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That's right, I live in Northern Virginia, and commute daily almost to Baltimore. I didn't plan it this way, but had a recent job opportunity I couldn't turn down, so I am now the proud owner of an 82-mile round trip daily commute. I negotiated to only have to make the drive 3 times a week, but it still equates to an awful lot of seat time, most of it with Maryland drivers trying to kill me.
I've been making this commute in my 2019 VW Atlas, which averaged 20.1 MPG on 87 octane over the 35,000 miles I tracked (purchased second hand in 2020 with 12k miles already on the clock). For other option in my fleet (I'm a car guy with somewhat diverse tastes) I have a '97 Escort Wagon 5MT, which averages 26.4 MPG on 89 octane gas - since it has no knock sensor. Also an '01 325i which has done daily driver duty many times in the 8 years I've had it; long term average of 25.8 MPG on 93 octane. What I'm getting at is all of those options are ~okay~ on fuel economy, but with such a long drive I was getting sick of gas money going down the drain.
Well, my Maverick arrived after 17 months of waiting. It was a straight across trade for my Atlas; I got a truck bed and a sunroof and two fewer seats out of the deal, and no more AWD powertrain.
Apart from being much nicer to drive than my Atlas (which exudes happy elephant vibes), I seem to have solved the fuel cost issue.
39.9 MPG on my first tank of 87 octane fuel (42.6 reported on the dash). This is on a 40-mile one-way commute with moderate traffic and 70% highway miles. I'm cutting my fuel bill in half and hardly sacrificing any functionality (and in some cases, gaining new features).
There are a few niceties I've given up (capacitive touch door opening, power liftgate, adaptive cruise control), but I am SO HAPPY to finally have a little truck again, and especially one that seems it won't break the bank to drive.
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.
I've been making this commute in my 2019 VW Atlas, which averaged 20.1 MPG on 87 octane over the 35,000 miles I tracked (purchased second hand in 2020 with 12k miles already on the clock). For other option in my fleet (I'm a car guy with somewhat diverse tastes) I have a '97 Escort Wagon 5MT, which averages 26.4 MPG on 89 octane gas - since it has no knock sensor. Also an '01 325i which has done daily driver duty many times in the 8 years I've had it; long term average of 25.8 MPG on 93 octane. What I'm getting at is all of those options are ~okay~ on fuel economy, but with such a long drive I was getting sick of gas money going down the drain.
Well, my Maverick arrived after 17 months of waiting. It was a straight across trade for my Atlas; I got a truck bed and a sunroof and two fewer seats out of the deal, and no more AWD powertrain.
Apart from being much nicer to drive than my Atlas (which exudes happy elephant vibes), I seem to have solved the fuel cost issue.
39.9 MPG on my first tank of 87 octane fuel (42.6 reported on the dash). This is on a 40-mile one-way commute with moderate traffic and 70% highway miles. I'm cutting my fuel bill in half and hardly sacrificing any functionality (and in some cases, gaining new features).
There are a few niceties I've given up (capacitive touch door opening, power liftgate, adaptive cruise control), but I am SO HAPPY to finally have a little truck again, and especially one that seems it won't break the bank to drive.
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.
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