I have 2005 Tribute V6 purchased used 3 mos. ago with 40,000 miles. I've been monitoring the gas consumption and never above 20mpg, city driving. The last was 18.2mpg and considering that I use Premium gas #91. What could be wrong? Is there a wrong adjustment in the computer management? Anybody who has the same model consumed also this much fuel. My 2001 Mercedes E320 gets 24-26mpg city.

 

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm

2005 Tribute V6:

17 MPG City
23 MPG Highway


My 1998 Toyota Corolla got 38 MPG on a long highway trip.

Yeah... that was sweet!

 

Ahh...the gas mileage topic rears its head again!

Pidol, your Tribute is getting the same mpg that they all get. First, under your hood is a 3.0 Ford Duratec V6, which was introduced in 1995 in the Contour. It features technology that is well over 10 years old. Also, your Tribute and mine have only four speed automatic transmissions, which are not as efficient as the five and six speeds found in competitors. Ford powertrains have never been known for their fuel efficiency, either.

Things to keep in mind: your Tribute is a tall, boxy vehicle with all wheel drive (assuming yours has that feature) and a curb weight north of 3500 lbs. That's a lot of weight to pull around. While its gas mileage is worse than its competitors, its not THAT much worse...typically 1-2 mpg worse. Also, the Tribute is larger and heavier than the RAV4 V6 and the old Toyota Highlander.

I live in a rural area and about 90% of my miles are at 60+mph. This time of year in upstate NY, I get 20 mpg almost every tankful. Sometimes 21, sometimes 19. In the summer, I get 22, 23 if I am lucky. Best I've ever recorded was 27 on a long trip on state highways with a posted speed limit of 55 mph. Not many hills on that trip, and I cruised around 65 mph most of the time.

Speaking of highway driving, I have noted a huge difference between driving the Tribute at 70 mph vs. 75 mph. At 70 mph, 23 mpg is typical. However, just 5 mph faster, it drops down to 20! Amazing how the wind resistance can kill gas mileage. These recordings were taken on the same stretch of NYS Thruway, same time of year.

Other than its thirst for fuel, I hope you like your new Tribute!

One more thing...don't waste your money on high octane gas! 91 octane burns slower than 87, but there is no advantage because the engine management system senses the higher octane fuel and retards the timing. The only thing that higher octane gas offers is higher profit for the gas station owners.

NightSwimmer...

I have owned 3 Toyota Corollas...a 1993, 2000, 2002. The '93 and '00 were 5-speeds and 38 mpg was typical! My 2000 with the 1.8 often got 40+ mpg on trips with the cruise set at 70 mpg. I should've kept that one!

 

Long, long ago I had a dookie brown '73 2TC Hemi head Corolla Coupe. I put 350,000 miles on it and everything on it still worked when I traded it in for an '86 Toyota truck. (I did do one rebuild) A Porsche 911 tried and failed to pass me all the way from Tallahassee to Pensacola on Hwy 10 one day. Never under 110 mph. He shouldn't have pissed me off! I had to buy new tires when I got home. Betsy was a good 'un!

 

20MPG city would be a godsend for me...I get 17MPG city because I sit in so much traffic (in the summer it's typically around 19-20). It's just how it is though, because I get 31MPG highway. Go figure.

 

31 mpg highway? In what, a 323???

 

i get 20 hiway too,around town,it drops to 17. have a 2005 tribute 3.0 v-6,awd.also my 2002 ford escape same eng and awd,gets almost same. the new 2008 escape,v-6 3.o was recording 23 mpg and that was a hiway run,doing 75. maybe its geared higher. love all 3. remember,you can tow,load 'em up so the gas mpg is a little tradeoff. it's not a 323.

 

Late reply, but I drive a Malibu V6.

My personal best with it is 35MPG.