Fuel Mileage

What does everyone here get for fuel mileage? My wife and I have an 03 Legacy SE sedan. Stock with a 4 speed auto (wife doesn't drive stick or it would be a five-speed). We live in Pittsburgh which is not exactly flat and causes the boxer to work awfully hard most of the time. Especially with the poor gearing of the 4 spd auto.

We average around 16-17 mpg city and I've seen as low as 15 mpg. Have taken the car back to the dealer a few times and of course, "nothing is wrong" My wife is primary driver and is not hard on the car.

Anyone else suffering with poor economy? Is this an AWD Subaru trait? This is nowhere near the EPA rating of 21 city on this sticker. I mean, my parents 6 cylinder Mercedes S-class gets this type of mileage and its a lot heavier and more powerful.


Are the 6 cylinder Subies any better? 5 spd any better? I'd like to know what you think and your experiences.

Since Subarus are AWD, and not so light, the gas milage wont be great. Flooring it up hills, or driving at high speeds really sucks the gas.

Since its a newer car, this probably wont be much of a problem, but what about general maintenance items like air filter, oil, oil filter, etc? Tire pressure is also a biggie.

heres a site that lists all the fuel mileage http://www.fueleconomy.gov/

In my 1998 Legacy I pretty much get what is advertised, most of the times its around the lower end though.

yeah, i've been averaging about 15 or so myself. But I have a heavy foot so I'd say I'm pretty much to blame for it.

Since Subarus are AWD, and not so light, the gas milage wont be great. Flooring it up hills, or driving at high speeds really sucks the gas.

Since its a newer car, this probably wont be much of a problem, but what about general maintenance items like air filter, oil, oil filter, etc? Tire pressure is also a biggie.

heres a site that lists all the fuel mileage http://www.fueleconomy.gov/

In my 1998 Legacy I pretty much get what is advertised, most of the times its around the lower end though.

I've done all the routine maintnence and everything is OK on the car that I can see. I know AWD creates more drag and that the Legacy is not a light car for that reason. Flooring it up hills in Pittsburgh is about the only way to get up some of them. But I think its all in the transmission.

As I mentioned in my original post, my parents 95 Mercedes S-class gets about the same mileage. But its a 5 spd automatic, weighs about 4500 pounds and is only the 6 cylinder model. The 01 Maxima they just got rid of got about 18 mpg and it had 60 hp more then the Legacy but not AWD.

There is just too much space between 3rd and 4th in the automatic. If I set the cruise control at 70 mph and the car encounters a slight upgrade, it downshifts( or comes out of overdrive) and is working really hard (4500 rpm) to maintain 70 mph.

The car needs another gear or more power, which is what they've done for the new 05. Except the base car still comes with the drivetrain our 03 has (168 hp and 4 spd auto). But, 250hp or not (GT), if it gets this type of mileage, the Subaru goes far down on the new car list.

*shrug* if your looking for good milage get an echo. I do agree, the AT sucks. cruise control in any car is pretty stupid, and will downshift just to keep speed.

If im around town, I keep my AT in third, cause 4th is just too slow. im always around 3k + rpm. The ECU will also 'learn' your driving style, and mine often sticks in third a bit longer than it used to.

my 96 legacy gets about 20mpg but it is also a 5spd and i usually dont beat on it unless i have the erge to whip it around on back roads

.. Tire pressure is also a biggie...
Tires will make a big difference in your fuel economy.
Keep them inflated at the higher-end of the recommended specifications.
When you get new tires, get some that are a little narrower and a little taller than the factory size.
Your handling won't be as good, but your ride will be smoother and you'll get better fuel economy.

I bought a 04 35th anniversery sedan in June, I've gotten as high as 28 mpg and as low as 22 mpg. My average is around 26 mpg, this is on a daily drive of 50 miles (each way to work). It is all highway and I drive around 62 mph, but with each tank I'll have a couple spells of 80 - 90 mph for maybe 2 or 3 minutes. I pass any thing I come up on, so I'm sure a more conservative driver could get the average up on my car.

The mileage on particular cars does seem the vary, I guy I work with bought the same car in July and has not gotten over 22 mpg ever, and he claims he does not drive it hard, but when ever I come across him on the highway he is passing me.

There are alot of Legacy's at work and from the people I've talked to 25 mpg is probably the highway average on the 2000 - 2004 models. I haven't talked to the 2005 owners about mileage, but they do say they run great, especially the turbo models.

Your handling won't be as good, but your ride will be smoother and you'll get better fuel economy.

Not to mention your speedometer reading will be totally off because it is based on using the correct tire size.

Not to mention your speedometer reading will be totally off because it is based on using the correct tire size.


Not true. It will be off a little bit, but not more then maybe 1 or 2 mph. Unless you went really crazy with the size, then you would have problems.

BTW, I did put new tires on the car, but I kept the 205/55/16 size. I bought Yokohama Avid V4s and they are a huge improvement over the stock Bridgestones.

*shrug* if your looking for good milage get an echo. I do agree, the AT sucks. cruise control in any car is pretty stupid, and will downshift just to keep speed.

If im around town, I keep my AT in third, cause 4th is just too slow. im always around 3k + rpm. The ECU will also 'learn' your driving style, and mine often sticks in third a bit longer than it used to.

I don't want Echo fuel economy, I just want the car to get closer to what it is rated for. After reading all these posts, maybe the wife is harder on the car then I know!

I agree about cruise control except with a 5 spd. My Focus seems to do OK and I don't have to downshift it as much to maintain speed.

After reading all mileage information ,I sure appreciate the 90 Legacy I have. What ever happened to Time=Improvement in technology= Better gas mileage. Sure my car is not as new and it's 2 wheel dr. But I wouldn't give up my consistant 31 mpg for all that other BS. As far as acceleration, it'll snap your neck when it needs to. But it hardly ever needs too. The speed limits, here in MI., are 70 and 55 on secondary Rds.. Why would I need to go any faster than that?

Another big thing with the Auto's is that theres D and 3 on the gear shift. Its really easy to put it in 3rd instead of D, so that will keep the engine speed up around 4500rpm like you mentioned, which would suck the gas.

And for what freakray says, as long as you get a similar diameter tire you will be fine. In the wintertime I run 185/70/R14 tires, and in the summer I run 205/55/R16 tires. Im sure my speedo is a bit off, but nothing the po-lice would care about.

Recently Ive been getting really bad gas milage, but thats probably cause Im doing so many donuts in the snow :lol:

Another big thing with the Auto's is that theres D and 3 on the gear shift. Its really easy to put it in 3rd instead of D, so that will keep the engine speed up around 4500rpm like you mentioned, which would suck the gas.

And for what freakray says, as long as you get a similar diameter tire you will be fine. In the wintertime I run 185/70/R14 tires, and in the summer I run 205/55/R16 tires. Im sure my speedo is a bit off, but nothing the po-lice would care about.

Recently Ive been getting really bad gas milage, but thats probably cause Im doing so many donuts in the snow :lol:


Believe it or not, the salesmen TOLD us to keep it in 3, not D for around the town. "You'll burn up the tranny if you leave it in D around town" Talk about BS!

And I know the difference between drive and 3rd gear. It is VERY easy to select 3 instead, but you know it instantly when you are going 40 and the engine is singing at 3000 rpm. I like the notched shift pattern though, much nicer then a button to push to change gears. No wonder Mercedes used it for years.

I have a AT and the very best I can do is 25mpg and that doing 65 on the highway. City driving I get like below 20mpg which sucks! I change air filters, oil, etc. Is there anyway to improve this. I was thinking of getting a cold air intake and catback. Will that improve my gas economy?


BTW how big is my gas tank? My calcualtion is that it's around 12 gallons.

I have a AT and the very best I can do is 25mpg and that doing 65 on the highway. City driving I get like below 20mpg which sucks! I change air filters, oil, etc. Is there anyway to improve this. I was thinking of getting a cold air intake and catback. Will that improve my gas economy?


BTW how big is my gas tank? My calcualtion is that it's around 12 gallons.


The A/T Subaru uses is just awful. IMHO, The first three gears are too short and the overdrive is too long for the amount of power the engine has. Apparently the A/T is designed to "torque" the engine along, but it doesn't have enough torque to really do that. Unless you live someplace flat, then it could be OK.

But the combination of 165hp 4 cylinder and AWD is too much for the gearing of the automatic. My wife doesn't drive standard shift or else we would have gotten a 5 spd. The extra ratio would make a big difference. I'm interested in seeing how the new Turbo car drives with a 5 spd automatic. That would fix the problem of low power and not enough gears. Except the turbo version I saw at the Detroit auto show gets worse mileage period.

Not sure if a CAI or cat-back exhaust would improve the mileage enough for the cost.

I bought a 04 35th anniversery sedan in June, I've gotten as high as 28 mpg and as low as 22 mpg. My average is around 26 mpg, this is on a daily drive of 50 miles (each way to work). It is all highway and I drive around 62 mph, but with each tank I'll have a couple spells of 80 - 90 mph for maybe 2 or 3 minutes. I pass any thing I come up on, so I'm sure a more conservative driver could get the average up on my car.



I agree; I also bought an 04 last year and my mileage was up around 27-28 mpg - all highway. Now I have 25k on it and my mpg has slipped to around 25mpg. At 25k now is the time to start changing filters and stuff so my mileage should bump up a bit. I am having trouble finding an air filter that wil fit, it seems they put a 6cyl type air box on instead of the traditional 4. All the numbers at the auto stores are wrong now! But I digress...
As for tires I have upgraded to Goodyear Assurance. With 5k on them I have to say they're awesome!!! My wife claims she "floats" to work and the snow traction is great!

After reading all mileage information ,I sure appreciate the 90 Legacy I have. What ever happened to Time=Improvement in technology= Better gas mileage. Sure my car is not as new and it's 2 wheel dr. But I wouldn't give up my consistant 31 mpg for all that other BS. As far as acceleration, it'll snap your neck when it needs to. But it hardly ever needs too. The speed limits, here in MI., are 70 and 55 on secondary Rds.. Why would I need to go any faster than that?


Ive got a 90 subaru legacy as well. Im getting 31-34 mpg average with a bad clutch and poorly inflated tires (Im saving up to replace the clutch and the old tires at the same time), and this car was rated for 28 mpg at most on the highway. Its also only FWD and the engine probly produces less then the rated 130 hp (its 15 years old afterall) but I love the car for its reliability and efficency. The headgasket was replaced 2 years ago after sitting in the driveway for around 3 years without being driven and in the 2 years since its been fixxed it has never failed to start, it can be -30 with a -50 windchill but when that key is turned it starts everytime. I love it, I wouldent give the car up for anything else.

Gen Jeft.. Thanks for the info on the filter, I'll watch for the problem when I replace mine.

Focusyn.. I think the manual transmission would make this car much more fun to drive.

I didn't test drive a manual Legacy but will next time. I did drive the WRX with a manual, it was awesome. I would really consider it if I got the factory discount that I get on the Legacy. Since we don't make the Imprezza at SIA we don't get the money back from the factory like we do on our products.