2010 GL350 vs. GL450
06-02-2010, 07:54 PM
#26
Super Member
Oh, yeah, the 800 mile tank is a real smile-maker! It is really tough to calibrate mileage on the dark side as it can be tough to tell when the tank is actually full. Also, the fun little credit-card trick (maximum amount allowed requiring a second transaction and a re-start) can screw up the calculations. But I've found 25-27mpg on the highway's about the best I can do on flat ground (light load, conservative driving style) and about 19+ in mixed. I'm just wondering how you're showing 30mpg in either trip computer or routine tank-to-tank calculations? Or was I reading that incorrectly? (You're using US gallons, right?)
Regarding the filling of the tank: It usually takes up to 10 minutes for ALL the foam to recede but I always fill the tank to the brim of the filler neck - always! Only a few drops more and it would run over. I also wait for the foam inside the tank 'towers' to recede. In practice that means waiting until the liquid level doesn't go down any more. I don't know of a more accurate way to always fill the tank to the same point and it IS important if tank-to-tank comparisons are to be useful.
I've hit the pump maximum credit limit a few times but it is simple to get a receipt once the pump automatically turns off and just add those gallons to the mpg calculation.
Like I inferred, my tank-to-tank calcs have never quite reached 30 mpg (came closest on a trip from WA to San Diego). That is usually because, by the time a few trips to the store are thrown in with the inevitable stop lights and braking, the computer is down to around 28+ mpg - even after a trip to Olympia and back. The computer is usually approaching 30 mpg after about an hour of steady 70+ mph driving on I-5 under light to moderate traffic conditions. Going downhill I try very hard to NOT apply the brakes nor do I let the cruise computer apply brakes just to maintain set speed (I turn it off going downhill).
06-02-2010, 10:28 PM
#27
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Join Date: May 2007
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2004 RX330, 2008 Scion xB, 2001 Honda Insight Hybrid, 2010 Toyot Prius v ATP
Huh. Mebbe it's the A/C. Mebbe it's I've got over 90,000 miles on a three year old car. Mebbe it's I have a fat butt! I dunno. But I am surprised to hear you guys getting that much better a) than I am and b) than claimed by Merkaydeez.
06-02-2010, 11:22 PM
#28
MBWorld Fanatic!
Yeah, I get bad mileage too. I have a 2010 GL350 with 10,000 miles purchased in December and my average mileage is 20.5 in Los Angeles. :/
06-03-2010, 12:07 AM
#29
Senior Member
btw, just as an aside, I have learned never to discuss fuel economy with a guy that drives an American pickup truck. The several that I have breached the subject with, all have claimed that their V8 gets mid to high 20's (like 25 to 28 mpg) in MIXED driving. They always have some rationale like, "the engine is so big in that thang that it hardly has to work. It just idles down the road." Whatever...
Riiiiight.
Either I got a different truck entirely or they can't do simple math. I'm guessing the latter.
- Mark
06-03-2010, 07:28 AM
#30
That's HILARIOUS. I had the same experience with my 2002 Duramax. I was getting 11mpg towing, 14 around town, and 16 on the highway. I'd read about all the guys on the forums getting "22 at 80 mph."
Riiiiight.
Either I got a different truck entirely or they can't do simple math. I'm guessing the latter.
- Mark
Riiiiight.
Either I got a different truck entirely or they can't do simple math. I'm guessing the latter.
- Mark
