I get 11 MPG city, ~25 MPG highway. The highway mileage makes me think there’s nothing wrong with the car. So why the bad city MPG? Factors affecting this: loaded skybox on car at all times, 2 mile commute (so always driving on cold engine), AT tires, larger tires than stock (30.5″ as opposed to 29.5″), lots of hills in my neighborhood, and I drive moderately aggressively. All those factors make the gas mileage worse. But 11 MPG? I blame the turbo.
Turbos are great for giving an efficient 4 cylinder engine the extra power to compete with a V6 when occasionally needed. So, WHEN DRIVEN CONSERVATIVELY in ideal conditions, a turbo 4 can give great gas mileage compared to a similar sized vehicle with a V6. They become horribly inefficient when you floor it though. Much more so than a V6. So if you drive aggressively and are carrying or towing a bunch of heavy stuff, you’ll get abysmal gas mileage.
