CX-7 + Towing = Worst Gas Mileage ever!!

[mmolenda06]

Wow! I towed a 4 piece sectional couch (I thought it was pretty light compared to others) using a 5x8 trailer...I got 150 miles from a full tank! I thought it was going to be bad seeing as how I usually get around 300 miles a tank without a trailer, but I was floored when I saw this!! Gas mileage is the only thing I don't like about my CX-7! Any other experiences towing with the 7?

 

[offset_98]

Towing a couch shouldn't cut mileage in HALF! But towing will reduce it significantly because you can't just go by the weight of what you pulled, you have to remember that there is a drag coefficient that should be factored in to your mileage. You're pulling another 2-4 wheels and a trailor that isn't aerodynamic in the least.

 

[Infymus]

My CX7 is a year old, 7500 miles on it now and I'm still getting 12-15mpg. I'm filling up every 7 days now at $50-$55 a tank, costing me almost $300 a month.

When my lease is up end of this year, I will not be getting another CX7.

 

[Foolish]

Open trailer or box? If it was a box trailer, it wouldn't really matter what was in it, it was still going to murder your gas mileage!

Why exactly did you need to transport a sofa 150 miles, anyway? Does no one sell sofas where you live?

 

[CX-7owner]

When my lease is up end of this year, I will not be getting another CX7.

That changed pretty fast... I'm sure you have all the updates so I guess it's bad luck.

With AWD pissing on the MPG, a 4000LBS SUV+ You, the trailer, whatever else was on the trailer and a 4cyl turbocharged automatic what did you expect, an increase?

 

[AWmustang]

My CX7 is a year old, 7500 miles on it now and I'm still getting 12-15mpg. I'm filling up every 7 days now at $50-$55 a tank, costing me almost $300 a month.

When my lease is up end of this year, I will not be getting another CX7.

Ditto.... I knew my mileage would go down from my mustang... but it's worse than I expected. It's fun to drive but I would just rather spend my money elsewhere. Love just about everything else about it though.

 

[offset_98]

I don't know how you guys get such low mileage. We get 22 mpg all the time (unless I drive) which tells me its the driver, not the car. This is with my wife driving mixed driving 50/50.

 

[AWmustang]

Well part of my problem is that I can only get reformulated Gas with 10% ethanol and who knows what else in it.

Kills the mileage on my car. I just recently took a road trip. Got 295 miles out of the tank (took 15.6 gals) on the way out there. Filled up out there and got all the way back (205 miles) on half a tank. They don't have reformulated gas where I went. Drove the same both ways and weather and traffic were comparable.

My roomate used to work where they didn't have the reformulated gas. He got 2-3 MPG higher when he filled up by work. He was actually able to consistently get 26 mpg out of his Speed6 (EPA 25 highway). And trust me, he didn't drive like a Granny.

 

[mrlilguy157]

Well part of my problem is that I can only get reformulated Gas with 10% ethanol and who knows what else in it.

Kills the mileage on my car. I just recently took a road trip. Got 295 miles out of the tank (took 15.6 gals) on the way out there. Filled up out there and got all the way back (205 miles) on half a tank. They don't have reformulated gas where I went. Drove the same both ways and weather and traffic were comparable.

My roomate used to work where they didn't have the reformulated gas. He got 2-3 MPG higher when he filled up by work. He was actually able to consistently get 26 mpg out of his Speed6 (EPA 25 highway). And trust me, he didn't drive like a Granny.

i thought everyone knew that the ethanol decreased fuel mileage?

 

[AWmustang]

Yes but my last 2 cars (focus, Mustang) didn't seem to be effected. I was still able to get consistent MPG numbers between the city and highway EPA ratings on those cars with crap ethanol gas. And I was able to get very close or hit the highway rating on these cars on road trips.

However, in my CX-7 I can just barely get the city number with all highway driving. Even "good" gas doesn't help much.

Now I know that no one ever gets the rated EPA MPG in a car (especially with the old system). And I know that it depends on the driver and the weather and the type of gas. But if I had 2 previous cars where I was able to consistently get between the city and highway. And I haven't changed my location so weather and gas is the same. And as far as my driving, if anything I'm less aggressive. It just stands to reason that I should get somewhere between the city and highway ratings on this vehicle as well.

So while I expected worse gas mileage on the vehicle than on my others... I still expected somewhere between the 18 and 25 that it is rated at. Not a consistent 17 summer, 15 winter.

 

[mmolenda06]

I get around 15 mpg, normally. After reading some of the other mpg posts, this is normal, especially for the way I drive. In response to some of the other posts, we towed the sofa back becuase we got a great deal on it while we were visiting relatives. We probably put the money saved on the sofa in the tank. And no, I definitely didn't expect a mpg increase.