so you think I'll actually get 40mpg highway when I first buy the car, or will it start out at a lower number? And how much lower do you think it will be, if that's the case.

 

40 is really stretching it even after the car is broken in. I've heard of a few people getting 40+, but it's not the norm. If you do strictly highway driving, then I'd expect it to be in the mid 30s. A little higher or lower depending on your habits. I can't say for sure if it'll be any lower when you first get the car...all I can say is that I did not experience any difference in mileage, and I'm just over 2000 miles now.

Also, I've seen general better mileage from MT owners than AT. My understanding is that AT is better for highway driving (especially in cruise), but that for general city driving, the manual gets better mileage when driven conservatively.

 

No matter what new car you look at, they are going to get the EPA stamp of fuel mileage. That test usually involves driving the car very conservatively at moderate speeds... What I am saying is look at the mileage numbers from different cars... You will definitely see that the Civic gets better mileage than most. The new 5 speed auto is designed to give you the best balance of performance and efficiency. The manual tranny is good too, as long as you control your driving habits.

And no... most likely you will not get the 40 mpg that the EPA stated unless you drive slow on the highway.

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

 

how many mpg do you think I'll get if I drive mostly city? what's a fair estimate?

 

Seriously, I think you are worrying about this too much... If you are looking for the best mileage you can get city buy a stripped down Corolla or Echo or spend more money and get a hybrid. If you are looking for something that rides really nice, is reliable, and gets better than average mileage buy the Civic.

All the reviews I read said to expect 26 (better if you are easy on the throttle) in the city and 35 on the highway on average.

 

I'm not worried too much..I just want to find out the information on the gas mileage

 

Engines do free up over the first couple of thousand miles, so you'll get better power and fuel consumption after that. Numbers like 20 or 25 mpg might be accuarate for in city stop start driving, but not on an average drive. And if you've got an automatic it'll drink that little bit more fuel as well...

 

My 2006 Civic LX sedan, auto trans now has 1,600 miles on it. Current tank of gas is roughly about 27.27 MPG in all city-commuting on back roads driving.

Have not filled it back up just yet, but the trip odo says 360 miles, with the "you need gas, pal" and one bar left on the gas display. (I got into VTEC for just a bit the other day, so that did not help.) When I get around 5,000 miles on the car, I think that will be a better test for MPG.

 

yeah i think it will be too...me only have about 300 miles on my car..I don't think I can judge fairly

 

Keep in mind that city and highway EPA numbers are not really representative of real driving. You can see the specifics of the drivecycle at the epa website. Also, the epa does not test the vehicles. The manufacturer conducts the test and reports to the epa. Often these are done on pre-production versions, so actual mileage can vary for a number of reasons.