The results of switching from an SUV to FFH: saving $169/month

There's been alot of talk regarding the gas cost savings from switching to a hybrid. In every article I've read, it's been stated that the payback time from gas savings is so long that it doesn't justify the cost premium incurred in buying a hybrid. Doesn't matter what the hybrid really, whether it's a Prius, Fusion, whatever, because they cost thousands more then a conventional car, the savings take a long time to add up. I knew this going into purchasing my FFH and was undeterred by the math. I love driving the car and love being a little greener then I was before. But recently I decided to calculate what I've been saving each month from switching to the FFH. I've been saving ALOT. Here's the results.

My previous chariot was an Infiniti FX35. Nice ride and average mileage for the crossover SUV class. The car is rated 14-16 city and 23 highway. My long term mileage on the Infiniti has been 16 probably because our driving is almost entirely suburban. Now that I've owned the FFH for 8 months and it has over 10,000 miles on it I thought it would be pretty easy to do a gas cost comparison between the vehicles. Long term mileage on the FFH is 40.2 at this point. Running the calcs with my average mileage per month and cost of gas at $2.50/gallon gives a savings of. . .ta da. . .$169/month. And I double checked the math on this one.

One note: my FFH long term mileage was achieved during the warmer portion of the year. So some degradation of the long term mileage figure will occur during the winter months I'm certain. I will recalculate sometime in the spring. Still, $169/month for switching from a crossover to the FFH, that is just stunning. Even considering a reduction in figures from the winter, this is going to result in savings, I would predict of over $1500 in gas for the year. That is alot of money.

So, is this scientific? Well, no. It's just a lifestyle switch from an SUV to a high mileage hybrid. But it has been money in the pocket just the same.

Using your garage to improve MPG

Now that the temps are dropping in the northeast U.S. it has occurred to me that actually my garage can help me improve my MPG. Here's why. In the suburban style driving that I most often do, there is now a much longer warm up cycle whenever I start the FFH because of the colder air temps. This can be easily seen in the MPG figures which are reduced because of the longer engine warm up time. Simply put, it takes longer to warm up the car at 29 degrees in December then at 75 degrees in July. How reduced? I don't have a figure on that, and it definitely depends on the length of your trip. Once the FFH is warmed up, it's basically summertime in the car. It's just getting to that point takes more time. And more gas.

One thing that is making a difference is that I now bring the car into the garage. My garage is not heated, but it is actually warmer then the outside air temps simply because it is enclosed and picks up heat from the house.

I've noticed that the warm up times have been significantly reduced by utilizing this simple technique. Improving your mileage by using the garage, sounds crazy, but it seems to work.

Still, I'd like to do better. Warm up is still alot longer then July!

If anyone has any other ideas along these lines, feel free to let us know about them!

Wait. . .there's more

My gosh there are even more fun Sync commands. Here is the rest of the list. Thanks again to teapczynski!

My favorite: "I need Coffee"


Misc
Where am I
I Am Hungry
Gas: I need Gas or Find me some gas
Coffee: I need Coffee
Brew: I need a Brew

Personal & Emergency Services
Pharmacy: I need a Pharmacy or Find a Pharmacy
Veterinarian: I need a Veterinarian or Find a Veterinarian
Urgent Care Center: I need an Urgent Care Center or Find an Urgent Care Center
Hospital: I need a Hospital or Find the Hospital
Police: I need the Police or Find the Police
Post Office: I need a Post Office or Find a Post Office
Airport: I need an Airport or Find an Airport

Food
Grocery: I need Grocery or Find a Grocery Store
Fast Food: Find a Fast Food Restaurant
Mexican: Find a Mexican Restaurant
Chinese: Find a Chinese Restaurant
Pizza: Find a Pizza Parlor
American: Find an American Restaurant
Bistro: Find a Bistro Restaurant
Grill: Find a Grill Restaurant
Greek: Find a Greek Restaurant
Indian: Find a Indian Restaurant
Italian: Find a Italian Restaurant
Seafood: Find a Seafood Restaurant
Soul Food: Find a Soul Food Restaurant
Spanish: Find a Spanish Restaurant
Steak House: Find a Steak House Restaurant
Thai: Find a Thai Restaurant
Japanese: Find a Japanese Restaurant
Korean: Find a Korean Restaurant
Polish: Find a Polish Restaurant
Russian: Find a Russian Restaurant
Vietnamese: Find a Vietnamese Restaurant
Vegetarian: Find a Vegetarian Restaurant

Sync fun commands

Teapczynski pointed out in a recent post that the Ford dealer indicated that there were a series of unique fun commands that one can use with Sync, if your FFH is equipped with the full navigation system. This is surprising and rather cool stuff!

Here is the list (thanks to Teapczynski for this list) of commands:

Personal Services

Barber Shop: Find a Barber Shop  
Spa: Find me a Spa  
Beauty Salon: Find a Beauty Salon  
Nail Salon: Find a Nail Salon  
Fitness Center: Find a Fitness Center

Sports & Entertainment
 
Race Track: Find a Race Track  
RV Park: Find a RV Park  
Campground: Find a Campground  
Zoo: Find a Zoo  
Museum: Find a Museum  
Amusement Park: Find a Amusement Park  
Sports Complex: Find a Sports Complex  
Ski Resort: Find a Ski Resort  
Ice Rink: Find an Ice Rink  
Bowling: Find a Bowling Ally  
Golf Course: Find a Golf Course  
Marina: I need a Marina or Find a Marina  
 
Stores & Shops
 
Book Store: I need a Book Store or Find a Book Store  
Atm: I need an Atm or Find an Atm  
Bank: I need a Bank or Find a Bank  
Parking: I need Parking or Find a Parking Lot  
Video Rental: Find a Video Rental Store  
Movie Rental: Find a Movie Rental Store  
Movie Theater: Find a Movie Theater  
Wine & Liquor: I need a Wine & Liquor Store or Find a Wine & Liquor Store  
Cleaners: I need a Cleaners or Find a Cleaners  
Florist: I need a Florist or Find a Florist  
Tailor: I need a Tailor or Find a Tailor  
Night Club: I need a Night Club or Find a Night Club  
Casino: I need a Casino or Find a Casino  
Rest Area: I need a Rest Area or Find a Rest Area  
Accommodations: I need Accommodations or Find me Accommodations  
Motel: I need a Motel or Find a Motel  
Hotel: I need a Hotel or Find a Hotel  
Electronics: I need Electronics or Find a Electronics Store  
Hardware: I need a Hardware Store or Find a Hardware Store  
Home And Garden Center: I need a Home And Garden Center or Find a Home And Garden Center  
Office Supplies: I need a Office Supplies or Find a Office Supplies  
Shoes: I need Shoes or Find a Shoes Store  
Computer: I need a Computer Store or Find a Computer Store  
Convienience: I need a Convienience Store or Find a Convienience Store  
Wholesale Club: I need a Wholesale Club or Find a Wholesale Club  
Shopping Center: I need a Shopping Center or Find a Shopping Center  
Department: I need a Department Store or Find a Department Store  
Discount: I need a Discount Store or Find a Discount Store

Automotive
 
Towing: I need Towing or Find a Towing Service 
Auto Parts: I need Auto Parts or Find an Auto Parts Store 
Car Wash: I need a Car Wash or Find a Car Wash  
Oil Change: I need an Oil Change or Find an Oil Change Shop 
Rental Car: I need a Rental Car or Find a Rental Car  
Auto Dealer: I need an Auto Dealer or Find an Auto Dealer  
Auto Repair: I need an Auto Repair or Find an Auto Repair Shop  

Fusion Hybrid problem solved. . .by rebooting car?

Interesting post in the last week from Steve in which he described an odd problem that occurred with gauges. Basically the needles on the PWR, ACC, and MPG readouts were bouncing around sporadically and at the same time the numerical readout for MPG just stayed at 0.00. Thought I'd elevate this to a post to see if anyone else has had a similar problem.

Ford dealership didn't really know what to make of it. But, the good news is that the problem corrected itself after the Fusion Hybrid was turned off and back on several times.

Which leads one to think: sounds a hell of alot like the problem was solved by "rebooting the Fusion" so to speak. Which would make sense because, as Steve points out, the car is basically like one big computer.

If anyone else has had similar behavior please give us a post with details of what happened and how it was solved.

Saving gas, time, and money with Sync Navigation

Although the main idea of this blog is maximizing mileage in the FFH, I've been so intrigued with the (free) Sync update
with turn-by-turn nav that I'm entering another report. Here's how Sync helped me out a couple of days ago.

Tuesday evening I was in Boston in the height of rush hour right before Thanksgiving. In the drizzling rain. I had detailed directions to an address by me on the passenger seat, but I missed a turn and suddenly found myself in unknown territory. It was one of those situations in which the problem was not an easy one to undo. I would have to get back on a parkway going in the opposite direction and then figure out how to get off and then head back the opposite way. Doable but a pain. And I was tight for time for my meeting.

I decided to get Sync to help me out. I pulled over and looked up the exact street address, then, with voice commands quickly went through the nav menu. Sync very quickly figured out a route and guided me through a part of town I have never been in, connecting me with a direct, but highly intelligent route to my destination. I was parked in front of the office within 10 minutes. I was quite impressed.

And guess what? I had saved gas in the process. Didn't have to head back up the parkway and then back again to pick up where I had left off. Didn't have to try to figure out some new route on my own. That's the thing, this Sync system will, in most cases I'm finding, provide a route that is the shortage to your destination. That means driving less and saving gas. All good stuff.

New record: 80.4 MPG

I recently set a new MPG record on the test loop that I run. This loop starts at my driveway, runs between 8 and 9 miles through suburban roads and ends right where I started. In this case the battery was highly charged when I left and had a midpoint charge when I returned, which does factor into the high mileage figure. However, this effect is somewhat diminished over the time and length of the route.

I've been looking forward for some time to breaking 80 MPG. And guess what, I believe there may be a little more MPG in there still! Which means that this may not be the highest figure that I can attain.

How are your figures? If you have some mileage numbers to share, please feel free to post 'em.