I have a 1.4 mpi - I ve always known that these engines were a bit thirsty but its only recently I ve been looking at fuel consumption as the price of fuel is sky high

Its a 001 model 1.4 8V MPI

a full tank cost me £47 and I got 250 miles out of that...

How many miles a gallon is that??

What also annoys me is I drive like a grandma - I always keep in a high gear as possible, avoid the brakes and generally poodle along

Is it worth selling it folks... Would a polo be more economical? I ve had it from new

the only way you are going to get a reasonably good consumption figure is if you buy a diesel

that is crap

my 2.5 litre turbo focus st was getting

250miles to £50 lol!!

There is something wrong, it should be way more economical than that.

To the OP please describe the typical journey used to get to that figure, eg. is it all town driving, a mixture and the typical trip distance on each tank.

Short distance stop start trips where the engine does not really get hot will use a lot of fuel, it does not matter really which car it is.

As an example my diesel superb which before I changed jobs did 45mpg on a 30 mile town/motorway commute now struggles to get to the mid 30s on a 30mph commute of 9 miles.

sell it and get a fabia vrs imo more power and alot more miles to tank

That does sound expensive! I can get 370 miles on a tank maybe 400 if I push and that is with the 1.4 16v petrol. The 1.2 petrol or the Fabia diesels would be better still. If running costs are a concern and you have the money to change cars then it would be worth looking at, especially diesels if you do a lot of miles or consider something smaller if you can manage with it. Other things you can check on your own car is to make sure the fuel and air filters are ok and it is otherwise well serviced, there is no unneeded junk in the boot and also make sure the tyres are at their correct pressure. In the longer term you could try the energy saving tyres like the Michelin Energy. Good luck.

Honestly its the way people drive!!!

I have a 1.4 mpi atm (until monday/tuesday! then it'll turn into a vrs yay!) and I quite happily do £30 to 220-260 miles, I was annoyed that it doesn't reach 300 miles because it used to (when the petrol prices were lower!!).

Mine is a mixture of town and A-roads, little motorway miles. I don't drive slow but I drive quite sensible......... ahem.

I fill up between £20 to £30 every-time because any more than that its extra weight really.. Using 1st gear up to 3-3.5k (rpm) then 2-3k for rest of the gears generally makes the car happy.

A lot of the time is simply anticipating traffic conditions, as much as driving techniques.

Edit: Don't fully agree on avoiding brakes.. if its anticipated early braking early and not having to stop helps.

Also I dont agree on highest gear possible at all times is correct way, as you find alot of the time if you shift too early you struggle to maintain speed therefore your right foot needs to be down to the floor more.

Another point to make is if one isn't box shifting changing gears very often doesnt do justice for eco drive. e.g. 30mph road, i just change from 2nd to 3rd.. then 4th, then 5th (eco?), then I have to go down again within 5 sec's because theres a junction obstruction on road........ NOT eco driving. its better to go.. 2nd to 4th.. stay in 4th if you know your slowing down v soon.

Maybe read up on some techniques about braking, box shifting, traffic conditions etc.

However if you really think its not yourself and the car, have you tried changing oil on car? filters? smoother car gets better mpg.

Edited 18 April, 201016 yr by JLneonhug

Hi

I make that 30mpg, should do better

Check the temperature sender - it could be reading low and your running "with choke" all the time

This usually shows up on a diagnostic scan

Ricko

Hi, used to have a 8v MPI and could just get over 300 miles before the warning came on computer used to say around 40mpg though prob more like 38. The best things to do are to check and either clean or replace the air filter. Make sure the temp gauge is working properly as they can get stuck open. Also go and give it a good Italian tune up take it on a long motorway run and give it some beans to clear the engine a bit that always used to give me a few extra mpg possibly try it with a tank of super unleaded when you do so. Also when was it last serviced?

I have a 1.4 mpi - I ve always known that these engines were a bit thirsty but its only recently I ve been looking at fuel consumption as the price of fuel is sky high

Its a 001 model 1.4 8V MPI

a full tank cost me £47 and I got 250 miles out of that...

How many miles a gallon is that??

What also annoys me is I drive like a grandma - I always keep in a high gear as possible, avoid the brakes and generally poodle along

Is it worth selling it folks... Would a polo be more economical? I ve had it from new

When one of my wonderful neighbors dropped a ladder on my vRS (which I'd had for just under two months at the time), I ended up with a 1.4 Polo as a courtesy car while the vRS was being fixed. Talk about horrifying.....

I'm not sure which was worse. The first time I tried to overtake an erratic driver, I thought I was going to die. Acceleration would not be the correct description at all. Then, after having it for a week (probably around 150 miles), I had to put £25 worth of petrol i it. In the same period, I would have used about £8 - 10 worth of diesel, driving much faster in the vRS. I don't think you would find a 1.4 Polo much if any better. Rather buy an SDI or TDI Fabia.

Paul.

I have the same car as you , and i manage to get 300/350 miles out of a full tank and im not the slowest of drivers ..

Can only repeat what others have said with respect to the air filter/ oil / temp sensor

Has it been serviced lately? Cheaper than selling and having to buy a new car

Driving carefully I can get 27mpg around town in my VR6!

In my 1.2 16v Clio for £45 I can get around 300 Miles Min.... It's for sale if you are interested?

In my 1.2 16v Clio for £45 I can get around 300 Miles Min.... It's for sale if you are interested?

That car is always for sale!

Fuel economy is crap, but hey, the engine just begs to go near the rev limiter

On last tank had horrific fuel economy, probably due to removing lambda sensor fuse and putting it back in the wrong place :S too many fuse holders in there.

Also as well as air filter, spark plugs, check the thermostat is ok (it's common for the clip holding the spring to break off). To check thermostat, with engine stone cold, remove temp sender (electrical connection and horseshoe retaining clip) and prod the thermostat, if it moves about you need a new one and jorily.com sell a modified version which is designed not to break like the original one.

There's another thread on 1.4 mpi fuel economy and one poster suggested changing the MAP sensor (approx £50 at dealers) can improve MPG before it begins to register as faulty on the ecu.

I have a 1.4 mpi - I ve always known that these engines were a bit thirsty but its only recently I ve been looking at fuel consumption as the price of fuel is sky high

Its a 001 model 1.4 8V MPI

a full tank cost me £47 and I got 250 miles out of that...

How many miles a gallon is that??

What also annoys me is I drive like a grandma - I always keep in a high gear as possible, avoid the brakes and generally poodle along

Is it worth selling it folks... Would a polo be more economical? I ve had it from new

When was it last serviced?

has this 250 mile/full tank situation suddenly happened or steadly worse over time? have you noticed anything ele unusual? such as erratic idling?

I would check air filter first. A badly clogged one can effect mpg.

Add MAP sensor to the above as well. They seems to 'fade' like MAFs used to, and you end up overfuelling massively. Once it finally failed on my wife's car, it was smelling like an old carb'd engine after a run out! The replacement pulled the fuelling back to where it should be, and she got an extra 50 miles out of a tank. Sadly, Fabias 'of a certain age' seem a bit prone to sensor failure, but it's still cheaper than a new car!!!

Ha that's nothing my 1.4 8v "Hi-Torq" Mk3 Astra would go through £20 of petrol in a 100 miles and that was when it was around 90p a litre. It did that no matter how I drove it.

Got 500 miles out of last tankful <Petrol> and no I do not drive like a Granny

Got 500 miles out of last tankful <Petrol> and no I do not drive like a Granny

I reckon having an extra 5 gallons of tank to fill in the first place would go some way to explaining that, though! :p

Feel sorry for you lot, full tank 550miles later still going!!!!

Yeah, but you've got to put up with a sh*ty diesel!