Hi,

I'm currently checking the Mpg on my 1.4 16v comfort - brim to rim method. However I'm on 150 miles to half a tank ,which is not looking promising! I realise it's cold weather and winter fuel, but this still seems on track for a pretty rubbish return of about 250 to 300 mpg, was expecting around 360 - 400. Car runs fine from cold, is a great drive and the engine sounds sweet....but....

Am preparing to take it back to the dealer - Autosales Bilston - am 3 weeks in to my years warranty.

Any ideas about what the problem could be and if it is covered under the warranty??

Cheers,

Sam

remember the fuel gauge is very rarely linear in any car... mainly because of the shape of the fuel tank.... so wait to see how many miles you get from a full tank

Also, most engines don't seem to return what you'd expect...there was a "what do you really get, mpg?" thread on the PPC Forum not so long ago, a lot of small-engined petrol cars appeared to be averaging well below 40mpg!

I did get nearly 600 miles to a 10-gallon tank in me 1.1i 106 once driving slow and smooth religously just to see what it could do...but as the miles racked on the car up I started averaging nearer 40mpg. My old E30 BMW 320i could get 40mpg on a long run if you didn't break 70mph, much better than many more modern 2-litre saloons! But got 12mpg round the Nurburgring...as for my Fab. vRS typically average 43mpg, but I do a lot of short journeys. With a gentle foot on a long run I can see well over 500 miles to a tank...but the power is just so tempting!!!

Indeed it is.

After running my 04 Fabia vRS for 6 months,covering 10,000 miles,I'm consistently getting 44mpg running on Shell Diesel Extra/Millers Power Plus.

That's more or less the same mpg I was getting with a 94 VW Vento TD with 75bhp.A MUCH less satisfying car to drive.I always calculate mpg brim to brim,ignoring the fuel gauge,and for the last 6 months,the on board computer.

When calculating brim to brim - do I just run it until the light comes on - indicating 7.5 litres left?

Just run it pretty low. Fill it up. Make a note of the fuel bought i.e. how many litres. Make a note of how many miles you have travelled (if you reset the trip meter last time you filled up).

Reset the trip meter.

Repeat the process several times to get a representative mpg figure i.e. you may fill up with the car canted over slightly or pointing uphill or downhill which will affect how much fuel you can get in the tank.