50mpg?

[garethj]

These days you can’t open up a car advert without it claiming 70mpg or whatever it equals in g/km.  When I was a lad even a Mini or 2CV could just about beat 40mpg but at least they were actual figures, not made up ones.

 

And it’s the same with internet claimed mpg; generally you need to subtract 15-20% to remove the internet bullshit.  Here on Autoshite we do things differently.  Actual mpg here please, from real cars that can be bought for under a grand.

 

I’ll start off with the Pug 205 diesel, non turbo.  I averaged 54mpg, got about 56mpg as best figure and hardly ever dropped below 49mpg.

 

There’s a bloke in work with a 106 diesel and that’s slightly better again.

 

What should be on our hall of thrifty motoring?

[Cavcraft]

Not the lad locally selling a Vectra B 1.8 automatic estate that supposedly does 50mpg.

 

 

 

Best I had? probably a 206 1.4 HDi van. Absolutely unbelievable on fuel, 60mpg was very easily achieved.

[dollywobbler]

Got 54mpg out of that silver BX I sold to you on a run, and it generally delivered 50-52. Merc did 16-27mpg. Discovery seems to do 27mpg. Subaru Legacy did 27mpg. NA diesel BXs tended to average 48mpg, but once managed 54 on a run. 2CV (counts as I paid £450 for it back in 2000) generally does 45mpg, but once did 54mpg. I've never managed to achieve that again.

 

Audi 100 2-litre 5-pot, 30mpg. Rover 75 CDT 48-50mpg. Honda Civic 1.4GL twin carb 40mpg - which I still find astonishing. Citroen BX 16V 30mpg when thrashed, 40mpg on a run. That was also astonishing.

[sco14]

I agree with you on non turbo 205, my two can manage around 62 MPG but there is no stop start city driving in that. I aso have a 1996 Audi A4 Avant 110 TDI which averages around 56 MPG in the same driving conditions as the 205's. My 205 Turbo Diesel averages 57 MPG.

[barefoot]

Do you remember when the original metro was introduced and the adverts said that it would do 83 mpg (at 30 mph) and folk were up in arms because it wasn't fair and the city / 56 / 75 was introduced shortly afterwards so that it was realistic?

[garethj]

Is an Audi A4 in shitter's territory?  Not just for purchase cost but for running and repair costs too?

 

The Audi 80 1.9 TDi will probably just crack 50mpg and I think is slightly less knobish than an A4

[Station]

My old Astra GSi did 43mpg average, which is strange. In the old days of 95p p/l petrol I used to put 10 quid in and get 100 miles.

Nippa has got 70mpg, Impreza averages about 50 miles to 10 quid, about 30mpg. MR2 does about 40mpg. Old Saab did 20mpg around town and then 45mpg on the motorway.

[Sigmund Fraud]

My Megane Phase 1 with the naturally aspirated F8Q engine returns 48-50mpg with gentle driving. It is, of course, as slow and dull as one would expect.

 

All my other shitters have dire fuel consumption... The 765 V6 is by far the worst, struggling to achieve 20mpg ! GR8 4 COMMUTING !

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I get a solid 41 mpg out of mi Doblo 1.9D van and 29 out of the Mondeo V6 auto.

 

I used to have a 205 1.8D (non turbo) and never got more than about 47 out of it no matter how carefully I drove it.

 

It really annoys me how mpg figures are so unrealistic nowadays, it masks the fact that in 2013 you can’t realistically get any further on a gallon of juice than you could 20 years ago.

[face]

The official figures for the Puma at launch was 38mpg. Mine is 14 years old now and manages an average of 36+.

 

Not too shabby.

[sco14]

Is an Audi A4 in shitter's territory?  Not just for purchase cost but for running and repair costs too?

 

The Audi 80 1.9 TDi will probably just crack 50mpg and I think is slightly less knobish than an A4

 

My A4 which I have ran for the past 8 years has cost very little in repairs over 85000 miles that I have owned it. It was not in shitter's terrritory when purchased in 2005 but I would say it is now. I have posted a photo below for fellow autoshiter's to decide.The cars total mileage is around 207000 miles.

 

 

[garethj]

Mr_Bo11’s point is a good one, in the 1970s anything the size of a Granada would do 22mpg, by the time the 1990s came along with clever diesels they could get 40mpg which is impressive from a big car.  It appears that things have jumped up again in the last year or two but I think the latest mpg figures are heavily covered with bullshit.

 

A quick browse of the web shows plenty of people who bought cars that claim 60mpg and people are getting 35mpg but cars of that age are a bit meh for my budget

[Skoze]

My series one Land Rover returns 45mpg with the 200tdi fitted! Definitely the future (if you're 100% not scared) and the past all in one. 

 

However i am now using my Capri as the daily which returns a fantastic* 22mpg. 

[Rocket88]

e36 Beemer 323 ragtop, over 1500 miles, 800 towing a caravan, 27 mpg

[skattrd]

 I usually drive sensibly and rarely do journeys of less than 60 miles, so my mpg is usually a bit higher than most.

 

VW Bora tdi - Regulalry 60mpg, thrashed, low 50's.

VW Scirocco - 1.8 dx engine, 40-43mpg

Volvo S80 2.5tdi auto - 42-45mpg

Citroen BX 1.9 n/a dizzler - 50mpg

Daihatsu Storia - 32 - 54mpg It depends how hard it's driven. I reckon on if I tried I could it get it down to 20.

Lancia HPE VX - 34mpg out of an supercharged carburettor motor is quite astounding to me.

 

Slight thread hijack, I'm currently on the lookout for a comfy auto that'll do 50mpg. My short-list is currently Rover 75 cdt. Merc c220 cdi, Citroen Xantia TD, VAG 1.9tdi auto ..... Any thoughts/suggestions?

[gdhaydock]

All calculated full tank - full tank

 

Discovery 300 TDI - 23mpg (Seems low, but does get hammered up and down hills etc)

Calibra 3.0 V6 - 27-28mpg (difficult to quote the official figures as its had an engine upgrade)

 

 

Modern Golf Bluemotion TDI - 49 MPG (nothing like the quoted figures on 70+ MPG , but I don't buy the fuel for this one so it doesn't matter)

 

I don't drive like a mong, but neither do I drive like a giffer

 

The Golf has been used for mainly motorway work at speeds of just over 69mph,

The disco rarely goes on a motorway and is mainly used locally around home (I live on a farm, 1100ft above sea level in the pennines) so has a lot of low gear / steep hills to contend with.

The cally rarely gets used, but is used for longer non work related trips.

[Six-cylinder]

The only car I have ever had, that always dose 50mpg is my Citroen Visa 17RD (1769cc 60bhp) sometimes I get a bit more but never less.

 

I owned a 2008 Fiat 500 diesel for 14 months but that only did 46mpg in my hands.

 

I also owned a Citroen ZX 1.9D that with very close and often managed 49 mpg, while the turbo diesel I have now is only 45mpg.

[inconsistant]

 but I think the latest mpg figures are heavily covered with bullshit.

 

 

Yes, I call bullshit. We have a 10 year old V40 1.9td, on a holiday run fully loaded it does 47mpg.

Recently drove my parents 2 yr old Golf+ 2.0td back from Switzerland, under same conditions we got just under 51mpg. That's not much difference in a decade that's supposedly been focussed on the efficiency of engines.

 

I mean, compared to the late 70s when my dad was getting 25 mpg from the Cortina 2.0GL (cordoba beige) that's an awesome  increase, but I think a lot of the recent claims of 60, 70 and 80mpg are exaggerated and unrealistic. Sells cars though.

[garethj]

My series one Land Rover returns 45mpg with the 200tdi fitted! 

 

Really?  Really, really?

 

I love the old Landies dearly and I know the 200Tdi is a good motor but the aerodynamic drag of one at 60mph must be horrific.  My Stage 1 V8 would just about stagger to 80mph with its de-restricted engine of about 120bhp.  That's not a slippery shape that helps mpg

[M'coli]

Petrol 1.1 Peugeot 106, a mixture of main dual carriageway and motorway driving, sitting in a tailback for 30 or so minutes to travel 1 mile on said motorway, and some rural and town driving last weekend netted 48 mpg.

 

My old 1.8GLi Cavalier would do 38-39 mpg at motorway* speeds with Uniroyals on the front, and 36 mpg with budget tyres on.  Did see 30mpg with a full load and the bike on the roofrack going into a gale stong enough to warrant 4th gear if youwanted to do any more than 80.  The 1.3 will do between 37 and 44mpg, depending on the roads.

[John F]

Really?  Really, really?

 

I love the old Landies dearly and I know the 200Tdi is a good motor but the aerodynamic drag of one at 60mph must be horrific.  My Stage 1 V8 would just about stagger to 80mph with its de-restricted engine of about 120bhp.  That's not a slippery shape that helps mpg

 

I once saw 85-ish mph in my 2.25 petrol Lightweight on that very long downhill section of the M6 near Birmingham. It was terrifying.

 

The fuel needle was visibly moving towards "empty" almost as quickly.

[warren t claim]

 

35 mile run from Wales to Wirral. 1.2 16v Petrol Punto.

[dollywobbler]

Yes but how trustworthy is that readout? The Rover 75 was pretty much spot on. I've found MINI diesels to be 5-10mpg out.

[HillmanImp]

In an act of self preservation the Audi Coupe's mileometor stopped working so I have no idea what it does, but I know its bad, REALLY bad. I was thinking about this the other day and have decided I am going to put a tenner in it in a few weeks and put the satnav on my phone and see how far I get.

 

I know Volksy is not doing owt with Auschwitz the Audi 100 at the mo which is on LPG, I should maybe get that back when I move further away from work......

 

Is there any law on how accurate the MPG indicators on these cars are? I remember my dad fitted one to his 83 Horizon back in 'Nam and he said it was complete bollocks then. Has the technology got any better? Has anyone done a test on them? 

[Formula Autos]

The '04 plate Mondiesel that I've just got rid of regularly got an average of over 50mpg on the trip computer, on a mix of town driving, long runs on A roads, and blatting around on country roads. I checked its accuracy a couple of times and, if anything, it was a bit pessimistic. Not bad for a big car.

 

Having said that, the fuel savings of running that thing were soon wiped out by crippling parts/repair bills, so no real advantage was gained in the long run.

 

It was also epically dreary (it was a sort of metallic rain-cloud colour, called Machine Silver), with an interior like Darth Vader's coal bunker.

 

Still, it drove quite nicely.

 

I also ran a Pug 106 as my daily a few years back - a 1.4 n/a diesel. It achieved high 50s mpg very easily.

 

That one was frustratingly slow though - though I've heard an extra tenth of a litre in the 1.5 turned them into a nice wee car.

[alf892]

My old Audi 80Tdi did 50 whatever you did to it. Monitored over 9 years (sad fukker) it never went under 49 and that a shopping and pick up the kids type of use. The A4 I replaced it with varies more between 47 to 54 depending type of use.

I had a 530d estate for about 18 months and that usually did 38 to 40 and a commute of good A roads and dual carriage way. Replaced that with a Bini diesel (!) which does 57 to 61 (full to full calcs) on the same commute and as DW says the display will lie.

[Partridge]

VW Polo 1.4 16v. 25 MPG driving like a bellend, late 30's with normal driving.

 

Citroen Xsara 40-45 MPG, that's with counry roads, m ways and A roads.

 

My knackered old E-Class- no ones knows.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

My doblo says its doing 50mpg, I dont know how its working that out though, I think the mileometer in it is reasonably accurate so its fuel measurements must be all to cock.

[8_tee_8]

I used to have a 180,000 mile mk2 Golf GTD that refused to do less than 48mpg and got 66 on a steady run to Cornwall and back, on vegetable oil. Sold it to fill the tank of its replacement, an '81 mercedes 280ce auto that does about 18mpg. Sublime->ridiculous

[Skoze]

Really?  Really, really?

 

I love the old Landies dearly and I know the 200Tdi is a good motor but the aerodynamic drag of one at 60mph must be horrific.  My Stage 1 V8 would just about stagger to 80mph with its de-restricted engine of about 120bhp.  That's not a slippery shape that helps mpg

 

Really really, all honest guvna'. 

 

I can drive that from uni in Brighton, home to Southend (90 miles give or take) at 65-70 on £15 and still have enough left to run it around town for a week or two afterwards (a further 20 miles at least) as such, averages around 45mpg.

 

Standard transmission with range rover diffs, no overdrive. It's hit over a tonne on a private* road as well, goes like excrement off a shovel. Think it all comes down to weight, despite the shed-esque aero quality - there really is nothing to it.