The 2014 Mini Cooper (manual transmission) was originally rated at 30 mpg city, 42 mpg highway and 34 mpg combined. Those figures are being revised down to 29 city, 40 highway and 33 combined. STEPTRONIC automatic models will be revised down from 29/40/33 to 28/39/32.
Cooper S models are hit harder. With the manual transmission, ratings will be revised from 25/38/29 to 24/34/28. Automatics fare slightly better, going from 27/38/31 to 26/35/30.
Fuel economy testing is initially conducted by manufacturers. The results of those tests are later subject to auditing by the EPA, who has the authority to re-test vehicles to verify manufacturers’ estimates. Just recently, Mercedes-Benz was required to re-rate a handful of C-Class models following a similar audit.
While Mercedes-Benz’s figures were found to be incorrect due to improper road-load calculations, no specific reason was given for the discrepancies in BMW/Mini’s numbers.
In a statement released by the EPA, Director Christopher Grundler of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality said, “Fuel economy values matter to consumers and automakers. To provide consumers with the most accurate, reliable and repeatable fuel economy values, we are continuing to strengthen our oversight to ensure fair competition among automakers.”
Leave a Reply