My qualifications are private.

That's fair enough, I respect that, but why mention them them?

I disagree with Eco drivers only looking a meter in front of the bonnet, I find when I'm trying my hardest to get a high mpg I have to look for cross views and to the limit point as much as possible to identify hazards that will slow me down so that I can use acceleration sense to slow for them in order to save fuel, (you may recognise them terms from road craft as you mentioned) my old octavia 1.9tdi 110 used to get 65mpg all day long with little effort and that included driving at the speed limits and where necessary including overtakes, it's all about planning, not driving at 40mph everywhere like some people think.

Simple.

The poster mentions "when you learn how to drive correctly"

That's fair enough, I respect that, but why mention them them?

I disagree with Eco drivers only looking a meter in front of the bonnet, I find when I'm trying my hardest to get a high mpg I have to look for cross views and to the limit point as much as possible to identify hazards that will slow me down so that I can use acceleration sense to slow for them in order to save fuel, (you may recognise them terms from road craft as you mentioned) my old octavia 1.9tdi 110 used to get 65mpg all day long with little effort and that included driving at the speed limits and where necessary including overtakes, it's all about planning, not driving at 40mph everywhere like some people think.

Read post #44

Read post #44

Already have, that's what I'm replying too.

I have 3 qualifications from the very best tutors that say I can do this already and 20+ years of driving experience.

My training is extremely difficult to attain. Let's not be patronising.

You selectively quoted part of a sentence, if you read the whole reply you have not taken it the way it was intended IMO by chopping aa small part out and quoting it.

The poster was not saying you personally should learn to drive correctly, he was saying that by learning to drive correctly you could drive economically and not hurt your wallet. Something I agree with.

But I know you don't like diesels anyway and do like a good forum debate.

I think we've been there before.

Vive la difference!

I have an E type Jaguar with a V12 engine. I quite like the car but the economy is not first class.

I am thinking of putting an ex-post-office-van diesel engine in it to make it more economical. This is the 55hp post-office-plus engine.

Do you think it might affect the performance and top speed (I have overdrive fitted) as well?

Will it enhance the resale value?

I have 3 qualifications from the very best tutors that say I can do this already and 20+ years of driving experience.

My training is extremely difficult to attain. Let's not be patronising.

I'm not being patronising, my comment was meant in general and the 'you' wasn't aimed at you but meant 'you' as in the driver.

I only have my Driving License but did take on many training sessions towards the IAM but didn't take the final drive due to moving to a job where I didn't need a car and now have 17+ years driving experience.

The eco cars are probably really good if driven correctly (aiming torwards mpg) and serve their purpose, especially if you have a long commute to work (why pay more money for fuel/wear and tear than you have to).

Alot of people when driving just tend to follow the car in front which results in heavy braking/hard acceleration etc etc this can cause major problems and we all at some point are subjected to this when on the motorways and mainly due to not leaving enough room between themselfs and the car in front

@ the OP, I think your only going to see the two major arguements regarding eco cars 1, their brilliant & 2, shouldn't be on the road, to slow/boring etc etc. Best bet is to have a test drive of a couple and see what you think to them over a more ordinary styled car and then decide which suits your needs best.

As Bossfox has also said, If looking at the car as a way of saving money overall you also need to consider/road tax/fuel cost/servicing costs/parts cost etc etc

Believe it or not SWMBO and I sold SWMBO's mk1 fabia vRS for a 2l petrol Rav4 as it would be cheaper to run overall than the Fabia in our circumstances.

It does take quite a bit of research to make sure you make the correct choice.

Vive la difference!

I have an E type Jaguar with a V12 engine. I quite like the car but the economy is not first class.

I am thinking of putting an ex-post-office-van diesel engine in it to make it more economical. This is the 55hp post-office-plus engine.

Do you think it might affect the performance and top speed (I have overdrive fitted) as well?

Will it enhance the resale value?

I do a similar commute at about 36 miles a day on A roads. I regularly get 37mpg from my VRS driven sensibly. With the VRS I also have the ability to get passed slower drivers on a road with few overtaking opportunities. A slower car would lead to a very frustrating drive to and from work on most days (we're plagued with doddery old fools and holiday makers).

Filling the VRS is painful. But at the mileage I do changing to any newer efficient car would easily eat any fuel saving. Plus petrol is expensive whatever you drive.

I also have my doubts over the reliability of many of the super eco cars. I get the feeling that these little clockwork engines are run on a knife edge to get the mpg figures which are often a mile away from what is achievable in the real world.

I enjoy cars and motoring. It's one of my few remaining pleasures in life, I don't drink much, don't smoke, don't gamble but I like a car I can enjoy.

I'm seriously considering moving cheap old gas guzzlers. Pay less for the car and more for petrol (and break down cover) but have something to enjoy. If I'm going to pay a fortune for petrol I might as well do it in a V6 Jag even if it only lasts a year or two.

...my old octavia 1.9tdi 110 used to get 65mpg all day long with little effort and that included driving at the speed limits and where necessary including overtakes, it's all about planning, not driving at 40mph everywhere like some people think...

My long term average in the same TDI is 66MPG. I never look at MPG while I'm driving.

Good driving habits make a difference in any car. On long steady A road runs in the GT-R, I get above 25MPG without trying too hard.

It's a shame that you missed this in his post :think:

His comparison is very frugal "tin box" eco v "luxury car". Read the post properly.

Read properly? That proves my very point.Are eco-models considerably more economical in the real world? Its always going to be a difficult one to answer as I would expect the drivers of those cars to be a self selecting sample of people keen to get good economy. The comparisons the OP is looking for, will it be 5, 10 or 20mpg btter than a normal car in normal driving will be nigh on impossible to answer.

Chap at work just sealed the deal today... going from a 2.5 V6 MG ZS to a 1.4 diesel Yaris.

I did some basic maths for him and it's going to save him a fortune.

Basic costs...

MG:

Fuel @ 8,000 miles per year: £1,480

Tax: £270

Insurance: £750

So those basic costs are a total of £2,500...

Yaris:

Fuel @ 8,000 miles per year: £780

Tax: £30

Insurance: £350

Basic costs of £1,160.

Even paying for a loan, it works out that he's around £1,000 better off each year.

Chap at work just sealed the deal today... going from a 2.5 V6 MG ZS to a 1.4 diesel Yaris.

I did some basic maths for him and it's going to save him a fortune.

Basic costs...

MG:

Fuel @ 8,000 miles per year: £1,480

Tax: £270

Insurance: £750

So those basic costs are a total of £2,500...

Yaris:

Fuel @ 8,000 miles per year: £780

Tax: £30

Insurance: £350

Basic costs of £1,160.

Even paying for a loan, it works out that he's around £1,000 better off each year.

Yeah but he'll be driving a Yaris c'mon.......................