GT Highway Gas Mileage in Cold Weather

[fjaquish]

I don't want to start a spat on this forum, but I am very disappointed in what I am currently experiencing with the gas mileage of my 2023 Corsair GT.

I left Vermont on Monday and headed for Minnesota, where it has been very cold. I reached my destination on Wednesday. I traveled I80/I90 most of the way. I cruise at 75mph when I can. We hit some bad weather around Buffalo and East of Chicago, but it really was not that much. Most of the time the temperatures were between 0F and 15F, pretty darn cold.

I am now 1403 miles into my trip and have consumed 58.52 gals of fuel. I keep a spread sheet.

This is an average of 23.98 mpg, just horrible in my opinion. I have filled up 9 times, I can barely get 200 miles before I feel the need to fill up since in these conditions, I don't let it get below 1/4 tank.

So, is there something wrong with my Corsair GT or is this what I should expect for cold weather highway mileage?

Thanks, Fred

 

[NJRonbo]

Cold weather kills your battery. Kills it!

For instance, during the Summer I can expect 34 miles of pure EV. Currently, in the NJ cold of 19 degrees, I am getting 24 miles.

So, yes, the cold weather is affecting your pure EV and hybrid performance.

 

[fjaquish]

I do not think this has much to do with the battery. At highway speeds, 70-75mph, the GT is in pure ICE mode.

I think the GT is rated for 33mpg highway. I expect some decline in the cold temps, but primarily during the warm up period. What I a experiencing seems way out of line.

Cold weather kills your battery. Kills it!

For instance, during the Summer I can expect 34 miles of pure EV. Currently, in the NJ cold of 19 degrees, I am getting 24 miles.

So, yes, the cold weather is affecting your pure EV and hybrid performance.

 

[NJRonbo]

I do not think this has much to do with the battery. At highway speeds, 70-75mph, the GT is in pure ICE mode.

I think the GT is rated for 33mpg highway. I expect some decline in the cold temps, but primarily during the warm up period. What I a experiencing seems way out of line.

Unless I am wrong, as the Corsair GT is a hybrid vehicle, doesn't the battery play a part in providing better MPG?

I know in the winter, my MPG drastically decreases due to hybrid battery performance issues. And this isn't just the Corsair GT. I had a Lincoln MKZ hybrid prior to my GT and it suffered from the same dramatic MPG drop issues in cold weather.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[dogo88]

Under Normal mode, when the battery depletes the GT goes into hybrid mode. At speeds where the electric motor does not get engaged it's only the ICE that runs the GT. Those speeds, I believe are in the 60-65mph range. Once past that speed a lot depends on weather and driving method. Conservative, coasting downhill techniques can get better mileage.

I do mainly local trips but I did do one long drive at the higher speeds and it was all ICE with dashboard mileage listed at 33 mpg. It was not winter and was not cold. One poster in the forum has indicated that he ran with Excite mode rather than Normal and the battery was charged during the trip. Not to full, but still useable in EV mod when they were under the highway speeds. I have not had a chance to try it out yet.

 

[fjaquish]

Yes, the battery plays a huge role, especially on short trips. However, at highway speeds it is primarily an ICE powered vehicle. My previous Hybrid vehicle was a Ford Fusion, which got about 35 mpg on the highway and was affected very little by cold temperatures. Frankly, I am shocked that the Corsair GT does so poorly. If this is the norm, why would they put in such a small fuel tank, I can barely get 200miles between fill ups.

 

[fjaquish]

Under Normal mode, when the battery depletes the GT goes into hybrid mode. At speeds where the electric motor does not get engaged it's only the ICE that runs the GT. Those speeds, I believe are in the 60-65mph range. Once past that speed a lot depends on weather and driving method. Conservative, coasting downhill techniques can get better mileage.

I do mainly local trips but I did do one long drive at the higher speeds and it was all ICE with dashboard mileage listed at 33 mpg. It was not winter and was not cold. One poster in the forum has indicated that he ran with Excite mode rather than Normal and the battery was charged during the trip. Not to full, but still useable in EV mod when they were under the highway speeds. I have not had a chance to try it out yet.

Thanks, I did try different modes, I saw no difference in the mileage.

 

[dogo88]

My two previous vehicles were a 2010 and 2019 FFH, both of which got better highway mileage, like you did. Not sure why but the GT is larger, heavier and a PHEV rather than the hybrid. Something about the PHEV programming is very different than the hybrid programming. In the FFH it was easier to keep the battery charged while driving. The GT not so obvious.

From what I've read the gas tank was a balance between vehicle weight battery size. A larger tank wouldn't fit. I will say that one big plus for me was the GT has a spare tire and not a patch kit like my 2019 FFH did.

My point on using Excite mode was to gain some battery charge when in a situation where I had to drive at high speeds. I haven't found any mode that charges up the battery without sacrificing some ICE mpg.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[TimCooper]

Thanks, I did try different modes, I saw no difference in the mileage.

I’ll chime in on this topic as I have done in the past. On our 22 GT we are currently seeing charge rates of 32 to 34km in cold weather (-30° C) (yes Canadian ). I never look at individual trip mileage but watch average mileage over the entire life of ownership. Typically the way I handle highway driving is to run in Pure EV mode which will drain the drive batteries fairly quickly. Once battery is drained I will switch drive mode to Preserve EV mode which will run the ICE as well as charge the drive battery. Once it reaches 80% charge I switch it back to Pure EV and drain battery again. I have used this process a few times and have driven a full highway trip with 30% just on Battery. Now I am not sure of the mileage of each trip but my over all average remains about the same. The best average Mpg I have over 19000 kms (12000 miles) is 3.9 L/100 km (73mpg)
At present my mpg is sitting at 4.5L/100 km (63 mpg) this is after loaning our Corsair GT to our son in law for a 600 km (350 Mike) highway trip and he only drove it in normal mode.
I will add the cold weather does effect MPG and living in Canada we are a prime experiment on how bad it can get (-40° C windchill this morning ). I look forward to the warm weather months ahead!!
Tim.

 

[Rick816]

I don't want to start a spat on this forum, but I am very disappointed in what I am currently experiencing with the gas mileage of my 2023 Corsair GT.

I left Vermont on Monday and headed for Minnesota, where it has been very cold. I reached my destination on Wednesday. I traveled I80/I90 most of the way. I cruise at 75mph when I can. We hit some bad weather around Buffalo and East of Chicago, but it really was not that much. Most of the time the temperatures were between 0F and 15F, pretty darn cold.

I am now 1403 miles into my trip and have consumed 58.52 gals of fuel. I keep a spread sheet.

This is an average of 23.98 mpg, just horrible in my opinion. I have filled up 9 times, I can barely get 200 miles before I feel the need to fill up since in these conditions, I don't let it get below 1/4 tank.

So, is there something wrong with my Corsair GT or is this what I should expect for cold weather highway mileage?

Thanks, Fred

Fred, I was literally going to post the exact same thing this morning! I just got back yesterday from a 160 mile trip of all highway driving, with the cruise control set at 78-80 mph, and the temp ranged between 0 and 9 degrees Fahrenheit. I averaged between 22 and 23 mpg for the trip. I initially had the car in Normal mode, and then moved it to Conserve to see if that helped (which it did not). My 23 GT only has 2,100 miles on it. I know that in general cars don't get their optimum gas mileage until they are well broken in and have between 5K and 10K miles (in my experience), but this is usually only a very small percentage difference. But I was shocked at the fact that I averaged 10 mpg less than what it's rated for. I considered taking it to the dealer so see if something was wrong. I won't need to do that now, since other GT owners are experiencing the same thing. I've only had the car since December 21st (less than a month), so I'll have to see if this improves in the warmer temperatures. All I can say is that I'm extremely disappointed with the gas mileage I'm getting, and with the tiny gas tank it's the opposite of what I wanted (longer between fill ups). I fully understand the smaller range in Pure EV mode, since it's well documented that cold weather significantly impacts EV batteries, and that does not bother me at all. I specifically chose this vehicle and model (GT) for the gas mileage, and avoided other non-hybrid vehicles because I wanted something with higher highway MPG than upper 20's. I have a Corvette that I drive in the summer, so this is my Michigan winter vehicle, so better mpg in the summer isn't going to help my situation. I may contact Lincoln and see if there's anything that they will do. Depending upon Lincoln's response, I may contact the EPA/DOT to report this situation.

 

[fjaquish]

I am sa

Fred, I was literally going to post the exact same thing this morning! I just got back yesterday from a 160 mile trip of all highway driving, with the cruise control set at 78-80 mph, and the temp ranged between 0 and 9 degrees Fahrenheit. I averaged between 22 and 23 mpg for the trip. I initially had the car in Normal mode, and then moved it to Conserve to see if that helped (which it did not). My 23 GT only has 2,100 miles on it. I know that in general cars don't get their optimum gas mileage until they are well broken in and have between 5K and 10K miles (in my experience), but this is usually only a very small percentage difference. But I was shocked at the fact that I averaged 10 mpg less than what it's rated for. I considered taking it to the dealer so see if something was wrong. I won't need to do that now, since other GT owners are experiencing the same thing. I've only had the car since December 21st (less than a month), so I'll have to see if this improves in the warmer temperatures. All I can say is that I'm extremely disappointed with the gas mileage I'm getting, and with the tiny gas tank it's the opposite of what I wanted (longer between fill ups). I fully understand the smaller range in Pure EV mode, since it's well documented that cold weather significantly impacts EV batteries, and that does not bother me at all. I specifically chose this vehicle and model (GT) for the gas mileage, and avoided other non-hybrid vehicles because I wanted something with higher highway MPG than upper 20's. I have a Corvette that I drive in the summer, so this is my Michigan winter vehicle, so better mpg in the summer isn't going to help my situation. I may contact Lincoln and see if there's anything that they will do. Depending upon Lincoln's response, I may contact the EPA/DOT to report this situation.

I was kind of hoping my GT had an issue. I guess 'it is what it is'...but it certainly is not what was advertised. We like the vehicle, but this takes a bit of the shine off of it.

 

[Rick816]

I am sa

I was kind of hoping my GT had an issue. I guess 'it is what it is'...but it certainly is not what was advertised. We like the vehicle, but this takes a bit of the shine off of it.

I agree 100%. I really like the vehicle otherwise.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[RedHoncho]

Driving excessively above 70 MPH will greatly diminish your MPG. Terrain also plays a factor as well as whether you punch the accelerator or gradually accelerate.

I have driven long trips using most of the drive modes. Conserve will preserve your battery to 80%ish but will do so at great expense to your MPG. Excite mode will also preserve your battery to 80%ish but provides better MPG for whatever reason. Normal mode will deplete your battery to 0% but will provide the best MPG.

I have a 2021 GT with nearly 25,000 miles. During my long haul trips of 600 miles each way, I average around 35 MPG.

 

[BIC]

Hard to make comparisons. In early April, with 2,500 miles on my 2022 GT odo, we took a 700 mile Interstate trip in cool Midwest temps, maybe 40ish degrees. Tanks averaged between 25-32 mpg. At the end of July with 5,500 on the odo, took a 1,000 mile Interstate trip. Tanks averaged 30-35 mpg. All in Normal mode. A little better than my Corvette C7.

 

[G-485080]

Driving excessively above 70 MPH will greatly diminish your MPG. Terrain also plays a factor as well as whether you punch the accelerator or gradually accelerate.

I have driven long trips using most of the drive modes. Conserve will preserve your battery to 80%ish but will do so at great expense to your MPG. Excite mode will also preserve your battery to 80%ish but provides better MPG for whatever reason. Normal mode will deplete your battery to 0% but will provide the best MPG.

I have a 2021 GT with nearly 25,000 miles. During my long haul trips of 600 miles each way, I average around 35 MPG.

I90/I80 is pretty flat. Cruise has pretty smooth throttle management. I will cruise as fast as the speed limit and conditions will allow, that is highway driving. My previous Hybrid vehicles did this at 35+ mpg.

 

[greerl]

Driving excessively above 70 MPH will greatly diminish your MPG. Terrain also plays a factor as well as whether you punch the accelerator or gradually accelerate.

I have driven long trips using most of the drive modes. Conserve will preserve your battery to 80%ish but will do so at great expense to your MPG. Excite mode will also preserve your battery to 80%ish but provides better MPG for whatever reason. Normal mode will deplete your battery to 0% but will provide the best MPG.

I have a 2021 GT with nearly 25,000 miles. During my long haul trips of 600 miles each way, I average around 35 MPG.

Your description of mode differences is consistent with neither my 2023 GT manual, my experience, nor with what you'd expect from the names. Only Preserve mode keeps battery charge, Conserve reduces performance to improve range and should be your best mpg; Excite the worst.

See manual page 364 for official descriptions.

As for original poster's poor mpg, though child weather certainly will degrade mpg, the bigger contributor would be excessive speed. Think maybe max of 55-60 to expect good mpg.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[RedHoncho]

Your description of mode differences is consistent with neither my 2023 GT manual, my experience, nor with what you'd expect from the names. Only Preserve mode keeps battery charge, Conserve reduces performance to improve range and should be your best mpg; Excite the worst.

See manual page 364 for official descriptions.

As for original poster's poor mpg, though child weather certainly will degrade mpg, the bigger contributor would be excessive speed. Think maybe max of 55-60 to expect good mpg.

I’m going off personal experience. Excite mode does charge the battery not only during braking but also during deceleration especially down hills. In my vehicle, the Preserve mode did keep battery at about 80% but I got horrible gas mileage at 27MPG. Conserve mode also will improve gas mileage but at the expense of performance.

 

[kingdre]

Yall are funny. So, is there something wrong with my Corsair GT or is this what I should expect for cold weather highway mileage? @greerl is correct. The Corsair weights 500+ lbs more than the Ford Fusion hybrid. I've had the FFH and the MKZh, plus as this is my second Corsair GT. Shockingly, the MKZ got less mileage with the same system. Why? its heavier. The same principles that apply to an ICE vehicle also apply. Forget the fact the original post said less than 10k miles. The engine still has to break in. Even the EV motor and battery breaking in time to get going. Last I checked, most manuals tell the driver/owner something like that for the first 2000-5000 miles of breaking it in. Second, just like the AC/heat hurt the ICE mileage, the same goes for the Corsair. Plus, I know at that temperature, you are running the heat, defroster, etc. That further kills mileage.

"This is an average of 23.98 mpg, just horrible in my opinion. I have filled up 9 times, I can barely get 200 miles before I feel the need to fill up since in these conditions, I don't let it get below 1/4 tank."

Plus, I challenge your math. Its an 11 gallon tank. that's 99 gallons. If you fill up at 1/4 left, it should be 75 gallons. I too keep gas logs. I've driven 700+ miles several times with one fill up after a full tank. Even in hybrid mode, I've gotten 38.4 and 36.3. The worst I ever got was during Christmas, which is why I know all of these things. That tank was 33.2, but all of these in the summer. The best tank I've ever done was 1761 miles. I plugged up CONSISTENTLY, but only got gas once in five weeks lol.

First problem of cold weather, if the temperature reads under 32, is that the vehicle will start the engine. NOTHING you can do about it. I believe its part of the programming to keep the ICE in great condition. In EV mode, if you run the car heat, seat heaters, and steering wheel heater, you will blow through EV miles too.

Finally, another poster said this too: do not worry about the individual trips. You haven't had the vehicle long enough to compare trips. The Corsair is programmed to learn to drive WITH your style to maximize mileage. There really is an increase when you drive in conserve mode. Why? It charges the battery enough to then go back into EV mode in shorter sprints. Did you check for chargers when you stopped? You can always pick up 10 EV miles in an hour, then use that to get more EV miles.

hope that helps.

 

[kingdre]

Your description of mode differences is consistent with neither my 2023 GT manual, my experience, nor with what you'd expect from the names. Only Preserve mode keeps battery charge, Conserve reduces performance to improve range and should be your best mpg; Excite the worst.

See manual page 364 for official descriptions.

As for original poster's poor mpg, though child weather certainly will degrade mpg, the bigger contributor would be excessive speed. Think maybe max of 55-60 to expect good mpg.

So true. I've learned that if I drive highway at 55-65, i get more EV miles. Plus, I'll take the street if it only costs me 10 minutes of travel time lol.

 

[BIC]

I regularly drive to a relative's house about 30 miles one-way. In Normal mode, that pretty much gets me near 0 battery by arrival. On the return trip, in Normal, while I stay at and arrive at 0 battery, the trip computer tells me about 10 miles of the return trip was on battery. My guess is that would be what I generate driving, similar to a pure hybrid.