MFD on all vehicles to save fuel?

I have seen lots of vehicles with instant MPG. Any car with an on board computer display should have it. In fact almost every newer vehicle offers that as an option. My Dad's 1990 Olds has an LED display with that exact thing.

Some may disagree but that display can be a hazard as it can distract the driver. I like everyone else want to watch it, so I turned mine off once I got the hang of driving fuel efficiently.

G

 

even elantra has instant MPG as of 2005

its not very accurate though

 

Moms 04 Avalon XLS has it...

 

the prius the MFD is in your face, hey look at me! im a hybrid..drool. Most cars have MPG display below ODO and speedo, or in that region. Most people in my mind dont look at this, except people who care about fuel eco...which im sure more and more are starting to get in the habit of.

I agree MFD would be nice on all cars, but wont be cost prudent till panel prices go even lower, that MFD isnt exacltly CHEAP CHEAP..your budget cars want to cut corners in all regards with interior options.

 

My mom's 07 NAH has one pictured just like the one at Nissan's new models to get fuel efficiency gauges - AutoblogGreen. I doubt she watches as esp. since she's not tech savvy and may not even know how to switch between all the different things that small LCD can display.

The Sienna of a few years ago had a digital instantaneous MPG readout as part of its trip computer. Not sure about current ones.

I've seen BMWs w/analog fuel consumption/economy gauges. They're like reverse tachs.

 

It is the combination of information which urges you to drive economically. Not just the instant number but always striving for the best tank, the lowest trip. It's a video game on wheels.

I have spent my week of commuting pushing my consumption from 4.1L/100km on day 2 of the tank down to 4.0L/100km. Each day it dips to 4.0 a bit earlier and climbs to 4.1 coming up the hill, that is until today when I made it home with 4.0L/100km on the MFD. and when that happened what was my first thought?









... Can I get it down to 3.9 over the next half tank?
Tell me the MFD makes no difference.

 

Our 2008 Scion xB does have mpg, but you have to choose to look at it - you can have it display the time OR the temperature OR the mpg, but not all of them at once. And it's not as flashy as the Prius - you can't see instantaneous results, so you don't know that what you're doing right this second is making the mpg go up and down. You can only see the overall for the tank. So while that does help a little, it doesn't give the immediate feedback that would prompt a change in driving habits (unless you already know how to drive the Prius, in which case you just bring those driving habits with you.)

We're currently getting right around 32 mpg, which is over the EPA estimate by several miles.

 

I used the Scangauge II in the anti-Prius (2001 Nissan Pathfinder LE AWD) for a year. I found I could not increase my mileage using any technique I could come up with. I doubt an MFD type display would help in a lot of vehicles. Some perhaps, but not many. At any rate, all you have to do is purchase a Scangauge II if you want to try. It will work in any vehicle of 1996 or later vintage.

 

My Altima Coupe (that I am trading any day now for a Prius) has a display that shows the current MPG (and that's like "right this second" current) and a second display that shows your an average MPG over a period of time. This display can be reset anytime if you want to track by the tank or by a specific trip or a segment of a trip, but once you reset it everything prior is wiped out. And like the Scion someone else mentioned, this is all on different screens that you have to scroll through. Not nearly as slick as the Prius!

 

For $160, ScanGuageII can give you MPG and so much more. Read more on it if you care.
Installation is easy. Its cable plugs into OBDII port.

 

Perhaps big trucks and SUVs would never have sold well in the first place, if their awful MPG was right in the drivers face....

 

That's the anti-Prius? That's what I traded in for mine!

I think an in-your-face MPG/MFD would be great for everyone. I've noticed a HUGE change (granted I was practicing before I got the Prius) in my driving habits since it's now in my face. It's like a game.. and I like games. I filled up today for the first time since buying the car and it's like I started the game over!

 

Nissan has put non-instantaneous mileage displays as part of their trip computers on many of their medium end cars starting from model year ~2002 and newer. My 02 Maxima had a trip computer as does my 04 350Z, neither w/instantaneous mileage.

They've only more recently started putting on instantaneous mileage displays in addition to the usual trip computers.

FWIW, on the NAH, you can get the MFD w/gas mileage history and power flow (very similar to the Prius) but only if you buy the VERY expensive technology package which includes nav.