Mileage update

Since my last long road trip, I've been mostly commuting and taking a few short trips in town. The mileage reflects the lack of highway travels.

5/20/11: 294.9 miles / 17.713 gal. = 16.65 mpg
5/29/11: 273.3 miles / 16.446 gal. = 16.62 mpg (17.5 mpg on trip computer)

What can I say? It's hard to keep a light foot in this car because it accelerates so effortlessly. At certain times, I find myself way ahead of the traffic after starting from a red light, even though I thought I was being light on the throttle. At least gas has gone down below $4/gal. for now.

The mileage is actually a bit disappointing, but the truth is, the EPA tests based on known acceleration/deceleration rates. In the Genesis, I am probably accelerating faster than I would have in my old Solara. Plus, a big V8 is simply not as efficient in stop-and-go traffic as a 3.0-L V6. So, even though the two cars have the identical EPA ratings, real world numbers suggest otherwise (the Solara used to get ~19-22 mpg under the same use). It could also be that the Genesis is still getting broken in

Seeing that my mileages are a tick below the EPA city ratings, I've been debating whether it's worth getting a beater commuter car to drive in town. If there is a decent 4-cylinder car that can get ~24 mpg during my daily commute, and the Genesis is used only for weekend trips, the numbers break down to something like this:

commuter car: 5.4 gal. for 130 miles @24 mpg
Genesis: 6.67 gal. for 140 miles @21 mpg
12.1 gal total
4.5 gal saved (vs. latest fill-ups) = $18/week saved @ $4/gal

~270 miles/week = 14040 miles/year
~$939/year saved

There is also a matter of preserving the car's resale value and slight decrease in insurance premium for lower miles driven on the Genesis. However, these costs may also easily be offset by repair costs on a used car.

As for that commuter car, the last generation Prelude would be fantastic, but they are either salvage titled because wanna-be street racers have modified them to death and eventually crashed into stuff, or they are rather expensive and have a lot of miles. Otherwise, something more practical in the shape of a small wagon might also serve well.