Driving habits and type of driving has a huge effect on fuel economy. I had a mid 90s Escort 5 speed beater car a couple of years ago that I could only get around 23-24 mpg out of. I live 1.5 miles from the shop so most of the time the car didn't quite get warmed up. I sold it to my brother and he was working a construction job that was over 60 miles each way. He got almost 40 mpg running 80 mph.