[Scott Woodcock]

Thanks for all of the responses, guys. With all due respect, I'm an engineer, have owned luxury cars for years, and have driven several cars with CVT. This isn't is a case of my misunderstanding what a CVT is/does and not appreciating luxury. However, it appears that the consensus here is that 14 - 16 MPG is within the normal range for this car for mixed city/highway driving, so I'll just adjust my expectations.

 

[Scott Woodcock]

Try driving it in sport mode, where it will simulate the shifts of a normal transmission (i.e., the CVT will use fixed, discrete ratios, vice an infinite one designed for constant engine RPM in it's sweet spot. Consequently, the engine RPM will raise and fall with the "shifts", so the engine won't feel like it is lugging.

That's a good suggestion, Rooster. I have tried that and do like the fact that it chooses gear ratios that are a bit higher and doesn't immediately dive down to 1,200 RPMs and lug like it does around town in Standard and Eco.

The drawback that I've seen is that the pedal becomes so responsive in sport that it becomes a very fine line between "peppy" and "honey, slow down!". I'm not trying to set any speed records.

Update on my MPG situation: I finished the last tank at 15.9. So a little more what has been reported as 'typical'.

 

[Scott Woodcock]

With 50% city/HWY I get 24.5 on my 2013 model with the older CVT so either your vehicle isn't tuned correctly or your driving it harder than normal. Bring it to the dealer and have them check the engine, filters, etc... to see why it's not breathing/operating normally.

Thanks for the perspective, yeller. I'm pretty sure I'm not driving it harder than average, so I'm hoping the dealer will be able to suggest or fix something.

It's become a quest to see how much I can raise the gas mileage by adjusting my driving style, so I feel like I'm babying it as much as possible. I'm sure it would help a lot if I had more highway time. I'm interested to see how it does on our first road trip.