I mostly maintained a speed of 70-80 kmph and despite that, I wasn’t the slowest car on the highway and must have overtaken a bunch of vehicles.
BHPian ashis89 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Mileage Run
Coyote has been averaging 15.95 kmpl over the last 80k kms. I have wondered at times how easy it would be to clock 20+ kmpl but could come close only a handful of times. Until now.
Apart from two airport runs over the last weekend, I also made an unplanned visit to Kurnool to catch up with a friend. I ended up starting earlier than expected (had crossed Devanahalli by 8AM) and hence, decided to go slow until Kurnool. Since I was going slow, I decided to drive conservatively and see what kind of mileage I could achieve on a pure highway stretch. I had read that Shell has reduced its prices so I tanked up (auto-cut) at Shell Devanahalli before my miserly run.
Maintained speeds of 70-80 kmph mostly throughout the next 320-odd kms. Despite that, I wasn’t driving the slowest car on the road and must have overtaken a bunch who were lot a more patient than me. Anticipated the tolls, speedbreakers, slow moving trucks and I slowed down in advance and accelerated gently while moving away. No compromise on comfort, AC was on full time as the temperature outside was hovering around 32-33.
Despite all this miserly behavior, the average speed was 65 kmph when I reached Kurnool. That’s the beauty of the Hyderabad highway if one is lucky to get an early start. The MID indicated a 24.6kmpl for the boring drive.
For the return leg, I was torn between letting go of the boring drive and remaining true to the miserly goal. So I took the middle path, mostly sticking to 80-90 kmph and being liberal with the acceleration at times. Reached Shell Devanahalli (the new one on this side of the road) and tanked up again.
- Distance: 655 kms
- Fuel: 29.2 litres
- FE: 22.44 kmpl
Pros:
- Good fuel efficiency (less wear and tear?)
- Less engine and wind noise
- More reaction time
- Able to locate unmarked speedbreakers, obstructions, etc.
- Lesser chances of getting a speeding ticket!
Cons:
- Boring drive. Can test your patience if the traffic density is high
- Increased travel time; can make a significant difference on long trips
- All other noises like road/tyre/AC blower noise are more evident
- Risk from other faster-moving vehicles who were impatient to overtake me
When I went in to refuel after the return leg, the gauge was showing little more than half tank fuel still left. Yet the 50L tank took in 29 litres of fuel, until autocut. Either the autocut doesn’t stop at 50L mark or the needle was actually less than half or the dispenser is faulty or all the above.
A couple of kms before refueling
After covering 655 kms on the previous tankful, the DTE range was showing 473 kms. After refuelling, it jumped to 998 kms(only).
Later in the night, when I went to the airport again, I noticed the trip FE on the MID was higher than I usually see on airport runs under similar conditions. Not sure if this miserly run had made the car rethink its drinking habits.
Don’t have many trip photos as I barely stopped anywhere on either of the legs of the trips
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