E92 M3 Fuel Consumption

[djtex]

I know there have been plenty of threads about fuel consumption in the past, but none are providing the sort of info I need. I am (hopefully) getting to be getting one in a few months, but am just trying to understand all the costs associated. Particularly as I will be using it every day for work. My commute is 15 miles each way, with an average of about 30mph. Given that, I drive very gingerly now to not waste fuel needlessly, what do you think I might reasonably expect from the M3?

I'm not bothered about it at other times, as that's why I want the car. But if I can get around the 20-22mpg mark for my commute i can live with that.

Many thanks in advance

[griff7]

About 15 with such a low average speed.The most i have ever had was 26 when i drove through roadworks with slow speeds and on a busy motorway so averaged about 60 mph.I have managed 22 from staffs to eurotunnel a couple of times but from france to germany when pushing on only 15.They just are not good on fuel but i still love it

[MC99]

Driving super-sensibly through central London I've had approx 18-19mpg in slow traffic...over the 2yrs I've had the car it's running 19.8mpg which is fine by me.

[RacerMDR]

Good question / I've been doing some controlled ish testing over the last few days

if I sit at 75mph on cruise control the car achieves 23.5mpg

as you up that to 80mph it hovers around 22.9

slow speeds are harder to test. I used the 322 out of Guildford to the M4 as it's about a 30 minute run at 5am I was getting around 18mpg if I was changing gear where the car told me - which essentially had me in 5th or 6th at anything over 30mph - which felt very odd to me. That road has lots of roundabouts and some traffic lights. So there was plenty of braking wastage.

I tried the same road at 15:00 - this got
the car to achieve 15/16mpg - generally due to more cars about - more stopping/starting

if I drive the car in the gears I feel appropriate for that run, again it's around 16mpg even on a clear run.

Over 3000 miles since I've had the car I've had an overall average of 19.3 - considering it was new to me and I've not exactly been holding back I suspect that will rise to early 20s MPG over time.

Not hugely scientific - but real world controlled ish tests

[ChrisGTR]

5 mile commute each way that is 50% dual carriage way and 50% inner city with spirited drive when appropriate got me 16mpg average. I tried over the course of a few weeks to see what I could achieve if really trying and managed to average just shy of 19mpg but really not worth the effort involved for me.

Edited by ChrisGTR on Monday 24th January 09:31

[Pugsey]

djtex said:

I know there have been plenty of threads about fuel consumption in the past, but none are providing the sort of info I need. I am (hopefully) getting to be getting one in a few months, but am just trying to understand all the costs associated. Particularly as I will be using it every day for work. My commute is 15 miles each way, with an average of about 30mph. Given that, I drive very gingerly now to not waste fuel needlessly, what do you think I might reasonably expect from the M3?

I'm not bothered about it at other times, as that's why I want the car. But if I can get around the 20-22mpg mark for my commute i can live with that.

Many thanks in advance

I'd guess that a few mpgs difference +/- over 150 miles per week will be but a tiny drop in the ocean £wise compared with the difference between having bought well or badly come resale time.

[curious2]

Im curious to know how to obtain long term fuel consumption data for my 2010 E90 M3 as the instruction book says "average fuel consumption is calculated for the period since the engine was last switched on.”

[djtex]

Thanks for the info guys. Not quite sure what you mean though Pugsy, can you clarify for me. It looks though from what you're all saying it might be a bit of a push, I'm already pushing the limits of what I want to afford at the 20-22 mpg level. So 15mpg is going to double my annual fuel bill. Needs thinking about carefully. Thanks again

[richterswil]

djtex said:

Thanks for the info guys. Not quite sure what you mean though Pugsy, can you clarify for me. It looks though from what you're all saying it might be a bit of a push, I'm already pushing the limits of what I want to afford at the 20-22 mpg level. So 15mpg is going to double my annual fuel bill. Needs thinking about carefully. Thanks again

I think all he means is that whatever car you buy make sure you take account of resale potential (if it is a consideration for you) in terms of colour, spec, miles and so on and make sure you have a good warranty and/or the car is properly inspected to ensure there are no hidden issues which could cost. The additional cost of a but of fuel over relatively low mileages will be small potatoes compared to depreciation etc so don't get too hung up on it - if you really must achieve good fuel consumption maybe you should look at a 335i - no M3 I'll grant you but running costs will be lower and personally the enjoyment of running a car would be diminished if it was right on the edge of affordability.

Edited by richterswil on Monday 24th January 12:16

[Pugsey]

djtex said:

Thanks for the info guys. Not quite sure what you mean though Pugsy, can you clarify for me. It looks though from what you're all saying it might be a bit of a push, I'm already pushing the limits of what I want to afford at the 20-22 mpg level. So 15mpg is going to double my annual fuel bill. Needs thinking about carefully. Thanks again

I'm saying that buying badly - paying too much/wrong spec/etc.,etc. - will cost you MUCH MUCH more over the life of the car come resale time than the small difference in £s spent if say you got 19 rather than 22mpg over 150 miles per week. what I'm getting at is that the difference between 19 and 22 mpg will cost you roughly £6 per week - so around £300 over a 48 week working year. Peanuts compared with the £1ks buying the 'wrong' car could cost you come resale time.

[Pugsey]

richterswil said:

djtex said:

Thanks for the info guys. Not quite sure what you mean though Pugsy, can you clarify for me. It looks though from what you're all saying it might be a bit of a push, I'm already pushing the limits of what I want to afford at the 20-22 mpg level. So 15mpg is going to double my annual fuel bill. Needs thinking about carefully. Thanks again

I think all he means is that whatever car you buy make sure you take account of resale potential (if it is a consideration for you) in terms of colour, spec, miles and so on and make sure you have a good warranty and/or the car is properly inspected to ensure there are no hidden issues which could cost. The additional cost of a but of fuel over relatively low mileages will be small potatoes compared to depreciation etc so don't get too hung up on it - if you really must achieve good fuel consumption maybe you should look at a 335i - no M3 I'll grant you but running costs will be lower and personally the enjoyment of running a car would be diminished if it was right on the edge of affordability.

Edited by richterswil on Monday 24th January 12:16

Yep.

[gareth h]

It always suprises me that the consumption is so much worse than the E46 M3, I've just had a gentle drive back from kent 75-80mph on the motorway and was averaging 32-33mpg, compared to 26 for the E90.
that makes the old car 25% more efficient at the same speed.

[JMRS4]

djtex said:

I know there have been plenty of threads about fuel consumption in the past, but none are providing the sort of info I need. I am (hopefully) getting to be getting one in a few months, but am just trying to understand all the costs associated. Particularly as I will be using it every day for work. My commute is 15 miles each way, with an average of about 30mph. Given that, I drive very gingerly now to not waste fuel needlessly, what do you think I might reasonably expect from the M3?

I'm not bothered about it at other times, as that's why I want the car. But if I can get around the 20-22mpg mark for my commute i can live with that.

Many thanks in advance

You should get 20/23MPG over that distance, and maybe more.
I averaged 23.8MPG over 10,000 miles with the M-DCT box and a new M3 E90 2010 model, I just sold it.

[Arnd]

I've just looked at mine and the computer says 25.2
I only use it weekends and holidays but I do occasional press the M button, so it can be pretty good
On long road trips, France and Scotland, I got 30-32 on the motorway
So I suppose it depends how you drive it

[RacerMDR]

Arnd said:

I've just looked at mine and the computer says 25.2
I only use it weekends and holidays but I do occasional press the M button, so it can be pretty good
On long road trips, France and Scotland, I got 30-32 on the motorway
So I suppose it depends how you drive it

how did you manage over 30?? Even doing 60mph I can't get past 25!!

[x5x3]

RacerMDR said:

Arnd said:

I've just looked at mine and the computer says 25.2
I only use it weekends and holidays but I do occasional press the M button, so it can be pretty good
On long road trips, France and Scotland, I got 30-32 on the motorway
So I suppose it depends how you drive it

how did you manage over 30?? Even doing 60mph I can't get past 25!!

lol, yes how do you do that? even with my Gran driving I still cannot get past 24mpg or so?

[MC99]

gareth h said:

It always suprises me that the consumption is so much worse than the E46 M3, I've just had a gentle drive back from kent 75-80mph on the motorway and was averaging 32-33mpg, compared to 26 for the E90.
that makes the old car 25% more efficient at the same speed.

20 odd percent increase in power and a couple of extra cylinders can account for it..

[griff7]

I only got 26mpg once and cant get over 23 or 24 even trying.I reset it a couple of times and did 56 and still got low 20's.Over 30 must be downhill with a tailwind

[rassi]

Still surprising that a 4 litre V8 clean slate design is so much worse than a 12 year old design of the E39 M5, 5 litre and similar power? Mine is averaging 23 mpg over 90000 km the majority of which is high speed motorway cruising (160 kph).

[rassi]

...stupid iPhone re-post...

Edited by rassi on Monday 24th January 21:20