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CR-V Hybrid MPG Discussion [Merged Master Thread - Now Retired]

120K views 923 replies 111 participants last post by  williamsji 
#1 · (Edited)
Ars Technica CR-V hybrid review

We’ve not yet driven enough to have our own fuel economy numbers (<50 miles to date), but the Ars reviewer’s result seems implausibly low. How is everyone else finding the fuel consumption?

Ten-month update: At 4,500 miles, we've averaged 37.2 US mpg (44.7 UK mpg or 6.32 L/100km). I monitor the consumption by recording the gallons used to fill the tank each time and miles driven using the odometer. The worst consumption (33.1 US mpg) was a fuel fill on which we mostly drove on 70+ miles/hour Interstate highways through mountains in summer heat. I do not use the "ECON" mode. I'm updating my original post because I still see it quoted in recent posts.
 
#3 ·
38.5 miles to the gallon (US) after it's first fill-up. Perhaps this is a nice site for real-time fuel consumption: Fuelly
 
#4 ·
Ars Technica CR-V hybrid review

We’ve not yet driven enough to have our own fuel economy numbers (<50 miles to date), but the Ars reviewer’s result seems implausibly low. How is everyone else finding the fuel consumption?
I can’t understand these consumption figures. Fuel economy is very good in my experience and is currently showing 52.5 mpg (imperial).

This is on a mix of roads mainly sitting at a traffic limited 60 - 65 mph. It was mid fifties before winter and dropped slightly with the colder weather.

I’m pretty sure if the majority of my driving was urban as this review claims it would be nearer 60mpg.
 
#5 ·
Driving short distances in a city in the middle of summer absolutely destroys the MPG number on every car.

Charlie1960, the UK gallon being 20% bigger than the US gallon (4.54 liters v 3.8liters) is always going to cause some fun on these multi national forums.
 
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#6 ·
Driving short distances in a city in the middle of summer absolutely destroys the MPG number on every car.
Respectfully disagree on that.

On my 4th Gen (Manual/diesel) CR-V and more recently, my old 1.5T Civic Prestige, in urban driving settings, I was getting 45mpg+ in both cars. Its down to how heavy the accelator is pushed which ultimately forms one, of many variables towards consumption and performance.
 
#7 ·
53 m/gallon (imperial) is ± 42 m/gallon US according to convertworld.com

The 38 m/gallon I mentioned earlier aren't bad: new engine and we're allowed to drive faster on the motorway than in the US. Daytime 62 m/hr and 80 m/hr between 7PM and 6AM.
 
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#10 ·
Ars Technica CR-V hybrid review

We’ve not yet driven enough to have our own fuel economy numbers (<50 miles to date), but the Ars reviewer’s result seems implausibly low. How is everyone else finding the fuel consumption?
I average about 32 mpg. If I drive in a spirited way I get about 24 mpg. If I drive, as my son would say "like I'm driving a sled full of nitroglycerine", I've gotten 42 mpg.
 
#21 ·
Think my car must be broken.

Just drove it to the store about 1.5 miles give or take a hundred yards.

4 bars on battery indicator, outside temp a balmy 16°C and the car drove all the way there in EV mode. Car decided what mode it was going to progress in.

On the return journey the engine kicked in as expected and overall indicated mpg went up 0.1.

Never seen a warning regarding engine temp and although I can’t swear to it I’m sure it generally starts each journey in EV mode.
 
#22 ·
Not a warning per se; more like, I pressed the EV mode button and got that message. I assume that also means the car wouldn't have chosen to enter EV mode itself either, if an attempted force of EV mode yielded that response.

And hey. There's no "break in period" to this car, is there? The manual didn't mention anything like that.
 
#26 ·
With years of Hybrid battery experience, Toyota figured out, (or already knew, perhaps) that rechargeable batteries have a much longer lifespan if they are never fully charged or fully discharged...and, due to US and state regulations, the auto manufacturers must warranty these Hybrid batteries for a much longer time than the the regular new car warranty. Hence, they build into the software precautions to never fully charge, or (you get it), fully discharge the batteries. When we had Toyota Hybrids, it WAS possible to fully charge the batteries on a long downhill interstate highway, but not intentionally.
 
#29 ·
when on a long downhill mine charges the battery fully
when full you hear the engine spinning to get rid of the excess power generated
so should I not use the regeneration paddles on hills?
Surely the indicated battery power shows the status of the battery at predetermined ranges rather than actual figures. When the battery indicates fully charged it may only in fact be at 90%.

Cant believe the control system would allow the battery to operate in a range which may effectively cause damage or reduce its operational life.
 
#28 ·
It is true that my car is only a month old, but the results from the last tours are as below.

3.5l / 100km = 67.2 US mpg = 80.71 UK mpg (at a distance of about 25km, easy ride between cities and a bit around the city)

I think that this car can easily go down to very low fuel consumption values as well as high fuel consumption when driving fast, wastefully. In my opinion, a lot depends on the driving style.

140245
 
#33 · (Edited)
Hmm, I had another week consisting of very short local driving trips to the supermarket, my mom's, and a hardware store this week, and took care to drive very conservatively. I still got around 20 mpg while the car was "cold". The return trip from the shops, after the car had warmed up on the way there and was still warm when I got back in about 10 minutes later, was around 35 mpg.

(These are US mpg figures, given by the car's own trip computer - I have yet to do my first fill-up on the car.)

Mind you I'm sure this is still 35-40% better fuel economy under similar driving conditions as I'd gotten with the 2003 Subaru Forester this car replaced, if my average MPG round trip for such short trips were even in the 25-30 MPG range. But "this car gets even better MPG with city driving!" seems only to be true if you drive for a significant amount of time per leg (longer than 10 minutes) - when I did a non-stop round trip drive down a fairly busy local road for 45 minutes as a test, with red lights and traffic and all that, I got around 40 MPG.
 
#35 ·
36 mpg in a mix of hwy (low mpg) & backroads (high mpg). My only full day of "urban" driving was north of 42 mpg.

I most enjoy the torque & additional power. it's so quiet! That it drinks less gas - which it does - is lagniappe.
 
#37 ·
So, I've found that running the AC can be a signficant factor in the fuel economy.

I have been leaving the car on full Auto for the HVAC, with it set at 70F (about 21C). Because it's summertime, most of the time I've driven the car since getting it on June 29th, that has resulted in the car nearly always running the air conditioning at full blast (7 bars out of 7 on the fan) and with interior circulation the entire time.

Even when I drove it for a longer period of time yesterday, a 45 minute one-way drive in mixed conditions where I got 38-40 MPG earlier, I was only getting 33 MPG. But on the way back, under similar road and weather conditions, I manually reduced the fan to 3 bars out of 7 (from the full 7), which was still comfortable with the air blowing directly at me, and my MPG shot up to 38 MPG... Despite coming back with a 55" HDTV loaded into the car!
 
#39 ·
Just a couple of comments... First, I'm averaging a bit over 36 mpg (U.S.A. style). And I've observed exactly the expected "reversal" of the customary city vs highway fuel economy: in-town or on country backroads, I'm usually doing over 40 mpg, while on the highway, I'm seeing 33-35 mpg.

Second, with respect to the reviewer's experience, the easiest way to get sucky fuel economy out of a CRV Hybrid is to pop it in sport mode and drive it like it's somebody else's car (which is precisely what a review vehicle is). Put it in ECON (or even the "normal") mode, drive it like you expect to own it for years, and you'll be rewarded. (I've earlier stated that EV mode was pretty useless, but if you need to slip in undetected -- use your imagination -- it's quite useful.)
 
#43 ·
Here's my MPG (US) after driving my 2020 EX Hybrid for 3 months.
(spoiler: it's less than I'd hoped for...)
140316

Background info:
  • I live in a hilly area, so I do a fair amount of driving up & down hillsides
  • I make very frequent use of regen braking paddles to recover energy
  • Most all these miles were driven in Eco mode -- Sport was used briefly a few times getting on highways
  • Because it's new, I do not push the car hard in my driving style
Conclusion:
I'm moderately disappointed by these numbers. I realize that regularly going up & down hills will quickly diminish the MPG number for any car -- but I'm getting the same MPG (35 MPG) as the 2020 Hybrid CR-V driven in this YouTube comparison with a 2020 Hybrid RAV-4:
Toyota RAV4 vs Honda CR-V Hybrid Surprise: We Drive Both Up a Mountain To See Which Gets Better MPG!
Note, they're driving their Hybrid CR-V at highway speed + going from about 5000+ feet (above sea level) up to the top of Loveland Pass on US highway I-70 in Colorado. That's hugely demanding compared to my 35 MPG of toodling up and down 1000 foot ridges near the ocean, where I live. Hmmmm..
 
#47 ·
hi DarkKnight -
When I said the vast majority of miles were driven in Eco mode, I assumed that the system is defaulting into Eco mode when I put the car into D upon normal start. Based on what you're saying, though, it sounds like you have to select Eco to be in full Eco mode upon startup. That's new to me. ( Then again, I still have much more to learn about this machine ) I'll check this and get back with a comment. Thanks.
 
#48 ·
The car defaults to whatever mode was selected during previous use. Econ mode is indicated by a leaf icon on the top left of the driver display. To select econ press the econ button, to deselect it press it again or select sport.

It would be useful if the mode selection buttons were backlit when selected but as it is you are in normal mode if the econ or sport icons are not displayed.
 
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