Thinking about buying an ST worried about gas mileage

[Jimmy2shoes]

Hey guys. I'm in the market for a new car and I really like the st. There's an orange one not too far from me and I'm thinking about picking it up. I have some concerns though and they are all about gas mileage. See, at the moment I am driving a 2007 ford escape with a v6. It gets horrendous mpg. I drive 64 miles round trip to school and backon the highway each day and I'm only getting about 17 mpg on average, or 265 miles to a tank of gas. I have to fill up every four days. I began looking at the mazda 3 and it gets 30 city 40 hwy. It however is NOT orange and turbo charged. I hear people say they can get 33 mpg in their st's but the catch is it uses Premium fuel(even though the owners manual says 87)... I did some math, and from what I can tell I'd only be saving about 20 dollars a month driving the st compared to my stupid escape. Maybe I did the math wrong, I don't know, but what I'm looking for from you guys is real world gas mileage and distance traveled till the gas light comes on. Any math help is also appreciated. Thanks

 

[brbauer2]

Check out Fuelly for miles/tank and avg. cost/tank.

Right now I'm just about the same cost/mile with the ST as my '12 SE, even though gas is about $1 cheaper.

If you're really concerned about MPG and cost, look into getting a 1.0L SE. Not as fun, but still turbo.

 

[Kalter]

You will save compared to your Escape for sure and depending on gas prices, that 20$ might be all you save, but if you're looking at the ST, it probably means that you are interested in a fun car and a fun car it is. Compared to your Escape, it's gonna be night and day in fun.

To give you an idea, I'm getting around 30MPG on my commute. It's hard to describe if it's highway or city, cause I get a shitload of traffic sometimes on the highway, sometimes none, so it affects MPG for sure. What I like about this car is that it can be economic or it can be a beast and you need to expect that the beast parts are going to cost you in gas.

Compared to the Mazda3, you might get better MPG with the 3, but not as much fun. If you need more practical, the 3 is bigger so there's that. As for the miles per tanks, it will be similar to your Escape with the ST, but with less than 12 gallons instead of the 17 or 20 you might have in your Escape.

So you might save 20$ a month "only", but you get a fun car. plus it's orange, lucky bastard.

 

[Plainrt]

Average mpq of my fiesta in two years is 29mpg. I'd say 75% of it is hwy. This is with always having a heavy foot lol.

 

[kivnul]

My commute averages 40 MPH, mix highway and city. Driving it like a diesel (shifting at 2.5k rpm, not too much torque), I get an average of 34 MPG.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/fiesta/2016/kivnul/419958

Edit:

Also, fuel efficiency is all about the long game. $20 a month does add up, but if you are taking a big hit on interest rate / car value, it can take a very long time to make your money back.

 

[STjake]

I've never actually calculated it, but according to my dash display I average 29.9 mpg with 60/40 highway and city. That's also driving with a fairly heavy foot.

 

[jdubs]

95% City driven e30 tuned about 25mpg on average. Still better than your Escape.

 

[Zormecteon]

Mine is a tick under 29 mpg over 40,000 miles, mixed driving. Your freeway mileage very much depends upon how fast you drive. I will preface the next bit with the fact that the readout on the dash is always optimistic,... but ..... .... ... Driving at 85 mph the I can get a true mpg (miles driven/fuel consumed) of a bit over 31 mpg, not quite 32. Driving at 75 it gets 33+, driving at 62 I can get the read out (I can never drive that slowly long enough to get a true calculation) of 38, and once I was able to set the cruise for about 7 miles at 40 and got the readout to over 48! mpg. ..... ..

Yes, you can run the car on 87, but your performance will not be the peaks advertised, not will you get the same fuel mileage. In my experience, it's a wash. That is the extra $$$ spent to fill up with premium match the increased fuel economy. Nothing is saved by using cheaper gas, AND you forgo the additives packages that come with premium fuel.

My 2?

 

[Joker328]

[MENTION=7377]Kalter[/MENTION] kind of touched on this, but I want to make the point more explicitly: Buying a new car to save money on gas is dumb. You have a 2007 that I assume is completely paid off and you are going to buy a new $20K car to save $20-30 a month in gas? That's never going to make financial sense. Buy a car because you want that car. If you want something you can really hoon like the FiST and you can afford it, then get it. The Mazda 3 is nice and a bit more comfortable, and only slightly behind in performance/fun. If the slight difference in mileage or price is worth it to you, you'd be fine going that route as well. The Fiesta gets pretty decent highway miles as long as you aren't going too fast or too heavy on the throttle/brakes.

 

[Manta Ray]

I am one of those guys that aims to hit 39+ mpg all highway, and can do so in the ST. It's boring but probably much funner than trying to get 20 mpg on the escape. Also use gasbuddy app, you can find cheaper gas that way.

 

[Zissou]

I began looking at the mazda 3 and it gets 30 city 40 hwy. It however is NOT orange and turbo charged.

Do the orange Mazda's get better fuel economy?

I tease I tease.

Most of us run premium because most of us bought the car for the performance.
I ran 87 when mine was stock and fuel economy was essentially the same for me (25 around town, 36 pure highway, about 28 combined). Your mileage may vary.

You might save money on gas by selling your Escape and buying a Fiesta ST, but you're going to spend far more than you'll save buying the car. You'll fair better purchasing a non ST Fiesta as they're cheaper and get better fuel economy.

Also you really should drive the Fiesta ST before you think about purchasing one. It does not appeal to everyone as it is a performance oriented car.

 

[silverblueBP]

Since purchase at the end of the year, I've been getting 25-26 mpg in town. That's the loud pedal at full press most of the time I can only imagine what it would be if I drove it like a normal human.

 

[jmrtsus]

The ST CAN deliver 36-38 hwy if you keep your foot out of it. In town I get 28-29 by driving easy and use a 1-2-4-6 shift pattern. I had to get 87 Octane on a trip once....Fifi hated it and so did I. Emergency only. I paid for the ability to show tail lights quickly when passing on narrow country roads......87 kills that ability. When floored on 87 octane it is like the engine can be heard saying "really"? Ford makes it clear, the HP figures are from 93 octane for a reason. I don't know what the numbers are for 87 octane but at least with my MP215 engine the loss of HP/Torque is definitely noticeable. At home I use 93 octane NON-ethanol as my highway milage goes up about 2 mpg. And yes I pay more for it, but I don't like ethanol nor does most of my gas engines! My small John Deere will all but refuse to run on the crap.

As stated above drive one first, you will pay $5k over a regular Fiesta for the ST, if milage is your priority there are better choices. Your "payback" for the ST will be longer than the average owner will keep the car. The 1.0L turbo would be a better choice or the Mazda 2. If you can find a nice used STOCK ST you could save a bundle. Stay away from the "modded" cars unless you know the seller or are willing to accept extra wear and possible abuse. Not saying ALL modded cars are abused but without the knowledge of the owner you could be getting one that was driven really hard or abused in its life. Others like me are anal about upkeep, you just have to find one! Good luck in your quest.

 

[richtor]

I get 30 in town 32/33 mixed driving 30 miles each way sonoma napa back roads. 33.6, 410 miles in 12.2 driving i5 to socal at 80/85 no gas stops. 2015 Stock 43k miles. I only use 87 oct.

 

[4Shades]

I've only had my ST about 2 months and have averaged 38-40 on the highway, 39-32 city when driving sensibly. Actually seems to be getting better mileage than my Chevy Spark that was rated at 40 on the highway. That 84hp struggled up hills though, which kept it around 35 average on the highway.

 

[FORZDA 2]

If you're really concerned about fuel mileage the 2016+ Prius is king. Mine gets mid 50s easy on the cheapest available.

 

[Thirty-Two]

Average 36mpg on my 50 mile 60% highway, 40% rural. If I get into it without any regard to mpg it'll drop to 30mpg.

I'll also recommend a 1.0. Insurance, gas, entry will be much cheaper, and it can still be modded if you so wish. Drives like a softer ST. I think Ford rated it at 45highway, but later dropped it to 41, but some people push them close to 50mpg. Drive it hard and it will probably not go under 30 on that commute. There aren't many around you but if you're willing to take a trip to Northwest/North Central Florida, they are really cheap there for some reason. This one is a Red 15, less than 5000 miles, for 11,000.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=456567167&zip=70458&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D70458%26showcaseOwnerId%3D564561%26startYear%3D1981%26sortBy%3DderivedpriceASC%26incremental%3Dall%26engineCodes%3D3CLDR%26firstRecord%3D0%26endYear%3D2018%26modelCodeList%3DFIESTA%26makeCodeList%3DFORD%26searchRadius%3D500%26transmissionCodes%3DMAN&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0&endYear=2018&modelCodeList=FIESTA&makeCodeList=FORD&searchRadius=500&makeCode1=FORD&modelCode1=FIESTA

 

[BRGT350]

If MPG is a big concern, I too would vote for the 1.0L. My brother has one and we have switched between the ST and SFE to compare and contrast. We both agreed the 1.0L is the best of the non-ST Fiestas and with some minor tweaks, it can be almost as fun. We added ST wheels, tires, and springs to make it a little more sporty along with a Mountune filter and shifter. I think he has around 80k on the car and loves it. If I was either on a tight budget or MPG was a major factor in the purchase, I would be happy with the 1.0L and a manual transmission.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD_wG0in1r4
[video=youtube;jD_wG0in1r4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD_wG0in1r4[/video]

 

[M-Sport fan]

If you're really concerned about fuel mileage the 2016+ Prius is king. Mine gets mid 50s easy on the cheapest available.

My older son has already shown 63 out of his '17, but it is a car I could not live with, regardless of a need for maximal mileage (I'd rather walk, or ride a bike to get where I'm going).

Also; ANOTHER vote for the 1.0 manual Fiesta!

 

[Hardline]

I'm averaging 33 MPG, but my commute is anything but flat. Not complaining though, previous commuter was getting 18