Focus diesel mpg disappointing

[Hogweed]

Sold my M3 on PH a few weeks ago, replaced with a 2002 Focus TDci, and I have to say I love the difference. At anything like normal driving speeds, the Focus is MUCH more fun to drive – agile, pointable, torquey – and comfortable. You can hit cat’s eyes without cracking your vertebrae, for example, and spare parts cost about A QUARTER of what they do for the M3… and of course, those are the reasons I bought it.

BUT reviews I read before deciding all agreed that these things do 48/50mpg, so I'm a bit disappointed that mine only manages 39 or so. No, I'm NOT driving it like the Beemer – I'm cruising around in a very relaxed manner.

Does anyone know? Have the reviews been optimistic, or might there be a problem with my car?

Thanks all…

[hornetrider]

In other news my brand new 2 litre MX5 has just gone over 400 miles on its first tank of gas... that's a 50 litre tank. 40mpg with a hoon as well!

/smug

[HellDiver]

Your difference may be due to simple things like tyre choice, tyre pressure, and even fuel choice. I got 2-3mpg less on Tesco or ASDA diesel compared to BP in my diesels, for example.

I gained 2mpg on the petrol Mondeo when I replaced the worn out Vredestein Hi-Trac tyres with Bridgestone ER300 Ecopia tyres.

[trickywoo]

Wait till the dual mass flywheel fails then you'll be in a world of hurt

[Hogweed]

Ummm… thanks for inspiring confidence. As I think I mentioned, I'm new to ownership of this kind of car – what the hell’s a dual-mass flywheel, and how likely is it to fail?

[Diablos-666]

Id be happy with that my Focus only manages 24mpg

suppose it is an RS though

[emicen]

Does sound low. I managed to get in the low 50s coming back from Preston to Glasgow, mostly at 75 but with a 30 mile section dispatched at serious beans.

Which variant are we talking about of diesel?

[clonmult]

I'm wondering if the different variants of diesel make any difference in economy - ie. V-Power diesel as opposed to the supermarket stuff.

Still, happy with mine - A6 Avant, 1.9 TDI, not exactly a car for hooning, but the occasional blast down country lanes to break up the boring commute, and last tank was around 47mpg. Not bad for such a huge tank.

[jon-]

Hogweed said:

Sold my M3 on PH a few weeks ago, replaced with a 2002 Focus TDci, and I have to say I love the difference. At anything like normal driving speeds, the Focus is MUCH more fun to drive – agile, pointable, torquey – and comfortable.

What was wrong with your M3

[Hogweed]

emicen said:

Does sound low. I managed to get in the low 50s coming back from Preston to Glasgow, mostly at 75 but with a 30 mile section dispatched at serious beans.

Which variant are we talking about of diesel?

It says Duratorq on the top of the engine, and it's a 1.8 Tcdi - anything else I can tell you?

[Hogweed]

jon- said:

Hogweed said:

Sold my M3 on PH a few weeks ago, replaced with a 2002 Focus TDci, and I have to say I love the difference. At anything like normal driving speeds, the Focus is MUCH more fun to drive – agile, pointable, torquey – and comfortable.

What was wrong with your M3

I was made redundant - too expensive.

[Krise]

If its the 2litre, you should be clearing 47 round the town and 50 + on the motorway, I have a 58 plate, 2litre, all motorway driving and I'm clearing 55mpg at the min

[Munter]

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Hogweed]

musclecarmad said:

is it around town that you are getting that or on a run.

how are you calculating it

if its around town in stop start traffic its not TOO bad

No, country driving - last night was a 60-mile round trip, at about 60mph...

Measured by (a) the computer (b) miles driven vs. amoutn of diesel for a refill...

[Devil2575]

emicen said:

Does sound low. I managed to get in the low 50s coming back from Preston to Glasgow, mostly at 75 but with a 30 mile section dispatched at serious beans.

You really can't tell unless you know what kind of driving he is doing. Your run was mostly at a constant speed, but is this how the OP drives?

My Wifes mazda 6 TD will get 45mpg+ on the motorway but in typical stop start traffic this falls to mid to late 30s.

Also in my experience Fords don't tend to be great on juice.

[Simbu]

I've got one of these! 51 mpg IS optimistic - i get more like between 45 and 48. I agree it is great fun to drive for what it is, what trim variant did you get? Also, do you have the 115ps or 100ps engine?

[karl922]

I had a focus 09 plate diesel (as a hire car) and i managed 66.6 mpg from cornwall to sheffield.... must be something wrong mate.

[Super Slo Mo]

I would suggest you do a few (say 5 or 10) brim to brim fill ups, and work out an average. From one tank full to another, my car's fuel consumption seemingly goes up and down like a yo-yo. I suspect at least part of this is down to inconsistencies in brimming the tank and not expelling all the air (it's a VW with the release valve in the filler neck).

Doing this ought to give you a better idea of what it's doing. How do you drive? Do you use a lot of revs, or let it roll along on the torque in a high gear? Might be worth looking at your driving style (not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with it).

Do you have the aircon on? That can be worth 5 or more percent on your consumption.

Failing that, it may genuinely have a fault, I know on VW's when things like the coolant temp sensors start to fail, they can get a bit heavy on fuel.

[Munter]

karl922 said:

I had a focus 09 plate diesel (as a hire car) and i managed 66.6 mpg from cornwall to sheffield.... must be something wrong mate.

Ah but was it the 8v 1.8 in the OPs car or a 16v 1.6 econetic focus?

Based on what was said in the previous focus TDCI MPG thread the 1.8 is/was basically stone age technology tarted up.

[nonuts]

Just wondering, which M3 did you have?