Jerry~ I get about 28.8 mpg's on a daily commute which involves highway and hills and in-town driving. Closer to 25 just driving around town. Been up to 33.8 strictly highway.
Nice. That's up there with a Honda Fit, but with more versatility and less stereotyping :grin:
However, how does the XB perform when it is loaded down?
When loaded down with 4 ~200 lb dudes and some minor luggage, the Honda Fit feels like it is towing a boat...on a trailer with no wheels (like those old oil commercials). This is on flat highway travel, from Baltimore to Virginia Beach. Nary a hill to be found.
Trying to drive the same trip through Appalachia to get to Columbus, OH from Baltimore was an exercise in patience. Driving up the mountain inclines was a Sisyphean task, and was only accomplished without getting outpaced by semis by flagrantly speeding on the downhills.
Needless to say, my MPG suffered. It wasn't much better than the ST after all of that, and I'd have paid the premium for driving my ST to actually have
power at my command.
(Also, the ST's mileage isn't as volatile IME. One person, 4 people, the mileage is essentially the same)
I will say that the Fit, with the "sport" package, outperformed the similarly-loaded 1999 Ford Escort ZX2 on the same mountain trip. It pains me to say that.
What I'm trying to say is, does the XB take a noticeable dive in performance & mileage when it is loaded up?
