2004 XC70 MPG on 91 Octane (US)

Post by **E Showell** » 08 Apr 2019, 16:19

Around town the XC70 gets piggish mileage -- around 19. No surprises there.

I've been running it lately and on a diet of 2/3 highway to 1/3 stop and go, and driving for mileage, not speed, I have the Avg. MPG readout window at 24.2 and still climbing. That's with 91 octane gas.

I'm pretty happy with that MPG considering the size, weight and aerodynamics of the car.

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 09 Apr 2019, 05:35

E Showell wrote: ↑08 Apr 2019, 16:19 I'm pretty happy with that MPG considering the size, weight and aerodynamics of the car.

Aerodynamics of a second generation V70 ....

You have a car with one of the lowest coefficient of drag.

The second generation V70 coefficient of drag is 0.30 cd.
Better then a a Koenigsegg Agera R, 0.37 cd.
Better then a Porsche 918, 0.34 cd
Matches a Ferrari LaFerrari, 0.30 cd.

Post by **Rattnalle** » 09 Apr 2019, 05:48

RickHaleParker wrote: ↑09 Apr 2019, 05:35
E Showell wrote: ↑08 Apr 2019, 16:19 I'm pretty happy with that MPG considering the size, weight and aerodynamics of the car.
Aerodynamics of a second generation V70 .... You have a car with one of the lowest coefficient of drag.

The second generation V70 coefficient of drag is 0.30 cd.
Better then a a Koenigsegg Agera R, 0.37 cd.
Better then a Porsche 918, 0.34 cd
Matches a Ferrari LaFerrari, 0.30 cd.

The XCs AWD more than makes up for that

Post by **mrbrian200** » 09 Apr 2019, 07:26

Pretty much all the P1/P2s have low drag coefficients for their size class/body style. The XC90's come in around 0.35 cd which blows most other large SUVs out of the water. Again AWD equipped on many tends to ruin the party a bit. But keep in mind many of the other competing SUVs have have AWD or 4WD also. My cousin's Tahoe (which is a 4WD system that is RWD most of the time) gets 13.7 MPG on the highway and is just awful in town.. 8mpg at best. My sisters AWD XC90 gets in the neighborhood of 15/28.. more like a typical full size sedan, not a large SUV.
The S60 sits at 0.28 CD in line with a Honda civic. My FWD LPT S60 gets within a couple mpg (on the highway) of a friends '15 Civic HF. I get 37-41 whereas the Civic gets 39-43 mpg. On a 100 mile drive, One measly dollar extra for gas is a small price to pay for the ride quality and interior comfort compared to the Civic. This is one of the reasons I bought a S60. Most of the competing mid size sedans and SUVs of the era can't match the superior combination of comfort/ride quality/fuel economy that the P1/P2s pull off regardless of 'drivetrain configuration'. Even the most 'guzzly' Volvos (V8/high pressure turbo with AWD) still do better than most of the comparable performance/AWD models competing in whatever size/weight/performance class you're looking at excepting some of the TDI equipped Passats/Audis. But I shied away from those as VAG tended to pair the TDI engine with the low/base interior packages, whereas a 'nicely equipped' beautiful inside and out relatively miserly Volvo really wasn't that difficult to find.

Post by **matthew1** » 09 Apr 2019, 07:45

RickHaleParker wrote: ↑09 Apr 2019, 05:35
E Showell wrote: ↑08 Apr 2019, 16:19 I'm pretty happy with that MPG considering the size, weight and aerodynamics of the car.
Aerodynamics of a second generation V70 .... You have a car with one of the lowest coefficient of drag.

The second generation V70 coefficient of drag is 0.30 cd.
Better then a a Koenigsegg Agera R, 0.37 cd.
Better then a Porsche 918, 0.34 cd
Matches a Ferrari LaFerrari, 0.30 cd.

Supercars tend to have aerodynamics that create tremendous downforce at the expense of cd/top speed. Generally track cars are set up for one or the other.

Post by **matthew1** » 09 Apr 2019, 07:49

E Showell wrote: ↑08 Apr 2019, 16:19 Around town the XC70 gets piggish mileage -- around 19. No surprises there.

I've been running it lately and on a diet of 2/3 highway to 1/3 stop and go, and driving for mileage, not speed, I have the Avg. MPG readout window at 24.2 and still climbing. That's with 91 octane gas.

I'm pretty happy with that MPG considering the size, weight and aerodynamics of the car.

Yea that's not bad. If you can, test on pure highway, starting the calculation/calculator when you get up to speed on the highway. Or if it's an entire tank of highway, don't worry about that caveat.

Highway is the only apples-apples test in my book. Every City experience is different, unless you're matching the US or Euro City run exactly. Which would be weird and awesome at the same time, and I'd love to hear about it

.

Post by **oragex** » 09 Apr 2019, 09:30

It also comes down to the engine running condition (sensors, etc). I'm rather jealous when I read about people getting 20mpg in city driving, I get rather 15mpg. Yes it's very low, I suspect something with the engine management, but still, the area where I drive has lots of stops and traffic lights so the mileage is greatly affected. My engine is the non turbo/automatic. On the highway however I get close to 40mpg at 65mph, very pleased, only I don't really drive on highway.

Post by **Rattnalle** » 09 Apr 2019, 09:49

oragex wrote: ↑09 Apr 2019, 09:30 It also comes down to the engine running condition (sensors, etc). I'm rather jealous when I read about people getting 20mpg in city driving, I get rather 15mpg. Yes it's very low, I suspect something with the engine management, but still, the area where I drive has lots of stops and traffic lights so the mileage is greatly affected. My engine is the non turbo/automatic. On the highway however I get close to 40mpg at 65mph, very pleased, only I don't really drive on highway.

The AT really kills efficiency in city driving on these cars. The manuals can achieve 25-27 mpg city as long as there isn't too much congestion. Good luck getting more than 20-ish in an AT even if it's in good condition.

15 mpg is another 30-40% more fuel than I use in city driving on my AT so it does sound like something is wrong there.

Post by **matthew1** » 09 Apr 2019, 10:06

oragex wrote: ↑09 Apr 2019, 09:30 It also comes down to the engine running condition (sensors, etc). I'm rather jealous when I read about people getting 20mpg in city driving, I get rather 15mpg.

Well that's the problem I have with city, or should I say "City". New suburbs tend to have long stretches of timed lights, like the new Denver suburbs to the far north or far south of the city. Good for MPG. Downtown Seattle for instance is the opposite. Traffic, monster hills, gridlock. But that's "City" also. They're really not comparable.

Post by **Rattnalle** » 09 Apr 2019, 10:10

matthew1 wrote: ↑09 Apr 2019, 10:06
oragex wrote: ↑09 Apr 2019, 09:30 It also comes down to the engine running condition (sensors, etc). I'm rather jealous when I read about people getting 20mpg in city driving, I get rather 15mpg.
Well that's the problem I have with city, or should I say "City". New suburbs tend to have long stretches of timed lights, like the new Denver suburbs to the far north or far south of the city. Good for MPG. Downtown Seattle for instance is the opposite. Traffic, monster hills, gridlock. But that's "City" also. They're really not comparable.

Over here we avoid lights and mostly use roundabouts instead. Keeps it moving mostly which is also good for fuel economy.