my bet is that it's a combination of the cold, maybe slick streets and new-ness. My auto-stick with 12K on it dleivers 22 mpg consistently so far, all winter driving, in the slop/ice and snow, and almost all commuting, so I'm in heavy traffic most of the time, speeds generally kept below 65. I'd have to guess my average speed is about 40 with the starts and stops etc. I'm thinking 22 is pretty good. It's in wintermode, won't atke that off until around April. I'm thinking she'll get about 28 in the summer.