Gas and Milage question

[Vahagn23]

Hi, I have my Versa Since monday and it was driven 49 miles and had a full tank. No i put on 100 more miles and its lless then half of the tank is that normal? because they said that Versa comes 30mpg on steerts and 36 on highways, this does not feel like 30.

Also what kind of fuel should I refill it with? Super or regualr I dont know lol, its my first car.

[coxcj]

The gas gauge is terrible for giving an accurate guess on how much you have in your tank. Although the sticker says 30/36, that's the extremely best case scenario. I've had mine for a few months now and have figured I get around 330-350 miles to the tank. Overall I'm averaging just over 30mpg, and results will vary depending on how you drive, the traffic, etc. (my first tank of gas was 29mpg)

As for the type of gas, you can consult the owner manual. Regular is fine.

Good luck.

[Vahagn23]

Cool, thank you.

The gas gauge is terrible for giving an accurate guess on how much you have in your tank. Although the sticker says 30/36, that's the extremely best case scenario. I've had mine for a few months now and have figured I get around 330-350 miles to the tank. Overall I'm averaging just over 30mpg, and results will vary depending on how you drive, the traffic, etc. (my first tank of gas was 29mpg)

As for the type of gas, you can consult the owner manual. Regular is fine.

Good luck.

[coxcj]

Cool, thank you.

That's what we're here for. I hope you like it here.

[biggie]

If you are looking at the gauge for a reading, 80-100 miles per 1/4 tank on the gauge is pretty good. The weird thing is that when you are right on E you apparently still have about 2.5-3 gals of gas left in the tank.

And my mpg increase since new, first 2 of 3 tanks were 28.5mpg or so. Now over 32mpg consistently.

And yes, manual says 87 octane minimum, I've had no problems with 87 or 89.

[kc5f]

One problem with the first tank is you don't know how full they filled it or when. Even on your own, single tanks will be inaccurate if you don't know it gets filled to the exact same point each time. Average over a few tanks to get a better idea. (Mine's got 35,000 miles on it and I average about 33.5 mpg or more in the summer, but I don't use A/C too much and my daughter says I drive like a grandpa!)

[Jojo Versa]

Ours is brand new not even 500 miles on it, on the highway we got 30 mpg on a US gallon that s with a CVT,it looks like we are getting around 22-24 city driving.

Modified by Jojo Versa at 9:53 AM 8/25/2007
Modified by Jojo Versa at 9:55 AM 8/25/2007

[bigdog]

well i've got the 4 speed s model w/about 3800miles on it & between city/hwy driving avg w/87 oct is 30-32mpg avg speed on hwy 75-80 mph.

[vpnavy]

We average (city and hwy) 33+-.

We just got back from a 200 mile trip (one way). We averaged 65MPH. We didn't take off at stops - everything was nice and easy. We barely used the A/C. We got 39MPG! On the way home, I kept the Versa between 50 and 55 MPG (used A/C more often then trip going up). I had to speed up to 65MPH once in a while (when 18 wheelers couldn't get by me). Guess what we got? 42.58MPH! I doubled checked miles vs. fill up - the mileage is correct (both times!).
Modified by vpnavy at 1:26 PM 8/25/2007

[bigdog]

best hwy mpg 35.0 @75-80 mph coming home from fredricksburg virgina. was quite impressed then.

[vpnavy]

best hwy mpg 35.0 @75-80 mph coming home from fredricksburg virgina. was quite impressed then.

75-80 and pulled 35 - that is fantastic! I've had mine up to 80 (not on purpose) and you would swear you were only going 50 or so. Amazing what those 4 bangers can do these days.

[Vahagn23]

lol I got 190miles on it and its 3 little bars away from empty

[srellim234]

Gas mileage being reported to the U. S. EPA website indicates the Versa SL with the CVT transmission (the only model rated 30/36 mpg) is only averaging 27.9 mpg in the real world. This is consistent with what seems to be reported by Versa owners at other sites, too.

Compared to EPA estimates the Versa is doing worse in the real world than most other economy cars are doing compared to their estimates, but the Versa has a lot of other redeeming qualities like crash protection, interior room, etc. to help offset the weaker gas mileage.

NOTE: I just checked the EPA website and they've re-rated the 2007 Versa with CVT using the new standards they're applying to the 2008 models. The 2007 Versa with CVT is now rated 26 city, 33 highway.
Modified by srellim234 at 6:56 PM 8/25/2007

[Jojo Versa]

Gas mileage being reported to the U. S. EPA website indicates the Versa SL with the CVT transmission (the only model rated 30/36 mpg) is only averaging 27.9 mpg in the real world. This is consistent with what seems to be reported by Versa owners at other sites, too.

Compared to EPA estimates the Versa is doing worse in the real world than most other economy cars are doing compared to their estimates, but the Versa has a lot of other redeeming qualities like crash protection, interior room, etc. to help offset the weaker gas mileage.

No surprise here, as the Yaris only pumps out 103 ponies, the fit 110 so in the real world they should be better. We tried them all before purchasing the V, the Yaris hatch and Honda Fit do not carry a candle to the V in size, room, comfort, leg shoulder & hip room, trunk space, safety and best in class crash safety. I willl gladly sacrifice 1, 2 or a few mpg's to have all the above comfort and space plus 12 to 20 more ponies.

[bigdog]

they r quite impressive. that 35mpg ave was with the a/c on most of the drive also. I personally think the best mpgs all depend on driver style,ie: jack rabbitt starts, floorboarding it passing other vehicals,and just hard driving n general imo.

[srellim234]

Jojo, to me it was a big disappointing surprise. The Versa is the only one of the economy cars whose real world combined mpg is over 10% lower than what the EPA originally estimated it should get in city-only driving. All the other cars are pulling combined totals that at least surpass the original bottom (city only) estimate. We were looking for a commuter car and expected at least 30 mpg out of our Versa SL, but even keeping the RPMs under 2000 while accelerating is yielding less than 30 mpg.

A mile or two per gallon would be ok to give up, but when looking for a commuter car under $19k it's a little hard to swallow giving up 4 mpg to the Fit and 9 mpg to the Yaris when the original EPA estimates among the cars were so close. We already had a family car.

[Jojo Versa]

I have always deducted 15 to 20% off highway estimates and 20 - 25% off city estimates when calculating what I can expect to get in real life fuel economy. The estimates published are just that, in my humble opinion they were set up to be calculated under more than ideal conditions. For 2008 models this method has been revised to reflect a truer picture and far closer figures of what you will be getting in the real world.

Many things will effect your gas mileage such as driving habits, were you drive ( flat, hills, mountains, elevation, fuel quality, emissions regulations for your specific area etc.etc.etc.) the weight and size of car (rolling resistance to the pavement, Air resistance to the complete vehicle). Have kids with Yaris models on the street here who get poor fuel economy. None of the others offer the comfort of a V, I find the Yaris underpowered also, sometimes you need the power to move yourself out of a thight situation the V has that power and Zip, the Yaris ????, the Fit ? and the Fit does not offer the high level of comfort as the V.

My wife normally gets poor mileage, she accelerates way too much between stops signs, lights etc. and then she hits the brakes like crazy at the very very last minute, real dificult to get fuel economy that way.

Wait till you get some real mileage on the car to see.

California emission standards being so high and demanding compared to other areas this also affects your fuel economy.

[srellim234]

I agree that the new 2008 estimates are more realistic, but over the years I've always been easy enough on the cars to get very close or better than EPA estimates. I just returned from a trip to San Diego yesterday and averaged 27.5 mpg (90% highway driving) in my 6 cylinder 2002 Buick Rendezvous.

It just seems that Nissan engineers prepped this car to get good mileage only for the conditions of the EPA testing and not for real world driving.

It reminds me a lot of the local high school principal here who stood up in front of the parents on back-to-school night and said they were only going to teach what is on the state high school exit exam. No critical thinking, no independent research, nothing else. Great for getting through the exam and making the administration look good on the test results but those students aren't ready for the real world.

[Jojo Versa]

[QUOTE=srellim234]

It just seems that Nissan engineers prepped this car to get good mileage only for the conditions of the EPA testing and not for real world driving.

QUOTE]

Oh yeah right !

The procedure and testing methods are established by the EPA or other responsable governing body, every manufacture must follow these procedures, every one has to play by the same rules.

It makes a lot of sense for Nissan to cheat and falsely represent these figures ! Sorry and with all due respect I can not adhere to such a representation.

As I said previously people drive very differently and get very different results. As of yesterday I have been teaching my wife when starting off how not to accelerate to 4000 + R.P.M.'s with the CVT which is real quick to climb up there, she can reach 50 kmh - 30 mph as easily by taking a few seconds more and keeping the CVT below 2000 R.P.M's, she will get far better fuel economy that way. I am always amazed why 2 different drivers can get such different results when running the same exact vehicle.

[srellim234]

My error. "Prepped" was the wrong word. A more accurate phrase would be "engineered the engine/transmission performance to maximize mpg through the narrow parameters of the EPA testing with little regard to real world results." Knowing that they could sell the car claiming the high mileage the EPA put on the window sticker, they allowed for a much bigger dropoff in real world mpg performance than other manufacturers.

Lest you think it's my driving pattern, I've always gotten better than the low end "city driving" mpg on cars I've owned or rented over the years. Quite often I'm better than the highway mileage figures. Plus, I'm not the only one reporting the mileage differential that is worse than the dropoff in other cars.

It's a very good car. The features for the price are excellent. It's just not the high gas mileage commuter car the sticker and dealer presented it to be.

[versa2nr]

Anyone else notice that when the light comes on for an empty tank it still only holds about 10.5 gal. I thought it was a 13 gal tank?

[jfanaselle]

When my fuel light came on today, I filled up within 5 miles and it only held 10.6 after topping it off. Once I ran for almost 60 miles after the fuel light came on and it held 12.1 gallons. I guess that because the gauge fluxuates so much, they engineered it to come on when you still have an eighth of a tank or so left. Depending on your driving habbits, you could probably expect another 40 - 70 miles out of the tank after the fuel light comes on. I'm not an expert so don't take my word for it if you're out in the middle of nowhere or something. As far as my mileage, I drive from Murrieta, California to San Diego 5 days a week for work. It's about 65 miles each way (130 miles a day) and so far, in the 5 times I've filled my tank, I've gotten 28.2, 30.6, 27.1, 29.8 and 30.1 miles per gallon. To be fair, the first tank was filled by the dealer and I'm sure they didn't top it off like me, and the 3rd tank (27.1) was almost 50% city driving. On the 3 tanks of primarially highway driving, I've averaged 30.16 - that's with a California emissions equipped vehicle driving between 75 and 80 mph with many hills and the a/c running about 80% of the time. I'd say that's not too bad!

[Jojo Versa]

Anyone else notice that when the light comes on for an empty tank it still only holds about 10.5 gal. I thought it was a 13 gal tank?

In Canada we are using the Metric system so our tanks are 50 liters, that would be 13.20 of your small yankee gallons or 11 Imperial gallons. Presently when the light comes on there is about 10 liters remaining, as i put in about 40 liters at fill up, so about 2.65 yankee gallons or 2.2 Imperial gallons remaining before filling up when the light comes on.

[srellim234]

Same experience here. The light comes on; the fill-up takes over 10 but less than 11 U.S. gallons.

Actually, it's a comfort knowing that there are 65 - 90 miles left in the tank when the light comes on.