I’ve seen some people say their Foresters have good gas mileage, but mine isn’t great. I have a 2024 Forester Wilderness and I’m stuck at 21 MPG no matter how far I drive. I’ve put about 2,000 miles on it. My last car was a 2013 Forester, and that one got around 24.5 MPG. What are you all getting?
Took my ‘22 Wilderness until around 3,500 miles before the MPG started getting better. Keep it off S# mode if you want better mileage. Over my last 7,000 miles, I’ve averaged 26.8 MPG.
If you go over 70 MPH, the MPG drops fast. I’m at 17,000 miles now.
@Dorian
Yeah, once you go over 70 MPH, it drops for sure. I’m in Texas, though, so we regularly drive 75+. I’ll take speed over fuel economy any day.
I have a ‘23 Forester Wilderness with 2,000 miles, and I’m sitting at about 20-21 MPG. Most of my driving is short trips in the city, though.
Also, the winter gas mix where I live probably isn’t helping. Running the heater all the time probably makes it worse too.
When I took a road trip a couple of months ago, I averaged 26.5 MPG.
@Devi
Same here. I have a ‘21 Forester Sport with 47k miles. With the stock tires, I never got more than 23 MPG in the city and maybe 27 downhill on the highway.
Switched to Wildpeaks, and I still get about 23 MPG in the city. I almost never use ‘S’ mode. I added 1.5” spacers, but the MPG didn’t change much.
Still stuck around 22-23 in the city and 26 on the highway. Honestly a little disappointing since they advertise better numbers.
Oh, and I always turn off the auto start-stop. I’m on my third battery already, but at least it’s been covered under warranty.
I have a ‘23 Forester base model with 11,000 miles, and I’m averaging 30.5 MPG.
Ashwin said:
I have a ‘23 Forester base model with 11,000 miles, and I’m averaging 30.5 MPG.
I have a ‘21 Limited with 43k miles, and we get around 31 MPG on average. On long road trips, I’ve seen it hit 32-33.
Honestly, I’m surprised it’s not lower since my partner and I both have a pretty heavy foot.
@Blue
Is there any other way to drive a Forester?
Ashwin said:
I have a ‘23 Forester base model with 11,000 miles, and I’m averaging 30.5 MPG.
How are you getting it that high? I just got mine yesterday, and I’d love to drive more efficiently. My average says 24 MPG right now.
@Ariya
Did you get it brand new? Mine took some time to climb up to 30 MPG. I coast to stops and try not to accelerate too hard.
Ashwin said:
@Ariya
Did you get it brand new? Mine took some time to climb up to 30 MPG. I coast to stops and try not to accelerate too hard.
No, it has 21k miles. Not sure if I’m reading it right—one display says 24 MPG, but the odometer says 26.4.
I don’t accelerate or brake too hard either. Maybe it’s because I’m doing mostly city driving.
Ashwin said:
I have a ‘23 Forester base model with 11,000 miles, and I’m averaging 30.5 MPG.
I have a ‘23 Sport with similar mileage, and I’m just under 29 MPG. But I do a lot of in-town driving. Maybe OP has a heavier foot?
@Audrey
Isn’t 29 MPG pretty high for city driving? I mostly drive in town, and I’m getting around 24-26. Just got the car though, so maybe I need to get used to it. As long as I hit 26+, I’ll be happy.
The Wilderness model has a shorter final drive ratio, which helps with climbing hills but really hurts MPG in city driving.
Lucypiper said:
The Wilderness model has a shorter final drive ratio, which helps with climbing hills but really hurts MPG in city driving.
That makes sense. I thought just shifting manually in lower gears would do the trick, but I guess not.
And yeah, the added drag from the lift doesn’t help either.
If I stay between 60-65 MPH on the highway with cruise control, I can average 26 MPG over a 40-mile commute.
On a typical day, I get around 20-22 MPG in mixed driving. I don’t drive super aggressively, but I’m not exactly slow either.
I have a ‘23 Forester as well.
Are you doing the math yourself? I just got back from a 1,200-mile trip, and every time I filled up, the car’s computer was off by at least 1 MPG.
Corey said:
Are you doing the math yourself? I just got back from a 1,200-mile trip, and every time I filled up, the car’s computer was off by at least 1 MPG.
I’ve noticed the same thing with my ‘18 Forester manual. The computer always reads 3-4% higher than what I actually get when I calculate it at the pump.
For reference, I average about 27 MPG in the city and 34 MPG on the highway.
If your MPG is that bad, double-check using the trip meter and odometer. If you’re already doing that and it’s still low, maybe check if your parking brake is dragging.
@Valentine
I average about 27 MPG in the city and 31-33 on the highway. I drive a ‘20 Sport with Wildpeaks.
Wow, some of these low numbers make my 2016 manual feel like a hybrid. I get 23 MPG in the city and 27-30 on the highway.