I drove 365 kilometers yesterday starting with full tank,speeds up 140km/h and sitting behind bad accident on the 400 expressway southbound idling along for 15 minutes,filled up on return,figured manually that I got 7.7 liters/100kms or about 37mpg(imperial gal).
Hopefully can only get better.

 

Got my 2 liter SE Caliber w/CVT & A/C about 3 weeks ago for $14,000. Have featherfooted 2 previous manual transmission econo cars to highs of 50+MPG. The smaller Toyota Yaris & Honda Fit didn't arrive in the U.S. with CVTs & the Nissan Versa CVT was too pricey. Love the magic carpet ride of the Caliber CVT. However, on a trip over 4000' passes & returning to sealevel, the Caliber would buck hard pulling away from stops. The Dodge dealer said the throttlebody interpreted the return to sealevel as the wrong oxygen level & changed it causing the bucking. But the software was reprogrammed & my Caliber is running velvet smooth again. Combinations of moderate town driving & some country driving give 27-28MPG. The mountain driving with lots of stops for photos give 32.5MPG. My wife & I drove on country roads to a party. The Caliber had 2 full cooldowns & 1 partial cooldown & got 35.6MPG.

 

You know that it does depend where you buy your gas too cause its a fact that some gas stations sell gas that burnup faster than others.I get different mileages with differents brands of gas.

 

Your great question about differing gasoline brands reminds me of my wife's brother who is a pilot. He stays away from Arco gas, believing that Arco will hurt your engine. I think Arco may have more variances than other gasolines. In one of my old cars with fixed spark timing, I noticed that some tanks of Arco gasoline gave a bit of spark knock. Then, I would keep my engine revs somewhat higher to reduce the knock. But generally, my MPGs from tank to tank were about what I expected depending on that tank's driving conditions & less on the gasoline I used. Also, there is some organization that recommends the use of many gasolines, but not others....one of the gasolines they don't recommend is Arco. My wife will not use Arco in her Saturn & I will not use it in my new Caliber. I may also stop using it in my 1988 Ford Festiva. Sometimes I add HEET to my gas tank here in Washington State thinking it helps to lock up water & get it out of the gas tank. I really can't tell the difference between other gasoline brands. Maybe you have further information.

 

I have a 2.0 with cvt the first 200 miles I got 24mpg, that is driving 70-75 with speed control. I hope it gets better, but I love the car!

 

I have the R/T model, 2.4L Auto. I drive mixed highway/city about 50/50. I am very disappointed in the mileage -- I am getting about 19.
What I am doing is keeping all my gas receipts and recording the mileage at each fillup. Never mind the calculatin performed by the car, it is purely fiction. Your real mileage is determined by what you put in at the pump.

Keep your receipts, and keep annoying the dealer. I have about 8300 miles on mine now and I don't see any real bump in the mpg at all. I am using the recommended oil and changing it every 3000 miles. I keep the tires well inflated.

With my mileage so poor, I am considerng class action status on this....

I see a lot of guys bosting great mileage here ... but I'll bet they are not really measuring it from the pump and odometer.

 

I get OK mileage with my Caliber getting 35MPG on the highway. I'm used to econoboxes & featherfoot them to highs of 50+MPG. I measure from the pump. & since I have an aeronautical engineeriing degree, I can figure it right. The Caliber has a high drag coefficient. Driving over 60 or 65mph will return you poor mileage. I love the CVT transmission, but I think it is sensitive to any leadfooters. Anything but even & gentle pressure(I mean real even & gentle pressure!) on the gas pedal will not get you good mileage. Saying that, I think I may have an above average nicely tuned Caliber SE from the factory without a lot of the gimcracks to weigh my car down.

 

I don't consider myself a leadfoot, but after reading what some of you guys say I am going to try the featherfoot approach. I haven't noticed a bump in mpg after an oil change, but I will take careful note next time since I am due for a change in about 300 miles.

I agree with the above 60-65 mph comment. I went LA to Phoenix last month and kept it at 75 mph *the posted limit, thank you* and I was in the low 20's for mpg. My morning commute usually gives me about 20 minutes at a steady 60mph so I kept and eye on the meter ... it went as high as 35mpg but it won;t be until later in the week when I make the Mobil Pilgrimage that I get a true picture. I too am an aerospace geek so break out the scientific calculators!

 

Hi Jaksel...I've also noticed that the Caliber is real quiet for wind, & engine noise, but road & tire noise is much louder. Wind & engine noise give away inadvertent speed increases more than the road & tire noise(which tends to be a lower rumble). Therefore, I find I have a tougher time keeping the Caliber at a very steady velocity, compared to my econo cars. Sometimes, I am going 5+mph faster than a lower speed I try to adhere to. You can have fine mileage if you do that once in a while, but not continuously(yo yo effect). Also, on the fast freeways, I don't go the speed limit but well under it. I love driving & seeing the country(whether I'm commuting or not). I keep out of the way of the people who just have to speed. Others have said they drive like me, but still don't get good mileage. As I said my car seems to be very well tuned right now. If you notice any black soot inside your tailpipe, your engine may be running rich which could lower your mileage. Your dealer should be able to lean out your Caliber's fuel-air ratio. But be careful....too lean a setting can burn your engine. My motorcycle had a lean burn engine. In its day it was a very quick bike, but could still get 75MPG. While going over 4000 foot passes & returning to sealevel, my Caliber's software adjusted my fuel-air ratio too lean & my Caliber bucked badly accelerating from a stop. My dealer easily adjusted the software program to avoid such an occurrence in the future. So good luck. Good mileage does not come naturally. Continuously, your engine burns fuel...so continuously, you have to think MPG.

 

Man, all this news is so varied that it is almost useless.
I have to wonder how many people really know how to figure there gas mileage.

Very simple, has nothing to do with oil changes or at what level you fill up.

1) fill your tank, and note the odometer reading.
2 drive your car for what ever distance you want.
3) fill your tank.
4) how far did you go? (subtract the original odometer reader from this one)
5) how much fuel did you put in?

6) The biggie - divide the number of miles you drove by the amount of fuel you put in and presto, you have your mpg for that
tank of fuel.

Forget the trip computer. They are almost alway a tad optomistic.

Arco fuel bad? Hmmmmmmmm Have been using it for 20+ years in everything from chevy and dodge pickups, chrysler, chevy, and ford sedans, my current 01 Dakota and my wife's 3.5 liter altima.

Never a problem, no pings, no hype, and no reason to change.