Check out this 2011 Ford Mustang that avg 48.5 mpg. 2011 Ford Mustang V6 laps Bristol 1,457 times, averages 48.5 mpg over 776.5 miles - egmCarTech
48.5 mpg at a speed of only 43.9 mph? This isn't exactly realistic real world roadway driving. I question the significance of this report.
Seems they were hypermiling, so this probably won't translate much to the real world, but still a notable feat imo.
"A team of Ford engineers prepared for the challenge by implementing fuel efficient driving tips like minimizing the use of air conditioning, steady and consistent driving, avoiding sudden stops/starts and by keeping the RPMs low." That is how any car is driven efficiently. What was their tp?
If you drive the Mustang like we drive our Prius, I would bet you could get approx 28-32mpg all day long. Not bad for a muscle car that goes from 0 to 60 in 5.4 seconds.
Then why aren't you questioning the real world roadway driving when a Mustang is doing 150mph on the track? In both cases it's pushing boundaries. Not trying to pick on you - just pointing out it's testing the car's capabilities in a different way.
This reminds me of GM's 230mpg claim on the Volt. The number is meaningless outside their ideal controlled conditions. The Ford PR machine is cranking out the misleading numbers like GM did. I guess that 6th gear helps a ton ;-) I wish the Prius had a 6th gear LOL! I do love the new Mustang though. Sweet ride and if I had an extra $40K burning a hole in my pocket I'd get a new 5.0. Sadly I have a mortgage still and I'd rather put extra cash on that, heh heh.
So you haven't seen the hypermiled Prius GenII reports exceeding 100 mpg? On closed loop tests like this, I think they have beat 160 mpg. A Japanese commuter achieved 112 mpg. 2343 km on a single tank. Unlike a single run on a track, her effort included 6 weeks of daily engine warmups.
It isn't the 6th gear that contributes to this. It having the highest gear set for efficiency instead of performance. My old MT car could bang out some respectable MPGs if it weren't handicapped by typically American gearing requiring 2700 RPM at 60 mph. Fully loaded, it can climb a 5% grade (but not 7%) in the thin air at 10,000 feet without downshifting. Unfortunately, all that extra torque capacity wastes considerable fuel during the other 150,000 miles. I'd rather it had more efficient gearing for fuel economy, and downshift two gears the very few times it needs to climb that hill.
