Hello All, I have a 05 330xi, just wondering whats would be the mileage for city/Hwy driving, i am not getting above 17miles per gallon, with existing gas prices 17 is not great. Any suggestions for better mileage? Thanks in advance
As fun as your car is, you've got to baby it to get decent gas mileage. Is most of your driving city or highway? Do you deal with traffic? If you deal with mostly city OR you do highway but with traffic, then that's why your mileage is poor. Traffic can suck your gas up like it was an alcoholic drinking a Budweiser. Also, on the highway, what kinds of roads do you go on? Lots of mountainous ascents or lots of turns? These kinds of roads are really bad as well. The long upgrades are really a killer; I struggle to maintain 60 and do over 20 mpg on those kinds of hills. These kinds of things you can't really do anything about. I can attest to babying it though; there was a time when I could only get about 250 miles to a tank and just today I have my fuel gauge showing just under a 1/4 and I've done about 300 miles. I figure I've got about 40 miles I can get out of it before it goes poof. I suggest you watch your fuel economy gauge like a hawk if you want to maximize your economy; it'll tell you how much fuel you're using the way you are currently driving. You should have one of these bad boys; I think the E46's still had em'.
Thanks for the reply AZ3579. I deal mostly with City 35Mile Speed limit as there is heavy traffic on the interstate. One thing that i noticed was if i am doing 45miles, mileage drops but if i do 30 i get extra mileage. Also my buddy has a 330i and he is getting 30MPG but its all HWY driving for him. I was wondering may be being an AWD its sucking gas big time.
The AWD definitely doesn't help your mileage, but that's something you can't do anything about. It's definitely your city driving that's killing gas. The city route may be faster in some respect, but every time you start off again after a stop (I assume there are lots of lights and stop signs) is when it's eating the most fuel. Stop at a light and you'll be doing maybe 5 miles to the gallon starting off again until you level out your acceleration. If you were to do all highway miles, I have no doubt you'd be able to maintain at least 28mpg. In your case, I don't think there's much you can do, other than get a job somewhere where you're going opposite of traffic.
^+1 I have a '02 330xi and i get about 18.9 mpg per a whole tank on average. I would say I drive probably 80-90% city driving too. Like az3579 said, you have got to baby it. Play with throttle position on your take-offs to see how your economy needle reacts. There have been some RARE instances when I have gotten upwards of 21 mpg in my city driving just from driving it like a minivan! As for optimal speeds, I have noticed that a nice, easy cruising speed of around 30mph and 48mph gets me the best economy. (disclaimer: once you reach that speed, you have to closely monitor your speed, peddal position, and economy needle to maintain your good mpg!) On the other hand, highway mileage is pretty easy to come by. Typically get ~30mpg on the highway easy! ~32mpg if I "baby it"! Enjoy the learning process! It's fun and challenging!
