New Zealand Mirage economy run: 3.3L/100 km (30.3 km/L, 71.3 mpg US) CVT

http://mirageforum.com/imgs/nz-economy-run-route.jpg


The 2013 Mirage has just launched in New Zealand, and once again Mitsubishi organized an economy run/challenge to show off the car's fuel-sipping abilities.

As usual, the assembled motoring media did not fail to impress, even though the goal -- using as little fuel as possible over the prescribed route -- may have gone against typical petrolhead driving style. We actually know this for a fact: the winning driver, "ironically a renowned leadfoot ... turn(ed) in a group-best 3.3 L/100km." (Source.)

Not bad, considering it's CVT-only cars. (Remember the CVT is the only transmission available in N.Z.)

Route

• Wellington to Otaki
• ~73 km / 45 miles, one-way
• mix of urban & exurban roads with posted speed limits up to 100 km/h (59 mph)
• I'm not sure if this was a round-trip event (waiting on a reply from Mitsu NZ.)

Conditions

• Temp: hot enough that it was considered unusual to not run the air conditioning
• Windy: "driving up the Ngauranga Gorge and onward into a strong headwind" (Source.)

Results

We don't know for sure which trim level scored which result. All we know is they were both 1.2L and CVT.

Car	Driver/Media	L/100 km	km/L	mpg (US)	mpg (Imp)
Mirage 1.2L, CVT	?	3.3 (source)	30.3	71.3	85.6
Mirage 1.2L, CVT	Richard Bosselman, Yahoo! autos	4.2 (source)	23.8	56.0	67.3

"Extreme" techniques employed by the winner

(This bit is kind of funny, quoted from a competing media outlet...)

Quote:

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"Obviously his technique was more extreme..."

• engine off at red lights,
• neutral on descents,
• feather-footing the throttle/brake,
• no air conditioning,
• 90kmh in the 100kmh zone
• and sneaking the spacesaver spare into the boot of a colleague's car (source)

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Ha! Bonus points to him for competitive weight "redistribution".

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Other Mirage economy runs:

• Mirage 1.2 economy run contest: Bali, Indonesia (video)
• Mirage economy run Thailand: 31.9 km/L (3.1L/100km, 75 mpg US) 5-spd

Interesting. Definitely highlights the importance of how you drive as well as what you drive.

Absolutely. The owner of the CVT Mirage from Malaysia whose data is in our Fuel Economy Log has said the same thing to me: he's getting decent numbers in real world because he uses eco-driving techniques every day. He's tickled pink to be getting better mileage than some hybrids.

Question: The above technique of using neutral on descents, is this OK for AT/CVT cars?

As long as the engine is idling, and the transmission re-engages smoothly after coasting, you're probably safe. (I would do it with my own car under those conditions.)

Of course, there are some conditions where you would want to leave it in gear on descents if doing so helps you control your speed. Better to "engine brake" down a hill than coast in neutral while idling and using the foot brake.

I see. It's good to hear that I will not do any damage to the car's transmission. Thanks for the quick feedback!

Speaking of engine brake for descents, when do one use the "B" gear (Philippine version; "S" in other countries) instead of the "D" gear? I mean, how steep should be the decline before I change to "B" gear? Is my understanding correct that if left in "D" gear, it would have the same result as accelerating in flat terrain, therefore consuming more fuel?

I'm trying to improve my mirage's FC and still learning eco driving habits (newbie driver here)... =D

If you have to constantly press the brake pedal while going down a very long hill, then you should shift to "B". It will help prevent overheating the brakes.

As for fuel consumption, unless the engine enters "fuel cut-off" mode more readily in "B" than in "D" (it might), there would be no difference between the two approaches. But you would need to monitor fuel injector activity (e.g. with an OBD-II gauge like a ScanGauge) to determine the conditions when fuel cut happens.

I'm sure you've seen this thread too: Mirage fuel-economy driving tips

Ok, thanks again! Yup, already checked that post. I plan to put it into action this week since I just had a full tank yesterday.

No problem!

Another thing: air up your tires. I would never officially recommend going past the sidewall maximum inflation value, but note the Thai economy run participants (28.13 km/L CVT result on the open road) ran at 45 PSI: Mirage economy run Thailand: 31.9 km/L (3.1L/100km, 75 mpg US) 5-spd

There would be a noticeable difference in how easily the car rolls between factory spec and 45 PSI

When I visited the Dutch dealership for a test-drive, I noticed that the Mirage/Space Star had green valve-stem caps on all four tires.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/t...14/Mitsu29.jpg

That was because the tires were filled with nitrogen. It is supposed to keep the tire pressure more constant at both high and low temperatures over the long term. It would save you a small amount in fuel. This was completely new to me, and afterwards I used Google for some opinions. Conclusion: mixed reports.

My opinion: If you're not the type of person to regularly check your tire pressure, then it may be worth it. Otherwise, save your money!

I looked into the nitrogen for tyres when it was a new thing here in Australia about 10 years ago was said to improve tyre life and keep the tyres at a more constant pressure over high temp changes. The cost for a nitrogen tyre inflation from the tyre shops was i think around $20 dollars then. I found this info back then (Nitrogen is the largest constituent of the Earth's atmosphere (78.082% by volume of dry air, 75.3% by weight in dry air)).
Needless to say i never paid to have this done and just filling my tyres with plain air i still got a high % of nitrogen i could not see there would be very much extra improvement for the small increae of nitrogen. It might make some noticable improvement on a race car.

Some good economy numbers on that run and would have been a laugh (and sneaking the spacesaver spare into the boot of a colleague's car) if he got a flat tyre.

Re nitrogen in tyres, a friend waxed eloquent as to the benefits and when I looked dubious he paid the twenty bucks to have my tyres filled with nitrogen. They still lost pressure at roughly the same rate as atmosphere, no difference to MPG and no noticeable difference to tyre wear. The only difference I noted was that when driving away for the first time the tyres felt like they were a few pounds light on pressure. My tyre gauge however told me that they were at the correct pressure.

That's amazing. Only 3.3L/100km I never seen car like this. I heard that is possible but never seen myself. My two friends own Mirage and they said the same thing about this car. I'd like to get one but for now still driving my old 2000 Mitsubishi Mirage DE 4dr Sedan.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DannyDriver456

That's amazing. Only 3.3L/100km I never seen car like this..

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Hello DannyDriver456 & welcome to the forum.