2013~2016 City MPG better than highway MPG? 2016 CX-5

[Philip B]

I've owned my 2016 CX-5 Sport for just over three years now, and I've noticed something that seems odd -- I always seem to get about ~29 MPG in the city (which is great!), but only ~23 MPG on the highway (pretty disappointing). Is that normal for this vehicle? I thought only hybrids got worse fuel economy on the highway than around town.

I drive from Arizona to the Los Angeles area a few times a year, with most of the trip cruising at 75 mph. On my recent trip over Labor Day weekend, I started from Tucson AZ with an ~80% tank of gas, and I came dangerously close to running out before reaching my usual fill-up location near the California border, about 250 miles away from home. That tank took me less than 300 miles! That seems off to me, but I haven't seen anyone else post about a similar issue.

Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[Unobtanium]

Typical, if you have any wind at all. The cx5 without the turbo is very underpowered for driving on open roads. Hated that about mine. Good city car. Horrible touring car. The turbo model fixes this.

 

[yrwei52]

I've owned my 2016 CX-5 Sport for just over three years now, and I've noticed something that seems odd -- I always seem to get about ~29 MPG in the city (which is great!), but only ~23 MPG on the highway (pretty disappointing). Is that normal for this vehicle? I thought only hybrids got worse fuel economy on the highway than around town. ⋯

Is your CX-5 an AWD? Is this behavior consistent since new?

My 2016 CX-5 AWD gets about 25~26 mpg in city, but only 28~29 on the highway at 75 mph. The behavior is a little similar to yours, city MPG is better than EPA FE rating (24 mpg), but highway MPG is worse than EPA FE rating (30 mpg). Your situation is to the extreme and is not normal to me.

Check your tire pressure in cold and watch the Instant MPG readout on your dash to compare the MPG difference in different driving conditions.

 

[wlong01]

Is your CX-5 an AWD? Is this behavior consistent since new?

My 2016 CX-5 AWD gets about 25~26 mpg in city, but only 28~29 on the highway at 75 mph. The behavior is a little similar to yours, city MPG is better than EPA FE rating (24 mpg), but highway MPG is worse than EPA FE rating (30 mpg). Your situation is to the extreme and is not normal to me.

Check your tire pressure in cold and watch the Instant MPG readout on your dash to compare the MPG difference in different driving conditions.

Yours is very similar to my 16. I get a constant 25 around town but I can hit 30 on the highway if I drive modestly.

 

[murky]

I've owned my 2016 CX-5 Sport for just over three years now, and I've noticed something that seems odd -- I always seem to get about ~29 MPG in the city (which is great!), but only ~23 MPG on the highway (pretty disappointing). Is that normal for this vehicle? I thought only hybrids got worse fuel economy on the highway than around town.

I drive from Arizona to the Los Angeles area a few times a year, with most of the trip cruising at 75 mph. On my recent trip over Labor Day weekend, I started from Tucson AZ with an ~80% tank of gas, and I came dangerously close to running out before reaching my usual fill-up location near the California border, about 250 miles away from home. That tank took me less than 300 miles! That seems off to me, but I haven't seen anyone else post about a similar issue.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Do you have roof racks, flaps, or other exterior stuff on the car? It does sound like an aerodynamic drag thing.

 

[Unobtanium]

Do you have roof racks, flaps, or other exterior stuff on the car? It does sound like an aerodynamic drag thing.

My 2.5 CX5 was 100% slick. It's the weak motor. It just gets super inefficient huffing and puffing at high speeds (for it) like OP is driving.

 

[shadonoz]

My 17 is the opposite. It gets around 22 in the city and gets around 30 on the highway if I'm alone in the car, but if I have any passengers it goes down in a hurry, and my cruise is always set to 74. Are you carrying more weight on the highway than you typically do in the city?

You might try putting it in manual 6th once you get on the highway next time and see if that makes a difference.