Do MPGs increase after "break-in"?

[myfateismyown]

One thing to keep in mind is that a car needs to be learned. A Hyundai is not a Toyota and it spans years apart. I own a 2012 sonata hybrid that I am crazy loving. I got a letter from Hyundai that they will compensate my milage difference with a rebate check so really it's not a big deal to me. At least they agreed to pay customers for gas difference. That said, I drive my car like a civil person. I don't race to the next light only to get a red light, I avoid the freeway when possible and take highways with moderate speed limits. I don't tailgate, race, etc. I'm a great driver when it comes to minding my manners behind the wheel. Knowing that, I've had my car 5 months and have 935 miles on it. I have only filled up 2 times so far and I still have 1/4 tank left. I'm doing great milage. In fact when I drive from my home to mums, I get avg 50 mpg. I don't speed or drive crazy as most people do. (I stay in right lanes not to annoy the speeding crowed) I just signed up for fuelly and I'm stoked to post what happens when a person drives proper. I'm getting better mpg then what I thought and what the mpg estimate is so that there proves by driving proper (and legal) you can get that mpg you demand. The car can do it (unless a problem with engine/electronics exist) so that's clear, it's the driver that needs to learn the car. Also, I don't go out of my way to get better milage like coasting or hyper driving, I just obey the speed limits, take routes with proper speed limits, and enjoy the results. Yes, it takes me 2 to 7 minutes more to arrive where I'm going but really, why not slow down. You'll save gas, avoid tickets, and maybe even avoid a crash and your stress will be reduced.

[Draigflag]

Well you can obviously afford to take your time doing less than 1000 miles on almost half a year. A lot of people do that mileage in a week, a few days perhaps so its a bit naive to assume everyone can adopt those techniques everyday. Time is money, and people need to work, thats why people appear to be in a rush most of the time.

[MMUK]

The funny thing is that I discovered that decreasing my peak speed didn't make any obvious difference to my average journey times. I think it was because the roads are so congested that you're only at peak speed briefly, and then you have to brake again for another cluster of cars.

[drew11m]

It will probably become more efficient as it breaks in further, maybe a little maybe, but I wouldn't have super high expectations of a big jump. I put 18K miles on my 2011 Hyundai Elantra Limited, and the mpg never really increased over that time significantly. I did about 60/40 mix of highway/city and averaged 29.9 overall. Which is close to the modified EPA estimates and just about at the Fuelly median. But when I looked back over my charts, there was never a noticeable jump at a certain mileage point, it was just pretty consistent. I think the Elantra can easily achieve its highway mileage, but the city mileage is not completely realistic on a regular basis.

The thing with any of these cars, is that the estimated MPGs are in perfectly ideal conditions, and dont reflect reality especially over the length of a year when you factor in weather, ethanol, temps, etc, as well as driving habits.

In the end i switched to a VW TDI Jetta, which gets better than the EPA, but I havent noticed a jump either as it breaks in.

You made a great point though. I think the Fuelly numbers, when I look at my Jetta and at the Elantra, are pretty spot on as far as the bell curve goes with my experiences. I am right at the midpoint on both. I wish i had looked at the Fuelly charts before buying the Elantra, I think I would have had a better and more realistic idea for what to reasonably expect from the car overall.