Seeing how much more expensive diesels are than petrols, are there any mid-sized petrol cars that do 40+ mpg? Cheap ones too.

40+ mpg seems pretty standard for a 1.6 mid sized car on ‘combined’ cycle. I’m interested in responses too.

I wish for a 147 but this is where it’ll end I believe – wishing for the impossible.

Yes.

Although most really economical innovations in petrol seem to be aimed at really small cars. iQ or the Fiat Multi-air are good but I don’t think you get them in bigger cars.

VAG TSI/FSI is probably your best bet, but you REALLY have to keep your boot out of the TSI ones apparently to get anything decent.

Of course there’s petrol hybrids…

PS my parents just got a Focus 1.6 petrol and are getting 42-43 ish with mainly country roads.

My other half gets ~40-44 from her 1.6 8v megane (1998)?

I have an Audi 1.6FSI that gets real world 48MPG. I bank on 10 miles per litre in normal use, thats 400miles out of one 42 litre tank.

On a long run at steady 60mph it will get well over 50mpg.

Thats measured on tank refils, not on the trip computer (they always lie!)

I’m currently averaging a REAL (As in not imagined or off the trip computer) 41.2mpg out of a 1.6 Focus estate, mostly on motorways though, but that does incude a holiday with the bikes on the back for most of it and driving round the Peaks and Northumberland….

I presume you mean an A3, CHB?

The Prius is too large to consider it at present, physically too large. With a bit of luck my wife will change her job this Summer so it’ll save some 100 miles per day in commuting, the town we live in is small and you actually walk everywhere, it’ll mean the car will be a luxury not necessity as opposite to the present situation. I also have a motorbike so my going to work (as and when) will be sorted too.
I tried FIATs, but whoever designed the interior of a Stilo has to be blind AND unskilled. It makes my Pug positively lush.
TSI is an old technology I believe, used by the Jap car manufacturers years ago. Beside, golfs are expensive to insure round here (Eire).

41mpg from an Auris 1.6

coffeeking – Member
My other half gets ~40-44 from her 1.6 8v megane (1998)?

One of the “I see you babe shakin’ your ass?” ones?

One of the “I see you babe shakin’ your ass?” ones?

No, before that model. The older coupe version.

She is a dainty driver though, not sure I’d get that from it if i’m honest!

The Prius is too large to consider it at present, physically too large

Why so? Parking or driveability? It’s an extremely easy car to drive if that’s the issue, it really is a lot like driving a small car. Tiny bonnet, light steering and controls, and a high up driving position with a great view. Plus many are around with reversing cameras and self parking.

TSI is not old. It’s FSI with a turbo and sometimes a supercharger too. FSI is direct injection petrol which means that rather than filling the whole cylinder with air/fuel mix, it fills it with air and squirts in a little bit of fuel like a diesel. The clever part is that the injector and piston head are carefully designed to ensure that the fuel hangs around the spark plug just long enough to ignite, and with jut enough air.

Bloody clever it is, and only possible with modern tech and computer design iirc. Having said that other manufacturers do it too. Popular in the US where diesels are not.

My midget will do 47 mpg, thats 150motorway miles and 80miles of “going for a drive” in the Peak district.

And thats with a really low diff ratio!

I think it’s burning sparkplugs though, 2000miles since the new ones and it was missfiring on acceleration and popping on the overun this morning, so probably running a bit lean.

@coffeeking, they’re pretty too, I like!

@molgrips, if you were as crap at parking as I am you would want a smaller car too. Besides, I just want a smaller car having driven the neighbours’ Rover 25. The larges I’d go for is a Celica, but won’t do it as yet, maybe one day. Thanks for the explanation re TSI, didn’t know 🙂

Molgrips, no its a 1.6FSI A2. The A2 is a brilliant car, well ahead of its time, and not classed as a proper Audi by Audi dealerships.

Heh.

I’ve got the self parking, but it’s not particularly handy since it takes a while to set up. When on a busy street or carpark people behind get annoyed if you fanny about for 30s adjusting the target if it hasn’t got it right. And sometimes lining the car up so it finds the target is harder than just parking.

However I’d still say test drive one if you get the chance since it really is easy to handle.

How small you wanna go though? There’s the Jazz to consider, great car. If I wanted small petrol I can’t think of much else I’d prefer. And now also available in hybrid form.. if you are feeling flush.

Jazz? Forgot about them completely.

Hairychested – Member
if you were as crap at parking as I am you would want a smaller car too.

I thought the Prius had that park its self ability??

Hyrbid Jazz just out, 62mpg extra urban and 62mpg round town..! £16k tho.

I thought the Prius had that park its self ability??

It does, read my above tho.

£16k for a car??????? Does it give you head every morning? £3k would be an absolute max regardless of my material situation. It isn’t a V-Max to justify spending so much IMO.

You didn’t specify budget 🙂

Might not find a Jazz for that price…

The Astra (Si, I think) pool car I used told me it had did 50mpg and I thrashed the bugger. If driving was fun, I would say that was a fun car to chuck around.

Don’t the VW/Audi FSI’s need super-unleaded?

My 1.8 Honda Civic sport (~150bhp?) currently averages 42-ish mpg, but it improves somewhat if I’m pootling at 50-60mph. I’m reasonably happy with that!

The SO wants a diesel Audi A2 which I think is an excellent choice…
HTH

We’ve always got about 10 miles per litre whenever I’ve bothered to check . That’s an older Scenic.

My mum’s 1.4 Honda Jazz (08 plate) does a real 49mpg in combined driving.

My 330ci does about 34combined, so it should be possible.

Ohh and the 1.5 yaris t-sport does a real 42mpg combined and they’re pretty fast too.

Anything that’s light weight will do okay with small petrol engines.

Don’t the VW/Audi FSI’s need super-unleaded?

Wouldn’t have thought they needed it, but they probably benefit from it.

A real life 45mpg is perfectly achievable I’m my golf TSI.

Serious question:

How many people on this thread are quoting MPG figures off trip computers or from manufacturers figures?

Becasue neither are anywhere near accurate.

MPG computers can be accurate. Some of us test and compare them 🙂

Some of us test and compare them

Can’t beat good old maths and a geeky obsessiveness…..

Untitled by PeterPoddy, on Flickr

These days I do it electronically, but I sould our last car (to Solamanda off here) with about 45,000 miles of fuel figures written down in a little notebook…..And I’ve been doing that since I got my 2nd car in 1991.

Yep. I am really that sad.
🙂

EDIT
The dip in that graph is our holiday with the bikes on the back for 9 days, driving round the Peaks and Northumberland

I’m not that obsessive 🙂 I compare a few tankfuls here and there under different conditions, so I know the general gist. Seems on both my cars it can over or under read, but not by much. Of course it’s not a solid figure but I don’t really need one. For me it just lets me evaluate my driving habits.

I’m not that obsessive

Not many people are, sunshine! I’m proudly geeky with fuel.
FWIW the trip computer in our Focus over reads by anywhere from 0.5 to 3 or 4 mpg. It’s not even consitant, but yes, it’s a handy guide to have available. 🙂

(I was gutten when I changed my phone in October and managed to wipe all the data I had sored in there…)

Why so geeky? Curiosity or a desire to save it?

Here’s one to make you car drivers cry into your deisel tanks:

[/url]
Untitled by PeterPoddy, on Flickr[/img]

😉

Any opinions on Peugeot 307 petrol? Cheap as chips, any users here?

See to me that looks awful. Only 15% more than my Prius and I get four seats, aircon, a heater, a windscreen, a stereo, four wheels, four times the top speed and I can drive it naked if I want.

Curiosity or a desire to save it?

Hard to say TBH. Bit of both I think. It’s so ffffing expensive these days.

More habit than anything else I think, like the way I look after my vehicles. How many people check their tyre pressures, fluids, lights etc regularly? I do.
For instance, I remember our diesel Vectra used to use about 1.5l of oil between services, so needed topping up occasionally. The Focus uses very little, so it does 10k without a top up. That sort of thing I just find handy to know

(To be fair, I’m a good person to buy a used car or bike from. It’ll have been looked after!)