Just curious, do you think there’s any effect on tailpipe-measured HC emissions, summer vs winter gasoline blend?
Winter blend pollutes more
I do it in my '03 Prius. EPA rating is 41mpg combined. I regularly get 46. That’s averaged by season - lower in the winter, obviously, and even moreso if I put the winter tires on. With winter tires and cold weather it’s about 41 - so I hit the EPA estimate.
Outside of winter and with normal all-seasons, if I stay off the interstates and rural highways and drive only country backroads, I can get low 50s. (I figured this out during COVID when I could…) If I stay off the interstates and just use 55mph rural highways I can get about 50mpg. Add in interstates and then I’m down to 46 - even taking into account winter.
But I also drive for mpgs. I don’t “hyper-mile.” In pure form that’s obnoxious. But I drive “inspired by” hyper-miling techniques. One of the biggest mpg factors is the nut behind the wheel and just how heavy their feet are.
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There are several reasons why I consistently exceed EPA mileage estimates in my Versa. Rural mountain highways, no city driving and no traffic, lots of 50 mph driving early AM because of deer and elk on the roads. I’m old and not in a hurry. Almost never exceed 3500 RPM. I’ve driven manual transmission vehicles all my life and know how to maximize MPG.
I’m thinking when they test manual transmission cars for MPG they use a “spirited driver” because manual transmissions are thought of as performance cars. Performance Versa?
I filled up with Kroger gas yesterday and will see if MPG goes back down over the next few tanks.