Will i use the same amount of petrol?

matt1987

Morning all,

As some of you may be aware, i bought a new ford fiesta a few weeks ago. What i want to know is:

When i fill it with petrol, there is a digital display in the car which tells me how many miles i have in the tank. So lets say its at just over 3 quarters of the tank, the digital display would say roughly 270 miles in the tank.

Now this gauge is spot on, as when i do a mile on the odometer, a mile gets taken off the petrol gauge.

But what i want to know is.... will it go down at the same rate on the motorway? I have a nice long journey coming up in a few weeks time, and it will be the first time i have done a long journey in my new car. The journey is 188 miles dead on down to devon from brum. Now normally in my last car it costs me between £17 - £20. The last time i did this was Febuary, and the price of fuel has gone up since then by nearly 10p p/l!!

Im just a bit concerned that its going to cost a lot in the new car.... my ford fiesta is the same as my old car with engine size : 1.25l.

Any help appreciated.

Thunderbird_2

matt1987 wrote: »

Im just a bit concerned that its going to cost a lot in the new car.... my ford fiesta is the same as my old car with engine size : 1.25l.

Any help appreciated.

After the first 1000 miles, I believe it should cost you less in the newer engine because it should be more efficient than the old. Worst case, it will be the same.

You don't need to be "a bit concerned that its going to cost a lot in the new car" as it should be an extra £2 as the liter is 10p dearer for that £20 journey, if you see what I mean!

steveo3002

the rate will vary depending on how fast its driven an how much luggage etc

chances are it will do better if driven steadily on the motorway compared to around town etc, make sure the tyres are pumped up properly to help save fuel

vikingaero

If your car is brand spanking new then you may find that the mpg isn't as good as your older car. Most new car engines are fairly tight and mpg improves with mileage.

AdrianHi

These miles to go indicators are making a prediction based on fuel used in the last few miles or less. If you go on the motorway and cruise at a nice economical 60-70mph your going to get many more miles to the gallon than you will driving around town (OK we all know that ) so I would expect the miles to go indicator to go up quite a bit over the first few miles on the motorway before it settles and starts to count down again.
On my car, if I'm really low on fuel, I can see the miles to go indicator go up and down between 5 and 15 miles to go depending on how hard I'm pushing the accelerator. I don't normally let it get that low, my local garage ran out of diesel one day and things got a bit desperate

matt1987

Yeh its brand spanking new, and iv only done 350 miles in it so far. Ahh 2 quid i suppose isnt so bad!!!

What kind of pressure do i get my tyres to? It will just be me and my partner with 1 10 kilo suitcase?

I never know what the correct pressures should be with my tyres on a long journey!

vikingaero

matt1987 wrote: »

Yeh its brand spanking new, and iv only done 350 miles in it so far. Ahh 2 quid i suppose isnt so bad!!!

What kind of pressure do i get my tyres to? It will just be me and my partner with 1 10 kilo suitcase?

I never know what the correct pressures should be with my tyres on a long journey!

Normal pressures should be fine.

Millionaire

matt1987 wrote: »

Yeh its brand spanking new, and iv only done 350 miles in it so far. Ahh 2 quid i suppose isnt so bad!!!

What kind of pressure do i get my tyres to? It will just be me and my partner with 1 10 kilo suitcase?

I never know what the correct pressures should be with my tyres on a long journey!

Read the Manual that came with the car.;)

matt1987

lol iv read the manual from front to back and i really dont get all these pressures!!!

Thanks for the advice though!!!

AdrianHi

There is normally a tyre pressure chart on the drivers door frame which you should be able to see with the door open. My sister-in-laws Skoda Fabia has it inside the fuel filler flap.
I've read some studies recently that suggest that unless tyres pressures are significantly low it has only a marginal impact on fuel consumption. Other studies demonstrate that even a 0.1 bar reduction in pressure from the ideal significantly increases braking distance in the wet, the tread pattern deforms under load incorrectly and does not grip so well. Tyre wear increases and if pressure is too low there is a risk of heat build up and a blowout - actually the main cause of blow outs.
Irrespective of fuel saving getting the tyre pressures right is really important IMO.