Diesel car owners - advice on mpg welcome

[danny128 10]

Thanks everyone for your comments - it's been a pleasant surprise how many have been kind enough to offer advice in such a short time! It's certainly given me 'food for thought'.

The motor is manual - 6 gears - cruise controllable - engine stops when stood - marks you for style of driving - talks to you - beautiful to drive but what I really was looking forward to enjoying (good mpg) - it's sadly lacking!

The points made about cruise control, short journeys, servicing, hill work from cold etc are all probably relevant in my case but am particularly interested in the type of fuel I fill up with. I've noticed a slight difference now thinking about it in different brands but always thought if they're to set 'standards' of quality there shouldn't be much difference between them? Does anyone have any particular preference in different brands?

Thanks once again to everyone:)

 

Dont use cruise control on motorways as it will accelerate uphill and slow on down hill. on motorways you should accelerate downhill and increase speed just before you meet hill but dont try to increase speed during uphill as it is a waste of fuel

[old tup 30]

I run a 2001 mercedes E class 220 cdi around town 40-45 mpg,on the motorway 51-54 mpg.My car has done 84,000 miles I use supermarket fuel boosted every couple of months with Millers additive,it has an automatic gearbox plus cruise control.If you cruise instead of doing a Stirling Moss impression you will obtain maximum mpg,my motor is a large car and I,m more than happy with my fuel consumption and don,t forget to service yours regularly most important!.

[ANGELFIRE1 10]

Landrover Freelander diesel 2.2 SD auto 190 hp, close to 40mpg on a run, closer to 25mpg local.

 

Nissan Qashqai diesel 1.4 105 hp 60 on a run, closer to 40+ local. One of the best motors we have had.

 

Angel.

[Lab-rat 10]

I guess it all depends on the car. Like Lab-rat says some cars with DPFs don't like it.

 

But again, this could all depend on how the car has been driven and it's current mileage. I've seen cars with blocked DPFs at 40,000 which have only done local drives, and then cars with 100,000 motorway miles that have never had a problem or warning light.

 

My car had 89,000 when I bought it all motorway mileage. I drive on Sheff parkway & dual carriageway to work, so not exactly city driving but still DPF light came on with supermarket fuel. Stayed clear of it & (touches wood) never had a problem since. I think years ago petrol was petrol & oil was oil......but anyone who confuses this now-days is asking for trouble.

[Lab-rat 10]

Landrover Freelander diesel 2.2 SD auto 190 hp, close to 40mpg on a run, closer to 25mpg local.

 

Nissan Qashqai diesel 1.4 105 hp 60 on a run, closer to 40+ local. One of the best motors we have had.

 

Angel.

 

Seriously 25 mpg local? I used to get that from both my Subaru Legacy & Subaru Impreza......what's the point of a diesel if you get 25 mpg?????

[L00b 441]

Seriously 25 mpg local? I used to get that from both my Subaru Legacy & Subaru Impreza......what's the point of a diesel if you get 25 mpg?????

It's a big car (Freelander) to shift, it'd be much worse if it wasn't diesel

 

25 mpg local in a 'Preza? Must have ben a heavy right foot...with a WRX, as I used to eke 35+ (urban-mixed) with a 2.0 n/a

[Dave_H 10]

My Octavia 2.0 TDi regularly gives 55-60 mpg and a little more on a long run.

I try not to use supermarket diesel, especially Morrisons with its higher Bio diesel content.

 

There are Shell and BP garages in Sheffield which are at least as cheap as any of the supermarkets.

[Balpin 12]

I only use my car for commute on the M62.

It is now 50 mph all the way.

I gave up using my Laguna Diesel, 45 mpg, and started using a Mitra 45 mpg.

The kudos is not as good, but the price per gallon is.

[stereolab 10]

I recently changed from Petrol to Diesel too and I get around 50mpg from mine compared to less than half from my old petrol car. I drive 75% of the time on motorways and surprisingly when I once accidently slipped over the 70mph speed limit , I noticed my MPG went up.

 

So with the proposed speed limit change to 80MPH on our motorways, I certainly think this would help peoples fuel consumption.

 

It all depends on the car.

 

Although this is old it shows that some cars are more efficient when driven at 60mph than at 40 or 50.

 

A newish 1.8 to 2.0 litre diesel will probably be most efficient at about 2000 to 2200 revs - between about 70 and 80 in the highest gear, then will drop off after that.

[Eater Sundae 12]

My current car has a Fiat 1.3diesel. I get around 53 to 55 around town, driving fairly sedately. On motorways, I get anywhere between the high 40s and the low 60s, depending how I drive.

 

My previous two cars were bigger, and both had the VW 1.9 diesel. These also gave in the low 50s around town, but could always gethigh 50s to low 60s on motorways. Although its an old design of engine and in a heavier car, it gives better fuel consumption, more consistently.

 

The bigger engines seem better, presmably because they are less stretched

[mikeG 16]

Got 1.4 Hyundai i20, and get between 53 & 55 mpg out of it, even bearing in mind it's mostly town work and being driven by learners.

 

Same here. I get 55 on local trips and 65 on long runs trying to keep to around 70mph. After 12000 miles the car is giving at least 5mpg more than when it was 'running in'.

[Eric_Collins 11]

I've ran supermarket tat in my engine , shell fuel saver and now the v-power. The supermarket tat from morrisons clogged my engine up and it blew smoke like crackers. It drank the stuff like it was going out of fashion. I poured loads of redex in the tank and then started to run shell. The fuel saver made a huge improvement over supermarket in smoke and performance both power and usage. The v-power stuff is very good and gives more kick higher gears for motorway overtaking at 70mpg +. The engine now is smokeless even under super hard revs 5k's.