Nissan Juke
A trip south to downtown San Diego from our Los Angeles headquarters is just over 120 miles. Or in Nissan Juke terms (with yours truly behind the wheel), that's around three-quarters of a tank down the notoriously traffic-clogged Interstate 5 highway.(stuff performance click here)
Keeping the Juke's instant mpg gauge above 20 mpg is as tricky as juggling three Penns while standing on one leg. Sometimes you nail it, but most of the time you fail horribly. So far during my 4000-plus miles, I've managed to eek out 23.6 mpg. The EPA says I should be getting around 287 miles per tank. How could all this be, you ask?
Only if I kill the air conditioning, set the amusing I-Con system to "Eco", and play coy with the throttle, will the thirsty little 1.6-liter drink maybe half its 11.8-gallon premium fuel capacity on the way to America's Finest City. And that's being generous with an absolutely desolate path ahead and cruise control pegged at 72 mph. A Santa Ana tailwind always helps out, too.
One likely reason has to do with the fuel-sapping all-wheel drive system. Even with onboard technologies like a continuously variable transmission, direct-injection, and a small turbo designed specifically to boost power while minimizing fuel consumption, the Juke continues to suffer from the adverse affects of all-wheel power.
As it usually goes, the more wheels you power, the less efficient the vehicle becomes.(stuff specification click here) Nowadays, AWD efficiency in general has been on the uptick, but in the case of our Nissan Juke, the decent 25 mpg city/30 mpg highway/27 combined fuel economy numbers simply haven't translated to the road during its three months of service.
Granted, there is also this other real-world explanation to consider when speaking of miles per gallon: Although it may look like a laboratory experiment gone wrong, the Nissan Juke is undoubtedly a fun crossover to drive (stuff pricing click here).(motortrend)
(And/NewsTechnology)
A trip south to downtown San Diego from our Los Angeles headquarters is just over 120 miles. Or in Nissan Juke terms (with yours truly behind the wheel), that's around three-quarters of a tank down the notoriously traffic-clogged Interstate 5 highway.(stuff performance click here)
Keeping the Juke's instant mpg gauge above 20 mpg is as tricky as juggling three Penns while standing on one leg. Sometimes you nail it, but most of the time you fail horribly. So far during my 4000-plus miles, I've managed to eek out 23.6 mpg. The EPA says I should be getting around 287 miles per tank. How could all this be, you ask?
Only if I kill the air conditioning, set the amusing I-Con system to "Eco", and play coy with the throttle, will the thirsty little 1.6-liter drink maybe half its 11.8-gallon premium fuel capacity on the way to America's Finest City. And that's being generous with an absolutely desolate path ahead and cruise control pegged at 72 mph. A Santa Ana tailwind always helps out, too.One likely reason has to do with the fuel-sapping all-wheel drive system. Even with onboard technologies like a continuously variable transmission, direct-injection, and a small turbo designed specifically to boost power while minimizing fuel consumption, the Juke continues to suffer from the adverse affects of all-wheel power.
Granted, there is also this other real-world explanation to consider when speaking of miles per gallon: Although it may look like a laboratory experiment gone wrong, the Nissan Juke is undoubtedly a fun crossover to drive (stuff pricing click here).(motortrend)
(And/NewsTechnology)
