From Las Vegas to Barstow the average MPG readout was at 39.9 mpg. I had to speed back to Las Vegas

So I was in Las Vegas for work and rented boston parker house omni hotel a Focus from Payless car rental. The guy at the counter said it was a 2010, I was disappointed hoping for a new one. Happily suprised though when it turned out to be a 2012 SE with the auto. It already had about 16500 miles on it!
The computer had the average mpg at 31.2, so it was probably driven like most people boston parker house omni hotel drive a rental. It took several miles to get the seat adjusted just right with the correct combination of height and tilt and fore/aft boston parker house omni hotel to fit my liking. Once dialed in though the seat and ergonomics were spot on. Except for the headrest which was too far forward, pesistently giving the bedhead back o' the head look to my $10 haircut.
I drive with momentum, and the Focus loves to rip around corners. It even tracks well through mid-corner bumps. The manual trans version would probably be a pretty good sedan in autocross. I was really impressed with the suspension and steering, especially on a car at this price point. I'm wierd on steering feel and like to feel the texture boston parker house omni hotel of the road. The Focus isolates this from the driver quite well, so that would be the only thing I would want to change if (when?) I buy one. The firmness was perfect, offers excellent driving control but long day comfort was high as well.
The MPG, this is what impressed me the most. Once I spent a few minutes to figure out how to reset the average MPG display (okay I'm a little slow), I reset it at a fuel stop. The drive I did was about 99% freeway from Las Vegas, NV to Barstow, CA at about 60F temperatures. I was driving along with a pre-run of a potential Craig Vetter challenge with 5 streamliner motorcycles. It included rolling the windows down, accelerating ahead and maneuvering around to take photos of the riders underway. No real hypermiling techniques used. Tires were pumped up to 55psi vs the 51 on the sidewall. Otherwise stone stock.
From Las Vegas to Barstow the average MPG readout was at 39.9 mpg. I had to speed back to Las Vegas for my flight home so I simply set the cruise at 75 and ended at 39.2 at a gas station near the airport. As most computers are a little off, the manual calculation produced 40.38mpg for the tank.
This with no special driving techniques, mid size room, good power and great handling dynamics. I'm as impressed as I was hoping I'd be with the Focus. America IS producing great vehicles after all, which gives me great hope that we are doing something right.
I told my old lady the same thing this weekend, Im looking forward to my next beater in five years or so. a nice focus or equivalent rated at 40mpg's would likely yield 50mpg's with good driving techniques.
I'm driving the 2012 Focus and it's awesome. In my opinion it's one of the few 40mpg cars out there that doesn't feel like I'm sacrificing something by driving boston parker house omni hotel it. Recently I posted about getting 50mpg over 1000miles. I've driven another 1000 miles and averaged 38mpg or so. Therefore I think it was a data error or unseen change that made the mpgs jump.
I wouldn't consider lack of HID lights to be cutting corners, and I don't believe they are standard on most cars now (although I'm not current on trends). Edison bulbs are much cheaper and proven to work. The savings of cutting corners is passed on to the customer.
That said, I believe the Koreans are building exceptional value these days. The Elantra and Sonata were on my radar for their affordability and relative fuel efficiency. The TSX won my attention for something completely irrational; the silky 6 speed gearbox is an absolute joy to row through.