MPG-what am I doing wrong?

[Sitruc_btb]

Not doing anything wrong. These rigs are blocky and fat, and will not have as high mpg compared to other vehicles.
That being said, your driving habits also play a role. Easy gas, easy brake, stay out of boost. If I'm trying, I can get 18.5mpg in my Badlands 7mt with bigger tires. Saw 20mpg while driving up to Utah, but regular city mpg is around 17-18. It is what it is.

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[Owl]

I can get 22 pretty much all the time on the highway. 2Dr/V6/Auto/3.73 Base with OBX tires/rims on it. That's after I do the "bigger tire" calculation from the original 16s. That's at between 65-70. I can eek out 24 if I go 60-65.

Questions:
1. What is your air pressure in the tires?

2. On light-to-light... are you always 1st to the next stoplight? i.e. lead-footer that likes to hear the turbo doing its thing. I would think that has big consequences.

Seems odd that highway & city is virtually the same... unless your highway speed creeps close to 80.

 

[lwilliams34]

These are the numbers published by Ford. The indicator on my non-Squatch manual Badlands is showing 18.6 mpg after ~4800 miles. It stayed over 19.5 until winter hit last year. I’m not sure what I’m doing right but it’s certainly better than my Jeep!!!

I'm getting an avg of 19-21 with my non sasq big bend. standard stock wheels and tires, 2.3L auto with 4.27 gearing. Love how responsive and nible it is!

 

[60sIron]

I was taught to drive by my dad in the gas-shortage 1970's when all the cars got 15 MPG or less. I've got almost 5000 miles on my 2.7L Badlands, and I've been observing what saves gas. 1) It has plenty of power if you step on the throttle, but even moderate acceleration really consumes fuel. To save gas you have to be painfully slow on the pedal. I'm considering the factory tune, because I don't like being that slow, but it makes a huge difference. 2) the second biggest factor in the city is coasting if you know you have to stop just coast as long as you can. Coast on the highway when your exit is coming up. 3) third biggest factor I've noticed is cold weather. I use the heated seats and steering wheel, but they do eat a bit of gas. 4) As people have noted the Bronco is a brick on the highway. Fuel economy stops dropping around 67 MPH, and starts to really dive above 72 MPH. Yes you can drive 85 MPH no problem, but it will cost you at the pump. I haven't experimented with 87 octane. I've only used 91. My dash says 18.0, and that is mostly very short trips of less than 5 miles. YMMV

 

[Reiningrl]

I’m averaging 17.5-17.8 on my OBX. (I live in the foothills and at the top of a steep hill.) When I picked up my OBX the mpg was 14.x. That drove me crazy so I reset it to get a more accurate reading.

 

[No1Cane]

550miles. 2nd tank of gas….topped off a few times. Random topography. 50% light to light. 25% interstate using cruise as much as possible. Balance rolling Hills.

I would give it a little bit. When I first got mine I was getting just above 10mpg (I was in full panic at this number ). Once I hit about 500mi it jumped to about 17mpg I just broke 1000 and Im now getting 18.7mpg. Hopefully the same for you.

 

[NYtoCALI]

I would give it a little bit. When I first got mine I was getting just above 10mpg (I was in full panic at this number ). Once I hit about 500mi it jumped to about 17mpg I just broke 1000 and Im now getting 18.7mpg. Hopefully the same for you.

Thanks for the positive thoughts. Hopefully it pans out as well as it did for you.

 

[Big Boss]

Another thing I didn't see mentioned that I have noticed in my 30K miles of ownership.

Quality of the gas seems to make a difference. I have noticed that when I use top tier gas (Shell/Mobil) I get noticeably better MPG. When I use BP (which is not listed as top tier) my mileage does drop, and this is doing the same daily commute I always do.

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