Keeff57

We took our '61 plate 1.6 CR in under warranty today as the Air Con was blowing warm. New condenser being fitted on Monday. Upside is that we have a '13 Yeti 4x4 to use for the weekend and impress the neighbours. Wanted one of these, but couldn't afford it!! Keith

I find it interesting that you think that the 1.6 might not give more MPG than the 1.9, and I can easily see how it could be so if you tried to drive both cars the same way. Having done 120k in 8 years in 2 x 1.9s, the first trip we did in the 1.6 was a 600mile dash to Devon and back. Computer showed 58mpg going there , and a touch over 60 on the return. So not much different from what I'd been used to previously. As we did a few local trips in Norfolk and Suffolk, we noticed that were sometimes getting around 70 by driving a bit more steadily - you don't go fast in Norfolk!! I've noticed that when you're say on a dual carriageway with roundabouts, the car runs very freely when you take your foot off the gas. The 1.6 engine doesn't slow the car nearly as much as the 1.9 did. It's very easy to keep your speed up too long and have to brake hard, which costs. It can be a bit scary in heavy motorway traffic, as you keep having to touch the brake. A trip to London last week, using A11 and M11, but keeping to the speed limits and allowing plenty of space, gave a reading of 66mpg. Sorry to hijack the towing thread, but as I said before, I didn't notice much difference between the two while towing. But then again, I always pootle along with the caravan on the back!! Keith

The only real difference we've noticed between the two cars is the extra 10% MPG from the 1.6 Keith

We used our '57 plate 1.9 TDI 105bhp to tow an Ace Jubilee caravan for 5 years. Caravan weight was almost 1300kg, so we were just a bit over the recommended 85%. We had no problems at all out on the road, but it did make the clutch smell a bit a couple of times when reversing uphill on caravan sites. MPG was in the 34 - 36 range, which most caravanners would die for!! We've now swapped the van for a 1200kg Eriba, and the car for a '61 plate 1.6 TDI. Achieved over 40mpg on both trips we've made with it. Hope this is helpful. Keith

You need to get the length of the pause between the two pushes just right. I tend to leave just a half-second gap between, and it's not long enough. SWMBO gets it right every time - she leaves about a second in between. Works every time then. Keith