[akunob]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

So a frequent complaint for some with the F95/96 is it’s thirst…13/15/18mpg (city/combined/highway). On a 22 gal tank, that equates to between 286 to 396 miles per tank in range. Frankly I don’t know why people complain, it’s a twin turbo V8 pushing 600+HP.

With my normal driving style I usually average 350 to 365 miles-to-empty (MTO) after each fill-up. I decided to experiment and drive the car like a grandma. (1) No M1 button (I.e., all Sports mode for me), (2) car settings in Efficient and Comfort modes (3) rpm never over 3,000, (4) feathering the throttle and (5) staying below all posted speed limits and I mean ALL, even the 35mph ones.

To my surprise when I filled up, the indicated MTO read 454 miles!! That’s about a 20.5 mpg average. I was quite impressed, as I had never gotten over 385 MTO before. These cars aren’t terrible in mpg, if driven lightly, for all the performance that they have. Anyone else cracked the 400 MTO barrier?

[bellabimmer]

I have seen maximum in mine 335.

[BobsM3Coupe]

After a fill up one time, I did see 437 miles to empty. But I usually never look, so I think that time was rare.
But since the car left the factory, it's showing a 17.6 mpg average. You would think I never touched the redline or used the M buttons, but I do just about every time I use the car. Why not?
I'm actually amazed that it does so well.

[secretariat]

I must have missed all those complainers.
What the car reads after fill up is not what you will get. No one and I mean no one will drive like that in these vehicles. A 100k+ vehicle should not be in the hands of someone who is worried about MPG.

[Aliabd91]

One day I got more than 800 km

[155ND]

Originally Posted by secretariat

I must have missed all those complainers.
What the car reads after fill up is not what you will get. No one and I mean no one will drive like that in these vehicles. A 100k+ vehicle should not be in the hands of someone who is worried about MPG.

Quite right ... "smiles per gallon", not "miles per gallon"

Nothing more frustrating / fascinating / maddening as a driver in a (potentially) fast car driving like a Grandma

(sorry to any forum Grandmas who drive like they stole their cars!)

[akunob]

Agreed, it was a fun experiment to see what the MTO calculator would compute if the car wasn’t driven ‘normally’ but extra conservatively. I think it’s a testament to how great this 4.4L V8 engine to see that, in theory, it could eke out some seriously mileage if babied. Good for road trips…

On the ‘complainers’, I’ve seen a variation of “I love everything about the F95/96 except the fuel consumption…” in quite a few posts/threads.

[Hit_Apex]

Originally Posted by akunob

Agreed, it was a fun experiment to see what the MTO calculator would compute if the car wasn't driven 'normally' but extra conservatively. I think it's a testament to how great this 4.4L V8 engine to see that, in theory, it could eke out some seriously mileage if babied. Good for road trips…

On the 'complainers', I've seen a variation of "I love everything about the F95/96 except the fuel consumption…" in quite a few posts/threads.

Respect for the experiment. Nice to see data at the extremes. But seriously, if you average over 16mpg for all miles you probably bought wrong. 13.8mpg here and countless smiles.

[xmanpro]

Originally Posted by akunob

So a frequent complaint for some with the F95/96 is it’s thirst…13/15/18mpg (city/combined/highway). On a 22 gal tank, that equates to between 286 to 396 miles per tank in range. Frankly I don’t know why people complain, it’s a twin turbo V8 pushing 600+HP.

With my normal driving style I usually average 350 to 365 miles-to-empty (MTO) after each fill-up. I decided to experiment and drive the car like a grandma. (1) No M1 button (I.e., all Sports mode for me), (2) car settings in Efficient and Comfort modes (3) rpm never over 3,000, (4) feathering the throttle and (5) staying below all posted speed limits and I mean ALL, even the 35mph ones.

To my surprise when I filled up, the indicated MTO read 454 miles!! That’s about a 20.5 mpg average. I was quite impressed, as I had never gotten over 385 MTO before. These cars aren’t terrible in mpg, if driven lightly, for all the performance that they have. Anyone else cracked the 400 MTO barrier?

Niiiice. Let us know how close you get to that number in real life driving.

[akunob]

Originally Posted by xmanpro

Niiiice. Let us know how close you get to that number in real life driving.

In real life driving I get nowhere near that (I get ~90 miles less or closer to 360 miles). I believe the MTO calculator uses some algorithm based on observed actual mpg to project Miles-to-Empty after fill up. Curiosity got the better of me and the surprise seeing 454 miles was kinda cool for our cars...

[155ND]

Originally Posted by akunob

Agreed, it was a fun experiment to see what the MTO calculator would compute if the car wasn’t driven ‘normally’ but extra conservatively. I think it’s a testament to how great this 4.4L V8 engine to see that, in theory, it could eke out some seriously mileage if babied. Good for road trips…

On the ‘complainers’, I’ve seen a variation of “I love everything about the F95/96 except the fuel consumption…” in quite a few posts/threads.

Sorry, i didn't mean to diss your experiment! It was a cool thing to do and interesting result in the end, as you say showing the engine is capable of very good mpg if driven lightly.

I remember in about 2002/03 doing similar with a Golf GTI when there was a fuel blockade in England ... i had a 40 mile each way commute and had to drive very carefully to ensure a tank of fuel lasted the full week. It was very odd to see the entire motorway travelling at 56mph, and no-one accelerating unnecessarily, and everyone cruising towards a set of traffic lights rather than brake and waste that precious kinetic energy!

Of course, once the fuel blockade ended we drove like a bat out of hell, such was the pent-up need for speed

[akunob]

Originally Posted by 155ND

Sorry, i didn't mean to diss your experiment! It was a cool thing to do and interesting result in the end, as you say showing the engine is capable of very good mpg if driven lightly.

I remember in about 2002/03 doing similar with a Golf GTI when there was a fuel blockade in England ... i had a 40 mile each way commute and had to drive very carefully to ensure a tank of fuel lasted the full week. It was very odd to see the entire motorway travelling at 56mph, and no-one accelerating unnecessarily, and everyone cruising towards a set of traffic lights rather than brake and waste that precious kinetic energy!

Of course, once the fuel blockade ended we drove like a bat out of hell, such was the pent-up need for speed

Oh please, no diss taken (nor frankly picked up on)...you were simply speaking our collective truth, that none of us drive like 'grandmas' and in ours cars, doing so is not only unrealistic but a total waste of a perfectly good ultra-performance SUV...LOL All good here, no apology needed, whatsoever!

[Mo2002]

I've gotten 475 - 480 on mines

[Hit_Apex]

Originally Posted by Mo2002

I've gotten 475 - 480 on mines

Sounds awful

[xmanpro]

Originally Posted by Mo2002

I've gotten 475 - 480 on mines

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. Did you have to go slow the whole time?!

[akunob]

Originally Posted by Mo2002

I've gotten 475 - 480 on mines

Wow I can't imagine what it must have taken to get 475+ MTO. It required painstaking restraint and throttle discipline for me to get 450 MTO. Niiicee, however I will not be doing that again. It felt like the days of trying to keep my GT P-cars under 4K rpm during the engine "break-in period"...simply too painful to bear!! LOL

[xmanpro]

Lol

[155ND]

Originally Posted by xmanpro

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. Did you have to go slow the whole time?!

[Mo2002]

Originally Posted by xmanpro

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. Did you have to go slow the whole time?!

Haha, yes very painful! It was highway driving at a constant speed

[xmanpro]

Thank you for sharing!

[Audio Fan]

Just have a little more fun and you can fix those high range issues. So far, I've been able to avoid them completely.

[-Vanguard-]

Seems like you have a issue with you car. No M car should see that kind of range! lol