Does my MPG sound about right??

StevieP

StevieP

StevieP

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I've got a company car, a 2010 Skoda Octavia Elegance with the 1.6D CR engine and I'm beginning to wonder if all is right with it because my miles per gallon seems really low against the quoted spec on the Skoda website!

The quoted figures on the website are:

- Urban - 49.6
- Extra Urban - 72.4 (what the hell is this??)
- Combined - 62.8

Now I'm not exactly a speed junkie (as you can tell from the car selection! :p) but I'm struggling to get above 35mpg on my regular in town driving and even when I had a run to the airport (100+ miles on a motorway), I really struggled to get the average for the journey over 50mpg! :confused:

I know the numbers on the website are always over-estimated but my figures are so far out it's ridiculous!

I'm still in warranty so do we think this is something I could bring up with the dealer???

Thanks for any advice guys...
 
Sounds about right to me tbh, it's a tiny engine with a fair amount of car to lug around. The test conditions that yielded those economy figures are often tightly controlled and not always indicative of real-world usage
 
If you're consciously more careful with your driving you will see some minor improvement. You should be able to get over 50mpg on a steady cruise at 70mph.
 
It seems poor - I get 30mpg in town in a 3.0TDI and have seen 48 on a run on the motorway. Tiny diesels in fairly heavy cars are often a false economy.
 
Seems about what I'd expect, never managed anything more than 35mpg tops with proper town driving (ie not people who think doing 5 miles through town on the bypass at 50mph = town) with any 2 litre diesel, cannot see why a 1.6 in a car that size would be any better.
 
Thanks for the replies guys! At least I know I'm not doing something wrong!

The engine seems fine for the car - it's definitely nippy enough for me but I guess you are right in that it's a pretty big car for a smallish engine!
(although bizarrely, the horsepower on the 1.6 CR engine is the same as the hp I had on my VW Golf 1.9TDi!)

Thanks again...
 
Hi, note that all manufacturers are dictated by eu legisation as far as obtaining the quoted mpg and they are only there as a guide to compare different vehicles. The tests are also performed on a rolling road, thus they cannot really simulate real world driving, but that will be changing at some point in the future.
Chris
 
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chriscatt said:
Hi, note that all manufacturers are dictated by eu legisation as far as obtaining the quoted mpg and they are only there as a guide to compare different vehicles. The tests are also performed on a rolling road, thus they cannot really simulate real world driving, but that will be changing at some point in the future.
Chris
Click to expand...

I thought there is an EU test route which they test all the cars on?
 
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On a rolling road with no drag etc, the mpg figures are way inflated.

You get nowhere near it in real usage, even if you trundle along at 20mph.
 
MooMoo444 said:
On a rolling road with no drag etc, the mpg figures are way inflated.

You get nowhere near it in real usage, even if you trundle along at 20mph.
Click to expand...

It's not no drag, load is put on the rollers based on the aerodynamic properties of the car being tested, to simulate wind resistance.

What causes the inflated figures is just the fact it bears so little resemblance to actual driving and such a massive percentage is just at a standstill, hence all the manufacturers falling over themselves to add stop start - it probably adds about 10mpg to the test figures alone.

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/content_images/fig/1740240320029.png

That's the test cycle in graph form - it's easy to see where the figures come from - look at how slow it is most of the time for a start.

The cycle must be performed on a cold vehicle at 20-30°C (typically run at 25°C). The cycles may be performed on a flat road, in the absence of wind. However, to improve repeatability, they are generally performed on a roller test bench. This type of bench is equipped with an electrical machine to emulate resistance due to aerodynamic drag and vehicle mass (inertia).

For each vehicle configuration, a look-up table is applied: each speed corresponds to a certain value of resistance (reverse torque applied to the drive wheels). This arrangement enables the use of a single physical vehicle to test all vehicle body styles (Sedan, hatchback, MPV etc.) by simply changing the look-up table. A fan is coupled to the roller bench to provide the vehicle air intakes with an airflow matching the current speed. Many more tests can be performed during vehicle development with this arrangement than with conventional road tests.

The test is conducted with all ancillary loads turned off (Air conditioning compressor and fan, lights, heated rear window, etc.)
Click to expand...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_European_Driving_Cycle#Test_procedure
 
MooMoo444 said:
On a rolling road with no drag etc, the mpg figures are way inflated.

You get nowhere near it in real usage, even if you trundle along at 20mph.
Click to expand...

Drag is provided by the rolling road. You will get exact what it states if your driving to the NEDC cycle at a 20C ambient.
 
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