are my latest fuel economy results:

5,000 Mile Average / Total Average:  1^st = 25.376 / 25.376, 2^nd = 25.677 / 25.5269, 3^rd = 25.816 / 25.6261, 4^th = 25.738 / 25.6531, 5^th = 25.938 / 25.7097, 6th = 25.982 / 25.755 

To summarize, my lifetime average MPG is 25.75 and I've seen about half an MPG in improvement between the first 5,000 miles and the most recent 5,000 miles.

 

I put my canoe rack on yesterday so I'm assuming that the increased drag along with air conditioner use is going to drag things down a bit over the next few months.

 

To date I've had no mechanical problems with the vehicle.  I did just notice that the Ford oval on the front has begun to discolor and I don't think that should be happening, but that's the extent of my issues.

 

Sounds pretty good on the MPG.  I've heard to several complaints on various forums about the Ford oval discoloring - not a good place for this to happen

[perrytime]

Am I correct in understanding all the data is based on the trip computers read out?

Only had ours a few months, but the wife consistantly, 5 or 6 tanks now, says she puts in a gallon more than the trip computer says was used, and thus our MPG is sub 20mpg even though trip computer is 22-23ish.  

 

thats not much better than the 96 windstar with 335,000 miles we replaced with the Edge.

 

Anyone else notice if fill ups are always more gallons than trip computer says was used?

[flipr]

Am I correct in understanding all the data is based on the trip computers read out?

Only had ours a few months, but the wife consistantly, 5 or 6 tanks now, says she puts in a gallon more than the trip computer says was used, and thus our MPG is sub 20mpg even though trip computer is 22-23ish.  

 

thats not much better than the 96 windstar with 335,000 miles we replaced with the Edge.

 

Anyone else notice if fill ups are always more gallons than trip computer says was used?

 

I found out I was overfilling the gas tank.  Seems I'd like to fill to the brim, as it were, then I noticed gas running out from the inside wheel well.  Now, once the pump shuts off, I add an extra half gallon, and be done.

 

Mymileage is still crappy, going on long trip over the 4th of July, so that will be a better test.  8091 miles on it now

[traxiii]

I'm, at 2 months and 4200 miles with an average of about 21 mpg in mixed city/highway and a 15 mile one way commute. Best tank so far is 24mpg on a trip from S.F. to L.A. cruising at 75+mph. Each tank seems to get slightly better, but around town driving really kills the average, it is not designed for short little hops, (it would make a horrible pizza delivery truck).