Fuel Efficient Station Wagons

Discussion in 'Fuel Economy & Emissions' started by wagonmaster, May 31, 2008.

  1. wagonmaster

    wagonmaster Administrator Staff Member Moderator

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    I gassed up my Mazda3 this week at 1.43 a liter and it cost me $64.00 CDN! :cry: That was my costliest fuel stop ever and this was for regular gas!

    According to fueleconomy.gov, my car gets 22/29 city/hwy mpg which aint that great as my bigger and heavier Volvo 850 got 20/29 city/hwy mpg when new! :49: Due to its age, the 850 probably gets a lot less mpg than the epa figures, but I dont drive it enough to be able to track it's fuel economy.

    fueleconomy.gov also has a list of the most and least fuel efficient cars. In the wagon category, the most efficient are

    • Honda Fit 28/34 city/hwy (thats not a wagon!)
    • Volkswagen Passat Wagon 21/29 city/hwy

    Least efficient
    • Audi S4 Avant, 8 cyl, 4.2 L, Man(6) 13/20 city/hwy
    • Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, 8 cyl, 6.2 L, Auto(S7) 12/18 city/hwy
    The most fuel efficient car on the list is the Toyota Prius hybrid, it gets 48/45 mpg. Maybe I should have got that instead of my Mazda 3? :rofl2:
     
  2. peg legs wagon

    peg legs wagon New Member

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    my 1998 escort wagon is rated at under the new 2008 standards 22 city/31 highway/25 combined. but ive gotten 28 city and 36 highway
     
  3. the Rev

    the Rev senior junior Charter Member

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    my Pimpo Wagon gets worse gas milage than anything I've ever owned!!:49:
    I'm taking it off the road and insuring a V8!!:dancing:
     
  4. FamilyTruckster

    FamilyTruckster New Member

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    16/19 on my Squire....300HP, gears, and driving hard uses a lot of gas.

    24-35 on my Protege5.... it's kinda a wagon
     
  5. Stormin' Norman

    Stormin' Norman Well-Known Member

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    What's the motor in the Escort? That awesome!
     
  6. peg legs wagon

    peg legs wagon New Member

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    stormin it has a 2.0 with a auto rated at 110 HP @ 5,000 rpm; 125 ft lb @ 3,750 rpm
     
  7. Stormin' Norman

    Stormin' Norman Well-Known Member

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    That's about what the 302 V8 was: 134 HP and 152 ft. lbs. of torque! Half the MPG, though. :bowdown:

    Isn't that 2.0 the hot Pinto engine?
     
  8. peg legs wagon

    peg legs wagon New Member

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    no i wish, its a different motor it replaced the 1.9 in the 1991-1996 escorts. its like the one in the picture
     

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  9. Stormin' Norman

    Stormin' Norman Well-Known Member

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    Sweet looking machine. There's got to be a way (and a lot of work) to get one of the newer V4 engines into a big wagon. Some of these 4 bangers are putting out over 200 HP and still getting over 25 MPG.
     
  10. peg legs wagon

    peg legs wagon New Member

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    man i know, last year i found a 1979 fairmont wagon with a 2.3 4 speed i should have bought and swaped a thunderbird turbo coupe 2.3 and 5 speed in it but i didn't buy it. my dad found another 1998 escort wagon yesterday i might buy 42k miles mint condition $1,900
     
  11. Stormin' Norman

    Stormin' Norman Well-Known Member

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    I'd like to get one of those 2.3 engines for mine. I kept the K-member from the 302, just for that! Haul a$$ and save money! YES!!! ;):yahoo:
     
  12. peg legs wagon

    peg legs wagon New Member

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    that would be nice, my next project might be installing a 1987 up mustang 4 cylinder 5 speed in the fairmont wagon
     
  13. Stormin' Norman

    Stormin' Norman Well-Known Member

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    I love this page. It lists the details of the Ford Ranger engines, and upgrades, year by year.

    http://www.therangerstation.com/resources/RangerHistory.htm

    And if you're gonna beef 'em up, this is the bible:
    http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/index.php

    The only engine that was doubtful was the 2.9 V4. TBird would agree that the 3.8 six was a woof-woof, too! But these smaller engines pack a lot of muscle without the big thirst!
     
  14. Stormin' Norman

    Stormin' Norman Well-Known Member

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    peg legs, I don't know if you know about the Duraspark II Advance Curve kit (Mr. Gasket part number 925D) (Also made for Chevies and Ford V8s).

    Anyway you can get a much better MPG (15 to 25% better) with these little springs.

    Here's a DIY swap to a Duraspark II distributor on an I6:

    http://members.cox.net/joetrojan/

    Here's the Spring conversion DIY:
    http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30894

    For under $6, and a couple hours of tinkering? Worth its weight in gold.

    For you GM and Ford V8 folks, here's the Mr. Gasket page (Check all 3 pages). These are under Ignition Accessories on their Ignition Catalog:

    http://www.mr-gasket.com/ProductsLi...=1&minId=5282&majId=525&BrandKeyWords=&Page=1

    If we can't get the gas price down, might as well get the MPG up!:cry:
     
  15. peg legs wagon

    peg legs wagon New Member

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    thanks for the info norm i'll check into that
     

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