Is 100 miles from £10 of petrol reasonable?

[LizEstelle]

Any car blokes out there?

My OH seems to be getting an average of 110 - 115 miles out of each £10 of unleaded he puts in his beat-up, old M-reg Renault 19 (1.4ltr) whereas I, in my pride and joy X-reg Corsa (1.1ltr) only seem to be able to get 100 if I'm lucky.

It's not a question of driving styles, as we drive each others' cars quite a bit. We also have a similar mix of town and motorway driving.

I'm confused!

[tomstickland]

If you'd gone to a proper school you'd know the answer!

Small engines can be worse on mpg because you have to thrash them.
Renault 19 is probably lighter than a new Corsa and more aerodynamic.

[chainguy]

Tom's right. Years ago I could get my Mrk1 Golf GTi 1.6 to get better MPG than my mates Mrk 1 Golf 1.1.

Damn, how much do I still wish I had that car!

[rdwarr]

Well, if I drive my XJS around London I get 8mpg (so I don't). It's a 5.3 so there goes your theory ;)
Only kidding - it IS possible to have cars with "too small" engines. Remember the Cortina 1.3?

[LizEstelle]

If you'd gone to a proper school you'd know the answer!

Small engines can be worse on mpg because you have to thrash them.
Renault 19 is probably lighter than a new Corsa and more aerodynamic.

How could I have been SO foolish? There I was thinking that, since the Renault LOOKS twice the size, SEEMS to have a bigger engine, APPEARS definitely less sleek and the reg. doc. CLAIMS it's 6 years older, it might just be less fuel efficient than the Corsa rather than vice versa.

Silly moi. It takes a 'public' school education, naturally, to learn never to trust your senses... all those amphetamines after lights out in the dorm, I suppose...

[Hunnymonster]

If you'd gone to a proper school you'd know the answer!

Small engines can be worse on mpg because you have to thrash them.
Renault 19 is probably lighter than a new Corsa and more aerodynamic.

Nah it's the 500 megawatt speakers in the back of the Corsa draining all the power from the engine :D

[fossman]

I had a Citroen C1 as a courtesy car a few weeks back and it did 60mpg while I was driving it and it was only a 959cc.

[wxmlad]

ive got a 1.2 16v clio and i get 45.5 mpg, costs £32 to fill tank up and i get about 380 -400 miles. i really thinkits how u drive, - loads of gear changes, stop starts, short journeys

[Hunnymonster]

Anyway - back to the plot.... (this is all done without a calculator)

£10 of petrol is something like 12-13 litres - for simplicity I'll assume 12.5 litres.

12.5 litres is about 2¾ gallons.

So you're getting about 36mpg (I'd die if I got that little and my feather-footed father would chin me for having a lead foot) and your hubby is getting about 42mpg (my father would only have mild palpitations at that).

I'm getting about 52-54mpg in mine on average but not much urban driving here - there's not much urban to drive in :D

[LizEstelle]

Ok so does something need adjusting? Neither of us are technically minded... but neither of us have a heavy touch on the gas pedal, either!

Help!!

[Hunnymonster]

Check your tyre pressures are correct (you ought to do this regularly - weekly I think but that's taking the water).

Remove all the crap out from the car that's accumulated there, you know the golf clubs, the mother-in-law all the excess weight you don't need to carry.

Then the only things really are to drive steadily (anticipate everything so you never need to take any harsh evasive action) and avoid harsh acceleration and braking as far as possible. Saves on your brakes and tyres too - which is nice.

You might not think you're heavy on the gas - if you see a true frugal motoring pro in action you'll see just how harsh you are. (It's scares me how frugal my old man is lol, 50000 mile radial tyres were a big thing in the mid-70s - my old man was getting 60000 out of his last set of pre-50k radials lol)

[LizEstelle]

Thanks for that. I thought that I might have a 'too rich mixture' situation (whatever that is) on my hands... in which case, I guess it's a garage job.

[Quinny]

You won't have 'too rich a mixture' on your car,as the mixture can't be altered as it runs on fuel injection,and not a carburettor.

Ken.

[philhuff]

Looking at the figures, I don't think you've got a great deal to worry about. Both cars seem to be in a fairly normal range.

There is some truth in small engines having to work harder, but that's not always the case. However, there's a lot of truth in the Renault being light - it weighs in at just over 1 tonne, which is about the same as your Corsa. Surprisingly, the drag coefficient on the 19 actually is better than the Corsa, though only slightly.

Overall, 36mpg isn't too bad. I'd love to get even close to that, but 25mpg is an achievement for me, but then I don't drive a sensible car.

[tomstickland]

How could I have been SO foolish? There I was thinking that, since the Renault LOOKS twice the size, SEEMS to have a bigger engine, APPEARS definitely less sleek and the reg. doc. CLAIMS it's 6 years older, it might just be less fuel efficient than the Corsa rather than vice versa.
See above answers
weighs in at just over 1 tonne, which is about the same as your Corsa.

It DOES have a bigger engine, no illusion there.

Surprisingly, the drag coefficient on the 19 actually is better than the Corsa, though only slightly.

Old engines can be more fuel efficient too. They loosen up as they wear. Ultimately they become less efficient once the piston rings wear and they lose compression.I've seen loads of oil burning engines pump out good power.

Small engines like 1.0 or 1.1 are great round town but are usually geared for this sort of thing, so you end up working them hard on the motorway.

How are you measuring the miles per £10?

[saintjanet]

There are other factors to consider regarding fuel consumption,that are sometimes never thought of,like driving with the windows open,or having the air-con on all the time.They can make a difference.

My car has a computer facility to show mpg as you are driving,its amazing what difference driving style makes and frightening how much fuel is used when the engine is cold.

[rosscobley]

its a vauxhall that about right. My mk4 astra 1.6 16v will do 80 - 100 miles to £10 if i drive carefull. if i put my foot down i get much less. I know loads of people with vauxhalls as im a member of mig web a vauxhall owners website. Im sure they asked the question on there and everyone had about the same.

[michaels]

Do you do shorter trips - my trip computer tells me I get about 43 on average (brim to brim cals put it at 46 but close enough) but instant consumption before the engine warms up is below twenty (ouch) - similary wife who does short trips only gets about 25 - then again I only get 25 in her car on long trips but that is a different story officer...

[pavlovs_dog]

is there a site anywhere that tells you what the average MPG is for each type of car?

[Tight_Wad]

I have a 1995 2.8 TD LWB Shogun and to £10 of Diesel I am getting under 20 (TWENTY) miles.

I have recently serviced the vehicle... and have not noticed a change.

I know of a fault it has an slight oil leak from the sump seal. Would a slight leak affect the ammount of miles I get out ot my vehicle?

other than the oil leak where do I look next TURBO, FUEL PUMP, MIXTURES?

[tomstickland]

Oil loss would not affect mph.
2.8 Shogun is never going to manage good mpg, but I'd expect it to do 25mpg on Diesel.
Must be something seriouslly wrong for it to be that bad.

Didn't you say you were making over £150 per day from RISK FREE methods though?

[rosscobley]

oh my god 20 miles to £10 i would cry. Mate of mine had a one of them and he used to get about 80 miles to £10. Check for diesel leaks. Do you have loads of black smoke when you drive it

[Tight_Wad]

oh my god 20 miles to £10 i would cry. Mate of mine had a one of them and he used to get about 80 miles to £10. Check for diesel leaks. Do you have loads of black smoke when you drive it


not loads of smoke but there is some present... it recently passed MOT and one of the faults that was fixed was a slight fuel leak, with that rectified I expected more miles for my money... but its only improved a couple of miles.

what about heater plugs as fuel filter as they where not replaced at the last service?

[Tight_Wad]

Oil loss would not affect mph.
2.8 Shogun is never going to manage good mpg, but I'd expect it to do 25mpg on Diesel.
Must be something seriouslly wrong for it to be that bad.

Didn't you say you were making over £150 per day from RISK FREE methods though?

Hey I don't care how much I earn I still am a Money Saver as much as the next person.

[iwanttosave]

I have a 1995 2.8 TD LWB Shogun and to £10 of Diesel I am getting under 20 (TWENTY) miles.

I have recently serviced the vehicle... and have not noticed a change.

I know of a fault it has an slight oil leak from the sump seal. Would a slight leak affect the ammount of miles I get out ot my vehicle?

other than the oil leak where do I look next TURBO, FUEL PUMP, MIXTURES?
Are you driving in your turbo a lot? Go up a gear and srive at optimum revs as much as you can.

[Tight_Wad]

Are you driving in your turbo a lot? Go up a gear and srive at optimum revs as much as you can.

No, I am using the appropriate gear :confused:

[iwanttosave]

You say that you didnt change your fuel filter at last service? You should always change this. Heater plug wont do anything.

It really could be anything, you could have a hole in the fuel line, your turbo could be shot, anything.

You could always try a fuel suppliment to clean your injectors out at a long shot? You can get it cheap at asda or motormart.

[Tight_Wad]

You say that you didnt change your fuel filter at last service? You should always change this. Heater plug wont do anything.

It really could be anything, you could have a hole in the fuel line, your turbo could be shot, anything.

You could always try a fuel suppliment to clean your injectors out at a long shot? You can get it cheap at asda or motormart.

I was unable to get the filter off as it was really tight.... tried using 2 types of removal tools and both fail due to the location and having room in the engine bay to work.

I just totally forgot about the plugs but will change tomorrow just to be on the safe side... I am not loosing fuel else where as I have had it checked over for that fault at the time they repaired the ovbious leak which was quite recent.

[rosscobley]

Dont sound like turbo to me. diesel filter wont cause it. Sounds like a leak or diesel pump turned up to far... Or you are driving in first gear flat out everywhere lol.

If the pump was turned up a lot it would be really fast but you would have loads of black smoke and it would drink diesel. How long you owned it

[Tight_Wad]

Dont sound like turbo to me. diesel filter wont cause it. Sounds like a leak or diesel pump turned up to far... Or you are driving in first gear flat out everywhere lol.

If the pump was turned up a lot it would be really fast but you would have loads of black smoke and it would drink diesel. How long you owned it

several months, the gentleman I bought it off was a farmer and he claimed the fuel pump had then recently been re-built professionally at a cost £380ish but at the next MOT the garage informed me that one of the fuel lines entering the fuel pump had not been nipped up tight enough and was loosing a little bit of fuel but never the less it was a fail so I paid aroud a £100 for the garage to nip it up and PASS the MOT apparently the reason it was £100 is because you have to remove things like the intercooler to access the fuel lines... but I feel it the fuel pump is set too high, can anyone recommed a diesel specialist in the Manchester area as the guys at the garage where clueless... to say the least.:o

[Tight_Wad]

It is driving me bonkers :mad:

[rosscobley]

Sorry i live in wales cant help on that one. Find a good diesel garage. If they have been messing with the pump it could well be set wrong or the cold start could be stuck on.

[Horlock]

I've got a 900cc yamaha xj900 diversion (that is a motorbike for those who don't know) and I also get 100miles for £10 - bit depressing - but blinking fast by comparison to most cars - though nothing on a sports bike.

It really sucks to find that I could drive a big family size car and use less petrol. Still I do have more fun getting to work and get there in almost half the time of my collegues.

[LizEstelle]

Wow. Have been away for a day and wasn't expecting to come back to a thread this long.

Thanks for all the comments. Not sure I'm much the wiser but I can see it's a more complicated matter than I was hoping... obviously, there's no magic button I can press!

[LizEstelle]

It really sucks to find that I could drive a big family size car and use less petrol. Still I do have more fun getting to work and get there in almost half the time of my collegues.

Yes, but you'd be able to take three other people...

[mikey-mike]

sound like a pump problem to me, assuming it's not actually leaking fuel

Take it to a specialist diesel place (lucas/cav/bosch agents are normally pretty good)

[chilli_dog]

PM sent to Tight wad

[Midmac]

I have a 1.2 corsa and get 80-90 miles from a tenner :(

[MerseyLad]

Ive got a 51 Clio 1.2 16V and it does between 38-42 MPG depending on a good thrashing or not.

I drive 50/50 between long A roads and motorway, and built up large town and city.

On a full tank [£35 to fill] I get about 420 miles.

Usually.

[jockey1]

I have a '99 Corsa Sport 1.4 16v slightly modified and it does about 25-28mpg, my other car is a '00 Mitsubishi Carisma 1.6 and it does about 45mpg. Similar age but Mits is bigger in size and bigger engine. Size doesn't matter.

[littlereddevil]

I have a brand new volvo s40 se and only get 34 mpg
very poor I think
it is a 1.8

[iluvmylexus]

I have a 1995 2.8 TD LWB Shogun and to £10 of Diesel I am getting under 20 (TWENTY) miles.

I have recently serviced the vehicle... and have not noticed a change.

I know of a fault it has an slight oil leak from the sump seal. Would a slight leak affect the ammount of miles I get out ot my vehicle?

other than the oil leak where do I look next TURBO, FUEL PUMP, MIXTURES?
believe it or not , shoguns with all the aerodynamics of a brick are not very frugal
big chunky tyres and bull bars dont help either

[piggeh]

I have a 100 BHP Fabia 1.9 TDI which does 50-55mpg, even when flooring it. Fantastic.

[thecremeegg]

i have a 1998 1.4 clio and it does at the most 370 miles to the tank (£37)...usually averages around 340 miles tho
From my £10 i usually get around 110 miles of motorway driving

[zoeleigh]

I've just bought a 1.1 cos I thought it was cheaper to run!

[aurora borealis]

We've just bought a 3 litre V6 :eek:

When we were driving home the trip computer showed 6mpg :(

[saintjanet]

My ferrari and porsche,are not very good on fuel,my aston is even worse.So if i need to go along way i use my moped which does over 100 mpg:j

[fairy-boo]

I had an N reg Citroen ZX 1.4i until earlier this year when it was stolen!!! WHY?! It was a great little nippy car and would do around 100 mile on a tenner of petrol. Now I've ended up with a Hyundai Accent 1.3 coupe i (don't laugh) which is sluggish and no where near as nippy as the Citroen and I get about the same, if not less, miles out of it per tenner (allowing for petrol price increases). So I can only assume it is something to do with the weight. I am saving for a new (not brand new!) beetle which I hope to treat myself to for my 40th birthday!!!