My 1.6 TDCi 110 Focus has now been with me for a month, however, in this time, the only time I got vaguely close to diesel-like economy was on a trip Stoke-Cambridge and back. Since then, I've returned a somewhat paltry 37mpg (20mpg short of the combined figure). Whilst that's certainly an improvement on the 33mpg I used to get from my 1.6 mk1 Focus, it barely covers the extra cost of diesel fuel, let alone inital outlay. Is this normal for around town?
I've wondered if it's my driving style: I'm driving it so that I change gears whenever it's above 2,000rpm, except possibly first where it reaches 3,000 (often too soon). could it be that the engine isn't run-in enough yet, having not quite reached 15,000 miles yet? Or is there possibly something wrong?
Whatever it is, is undermining the car as a package, and coupled with the lack of character it's making me question whether it was worth the "upgrade".
|
Not wanting to repeat what has been said on this forum many times but I will, how are you measuring your consumption. Trip computer or brim to brim?
It has significant bearing on your question.
Carse
|
"37mpg (20mpg short of the combined figure)"
Comparing apples and pears there. What is the urban figure?
|
|
|
|
37mpg in town driving - depending on what 'town driving' actually means - doesn't sound too bad. Most petrol cars would be down in the 20s if they never saw an open road. My Volvo D5 returns something similar if, as occasionally happens, it goes through a whole tankful without a long trip.
|
|
|
....... how are you measuring your consumption. Trip computer or brim to brim? It has significant bearing on your question.
Neither of these is sufficiently accurate. The only valid way is to record all the fuel put in over a reasonably long period (say a month) and then do the calculation.
--
L\'escargot.
|
|
|
|
|
I currently have an 05 Focus 1.6 100 petrol and have averaged 37mpg over the 12,000 miles since I've owned it. I use the brim to brim method to calculate the fuel comsumption, so I would be very unhappy with your figure. Before this I have had 4 diesels; 97 Mk2 2.0 Td Primera averaged 34mpg over 15,000, Mk 3 Mondeo TDDi 115 averaged 43mpg over 106,000, Mazda 6 Estate 2.0 138 averaged 43mpg over 46,000 and a Mk4 Primera 2.2Dci 138 averaged 37mpg over 20,000. All these cars with the exception of the Focus were driven quite hard, the Mondeo and Mazda were able to achieve 50+ with driven up to the national speed limits. I have recently got 42mpg from the Focus on a 700 round trip to Devon & Cornwall. Hopefully when yours is fully run in things will improve, mileage clocked up did not make any difference to the any of these with the exception of the 1st Primera, as I did not have it long enough to find out. If it were me I'd have a word with the dealer and get the engine management system settings checked. Although not a direct comparsion of vehicle, I hope some of this info. has been helpful?
|
I did my first long steady run for ages today. 213 miles straight up the A1 from Peterborough to Newcastle. Computer figures were 53.3 mpg and average speed 59 mph. This was in a 1600cc 110 bhp Pegeot Hdi and seems typical of what I normally get under those conditions.
|
|
I averged around 47mpg over 1500 miles in a 1.6 110 C-Max TDCi last year, it was a new courtesy car and had only about 40 miles on the clock when I picked it up so would have expected it to improve if anything.
|
Thanks to all who contributed!
The journey's have tended to be ebtween 5 and 10 miles long at a time, yet we're approaching half a tank and only done 180 miles. I have noticed the last half of the tank goes slower, but still it's far from encouraging. I rarely exceed 50mph on these trips, which i know won't make economy amazing, but i had just expected a bit more of an improvement over my old 1.6 petrol.
Perhpas the most concerning thing is reports from people who have the same engine in different cars - especially cheddar's experience of the C-Max, which being a heavier car ought to be less fuel efficient...
|
Someone on here commented to one of my previous posts saying Euro IV diesels take longer to warm up and whilst they do have lower MPG. A problem on very short journeys.
I know my Mondeo TDCi is really good on long motorway runs, even better on long A-road runs at 60mph (no stop start) but pretty poor around town. But my previous Passat 1.8T was dire around town. Could get it as low as 200ish miles per tank in town type driving!
|
|
Interested in this thread as my next car is most likely going to be a tdci Focus estate. For what it's worth I have a 2.0 litre petrol Mondeo estate and get 27 mpg +/- 15% over the last 40,000 miles. Round town it must be worse than rtj70's old Passat.
|
|
Sadly it's not a euro-IV version, it was one of the last euro-III 110's sold.
|
they are obviously more efficient when warmed up...regular journeys of 5 - 10 miles each will mean a quarter to a half of the journey without the engine being at its' optimum working temp
wifey's 2.0 diesel (Ford based unit) does about 33mpg in town.......for that reason
the other thing is, again on wife's car (as we use it for long journeys).......i never get anything like the fuel consumption figs that some on here apparently get, which leads me to conclude
1, some people exaggerate a bit....or
2, our car has something wrong with it....or
3, my driving style is akin to driving with divers boots on
I've concluded the answer is a little bit of 1, and a fair chunk of 3, (because that model isn't pokey enough for my liking and what i'm used to, so i 'keep it busy').
|
>>wifey's 2.0 diesel (Ford based unit) does about 33mpg in town.......for that reason
I have a Focus 2.0tdci and get about that in town, and 40 if I'm lucky on long runs (but i'm not slow...). I've found it's there or thereabouts equivalent to my previous 1.4 petrol car (in which I also wasn't slow) which for the extra performance and comfort is fine with me. Clearly if I sat at 65-70 on the motorway it would be much better but I do about 700 miles a week at the moment, much of it in the early hours, so am not in the mood for hanging about!
|
|
|
|
Sadly it's not a euro-IV version it was one of the last euro-III 110's sold.
Reckon you are better off with a Euro III unless paying BiK.
|
|
|
|
|
Perhpas the most concerning thing is reports from people who have the same engine in different cars - especially cheddar's experience of the C-Max which being a heavier car ought to be less fuel efficient...
>>
At the time I was mildly disapointed because my 2.0 130 Mondeo has averaged around 47 (calc not trip) over 100k + miles so I assumed the 1.6 C-Max would better that and its average would improve as it loosened up.
To be fair though constant stop start town driving or lots of short journies as you mention are likely to lower the average.
|
|
For comparison, I have an 05 Focus 1.6 petrol which has averaged 39 to 40 mpg by the brim to brim method, over 12000 miles of mixed to semi rural driving. I am a very gentle, economical driver. I can't achieve the 42.8 mpg combined, claimed by Ford! I do think some of their claimed figures are more than a little optimistic, to be honest.
|
I do think some of their claimed figures are more than a little optimistic to be honest.
The manufacturers dont claim the figures, they are official gov figures.
|
>> I do think some of their claimed figures are more than a >> little optimistic to be honest. >> The manufacturers dont claim the figures they are official gov figures.
Cheddar is 100% correct in that they are just complying with the government method of testing but it's also obvious that cars are 'tuned' to perform well in these tests. The manufacturers know that a lot of purchasers put a lot of weight in the MPG figures and pay tax based on co2 emissions.
|
but it's also obvious that cars are 'tuned' to perform well in these tests.
What a cynic you are! Read all about it here ........... tinyurl.com/2bw9kz
--
L\'escargot.
|
|
|
|
My C-Max 1.8 TDCI only returns 25-35 mpg around town! That's probably because my wife drives it on short journeys where it never really gets a chance to warm up, and we live in a very hilly area.
When I use it to get to work (35 miles, mixed ) I get approx 50mpg. On a recent 250 mile motorway journey, driving approx 60mph most of the way due to heavy but moving traffic it averaged 64.9mpg, which was a shock. Just proves that the economy of diesels really only shows when you're doing a lot of motorway miles, and then at relatively low speeds.
|
|
Our Mondeo TDCi (60k miles) if solely used on short trips gets down to 37mpg. Long runs, after the ECU has got used to the driving give up to 50mpg and the German Autobahn at 100 mph still only uses 45 mpg.
|
Short journeys and driving style sound like the most likely cause. It's possible that a lot of short journeys and the use of basic diesel or mixing different brands of diesel fuel has contributed to the engine become glogged up with muck which would contribute to poor economy.
You'll need to check fuel brim to brim and not what you see on trip computer as there could be a fault with your fuel guage calebation, sensor or similar. In the meantime try changing gear up sooner, the 1.6 TDCi will potter long at 1000 rpm in any gear apart from 5th and a lighter foot helps economy as does anticipation of ahead traffic, and a couple of tank fulls of a quality fuel such as BP Ulimate. I have no problem getting 50+ mpg in stop/start and unban traffic, in fact I've found it impossible to get below 50mpg, a lot more on the open roads and it's an Euro IV+PDF, I normally use BP Ulitmate diesel which helps of course.
The 1.6 TDCi is the most economical engine in the Focus II range.
|
My Passat PD Estate will get 32 mpg if driven exclusively around town for a couple of days. On board computer reading. I prefer to walk if the weather permits.
--
I wasna fu but just had plenty.
|
I had a Citroen C4 1.6 Hdi 110 as a hire car in France last month - same engine as the Focus 1.6 TDCi.
I picked it up with a full tank of petrol with 6061 km on the clock, and returned it full with 7137 km on the clock, having put 54 litres in it. Assuming that it was as full when I picked it up as when I dropped it off, I got 56.3 mpg - which is pretty much what the dashboard computer was telling me.
It was pretty much unhurried rural motoring, but I was still impressed, considering that I drove up a few mountains (which is never good for fuel consumption).
|
|
No experience of the 1.6l TDCi in the Focus, but in my 1.8 TDCi mark 1 Focus, I generally get around 46 - 48 mpg during my daily commute of 10 miles each way on mixed roads, but last summer when I had a commute of 65 miles each way, mainly on the motorway and 60mph A-roads, I achieved an average of 53mpg. The mpg definately improved with mileage in my car which now has 73,000 miles on the clock. For the first 20,000 miles or so, I generally got around 43 - 45 mpg, sometimes as low as 39mpg, so it may still improve with mileage. As the car should still be under warranty, it may be worth getting a dealer to check it over - they may be able to update the ECU which may help the fuel economy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
