MPG in towns / cities and different size engines

darich

thescouselander wrote: »

Not sure this works so well. I just tried it for a few cars I have owned and it doesn't seem to add up. For example, it reckons my old Mk2 MR2 (2 litre) should have done about 35 MPG but there is no way it managed that. Also the formula says my curent car (a BMW 330) would only do 23 mpg - actually this is the worst case in my experiance and I often get much better than this.

In practise I have found that the MR2 and BMW actually use about the same amount of fuel with the BMW only using slightly more. I dont think engine size ia always a good indicator of fuel economy.

Agreed.
My 3.0 Z4 has averaged 32.8mpg over the last 10 or so tanks of fuel.
Driving on the motorway at around 60-65mph i can easily hit 40mpg on the level.

I can also get my consumtion down to the low 20s and whilst enjoyable it's not something i make a habit of!!

Woby_Tide

1.6Hdi 04 reg Picasso says it has managed 42.8mpg over thelast 4000ish miles, mostly town driving

Buster_Danog

hewhoisnotintheknow wrote: »

i reckon you would be better off spend 1000 and buying a little petrol, something like a saxo, polo, fiesta, 106, ka etc

I forgot to mention that I'm 6ft 5 with long legs and I am looking to spend half of that - 600 at most. The MK2 Golf is not bad for legroom, but other small cars can be very uncomfortable. I suppose I am having my cake and eating it since I want a bigger car for comfort, but don't want to pay a fortune more in petrol. Less than 20mpg would be a killer.

Regarding diesels being used as taxis, maybe that is the problem with buying an old diesel. It might well have been used as a taxi and clocked, but I suppose it depends on the car. I didn't know that diesels had no choke, and that's one of the main things with my Golf; in cold weather I sometimes have only just put the choke back in when I finish my journey.

As for maintenance costs, why are diesels more expensive? Are we talking about servicing, or replacing parts? I can do simple jobs myself like changing oil and filters, but nothing too complicated.

And since we are on the subject of diesels, does a 1.8 or 2.0 litre diesel engine cost the same to run as a smaller petrol engine. If that was the case I could look at bigger diesel cars even for driving in the city.

hewhoisnotintheknow

Franco78 wrote: »

I forgot to mention that I'm 6ft 5 with long legs and I am looking to spend half of that - 600 at most. The MK2 Golf is not bad for legroom, but other small cars can be very uncomfortable. I suppose I am having my cake and eating it since I want a bigger car for comfort, but don't want to pay a fortune more in petrol. Less than 20mpg would be a killer.

Regarding diesels being used as taxis, maybe that is the problem with buying an old diesel. It might well have been used as a taxi and clocked, but I suppose it depends on the car. I didn't know that diesels had no choke, and that's one of the main things with my Golf; in cold weather I sometimes have only just put the choke back in when I finish my journey.

As for maintenance costs, why are diesels more expensive? Are we talking about servicing, or replacing parts? I can do simple jobs myself like changing oil and filters, but nothing too complicated.

And since we are on the subject of diesels, does a 1.8 or 2.0 litre diesel engine cost the same to run as a smaller petrol engine. If that was the case I could look at bigger diesel cars even for driving in the city.

im about that height

i just got given a xantia derv with 180k on the clock, shes a beaut!