E36 3-Series MPG figures

[Chris71]

wiggy001 said:

wiggy001 said:

I get about 370 miles max out of a tank of motorway driving (60 litres I think? So 28mpg) and 240 around town (so 18mpg)

After seeing some of these other figures, I double-checked the manual as I assumed my fuel tank (328 convertible) must be smaller than I had thought.

Er, no! It's 62 litres (13.6 gallons) making my best 27mpg and around town under 18!

Is my right foot really that heavy?

Going to Devon on Thursday so will see how gentle I can be and what I manage from a tank...

If you're running with the roof down it'll create a lot of extra drag which might explain things. It may also be a little heavier than the coupes.

Out of interest, what figure did the economy run return?

[scz4]

wiggy001 said:

If you're running with the roof down it'll create a lot of extra drag which might explain things. It may also be a little heavier than the coupes.

My Z4 manual states you lose 10% efficiency with the roof down...... E36 could even be more than that... it's a brick at the best of times...

My M3 Evo averages 28mpg seen upto 36mpg on a relaxed run.... guess it's those aero dynamic wing mirrors

Edited by scz4 on Tuesday 22 July 14:46

[sniff petrol]

325 tds touring: 32mpg on short local trips and 40mpg on a run

325i saloon: 24mpg on local trips and 33 on a run (same figures as a 320i incidentally)

Both I think are acceptable considering the weight and power of both cars, apart from the smaller 6 cylinder engines don't seem as efficient. Fuel tank holds 65 litres according to the handbook.

[ironictwist]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

True it was via the OBC. But genuinely, over a prolonged period, that's what it averaged. I guess I could do a more accurate calculation, but I can't handle maths after a long day

[Fer]

I find the OBC a little erratic, so I watch the range as a measure of how light my foot is, but the MPG from each time I fill the tank.

[wiggy001]

Chris71 said:

wiggy001 said:

wiggy001 said:

I get about 370 miles max out of a tank of motorway driving (60 litres I think? So 28mpg) and 240 around town (so 18mpg)

After seeing some of these other figures, I double-checked the manual as I assumed my fuel tank (328 convertible) must be smaller than I had thought.

Er, no! It's 62 litres (13.6 gallons) making my best 27mpg and around town under 18!

Is my right foot really that heavy?

Going to Devon on Thursday so will see how gentle I can be and what I manage from a tank...

If you're running with the roof down it'll create a lot of extra drag which might explain things. It may also be a little heavier than the coupes.

Out of interest, what figure did the economy run return?

Er, the economy run turned into a need for me to get home quicker than I got there, so er... about the same as before!

Roof up the whole time too...

[doodlebug]

Easily achieved 34mpg in my '98 328i Sport manual on a daily commute of 15 miles - some urban, mostly 'B' roads. Motorways not much more at 0.9 Leptons typical. Still better than expected for what it was.

Wish the Fiat did the same!

[SuLu1973]

I have only had my 328i (1998) for 3 weeks and havnt really played with her yet. Although, tbh, she is far slower than I expected but I guess thats from driving moddified jap turbo's lol.

I think the car is rather confused as to mpg figures as the obc fluctuates from 22 mpg to 38 mpg depending upon how I drive (which over a period of normal driving averages out around 28mpg) yet I noticed that the range meter (think its a range meter - the mpg needle bases dial under the speedo) stated 48mpg when I kept a constand 67mph @ 1800 rpm - this cant be right .......... surley??