How long should a full tank last?

Chives · 8 Dec 2012 at 15:30

Hi guys,
Had my first car an 03 1.2 SEAT Ibiza for about 3 weeks now loving it I am.

Just wanted to check really roughly how long a full tank should last, I put £45 in it the Wednesday before last and sure enough 8 days later my fuel light came on and I put another full tank of fuel in.

During those 8 days I did 210 miles in the car and just wanted to check this is about right

Cheers

King Damager · 8 Dec 2012 at 15:33

This is a basic maths concept.

Look in the manual and see how big the tank is, then look up mpg, and take about 20% off. then work it out

kd

Jokester · 8 Dec 2012 at 15:33

What kind of driving are you doing, sounds low?

acemastr · 8 Dec 2012 at 15:33

that's 28mpg, so if it was town driving that could explain it, otherwise i'd expect at least 35mpg

StonedPenguin · 8 Dec 2012 at 15:39

First few weeks of my first car I avg'd crazy low MPG's due to having just learnt/passed in a Diesel. Got in a Petrol for the first time and found myself not changing gear no where near enough at first, Aswell as over-revving it to avoid stalling it lol, Was drinking it

Chives · 8 Dec 2012 at 15:53

Jokester said:
What kind of driving are you doing, sounds low?

A mix of town and dual carriageway driving

Almost always short trips.

acemastr said:
that's 28mpg, so if it was town driving that could explain it, otherwise i'd expect at least 35mpg

Well according to the MPG calculators I have been looking at I am getting around 22/23 MPG - My tank has a capacity of 45 litres

Serpantine · 8 Dec 2012 at 16:49

Chives said:
A mix of town and dual carriageway driving
Almost always short trips.

Well according to the MPG calculators I have been looking at I am getting around 22/23 MPG - My tank has a capacity of 45 litres

Chives if you've put in £45 that works out as say 35 litres. If you've done 210 miles on 35 litres that's about 28mpg.

You should be able to get quite a bit more out of that, it'll just be your driving style / cold weather short trips.

wesley · 8 Dec 2012 at 17:46

28mpg from 1.2 is pretty bad lol

i never get less than 33mpg in heavy town trips from 1.6 focus

Clarkson · 8 Dec 2012 at 18:18

If your fuel tank is 45 litres and you put £45 in then you didn't fill the tank did you, unless you live in a secret place where petrol is £1 a litre.

I remember those days, so long ago now

Tbid · 8 Dec 2012 at 18:24

Or maybe it wasn't completely empty before filling..

bledd · 8 Dec 2012 at 18:27

Keep a log like this..

Fill tank, zero mile counter.
When light comes on, fill tank and note how much fuel goes in (in litres) and how many miles you're on.
zero mile counter.

Repeat this a few times and you'll have a good basis to work on the actual MPG.

When was it last serviced?

The following will be good for the car and potentially improve MPG

Oil ~£25
Oil filter ~£6
Air filter ~£6
Spark plugs ~£10

Chives · 8 Dec 2012 at 18:36

Clarkson said:
If your fuel tank is 45 litres and you put £45 in then you didn't fill the tank did you, unless you live in a secret place where petrol is £1 a litre.

I remember those days, so long ago now

Well I filled it soon after the fuel light came on.

Tbid said:
Or maybe it wasn't completely empty before filling..

This, likely there was some fuel left in it.

bledd. said:
Keep a log like this..

Fill tank, zero mile counter.
When light comes on, fill tank and note how much fuel goes in (in litres) and how many miles you're on.
zero mile counter.

Repeat this a few times and you'll have a good basis to work on the actual MPG.

When was it last serviced?

The following will be good for the car and potentially improve MPG

Oil ~£25
Oil filter ~£6
Air filter ~£6
Spark plugs ~£10

Ok will start recording that information

It last had a service in January of this year, is due another service along with its MOT this coming January.

bledd · 8 Dec 2012 at 18:40

Also, if you're only doing short journeys at this time of the year, it will take a further MPG hit as it can't get up to temperature.

Biohazard · 8 Dec 2012 at 18:42

I can make a quarter of a tank last days, or use it up in a few hours.. how long is a piece of string.

Simon · 8 Dec 2012 at 18:55

100-300 miles

IAmATeaf · 8 Dec 2012 at 19:00

I get 28mpg from my 2.4 Accord, half and half town and dual carriageway driving so I'd personally be very disappointed if I got that from a 1.2?

Chives · 8 Dec 2012 at 19:11

bledd. said:
Also, if you're only doing short journeys at this time of the year, it will take a further MPG hit as it can't get up to temperature.

Mostly is short journeys

IAmATeaf said:
I get 28mpg from my 2.4 Accord, half and half town and dual carriageway driving so I'd personally be very disappointed if I got that from a 1.2?

Well this is how my week days work :
Leave at 8 for school which is 2 miles away, around 20 mins of mostly stop start traffic before I arrive.
Often go out for lunch at 1 to Tesco which is around 2 miles away so a 4 mile round trip which takes between 5-10 minutes each way

Then go home between 1:30-4 which is another 2 miles back and this takes 5 minutes
In the evenings and on the weekends then it can be used any time, almost always short journeys though.

Minstadave · 8 Dec 2012 at 19:16

They sound like very short journeys with a lot of time idling, that mpg sounds about right.

apeksdiver · 8 Dec 2012 at 19:19

When the fuel light comes on there is still 10 litres left with my car

Chris1712 · 8 Dec 2012 at 19:35

Sounds about right. A lot of people talk on here about 'town' driving and getting ~30mpg. I'd be interested what they think town driving is to achieve that. Down here it's 10mph average speeds and frustration.

Since the winter has started to hit, my average speed has dropped from 22mph to 14mph, and consumption from 29mpg to 23mpg. Twice as many cars on the road (less people cycling and for some reason it seems kids aren't allowed to walk to school anymore!?) and car only just gets up to temp before I reach my destination.