real life mpg

[giro53]

CRD Jeep diesel also made in 2007 and 2008. We have a 2008 and very happy towing 5500 lbs. Aprox 13 - 16 US MPG towing

[SilverGhost]

I just got the forth new letter from a local club member who is semi full time like Norm and Ginny. They travel in an Aliner and pull with a VW Jetta wagon. They recently traded their old 2003(?) in on a 2014. He reports pen and paper figured mpg at 30-34 depending on traffic and terrain.

Jason

[Timber Wolf]

Originally Posted by SilverGhost

They travel in an Aliner and pull with a VW Jetta wagon.

That is almost like cheating. Sounds like a neat combo.

[Connie Estep]

Anyone have any figures on mpg with Honda Pilot pulling a 16 foot fiberglass trailer?

[honda03842]

I can not attest to the Pilot's mileage, but our new Odyssey has the same engine but a different transmission. The Odyssey has a 6 speed and the Pilot has a 5 speed. The Odyssey's 6 speed provides a higher mpg rating with the same engine.

Both vehicles have cylinder management system, meaning that the engine runs on 3, 4 or 6 cylinders depending upon engine load.

We have taken one trip towing with our Odyssey and averaged a little over 19 mpg. This included about equally Interstate and country road driving.
This is less than we got towing with our Honda CRV.

The upside of the Odyssey is that non-towing highway mileage was significantly better than the CRV. We have taken two trips driving mostly Interstate miles and averaged better than 35 mpg. We could not believe it but both trips were calculated mileage and significant distance.

The magic of Honda's cylinder management system is that if you have a light foot and are driving on a highway the mpg gauge spends a lot of time over 40 mpg with the ECO light on. When towing the display rarely shows the ECO mode, meaning most of the time your using 6 cylinders.

For us the ECO mode is truly a magic state our only concern is the more complex engine and its long term effect on reliability.

[Jon in AZ]

Our 2WD Pilot gets 16-19 mpg with our 13' Standard. I've heard others report low to mid-teens with larger trailers. It depends on so many factors: speed, driving style, hills, wind, altitude, traffic, weather, passenger & cargo load, add-on racks, as well as the trailer weight, shape, and frontal area.

[starbrightsteve]

On a 5800+ trip west, towing a 16' Casita, we averaged 16.9 towing with a 2012, 4wd pilot.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by John Linck

For whatever reason (warmer weather?) our last two trips with a 4 cyl outback and a Scamp 13 resulted in better mileage than our Winter trip. Two Wisconsin only trips of 300 miles saw mileage of 19-20 mpg. Not great, but far better than our Winter trip. Hope it keeps getting better.

John

John I would suggest it was mostly likely wind not warmer weather that impacted the gas milage. Pulling with my Outback I once went a whole three days of driving one winter with an average mpg of only 11 mpg due to wind, while 19 mpg would have been the norm in same area in no wind. I would not have even noticed the wind if I had not seen the mpg read out first & started to look at the trees and shrubs for an indication of wind as the cause. Actually ran a couple of hundred miles with the average down to only 7 mpg while in a serious head wind.

[DBH]

We had a 7700 km (5800mi) trip this summer with our '08 Subaru Outback 2.5i pulling a '76 Trillium. We've never weighed it, but apparently it's about 1500lbs dry. Pretty well kept up with the speed limits throughout eastern Canadian highways, Trans Canada & smaller, mixed weather & wind. Some serious hills through Cape Breton, went slower & glad for electric brakes, but always felt powerful enough and totally in control. Overall average of 18.6mpg.

[redbarron55]

Just back from picking up a 16' Scamp in Mineral Wells, TX and pulling to Austin and then to Mobile, AL.
1st afternoon (overnight in Lampassas) and then to Austin averages 28 MPG with our 2009 Jetta Sportswagen TDI with the DSG automatic. This was on Texas backroads in the hill country 58 - 62 mph.
Later from Austin to Mobile against a head wind driving ~ 65 mph we got right at 25 MPG on the interstate.
This is reading from the MFD in the car which is a little optimistic in my opinion.
The JSW towed great and had plenty of power and the DSG transmission behaved itself quite well. All together a great combo. The trailer was a little light since most of the appliances had been removed, but there was a window A/C and dorm refrigerator in th camper.
We plan to renovate the camper and rig it to meet our needs and keep it as light as possible.
Towing with the VW was a no hassle experience and the mileage was excellent.
When you look at the Diesel mileage you need to factor in the higher fuel cost and weigh it against the better torque. Torque wins, by the way. Also when you compare our mileage with other VW TDIs our wagon has never gotten much over 40 - 42 MPG on our trips and has (now) 211,000 miles +.

[TomK]

Originally Posted by TomK

On our trip from Chicagoland to Backus, MN (about 560 miles) we averaged 27.4 MPG in our AWD 2011 Subaru Forester with automatic xmsn. (No trailer) I used the cruise control set to 72 mph.

On the return trip pulling the Scamp 13, we averaged 18.3 mpg without the cruise control, driving at 60 mph. The second half of the trip was with the cruise set to 60, and we averaged 17.1 mpg. The second half had some decent hills, and the cruise control down shifted to maintain 60 a couple times.

Tom

UPDATE

The brake on one side was too tight. The axle was too hot to hold after the initial trip. We took it to a local trailer shop and the Dexter warranty paid for an inspection, brake adjustment and repacking the bearings. On the next trip, we averaged 19.8 MPG. That's almost a 3 MPG increase! It tows and stops better now as well.

Tom

[MCDenny]

JSW has to be one of the best compromises between 1) a nice spacious vehicle for ordinary driving, 2) great fuel mileage towing or not towing, 3) torque for towing power.


Denny Wolfe
Wanderingourway.wordpress.com