I need feedback from regular folks - not a car forum.. so please help!

I recently bought a 2 yr old Corolla... thinking it would pay for itself by getting a really GOOD mpg - like 30 (in town) - which is what I need for my small delivery type job.

Im not asking for anyone to help my issues (Ive already done a ton of things PLUS had the dealership check it out)... just wanting those that have small cars or motors to please tell me what type of car you have and whats your mpg.. please?

Im only getting approx 21 mpg not good!

I'm not expert but you should get getting more then 21. Of course since it is in town driving with frequent stops that may be lowering what you would normally get with just regular city driving.

Kat - I can see a lowered mpg - but NOT 21....

I thought you had a little vroom car? whats your mpg like?

I LOOOOOOOVE my hybrid.

I have a ford escape hybrid.. 28/29 mpg in the summer, due to the a/c running and now, with no a/c, I'm at 33 mpg.

4 Cylinder Camry gets about 21 to 27 depending on the percentage of city to highway driving I do.

V6 S10 pickup gets about 17 to 21 depending on the percentage of city to highway driving I do.

I test drove the Prius in 2001 and would have bough it, but the Toyota dealer offered me less than half of what my Camry's KBB value was. They told me to sell it privately and then come in for the Prius.

My father had a Dodge neon and now a Dodge PT Cruiser. The neon gave him about 32 mpg average, the cruiser about 28 when he first got it but he added a Tornado and now gets about 31 mpg average.

I know you said you're not looking for help and I didn't mention the Tornado as a way to help, just to account for his change in mpg.

My info won't help, I drive a SUV and DH drives a truck.

I have a 2006 Toyota Matrix XR - which uses the same chassis/engine as the Corolla, and I get ~38MPG in the city and 41 highway - but (BIG BUT) I do almost exclusive highway miles, and its a 5 speed manual...

I have a little Opel Corsa, but its stick not automatic so it probably gets better milage, and to be honest, I dunno what it is, I never checked. :guess

I have an 05 Grand Prix and it's fairly large, has the 3.8 litre engine, big v6 and I checked it 2 weeks ago when I went to get a fill and I was on the interstate and a lot of city driving with air and I got 31.1, I was very, very pleased. I bought it new but had never checked the mileage and my parents were wanting a new grand prix so that's why I checked it.

I need feedback from regular folks - not a car forum.. so please help!

I recently bought a 2 yr old Corolla... thinking it would pay for itself by getting a really GOOD mpg - like 30 (in town) - which is what I need for my small delivery type job.

Im not asking for anyone to help my issues (Ive already done a ton of things PLUS had the dealership check it out)... just wanting those that have small cars or motors to please tell me what type of car you have and whats your mpg.. please?

Im only getting approx 21 mpg not good!

Let me try to help you with some gas mileage concepts.

First let me tell you a quick story about myself and about a car. I was a mechanic for over 35 years. I was an aircraft mechanic at my full-time job and I owned an auto repair shop with a partner as a second income.

Now about a car. At one time, I lived in Brooklyn, about 8 miles from the airport. I would get in the cold car, start the engine and drive it to work. Then it would sit for at least 9 hours (if no over-time) and then I would start it and drive home. It was 5 miles of red-lights and stop signs and 3 miles of high-way, each way. I got 8 miles to the gallon (big engine, automatic transmission). I tuned it up, adjusted the carburetor and got 9 miles to the gallon. All I basically did was go back and forth to work and short shopping trips of less than 4 miles through city streets.

I checked my mileage by filling at the same pump facing the same direction each time and I stopped as soon as the automatic shutoff stopped the fueling. Adding more fuel can dump the fuel through the vent. Stop when it stops.

Ok. Then one day, I vent to visit someone and it was a 50 mile trip each way. That trip plus my normal back and forth to work and shopping gave me a 11 mpg reading at the next fill-up.

Well, we were looking to buy a home way out in Long Island. I filled the car up, drove the 67 miles to the development, looked at the house, drove back and filled it up. 16.7 MPG. That was about double my normal driving gas mileage.

So the moral of my story is the type of driving that you do can have a huge effect on the MPG your car gets.

Also, the smaller the car and car engine, the larger the gas mileage penalty for having an automatic transmission.

I have a 99 Jeep Cherokee and I get about 17-19 MPG. It is only driven on my commute to work and it is all highway driving. It sucks!! (literally!)

TOM, when I was driving our 4.0L v-6 truck - I was getting about 18 mpg... same job/same driver/same terrain.... Im now driving a 1.8L 4cyl car and Im getting 21mpg. Doesnt make sense.

Wheet's - whats a Tornado?

My car, a Dodge Intrepid R/T, does really well considering it is a fair size car, and has all the get up & go I could ever want, and I get between 25 city and 33 hwy mpg. I think it does so well because it is so aerodynamic, it does not slow down if you remove your foot from the gas, you have to brake.

We also have a Ford Explorer, and it gets about 20-23 depending on city vs. hwy miles. It is nice to have in the winter, or when it is muddy around here.

And lastly we have a huge Ford F250 diesel--and it gets a whopping 11-14 mpg. Needless to say it is not driven unless a truck is needed!!! Diesel prices have not come down....

We also have several motorcycles, but with the price of gas even they are not cheap to fill up anymore!!!

Wheetsin--my Dad wants to order one of the Tornado things, I will pass on the stats from your Dad! Thanks!

Kat

My 1992 Saturn S gets about 28 mpg city driving. My last trip down to Portland I got 38 mpg. Automatic. With AC in the Summer mostly because of road construction, pollen and my asthma.

It gets worse gas mileage when I forget my gas cap at the gas station though.

I have about 175,000 miles on that baby.

My 1989 Civic gets 40 mpg when I'm doing a long road trip. For my normal daily around town driving I get about 35. (It goes like stink, too!)

TOM, when I was driving our 4.0L v-6 truck - I was getting about 18 mpg... same job/same driver/same terrain.... Im now driving a 1.8L 4cyl car and Im getting 21mpg. Doesnt make sense.

Something sounds wrong. If it is a stick shift you should be getting close to 30 MPG and if an automatic maybe a few miles per gallon less.

My two vehicles are similar to the two you mentioned. My 4.3L V6 pickup gets about 18 and my Camry with a 2.2L straight 4 and automatic transmission, weighing in at around 3000 pounds gets in the 21 to 27 bracket.

Your Carolla with its 1.8L 4 weighing about 500 pounds less than my Camry should get at least 4 to 6 more miles per gallon and probably more.

Wheet's - whats a Tornado?

A Tornado is a device that is supposed to increase your gas milage. I used a similar device many years ago when I decided to test all the devices that claim to improve fuel economy. The Tornado type device seemed and I repeat seemed to improve my mileage, but not anywhere near the claims of the manufacturer.