im very happy with the car...ive got a little over 5k on it since i got it last may
the mpg for short drives to work in the city sucks...it usually averages 14-15mpg at best
but i like the car so much that it doesnt really matter
long drives are different though, nyc from albany and back usually give me 24-26mpg

one question though, is our engine ok to have gas with ethanol?
ive been using the BJs pump locally and that has ethanol added, when i found out though i switched back to mobil regula coz i wasnt sure

 

gas up to 10% ethanol is fine. You'll get a bit of mileage penalty..maybe 5%..but it's hard to find gas in the Midwest that doesn't have it and it's usually more expensive due to tax breaks for gasohol

My in town mileage is about 15 now, but it's winter..in summer it goes up significantly to nearly 20

 

I just bought a new black/tan 2007 Outlander XLS (Sun&Sound,Lux,Navi), they had one left, got a great deal. I've been getting 21mpg around town. We live out in a suburb/country area now and commute to work, so about 1/2 is hwy driving. Already have 2500mi on it, going to change the oil this weekend to put in some fresh conventional oil & new filter, then go to full synthetic the time after that. My firend bought his wife a 2007 Honda CRV front wheel drive EX-L. They get better mileage but it has less power and my engine sounds better and my mini suv doesnt look like a chick car...

 

Bringing this to the top with an update. I've kept vigilant track of every fill up by resetting the mileage counter and keeping every receipt since the truck was purchased.

Here is the mileage from 12/27/07 - 12/18/09

2007 XLS - 4wd - loaded

Mileage traveled: 14646.60
Average MPG: 16.457
Average price/gal: $2.962
Amount spent in gas: $2635.94
Gallons of fuel used: 889.982

 

It seems like the mpg gets killed during "warm-up" at the start of driving, if you live in colder climes your mpg will probably drop.

Also, make sure you are using 5W-20 and not 5W-30. the 20 weight oil is better for fuel economy. I've actually just switched to 5w-20 synthetic.

If you hold the "info" button down it resets the MPG calculation, if you check it after the engine has warmed up the city MPG goes from 13-15 to 19-21.

 

Alright, I'd figure another update to mileage was in order... And yes, I've kept every receipt for every fill up (oil, brakes, etc) since the truck was purchased brand new.

Here is the mileage from 01/13/10-01/13/2013

2007 XLS - 4wd - loaded

Mileage traveled: 21203.30
Average MPG: 15.88
Average price/gal: $3.57
Amount spent in gas: $4,761.73
Gallons of fuel used: 1334.907