MINI Gets Great Mileage
More from the Dept. of Obviousness. As we already know, the MINI gets great gas mileage. Confirmed yet again by the EPA here in the US, which has ranked the MINI Cooper as the highest mileage car in the minicompact category.
Not only is it the highest in it’s own category, the MINI also fairs well with the rest of the list, boasting the 2nd highest highway mileage of any gasoline powered car right behind the Smart, 3rd highest in the city. Of course, at the top of the list are the Toyota Prius Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid and the Volkswagon Diesel powered Jettas.
Have some fun with the bottom of that list too. Instead of being full of SUVs like it has been in the past, it’s full of Lambos, Bentleys, Aston Martins and Ferraris. Really, if you can afford any of those, do you care that you are only pulling down 8/13 MPG?
Should be interesting to see how a diesel-powered MINI does against the rest of the high-mileage cars. But we’ll have to wait for R60 -D to see that.
I’ve read on mini2.com forum, that people reaching impressive 78 MPG. As far as I know, there is slight difference between UK and US MPGs, but anyway – 78 is impressive.
All abow is written about Diesel.
If you had any of the Euro Micro Cars (Peugeot 107/Citroen C1/Toyota Aygo) or even the T1 Yaris with 3 cylinders and an engine capacity of 0.9l you’d be amazed at the MPG.
wow… the Conti GT is a sub compact…. has anyone ever driven one of those things, its like piloting a small battleship! there is nothing subcompact about it.
Hold on a minute….my manual Cooper routinely gets 40 mpg (or more) in city driving. Highway more like 45 or more.
I get wayyyyy better mileage than that in my 08 S automatic, the lowest its gone is about 27 and thats if im really racing between the lights, 1st gear blasting and this is in the city, in boston! and 42 on the highway if i drive normally, if not maybe 38. i find it intersting how they classify the Aston martin DB9 as a minicompact, its 40 inches longer than a mini! and a bentley GTC is almost 50 and is listed as a subcompact, the azure, 212 inches and some how thats compact, hmmm im suprised they didnt say the lamborghini was a 4 door suv…
First it was there, and then it was gone. What happened to smaller MINI coming to America?
Best part of the mini’s great fuel eco is that you are not driving a flimsy ‘penalty box’… socio/eco-responsibility without the hairshirt! 🙂
The EPA has traditionally classified car size classes by “interior volume”, which from an environmental impact perspective is a very poor method of doing it (of course, the interior volume-based classification is a relic of a different time and place and under review in some circles). Hence, the odd bedfellows in the MINI’s minicompact class mentioned above.
Also a note about the poor fuel eco of supercars… it is not about being able to afford the fuel costs if you can afford the car (though of course it is silly for people to plink down six figures for a car and then worry about running costs). Rather, there are many who would like high performance with a smaller eco-footprint. Best way to get there is lighter weight (e.g., Lotus), but this principle seems to be a long time in coming to most automakers (would improve all aspects of performance too!).
The R56’s are definitely great on gas. My R53 isn’t that great at all. Mixed driving in Boston gets me around 23-25mpg.
My Clubman automatic is rated at 26/34, but in the city I have been only getting a max. of 18 mpg. I think it is because I live in one of the hilliest parts of San Francisco and my 5-mile commute to work is mostly under 35-mph, and for the 1st half there is a 4-way-stop at every intersection. And I probably only get out on the freeway once per fill-up. I did get 32 mpg on a road trip to Oregon where I drove mostly at 80-mph. Has anyone ever seen the accepted “definition” of what “city driving” is vs. highway?
These quoted ratings are based on some EPA test loops. They are not written in stone guarantees. If you think about it, having a number that is always true would be pretty much impossibe. Look at the window sticker again, and there is a range associated with each number (city and highway) and it also says that most, not all, will get mileages somewhere in the range.
Also, your very short commute isn’t enough to even warm the engine fully, so it’s probably running much richer than a car that’s reached normal operating temp.
Matt
The worst I ever got was 33 and the best is 45 in my R56 Cooper. This is calculated not the computer reading.