2002 WRX - Fuel Consumption

[dundo]

Specifications say that fuel consumption of 2002 WRX should be 20 mpg
(city) and 27 mpg (highway).....In real world situation it comes out that
my WRX fuel consumption is approx. 13-15 mpg (city) and about 22 mpg
(highway). That seems like a pretty big difference...

I would like to have some feedback from the other WRX owners....

 

[Clive]

Specifications say that fuel consumption of 2002 WRX should be 20 mpg
(city) and 27 mpg (highway).....In real world situation it comes out that
my WRX fuel consumption is approx. 13-15 mpg (city) and about 22 mpg
(highway). That seems like a pretty big difference...

I would like to have some feedback from the other WRX owners....

Observe speed limits.
Don't play traffic lights Grand Prix.
Don't try and out-drag everything on the road
just because you probably can...well, lots anyway.
I get about what the book says by
observing the above running on Optimax hi-octane.
I'm no goody-goody...it's all due to the sudden
explosion of damned fixed and mobile speed cameras,
'red light' cameras and digital 'calculates average speed and takes a photo
of the driver' cameras locally...
done wonders for my fuel economy but makes you feel like a
criminal just getting in the car which you then have to drive
like yer Granny.
A little lighter on the right foot should work wonders.

--
Clive Norris
Selectron (UK) Ltd
www.espguitars.co.uk
www.espshop.co.uk
www.mightymite.com
www.svetlana-tubes.com
www.emgpickups.co.uk
www.tube-shop.com
www.whirlwindusa.com

 

[Alan Peterman]

Specifications say that fuel consumption of 2002 WRX should be 20 mpg
(city) and 27 mpg (highway).....In real world situation it comes out that
my WRX fuel consumption is approx. 13-15 mpg (city) and about 22 mpg
(highway). That seems like a pretty big difference...

I would like to have some feedback from the other WRX owners....

In city short trips I get about 18-20 mpg. On the road I've seen 30 mpg at a
more or less steady 75 mph. On the track I burned 10 gallons in only 90 miles
of very spirited driving. I suspect that if I could cruise at 55 in 5th gear I
could get near 35 mpg. But I also try to maximize SPG (Smile Per Gallon) which
is why my Pirelli 6000 tires are shot at 16,000 miles...

 

[Mark]

Specifications say that fuel consumption of 2002 WRX should be 20 mpg
(city) and 27 mpg (highway).....In real world situation it comes out that
my WRX fuel consumption is approx. 13-15 mpg (city) and about 22 mpg
(highway). That seems like a pretty big difference...

I would like to have some feedback from the other WRX owners....

I have an 02 WRX with 14K miles. I drive about 40 miles each day
to/from work. Most of my driving is on the highway/country roads. I
check my mileage every other fillup and I always get between 23.4 and
24.5 MPG. Once, I took a road trip to Atlanta and got 30MPG (I
adverage about 70-75MPH).

Sounds to me you need to get the dealer to take a look and see why
your mileage is very low. I got better mileage in my Dodge Ram V8 4x4
pulling a 4000 lbs trailer (10,000 GVW).

 

[S]

Hi Dundo!

I would like to have some feedback from the other WRX owners....

My '02 wagon gets 24-25 MPG mixed (probably about 75% highway),
driving fairly aggressively, but generally not maintaining much more
than +10 on the interstate, and sticking reasonably close to the
posted values around town.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[David & Caroline]

Specifications say that fuel consumption of 2002 WRX should be 20 mpg
(city) and 27 mpg (highway).....In real world situation it comes out that
my WRX fuel consumption is approx. 13-15 mpg (city) and about 22 mpg
(highway). That seems like a pretty big difference...

I would like to have some feedback from the other WRX owners....

With my '02 wagon, I generally get 20-22mpg (haven't gone on any highway
trips, so my highest is around 24mpg) - that's pretty much entirely
city/backroads

Sounds like you might be a victim of the "excessive use of the loud pedal"
disease

Have you tried switching gas companies? I was buying at Costco for a while
(it was convenient), but switching to Chevron, my mileage went up nearly
2mpg...

This is all on 91 octane (that's what passes as "premium" out here....)

 

[Sfbonus]

about 23 mpg combined with about 75 % of miles being highway

..>

 

[Kim Groves]

I have about 28,000 miles on mine. I was getting about 25.5 mpg highway
until I hit 25,000 miles. Then mileage dropped to about 23 to 24 highway.
Speeds 70 to 80 highway, 80 miles per day. I had the 30,000 mile tune up
done. Mileage perhaps back up to 25.5 mpg. Injectors needed to be cleaned. I
am now playing with 89 octane gas to see if it improves my mpg.

 

[brentlz]

Either a heavy foot or a prob...as others have suggested, you might try
a different gas station. Over 20k+ miles, I've averaged 23.7 MPG for my
'02 WRX sedan, with a high of 31.9 and a low of 17.3.

Brent.

 

[Chauncey Gardener]

I would like to have some feedback from the other WRX owners....

I get 22-24 overall in my 2003 WRX- mostly highway driving, with a
fairly heavy foot...

 

[David Betts]

Specifications say that fuel consumption of 2002 WRX should be 20 mpg
(city) and 27 mpg (highway).....In real world situation it comes out that
my WRX fuel consumption is approx. 13-15 mpg (city) and about 22 mpg
(highway). That seems like a pretty big difference...

I would like to have some feedback from the other WRX owners....

Well, test result to meet government standards are rarely repeated in
the real world, so you would always do well to take manufacturers'
published fuel consumption figures with a huge pinch of salt.

Real question is how do you drive it? If you keep it on boost for much
of the time, you'll get much lower mileage figures. Also, if you do
frequent stop-start journeys from cold.

The other factors are running in - these cars need at least 20 or 30
thousand miles on the clock before they loosen up and the fuel
consumption figures improve - and the type of fuel used....the higher
the octane rating the better.

On a decent run in my 60,000-miler, using Shell Optimax in the UK and
without too heavy a right boot, I can certainly see high 20s and even
low 30s.

David Betts
(e-mail address removed)

 

[dundo]

Thanks for all your replies! I'm not an aggressive driver. I like to step
on the pedal but not in everyday driving (wish I could!). It's 90%
'city limits' driving except some weekends when I usually go to
unpopulated mountain areas to 'remove dust and prevent rust' and that
can't be a cause of heavy consumption. I'll definitely ask service guys
at my next visit. Don't know what could be a problem, though. Used to
have Lancia Delta Integrale long time ago. That bastard liked to swallow
whole tank in no time but that was expected. Never thought Rex could be
the same....

 

[blazing lazers]

24mpg combined for me with 70% highway driving.

 

[Edward Hayes]

EPA test are based on a specific driving profile for city and highway. I've
forgotten what the different profiles were but, all the vehicles I've owned
(Saab turbo/Volvo/Jeep and Forester S) have met or exceeded the EPA
estimates and the EPA adds 10% fuel consumption for a cusion. You can of
course lower mpg buy having a poorly tuned vehicle or having a heavy foot.
eddie

 

[Neal Pope]

I kept up with the mileage religiously for the first 20,000 miles and it
averaged about 24 mpg driving about 80% interstate 75-80 mph. That was using
boost a lot 1-4 gear.

 

[Gerald Manning]

2002 WRX w/40K. Mixed local driving avg 25. Have gotten as high as 34.7 on
trip.

 

[Rockman]

Almost always around 20, as much as 22 highway.

24mpg combined for me with 70% highway driving.

 

[You Ask]

I kept up with the mileage religiously for the first 20,000 miles and it
averaged about 24 mpg driving about 80% interstate 75-80 mph. That was using
boost a lot 1-4 gear.

try 55 mph and get better milage

 

[Byron]

My '02 WRX wagon (MT) has averaged 19.4mpg over the last 13,000 miles.
(I'm up to 46,000 now) With an EPA rating of 20/27, I was disappointed
my average was not somewhere between those numbers. Not enough to drive
65 all the time (I'd be a safety hazard going that slowly on some roads
in greater Boston). Plus if I was _that_ concerned with fuel economy,
I'd have bought the similarly-handling 2.5RS instead.

I've had tanks as low as 13.53 and as high as 27.07mpg. My best tankful
was on interstates through New Hampshire and Vermont at a pretty
constant 71mph. Most of my trips on those same roads give me about 23mpg.

I don't drive it any differently than I did my '95 VW GTI with a 2.8L
VR6 engine - that was EPA rated for 18/25, and I averaged about 23 with
that car. I'm surprised my stock WRX mileage is that much lower. My
GTI mileage improved about 1 mpg when I installed a new engine chip from
TT, and it gave slightly better upper rpm power.
Performance of my old GTI didn't feel too much slower to my "butt dyno"
than my WRX does. The VW has less power (172hp) but it also weighed
less and was two wheel drive. The larger engine did have more torque
down low, so I didn't need/want to downshift as often in city driving.
But 4mpg?

I thought one of the two main advantages of a turbo engine over a larger
displacement engine of similar power/torque was efficiency - especially
when not at WOT. I do accelerate rather briskly in the Subaru, but I
also get into 4th or 5th gear pretty quickly, where the car spends most
of its time. I do appreciate the far superior handling of the WRX,
partly due to less weight ahead of the front axle. GTIs with the big
iron 6 plowed through corners

 

[ROBERT HARVEY]

I am about to turn 10,000 miles on my 03 Rex wagon.

I have been getting 17-20 in the city and 22-24 on the highway (at 70-80
mph)