Project Drive: MG Rover Cost-cutting

[Milford Cubicle]

I got a proper, brim-to-brim calc. of 68mpg in a 308HDI 1.6 I hired for work a few months ago, spending 90% of it's time with me doing a steady 75 with the a/c on up and down the M1. Not half bad, when my 405 does 50mpg in the same circumstances.

That's really good - Fiesta 1.6D territory! Modern diesels have really long gearing because of their extra torque over older diesels, I think that plays a big part in good economy on motorways. How do they fare around the doors or on a B-road blast? Little better than a comparable older diesel in my experience.

[Pillock]

We've got a 307SW HDi, but only the 90bhp one.It's such a heavy car I feel it's just underpowered. The trip computer is trying to tell me it averages 35mpg, by my own calculations based on fillups and mileage, it's closer to 31mpg!Maybe I just drive it wrong All I know is, I prefer driving the 1.1 Saxo - much nippier, much better on juice and being metallic piss in colour, easier to spot in a carpark than the silver 307.

[Pete-M]

Chap I used to work with reckoned he managed to get from Rotterdam to Ancona in Italy in a 1986 Fiesta D on one tank of diesel. He said it took him about 20 hours, and it must have been the single most tedious cross-Europe drive in history. That has to be close to 1000 miles and a Fizzy fuel tank ain't that big.

[Milford Cubicle]

Yikes! Do you do a lot of town and city driving?

[pogweasel]

We've got a 307SW HDi, but only the 90bhp one.It's such a heavy car I feel it's just underpowered. The trip computer is trying to tell me it averages 35mpg, by my own calculations based on fillups and mileage, it's closer to 31mpg!Maybe I just drive it wrong All I know is, I prefer driving the 1.1 Saxo - much nippier, much better on juice and being metallic piss in colour, easier to spot in a carpark than the silver 307.

I think there is a knack to those 90HDi's, i.e. to drive VERY VERY SLOWLY. Everywhere. That Piccyoasshole we had, you could not get any decent MPG above 60mph. On average we got 43, mostly because at 70 or so it was indication <30, though trickling along in traffi would show 120mpg. That really boiled my piss.

[Pillock]

It's just a crap car to drive.... it really feels like it has all the wrong gear ratios in it, until you get into top I reckon you're in one gear lower than the Saxo all the time just to feel like you're accelerating.I think it'll be OK on a run, the trip computer jumped from 33.8mpg to 38.7mpg just going up the M1, but we've not really taken it anywhere to test that theory out - it's just been all commuting.I got 47mpg out of it, but it was proper taxi-style driving at 5am on a deserted road to Newark. As soon as I had to drive around the carpark to find a space, it just started dropping again.

[Milford Cubicle]

That's not good, are you sure it's running right? Even my medieval tech 405 manages 47mpg on a quickish A/B road run.

[pogweasel]

Glad you're enjoying it!

[Mr Lobster]

The trip computer is trying to tell me it averages 35mpg, by my own calculations based on fillups and mileage, it's closer to 31mpg!

That does seem a bit too low. My 1.8 Turbo (petrol) Seat Toledo is still averaging 30mpg round town. On a decent run it can manage about 38mpg. Took it down to South of France in summer and even with a/c and crusing at 85-90 all the way got 41mpg IIRC.

[Pillock]

Hmmmm. I'd have thought it would have flagged up the illuminated pound sign (aka ECU fault) on the dash if it had picked up a fault. It feels quick enough too for the engine power, it's just that it takes a lot of stick-stirring to get it flowing. As I said, we've not had chance to take it on a proper long run so it's been 4 miles each way to work through 6 sets of traffic lights, dog walks which is only 10 miles through two towns, and the odd shopping trip. We got it from my GF's folks who are fairly slow drivers, and the trip computer was showing an average of 37mpg then over 700 miles. I might just bugger off somewhere in it over the weekend, do a bit of motorway cruising and see how it goes.