Tonight prog - "Priced off the road?"

puddy

Conor wrote: »

You need to sort your driving out then. In my 22 year old 2 litre Ford Capri, I get 37MPG.

in what way?

AdrianHi

jenner wrote: »

im amazed at the mpg that people seem to record on these programmes, ive got a 1.2 automatic micra and i dont think i get more than about 28mpg. the car is only worth 4k ish, so my only option would be to fork out 2k for a converstion to lpg. my worry is that because i work in some rural areas (all of kent) i might get stuck one day without any fuel and no where to buy any lpg?

Lot of surprise on this thread at your "28mpg" on a 1.2 Micra automatic.
Can you measure it properly, as in fill up to the brim, note the mileage or reset a trip computer if you have it, at next fill up to the brim record how much fuel you put in and how many miles since last fill up. Your "28mpg" is probably accurate to within +/-25% the way you've measure it. If you get mid-30's this might be expected.
What are your driving conditions?
Mostly motorway? If so what speed do you typically drive at.
In town? if so how much time spent sitting in traffic going nowhere?

A small engine automatic is going to be well outside optimum for economy and pretty thirsty at speed on the motorway.

steveo3002

check the tyres are pumped up to the correct spec...and drive really gentle, think ahead and ease off so theres no hard braking etc

the amount of people i see accelerating as hard as they can around car parks and leaving the car running for ages when they park up ...makes me wonder if its just me thats finding it expensive

Gorgeous_George

I re-set the trip meter every time I fill up. Rather than calculating mpg I settle for pence per mile. It used to be around 10p per mile but now it's nearer 14p, which equates to approximtely 38mpg. More than acceptable from a MG ZS with a 1.8 engine.

It's more fun to drive than a Micra automatic too!

GG

puddy

ok, a quick update everyone, and i will update the other thread i started too, i have used the method recommended to me on here about filling it completely an calculating it that way. last week i filled it up, miles were 26070, yesterday i filled it up again, put 35 litres in exactly before it cut out, and miles were 26395, so its done 320 miles on 35 litres?? is that right?? i worked it out to be 42mpg and im amazed. i must have calculated it wrong last time. it was this time last year, BUT i was doing a completely different job last year, inner london, lots of stopping and starting. my job now covers a lot more miles but they are faster roads, maybe thats the difference?

im keeping track to do it again next week and see what happens. (hope ive done the calculation right though!!)

goldspanners

41.56 mpg.

click this link and enter your figures
http://www.torquecars.com/tools/uk-mpg-calculator.php

AdrianHi

jenner wrote: »

ok, a quick update everyone, and i will update the other thread i started too, i have used the method recommended to me on here about filling it completely an calculating it that way. last week i filled it up, miles were 26070, yesterday i filled it up again, put 35 litres in exactly before it cut out, and miles were 26395, so its done 320 miles on 35 litres?? is that right?? i worked it out to be 42mpg and im amazed. i must have calculated it wrong last time. it was this time last year, BUT i was doing a completely different job last year, inner london, lots of stopping and starting. my job now covers a lot more miles but they are faster roads, maybe thats the difference?

im keeping track to do it again next week and see what happens. (hope ive done the calculation right though!!)

I change work locations on average twice a year for my business. On my 2.0 turbo diesel car I can see quite a wide spread of MPG depending on driving conditions. Anywhere in the range 37mpg to 52mpg is possible for me.
In one winter I would get the car out of the garage and almost immediately be doing 60-70mph on a dual carriageway to the town I worked in with a bit of urban traffic at the other end. I would see about 42mpg. On the return journey I start with a cold engine, spend 15 minutes+ slogging through traffic congestion before getting out on the dual carriageway. I would see about 38mpg on the return trip, about 10% worse. The only differences between the two trips are :
On the way to work the engine started warmer (had been in garage) and got up to temperature quicker at an efficient 60-70mph cruise speed.
On the return journey the engine starts colder and takes longer to warm up just ticking over sitting in traffic on top of the fact mpg is rubbish in town.