General: INTERESTING!!! Keep cool & get more mpg!!!

[Clan]

Originally Posted by 7050man

I very rarely have my climate on as I find it more uncomfortable unless it's very hot. To date mpg is 50.8 average and I don't drive especially carefully to get this figure although I do accelerate smoothly with no racing starts. If I am careful then my average would at a guess be around 60mpg for the journeys and use that my car gets.



What you say though is logical and worth considering, however I suggest that driving style and type of use will make bigger difference perhaps.

you should trade it in for a C30 DRIVe you should be able to get 100 mpg out of that :-)

[7050man]

If I didn't need just a bit more space, I probably would.

Next car will be the V50 1.6 DRIVe though, so I can't wait to see what I can achieve with that engine..... :-)

Watch this space.

[ashus]

I'm only getting 45mpg and thats with cc switch off due to problems mentioned in my other thread. What should I be getting from a S40 SE diesel? I was travelling between 50 and 80 mph on the motorway depending upon roadworks etc.
Ashus

[7050man]

I would expect under 50mpg with what you've described. However I should add that I don't think this is very scientific in terms of accurately desdcribing the use and conditions.

For example, do you spend any time sitting in traffic before you get on the motorway and how much time is the car driven locally?

I ask these questions because most of my journeys are spent on motorway. I drive at just under 70 and very raely above 75. What I've noticed is that car will drive better and economy average around the 54mpg mark at these speeds during the day.
If I stick to on or below 60mph then economy will easily reach 60mpg and possibly more on a daily motorway drive.

If I poodle around locally as I do at the weekend, the car I feel does not properly perform in terms of economy until a good couple of hours on a Monday when I'm back at work.
My guess with this is that DPF is not being properly regenerated at the weekend due to local stop start drive. When I'm back at work on motorway, it is cleaned out again.
This is only a thought and I may be wrong. I am however very sensitive to how the car is performing and I do closely monitor economy commensurate with type of use.

One final thing is that I notice you are from Chesterfield area. This is quite hilly around there and economy will get clobbered before perhaps you reach the motorway. Also the M1 has some fairly long ascents which again will increase fuel usage, especially if car has been queuing in traffic first.

Finally I think I would quantify the journeys you are making with these achieved figures, quite accurately regarding time in traffic, time cruising and at different speeds. If your car has computer, then leave it in instanteaneous read out and again see what part of your journey hits consumtion the hardest. You will also see how carefully you drive and what throttle position achieves best figures.
Bottom line with these cars and engines is that good economy figures can be achieved, but you have to try. It won't be achieved without some degree of experimentation and learning.

[NoviceV50]

I just did a stint for 327 miles on european motorways at avg 80 miles/hr with very little speed variation and achieved 42 mpg.
I did another trip 203 miles at avg 75 miles but with intermittent variation of 45 to 95 miles/hour and also achieved 42 mpg.
both without air con
Past 22k I avg 35.35mpg with 50% London town traffic

On a different note I would kike to mention that we filled up in Luxembourg for a whopping 78pence a litre and got a tyre pressure, too.

[7050man]

That seems about right. As soon as you go over 70 mph or sit in traffic, consumption increases.

I assume that whilst travelling in Europe, the car was loaded with passengers and luggage?
At an average of 80mph under this condition 42mpg is the kind of figure to expect.

[Harvey1512]

An interesting note for Volvo to consider. The new VW common rail 2.0 diesel that is being used in VW, Seat and Skoda's is getting around 10mpg better figures than the Volvo engine, at least. Would we be having this discussion on the forum if the engines we drive were getting 50+ mpg?

I know people driving with this engine and it is the real deal. Hopefully the new S60 will have an updated engine to match or Volvo will fall further behind. Volvo seem intent on banking everything on their 1.6Drive engine and I am not convinced that is the right move for heavier cars.

[NoviceV50]

Urban fuel consumption (mpg) (cold) defined as: The urban test cycle is carried out in a laboratory at an ambient temperature of 20oC to 30oC on a rolling road from a cold start, i.e. the engine has not run for several hours. The cycle consists of a series of accelerations, steady speeds, decelerations and idling. Maximum speed is 31mph (50 km/h), average speed 12 mph (19 km/h) and the distance covered is 2.5 miles (4 km).

Extra-urban fuel consumption (mpg) defined as: The extra-urban cycle is conducted immediately following the urban cycle and consists roughly half steady-speed driving and the remainder accelerations, decelerations and some idling. Maximum speed is 75mph (120 km/h), average speed is 39mph (63 km/h) and the distance covered is 4.3 miles (7 km).

Combined fuel consumption (mpg) defined as: The combined figure presented is for the urban and the extra-urban cycle together. It is therefore an average of the two other parts of the fuel consumption test, Urban and Extra-urban cycles, weighted by the distance covered in each part.

Now go off and replicate :-))