[Daniel Acosta]

I mentioned earlier in this thread that I might try premium, even though I didn't expect any difference. I ran my last two tanks on 91 octane and there was zero difference from the several tanks before running 87 octane. No surprise there. I just had to try for myself.

After 2-3 initial tanks during road trips getting 21-22, my recent average is about 18.6 over the last several tanks. I'm only at around 3k miles, so I hope this gets a little better.

That's a lot less than we're getting. Click the fuelly link in my signature and you can see all our tanks.

We've been getting great mileage from day one, but that's typical for all our vehicles. The one thing we've noticed on the Ascent is it's very thirsty the first three miles (around 18-20mpg), and then the mileage starts going up. By 10 miles it's somewhere around 22-23 and continues to go up from there. My wife's 3 mile commute to work each day comes in right around 20mpg, which drags our overall mileage down. The rest of our driving brings it up, so overall we're very happy with what we're getting. The dash readout has been right on compared to calculations at the pump.

When we first looked at the Ascent when the original 2019 came out, I test drove 5 that all returned 26-27mpg and one that only gave 20-21mpg. The oddball drove fine, but inexplicably had terrible mileage. They were all driven on my same 11 mile controlled test loop at 70mph. The 23 Ascent we bought gave 27mpg on that same loop, so I'm not surprised that's what we've been seeing on the highway, and of course less around town. I hope you're able to resolve the low mileage on yours.

I realize that a 70mph loop will return the best a car can expect to achieve, and that highway trips at higher speeds are going to drop that mileage lower, just like stop and go city driving will hurt your economy. I'm typically in the top 25% of drivers on fuelly, so I realize my driving style is on the conservative side.

 

[rockthebeef]

@Daniel Acosta I hope I can get my average up to 20, though even if you do the math it doesn't amount to many dollars lost. The fluctuations of the price of gas can easily have more impact on my wallet. I just like the look of 20 compared to 18-19. My 2019 had EPA numbers of 20-26 and I averaged just over 20 for the life of that car. My 2023 has EPA estimates of 19-25 and my current average is 19 if you round up.

My commute is about 15 miles and I easily get 30MPG+ on the way to work because I rarely get to go very fast and there is a slight downgrade on the way to the coast. By the time I drive back home it might be 24. Then you mix in the daily school drop off less than a mile from home and various errands. That's how I end up with my average. Plus everywhere around here is hilly. My home itself is at 850ft elevation and I suppose that adds up. 99% of the long trips we take are up to the mountains with lots of windy roads, so I might be at 22 by the time I get back home. My best MPG has always been on trips between major cities with more highway driving. I was able to get 24.5 on a tank once. I dont fill up when the MPG is high just to see a high number. I usually run the tank down for a more complete fill up with a more realistic average. I also just removed my crossbars and after 120 miles or so I'm at 21.2 I believe. It varies a lot!

 

[Daniel Acosta]

Surprisingly high economy today, and the dash display continues to match the measurements at the pump instead of being high like our Outback.

Today was a 350 mile trip up a mountain, across to another peak, eventually winding back down to the starting point. Total elevation gain was 5,000 feet, and then at end of the drive descending 5000 feet to the start. Mileage for the day was 28mpg.

The last 100 miles included 20 miles of relatively easy soft roading, +/- 1000 feet elevation gain and loss, low speed around 20mph. There was a net elevation descent of 2000 feet in that last 100 miles, and that seemed to more than make up for the mileage hit from the low speed soft roading. Ended up with almost 32mpg for that last 100 miles.

Most of the time today was between 65-70mph, about 2,000rpm on relatively flat ground, as high as 2,500rpm climbing, just one “blast” to 3,500-4,000rpm passing a Prius uphill. I’ve been amazed at how economical this engine is when you’re easy on the throttle, more than makes up for its thirst the first few miles after startup.

 

[NotAClunker]

Ahhhhhh... Now I finally understand! If the only thing you passed was a Prius, I totally understand your high mpg values. 😂 Your right foot must be made of cotton candy...

 

[rockthebeef]

It's interesting that the 18" tires have a 35 recommended PSI. 33 PSI is recommended for the 20" tires. Usually lower profile tires will need a higher pressure than a comparable higher profile, so that's a little odd.

That being said I do like the ride on the 20s at 33 PSI, but I have been running 35 lately to see if I can eek out a little better fuel economy.

 

[Daniel Acosta]

It's interesting that the 18" tires have a 35 recommended PSI. 33 PSI is recommended for the 20" tires. Usually lower profile tires will need a higher pressure than a comparable higher profile, so that's a little odd.

That being said I do like the ride on the 20s at 33 PSI, but I have been running 35 lately to see if I can eek out a little better fuel economy.

That is odd on the tire pressure with different sizes. Mine is 35 with 18's, the 40 you see is hot pressure after a day of driving, cold pressure is 36.