Ford Focus: Optimum fuel consumption cruising speed

"Robin Smith" <com> wrote in message
news:.. 

No. The main factor is drag, which goes up much faster than the speed. Being
at the torque peak on any Focus will put you far above the most economical
speed. However, at quite low speeds the engine revs do matter, so there is
an optimum speed, which is generally considered to be in the range of 70kph
(45mph). Anything up to 90kph (55mph) will still be quite economical, but
above that things get thirstier.

Dave Gower wrote:
 

Agreed on the drag being a big issue - I have a 2001 SE (four-door)
that makes the long trip to and from Milwaukee (from northern IL, USA)
daily during the week, on a pretty open and straight stretch of road.
Since it's almost all multi-lane freeway, I've gotten a pretty good feel
on where the gas usage goes way up, just from watching the fuel gauge
vs. mileage on the trip odometer.

I notice a slight drop at anything above 65mph, and a significant drop
above 75mph. Cruising at a steady 72 will still get me over 30mpg, so
I'm happy.

--
Scott Thomas, rose-hulman.edu
http://www.cs.rose-hulman.edu/~thomass/

Scott Thomas wrote: 
About 105 (about 65mph) is optimum for me. At 115 (72mph) I start
noticing the difference. It seems that 110 gives me the speed to keep up
to traffic and good (though not excellent!) mileage. 110 appears to be
the best compromise between speed and economy for my 200-ZX3.

Ron