skylolow

We pretty much avg. 26 to 28 on the HWY. Going 70 to 75 MPH.

Though are last ski trip coming home we got 30 with 2 adults, 2 kids, trunk full, and ski rack on top. But the main road coming back is actually a slight downhill grade pretty much 90% of the ride. Way there we got 26 MPG.

Slowhand11404

Well maybe - just maybe - there is a market for a car that can do both - and is switchable between modes. Maybe add-on software alone will not do it - but the difference I am looking for more needs to be more dramatic than the difference between D and DS.

I think the BMW can do it - but someone with a substantially higher IQ and pay grade than me needs figure out how.

545_Cooper_S

Sounds good.... Hit 33+ Mpg running on the cruise control over a 320 mile drive mainly level road. If i've done this right there should be a pic attached. Two people in the car prob 180 kg weight plus say another 20kg in the boot.

nasty50

wow that goes same for me.i only odrove my car for about a week and noticed that i would consume 22mpg at best.
i commute 60 miles back and forth but its mostly traffic stop and go at times.i bought the 530 for the mpg reasons and now thinking twice if i should have got the 545.some body reassure me please,lol

BlueRocket

Just to follow up on my 30.5 mpg, the trip computer was reading about 2 mpg higher than the actual mileage. With regard to some of the comments, I have the following thoughts:

1. As far as software to improve mileage... just reprogram your right foot.

2. Driving gently doesn't imply lack of satisfaction. BMW's provide a high level of driving satisfaction as a result of vehicle handling, feedback through the steering wheel, the quality of its controls and sophistication in its systems. These cars become an extension of your body that is highly satisfying and unparalleled in any other vehicle that I've driven.

Glad to own a car that is so flexible and satisfying.

Felix

+1 While I like to get good gas mileage too, I just can't stand it to crawl along the highway at 60...65 and being passed by every grampa in his Toyota Echo. This is not why I got this car.

I also use cruise control as often as it makes sense. Unfortunately traffic is very heavy where I live, so these opportunities are limited. Putting the car on cruise control at 75 mph over a stretch of 100+ miles gets me about 23.5...24 mpg (calculated). OBC shows usually about 1 mpg more. I would consider this pretty good for such a big engine.

Fuel consumption and rising gas prices are something one needs to factor in when making a decision to buy a car and I did. A 550 is no Toyota Prius. But when I step on the pedal I know exactly why I got this car and I'm willing to pay a surcharge for this thrill at the pump.

And BTW, compared to our fellows in Europe we (still) can consider ourselves quite lucky. $8 per gallon and more the fun is slowly coming to an end.

Felix

MidnightRider

Ok - I am suspicious. You mention that you topped off your car here in Maryland which is a self serice state. You then filled up in New Jersey which requires a fuel jockey to fill your car. How do you know that the car was filled to the same level? You could be off by a gallon depending on how much or little top off was done on either end. 30 MPG seems at the high end of reasonable for this car even if you are light with your throttle foot. Also your sample size is very small because this was not even a full tank. I suggest repeating this effort multiple times and reporting back on your results. Best wishes!

tom_hou

Slightly off topic, since I have a 6, not a V8.

I'm surprised by the low highway mileage quoted by the 530 owners above. I drive a 2004 530 with stock 17" wheels, live in Houston and generally get 20-21 mpg for my city and freeway driving. On a 900+ mile highway trip last summer, I got (per the OBC) 32-34 pretty regularly, generally driving 75-85 on flat highways.

Even allowing for the fact that our speedometers read 5% too fast/far, I can't understand the 20-25's quoted above. Other than (relatively) gentle acceleration and keeping tires fully inflated, what could cause the difference??

BlueRocket

You're right, I filled the car up on my end (start), and a gas jockey filled it on the other (finish). I asked the jockey to ensure that it was filled to the top, and he squeezed the trigger a couple of times after initial shutoff. If he was a little off, then my readings would indeed be a little high.

I've done this a number of times and don't think it's possible to get anywhere near a whole gallon in a 5-series car after the initial kickoff of the pump, but I'm going to measure it. Of course this characteristic is in part a function of the pumping rate, filler neck length, shape, and diameter, and resulting pump shutoff sensitivity, which varies.

BTW, if the tank were underfilled at the start, the calculated mpg would be lower.

Last night, on the way home, without the same effort to get optimal mileage, I used exactly 9 gallons to go 262.3 miles, which is 29.14 mpg, filling it myself at the end. I've gotten 29.1 mpg before for the entire trip.

I chose the first 177 miles because it was all highway driving, no stop and go, yielding a "best case" 30.5 mpg.

So there's two full runs of 262 miles, with highway & stop and go driving, filled by myself at the end, yielding 29.1 mpg. To get an additional 1.4 mpg on the highway, and making an effort to optimize mileage shouldn't lead to much suspicion.

I can't stand BS and exaggeration and wouldn't print anything here if I wasn't confident of its accuracy and truth.

I have a feeling that you feel the same way.

Happy Motoring!