half-decent fuel economy for the temp ..
When I drove off the lot I was just driving for fun ... and probably averaged 12.5L/100km. Initially I was pretty disappointed in the fuel consumption .... now I'm feeling better ... its all in how you drive, and especially how long you idle.
I try not to idle for more than a minute, and warm it up by driving really slowly until the temp gauge moves ..
People started telling me about a break-in period ... anywhere from your first oil change to 100,000 km ... still not sure how true that is ..
I'm at about 7000 km and I can't say there's been much change ... I'm still driving around at -20 to -30 though, and the cold is a pretty big variable. Over Christmas our temp went up to -5, and I actually noticed a huge improvement .... I actually saw 7.2 L/100km (love the on-board readout!)
Usually on the highway I average around 10 L/100km ... I'm not lead-footing it, (I probably average 90-100 km/hr) and I use a lot of cruise control .. In the city I get more like 13L/100km .. again, its cold though ..
The Compass' fuel usage computer is an average from your last reset, as opposed to moment-by-moment like it is on my friend's Echo ... so comparing someone's best ever moment to your average is going to seem lame .. idling, whether its warming it up, or sitting at the intersection, is the real fuel killer ..
The best test I've really done is to fill up in Yellowknife, drive the 100km to my house, then the next day drive back to YK and see how many litres I need to fill it up again. Driving carefully (lots of cruise and averaging 90km/hr) I can do 200km of gnarly winter highway for less than $20 (at barely over $1/L)
This weekend I'm heading from Yellowknife to Vancouver BC ... I can't wait to see what some nice Alberta highway will do, and warmer temperatures as I head south ... I'll be sure to post the results ...