Discussion
Ok so when looking at the fuel economy of a potential new buy i normally review Urban, Extra Urban (m'way?) and Average as per the AT website. I am fully aware that the mpg quote is based on ideal conditions but what is the point of car companies quoting ideal conditions when practically no one is able to drive under ideal conditions. Does anyone know what the acceptable tolerance is... maybe actual mpg being perhaps 20% below??
From my point of view, so far, having owned several cars i can't remember one that ever achieved the 'Urban' quoted mpg.
For example, my current car, a low mileage Mini Cooper S is quoted as 38.7 urban. On a 50 mile drive including motorway cruising for 50% of the time, i may get close to 38 if i drive carefully. Urban to me implies stop start driving from home maybe into the town centre. I live several miles away from the town centre and if i make this journey i tend to get 30mpg or less.
Questions is, on an 'urban' journey, do people generally achieve anywhere close to the quoted urban mpg?
From my point of view, so far, having owned several cars i can't remember one that ever achieved the 'Urban' quoted mpg.
For example, my current car, a low mileage Mini Cooper S is quoted as 38.7 urban. On a 50 mile drive including motorway cruising for 50% of the time, i may get close to 38 if i drive carefully. Urban to me implies stop start driving from home maybe into the town centre. I live several miles away from the town centre and if i make this journey i tend to get 30mpg or less.
Questions is, on an 'urban' journey, do people generally achieve anywhere close to the quoted urban mpg?
There are many different types of urban driving. Driving around a town late at night with no traffic gets me much better mpg than sitting in a jam and occasionally moving 3 feet. I always average more than the combined figure for every car I've owned so yes, in general my 'urban' mpg meets or betters the stated figure.
If you are constantly in heavy traffic then I doubt you'll meet it but otherwise maybe looking at your driving style or the health of your car might be a good plan.
If you are constantly in heavy traffic then I doubt you'll meet it but otherwise maybe looking at your driving style or the health of your car might be a good plan.
Bigbox said:
Ok so when looking at the fuel economy of a potential new buy i normally review Urban, Extra Urban (m'way?) and Average as per the AT website. I am fully aware that the mpg quote is based on ideal conditions but what is the point of car companies quoting ideal conditions when practically no one is able to drive under ideal conditions. Does anyone know what the acceptable tolerance is... maybe actual mpg being perhaps 20% below??
You're mistaken in thinking it's "ideal" conditions - the test is done in "consistent" conditions, i.e. always the same and therefore (in theory) comparable.i think it depends wildly on how practical it is to drive in the manner you need to in order to replicate manufacturer figures.
VW give the Golf R 31mpg urban and having done 2000 miles in it it's looking more like the realistic combined figure now (quoted as 40.1)
I can get 'near' quoted figures by nursing the car, focusing 100% on saving fuel, in ECO mode (which disengages the engine whilst coasting along with other stuff) but it's hard work and I'm finding the discipline of not booting it every now and then almost impossible.
As soon as you give the throttle any kind of enthusiastic pressure the MPG plummets.
1hr of focused ECO driving can be wiped out within 20 seconds of hooliganess.
Hey ho.
VW give the Golf R 31mpg urban and having done 2000 miles in it it's looking more like the realistic combined figure now (quoted as 40.1)
I can get 'near' quoted figures by nursing the car, focusing 100% on saving fuel, in ECO mode (which disengages the engine whilst coasting along with other stuff) but it's hard work and I'm finding the discipline of not booting it every now and then almost impossible.
As soon as you give the throttle any kind of enthusiastic pressure the MPG plummets.
1hr of focused ECO driving can be wiped out within 20 seconds of hooliganess.
Hey ho.
Depends how good the manufacturers are at fiddling the numbers.
At the moment am getting 19.6 on a 7 mile 'urban' journey (no motorways or dual carriageways, several sets of traffic lights and some twisty roads). It's rated as 17.1mpg urban. It is an auto V8 and the revs hover around 1100rpm pretty much, so I guess a manual car perhaps depends more on driving style.
Of course I am stuck with £500/year VED for the privilege.
At the moment am getting 19.6 on a 7 mile 'urban' journey (no motorways or dual carriageways, several sets of traffic lights and some twisty roads). It's rated as 17.1mpg urban. It is an auto V8 and the revs hover around 1100rpm pretty much, so I guess a manual car perhaps depends more on driving style.
Of course I am stuck with £500/year VED for the privilege.
It's not the car companies, and it's not 'ideal' conditions. It's a prescribed benchmark, and the figures from it are the only ones that the manufacturers are allowed to use.
As absolutely everything is than based on the CO2 figure that comes out at the end, VED, BIK buying habits, etc. Manufacturers have no choice but to design specifically to do well on the cycle.
As absolutely everything is than based on the CO2 figure that comes out at the end, VED, BIK buying habits, etc. Manufacturers have no choice but to design specifically to do well on the cycle.
nitrodave said:
I have an e46 325ci...
...I struggle to get it above 34mpg on a steady motorway run.
Impossible!!!...I struggle to get it above 34mpg on a steady motorway run.
Dont you know every other person on here has a 330i/530i that will do 40 on a run?!
[PH BS MPG claims aside, sounds about right. My E46 325i saloon did about the same in both conditions, nursing it could get a little better on long runs]
yeah right! emicen said:
Impossible!!!
Dont you know every other person on here has a 330i/530i that will do 40 on a run?!
[PH BS MPG claims aside, sounds about right. My E46 325i saloon did about the same in both conditions, nursing it could get a little better on long runs]
Dont you know every other person on here has a 330i/530i that will do 40 on a run?!
[PH BS MPG claims aside, sounds about right. My E46 325i saloon did about the same in both conditions, nursing it could get a little better on long runs]
it must be that extra half litre and bags of extra torqueemicen said:
Impossible!!!
Dont you know every other person on here has a 330i/530i that will do 40 on a run?!
[PH BS MPG claims aside, sounds about right. My E46 325i saloon did about the same in both conditions, nursing it could get a little better on long runs]
If memory serves, they used the same ratios but a longer final drive for the 5speed 330i. It actually meant it was slightly more suited to a motorway cruise.Dont you know every other person on here has a 330i/530i that will do 40 on a run?!
[PH BS MPG claims aside, sounds about right. My E46 325i saloon did about the same in both conditions, nursing it could get a little better on long runs]
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