When we ran our first Denver 100 MPG highway loop in our new 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid AWD we were a bit disappointed by a less than desirable result. Ford called us and said that we should have waited to test the efficiency of this tiny truck until it has around 4,000 miles on the odometer. They said that it would provide a more realistic MPG result, and this is also what the EPA expects and does for their certification.
The Denver 100
The Denver 100 MPG loop is a highway ring E470 toll-road that goes around Denver, Colorado. The average speed of this loop is around 60-61 MPH (with a large section of this route with a speed limit of 75 MPH). The total driving distance is 111 miles.
The first time was back in January with an ambient temperature around 37F. We often test new trucks without many miles on the odometer. Our Maverick had around 300 miles back then, which is fairly normal for a new vehicle we generally test when we take them off-road, road trips, or drag races. Our mini truck registered 29.5 MPG at the pump. We used 87 octane for this test. We generally use the manufacturer recommended octane level when testing vehicles.
We put 4,000 miles on the truck, and I am re-running the same test again. Naturally, we want to see just how much this engine break-in period affects our efficiency. We imagined that we may see 5-10 % improvement in efficiency. This second test was performed in early April with an ambient temperature around 70F. The truck was not changed or modified in any way. It simply had more miles on the odometer. We have not performed an oil change yet.
I am once again VERY surprised when the new calculation showed 41.8 MPG! Whoa! This is a huge improvement over what happened last time. It’s a 42% improvement. The EPA says this truck is rated at 34 MPG on the highway.
What happened? There can be several factors at play. The truck’s engine is now broken in. The gas station may have switched from a winter blend of fuel to a summer blend. This April day was fairly ideal. The ambient temperature was pleasant and the heater no air conditioner had to operate for any significant time.
Please join the video below to see the shock on my face.
