Going on a 400 mile trip and was wondering if it's just better to get a rental but it all depends on gas mileage and obviously the cost of the rental.

I'd get the cheapest econo car. From what I see on the major websites it's either a Chevy Aveo or Kia Rio both around 38mpg hwy from the forums. XK8 is supposed to be 25 mpg hwy right? I wouldn't be using the AC as this is early morning driving.

Anyone taken real world readings? This is 90% flat driving through the desert of course at the speed limit@~75.

 

25 mpg is about right for the driving you described. I used to get about 23 mpg with mixed city/highway driving. You might be able to do a little better than that with the AC off on flat roads. I got about 30 mpg once, but that was while driving at about 60mph on really flat roads with the top up, windows down, and no AC.

 

With my XKR, 50 miles each way to Phoenix, 95% highway driving, 80mph honeslty, 19.9.

 

Well mine's an 01 xk8, I'd expect it to get better mpg than an XKR. I'll go with 22mpg as an estimate.

The lowest I can get with hertz would cost me $50 extra to NOT take my XK8 on a long trip. Have to decide on that.

 

In my XKR I get 22 in a mixed hwy/city commute around Phoenix. 27 is normal on the highway for a long trip, and that is while doing 85 across the desert. Could get a little better if I slowed down, but who wants to do that?

This is with the 6spd trans, which also helps.

 

not sure how many gears my transmission has so I guess 25mpg is reasonable for this. 16 gallonsx$4.25=$68 per 400 miles. $136.

Rental@hertz econo@38mpg, 11gallon tankx4.25=46.75=418miles. 120.26 rental fee=167.01.

~62$ round trip extra to not take my XK8. Might be worth it to me.

rental@38mpg-120.26@hertz

 

Yours is the 5-speed, so expect 24-25mpg.

What you failed to account for in your calculations is the joy of taking your XK8 for a long cruise.

 

I drove my newly purchased 03 XKR vert from Raleigh, NC to Hartford, CT about seven weeks ago. I averaged around 29 mpg on mostly highway at about 72 mph, with the top and windows closed and no air. It was about 600+ miles through a combination of mountains and flat terrains. The big smile on my face did not decrease my mileage. My combination mileage is about 22.5 mpg and still smiling. If you do not mind putting a little mileage on you Jag, drive it and have fun on the trip. A nice drive like that is good for the engine. Keep smiling!!!

Bill N

 

I bought mine in Houston and drove to Phoenix getting about the same 29mpg. That was a little slower than my usual pace, on bad tires and an unknown service history.

I see guys on here bragging about 120, 150, 170k on their cars and tend not to worry too much about the 70k I have. What's the point of having something like an XK if you're not going to use and enjoy it?

My $0.02 is to take the Jag whenever you can. To my knowledge there just isn't a better road car out there.

Ok, maybe a DB9.

 

2001 XKR
I got real close to what Jon Fox did. From Dallas to central Illinois, almost all interstate highways, a little over 1000 miles. Doing on the average of 78 MPH and got 20 MPG. and enjoyed every minute.

 

My trip to Phoenix and back on Easter of this year netted me about 22-23 at best on hwy 40...........27 is amazing. of the 2600 miles I did that holiday weekend i got nothing near that......

 

During the first week of April, my wife managed to get between 29 and 30 mpg on her first solo trip to and from Tampa in her XK8. That's fully loaded with all her suitcases, cosmetics crap, and shoeboxes. She sets the cruise on 72 mph for the vast majority of the trip, and she sets the HVAC to keep her comfortable at around 70 degrees regardless of the season....

She's always been able to consistently get right at 33 mpg in our S-Type for this trip since we purchased it in December 2008. But she'll probably do all future Tampa trips in her XK8 now. She doesn't want to drive our other vehicles due to the fact that her XK8 has spoiled the hell out of her in the three months since we purchased it....

 

One factor that hasn't been discussed yet; are we talking about REAL MPG or the MPG that's displayed on the dash? My dash display was always 1-2 MPG better than what I actually got when doing the math at the pump.

 

I'm TOTALLY confused by that post. Personally, I'd be calculating how much extra I would have to pay to take the Jag, not how much extra I'd have to pay to take a rental car. Why by the Jag if you're not going to drive it.

But I understand, that's just a personal preference. Some people like to keep the mileage on their personal vehicles as low as possible. I used to have a friend who would do that. He'd have a couple of nice luxury cars, but then when he'd go on vacation he'd rent a Ford Focus or something to keep from putting miles on his cars. I didn't get it.

 

20 is about par for the course in the 5 speed (pre-2003) XKR. Drive'em and enjoy 'em!!

 

Rev asks a good question. I'm going mostly by the trip computer calculated values but find that when I do the math at the pump, that it's pretty close.

e.g: Last weekend, made it from Phoenix to Beverly Hills on just a tick over 15 gal. That is right at 400 miles and the trip computer said 26.9.

 

My pump calculations on long trips concur with the computor. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this girl gets better mileage at 70 than at 50. I've hit 32 Imperial on the freeway, pump to pump. About 27 US. The 8 and the R that I had are identical.

 

I'm just I suppose overly protective of my XK8 so I was thinking it would be best to take long trips in a rental if it's only $50-60 extra than what it would be to take the XK8. I wouldn't use my XK8 to do any moving so I figured why not NOT use it for long trips, etc.

I suppose if it's "good" to take it on long trips then I'll do it. Although I have bad luck with the smokies on this trip in my last car, a prizm which did get 38mpg. I'll have to be extra careful of them in this car! Watch out through Barstow, CA and Baker, CA especially!

I was always talking about REAL world mpg as the post title says that's why I was asking instead of going off of the sticker or internet postings. Looks like I can count on low to mid 20mpg's.

 

27 US for a pre-03 5 speed XKR is incredible. You either drive exceptionally gently or your supercharger is never engaging and should be checked out.

 

I don't pay attention to urban mileage, but on trips up through Nevada and California where I cruise from 70 to 80 most of the way (yeah, a few short runs to 100) I typically get 24-26 easily. At 85 or more it does dip down to the 23 range.

However, we do use premium fuel at 20 cents or more per gallon. So, 400/38X4= $42.10. 400/26X4.20 = $64.60. Is it worth $22 more to enjoy your Jag...or is it worth the $22 savings AND less wear and tear on your Jag? PLUS the rental fee (+ taxes and insurance).

Those are the questions.