[doering1]

If anyone was ever worried about pulling a heavy trailer on a long trip through mountains and rough terrain, the Murano can do it. We just completed over 3,500 kms (2200 mi) around the Gaspe peninsula (part of Quebec province in Canada). The trailer weighs in around 2800 pounds. On the level, the Murano is at about 1800 rpm at 100kms (60 mph). Gas mileage on the flat highways was about 21mpg and dropped to 18-19 mpg through the hilly stuff. Some of the most impressive climbs (as much as 15% grades) I have travelled on in Canada. The CVT engine has some impressive torque at the low end! We climbed some serious elevation.

 

[doering1]

Hauling power plus performance! (Last 5 pics)

Additional shots for your viewing pleasure!

 

[njjoe]

doering1-

Nice pics!!!

21 MPG with a trailer behind you is very good!!

Out of curiosity, when going up the 15% grades what were the engine RPMS?

-njjoe

 

[Eric L.]

I echo joe's comments - 21mpg towing a trailer is astounding. If I were driving through a beautiful area like that last picture, I'd probably take it slow too!

Enjoy the ride.

 

[doering1]

Joe,
If I was able to take a run at the approaching hill I would accelerate into the approach. Much easier on the engine rather than have it screaming near the top. On the biggest hills, the engine RPMS would be in the mid 3000's to maintain adequate speed. I have never seen the indicator exceed 4000 RPMS. Very few vehicles passed me on the hills. I did not push the engine to maintain speed on the long grades. If it dropped 10-15 kms/hr I would let it before giving more gas to hold at about 80 kms/hr. The speed limit was 80- 90kms/hr for the hilly sections. The engine also reved into the mid 3000's on the long descents if I wanted to hold a constant speed and not continue to accelerate.

 

[doering1]

Eric,
No, we certainly did not race through the area. I also experimented with different octane grades of gas. It is often tough to compare. I filled up with the mid-grade (89 octane) usually. The higher grades of gas seemed to give me slightly better performance (maybe .5- 1 mpg better). Tough to compare critically because of the changing road conditions. The air conditioning definitely cut the mpg's by at least 1-2 mpg, maybe even 3 mpg. I should note that there was no noticeable loss of power when the air was on. Just sucking more gas. My wife was getting a little ticked when I was turning the air off and on and reading the values))))))

 

[darkoch]

Remember that the 21mpg is based on the imperial gallon-about 4.5 liters-compaed to the U.S. gallon-about 3.8 liters- so the gas mileage in Canada is always higher....

 

[Eric L.]

Remember that the 21mpg is based on the imperial gallon-about 4.5 liters-compaed to the U.S. gallon-about 3.8 liters- so the gas mileage in Canada is always higher....

Nice catch. So 21 impg = 17.7 usmpg, and 19 impg = 16 usmpg. Makes more sense.

 

[Enforcer]

Wow, thanks for the pics. Always good to hear about tow experiences.

 

[njjoe]

doering1-

Now I am confused. Did you get 21 miles per US gallon or 21 miles per Imperial gallon? :8:

-njjoe

 

[Enforcer]

Is a mile really a mile? :roadtrip:

 

[manitoba murano]

Canadian Muranos do not use Imperial Gallons in their calculations. The display can be switched between Imp/Metric, but the mileage is displayed in US MPG.

For example, my fuel economy shows 12 litres/100km, and 19.5 mpg. Doing trhe conversion yourself, you will see that the MPG figure is based on US gallons.

 

[njjoe]

manitoba murano-

Thanx for clearing that up!

So it is true, doering1 did achieve 21 MPG while pulling a trailer!! Amazing. Truly amazing. Way to go MO! :claphead:

-njjoe

 

[bigdongers]

Man thats a lot of birds.

 

[doering1]

Got to check in more often here! Glad to see we got the conversions straightened out. Thanks to manitoba murano for that. Remember, I got that 21 mpg on the flats. On the hilly stuff, the 18 and 19 mpg figures appear. Also, I kept the accelerations slow and smooth guys.

 

[doering1]

bigdongers

55,000 Northern Gannets nest on Bonaventure Island. The second largest colony in the world. The most accessible colony in the world. These birds can dive up to 30 feet in the water.

 

[manitoba murano]

Keep in mind that the people who do the testing for mileage (NRC or something like that in Canada) do the highway calculations at speeds of about 80km/h (50mph). I believe the window sticker lists the highway mileage at 27mpg.

So, given the fact that the average speeds on your trip were about 80-90, it is not unusual that you approached 21mpg while towing the trailer. Try the same trip at 100km/h, and I bet your average drops to the 15mpg range.

I get about 28mpg when I drive 80-85km/h, no load, on the prairie.

 

[doering1]

Yes, absolutely. Anything over 100 kms and the fuel efficiency rapidly disappears. I usually check the mpg when I drive to the dealer. Flat county road and just me and the Murano. Drop down in the 70's kms range when no one is around and you can hit 29-30 mpg. But that is a way too slow for me. Fun to test though.

 

[Stoker]

Got to check in more often here! Glad to see we got the conversions straightened out. Thanks to manitoba murano for that. Remember, I got that 21 mpg on the flats. On the hilly stuff, the 18 and 19 mpg figures appear. Also, I kept the accelerations slow and smooth guys.

Great shots of Eastern Canada, Just finished a road trip with my Mo and my Coleman tent trailer from Calgary to Victoria and back and average the same same fuel economy as you (11.5-12 Lts to 100 Km). The one thing I did notice when you are hill climbing ( 4-8%) over 10-15 KMs that you need to keep the Mo at 80 Kph at a minimum otherwise it will overheat, that little fan in back of the rad does not move alot of air particularity when it is 35C outside. One thing I have found that helps in that situation is to shut off the A/C and turn on the heater to full heat and open all the windows. The little extra heat exchange from the car heater does help the overheat in the engine, however, may not be good for the other passengers, but life does have choices.

 

[doering1]

I did keep an eye on the temp gauge and was wondering about high temps. The indicator was steady and did not rise above its' normal position. For our trip, the grades were not nearly as long as yours through the Rockies. I'll remember your advice if the Murano and trailer go west!