Poor fuel consumption

[dr_sills]

I just made a (winter) journey of about 100 km each way across Southern Ontario in an automatic Cube SL with about 5000 km on it, and I have this consumption data to report.

I reset the device (held down the button 'til it read "---") before leaving.

Driving out I took smaller highways and traveled at an average of about 90 km/h. Consumption = 7.8 L /100 km. [-reset-]

Returning, I took a major highway on which my speed was, on average, 120 km/h.
Consumption = 8.9 L /100 km. [-reset-]

Cruising around town thereafter, average speed is below 50 km/h.
Consumption = 10.5 L / 100 km.

In all cases, Fuel = cheap, low-octane, bottom grade (as recommended by Nissan).

From the above, I infer that the "sweet spot" for maximum fuel efficiency is between 90 & 100 km/h. It'll be a challenge to maintain that velocity in town, but I'll try.

[Dalty]

I got in touch with Nissan and they suggested it was too early for me to assess the fuel consumption accurately. I only have done 441 Km (274 miles) on it so far, and I suppose they may have a point. They figure it should be broken in first but their suggestion I wait for 10,000 km seemed a bit of a stretch. I did have reason to get out of town recently and tested the highway mileage which actually beat the estimate. I got 5.8L/100km or about 40 mpg US (48mpg Canadian) which is pretty darned good. So if it does that well on the highway before it is broken in, why is it doing so badly in the city? I guess time will tell. I'll write back if anything new happens. Thanks for you replies to this thread.

[Armen]

Ya, my car has 27,000 Km's on it. :O

[T2Customz]

Just my input:

I get 33mpg when trying, that's combined hwy and city.

Most of the time I am at 28 or 29, but that's because I sit around to blast my audio system and don't want the battery to die.

I Have the 6spd and pretty much just start and drive, no idle.

[grace12]

That is pretty poor

[cubist2]

My 2009 sl has a tad over 11,000 kms on it now. The worst speed for economy is between 20 and 35 mph. The best is around 60 mph.

I leave next week on a 4000 km journey so we will see how it does then.

Tom

[skycrowe]

I average 27 -29 in a combo of road and city driving, not too many hills. I found a difference between calculating it by hand as compared to just reading the computer, however a small part is also how the attendent fills the tank. Here, when it clicks off, they run it to the next whole dollar, even if it shuts at $?.05. It does not sound like much, however over time it is.........
Still, I am very happy afterall I came out of a 14 mpg 4x4 pickup.
Skycrowe

[KandA]

After 4k miles I am getting an average of about 29mpg... and I am happy with that. That's 10mpg more than my previous car!

[fral659]

So far I'm quite pleased. I only have 750 miles on my 2010, but the first two tanks have gotten 29.5 mpg and 31.1 mpg and that is actual calculated numbers (miles driven / gallons used), not relying on the trip computer although it has been close. I can only expect it to get better as the car gets broken in.

[CarolinaV]

I have about 900 miles on my cube and the average so far (according to the trip computer) is 27.5 mpg. I do mostly city driving with short stints on the highway. I have the manual transmission and have been driving with the AC on most of the time. Is this about normal, and is there a difference between the computer-calculated mileage and the actual mileage? I like my cube a lot but have also been slightly concerned about what seems like relatively low mileage. I used to drive about 325 miles on a tank of gas in my previous car (VW beetle), however I think the beetle's gas tank was slightly larger. Now I only seem to drive about 260 on one tank.