Hi there,
Can any other owners advise whether 38mpg pootling around town is average with our 1999 1.7TD Astra estate? Seems thirsty to me - I was hoping for more, particularly as I drive quite gently around.
Hmmmm - anyone got any comparisons from their own experience?
Ta.
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It's not amazing, but most people take the car out on a long run when they'd be getting 50+ mpg. It's in the nature of town driving that you will start and stop regularly and therefore waste fuel; with this in mind, 38mpg isn't too bad even though the Vauxhall website suggests 45mpg for the latest version of the car. If you were using the car on longer runs, it would probably do much better.
Dave (taxi driver) would probably be the one to answer this from experience.
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Had three Astras with these engines as company cars.
Never bettered 40mpg at steady 75mph.
I got around 35mpg round town, I do accelerate hard mind you.
There is a thread elsewhere about the Izuzu engine or is yours the Vauxhall engine? I had both, the Izuzu was better (still hateful - slightly more power) but the Vauxhall slightly more economical.
I suppose its still better than 25mpg around town from a petrol engine.
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Did somebody call??
Diesel economy, hmmm, this gives rise to so many myths and falsehoods... Your "town driving", do you mean heavy rush-hour queues in central london, or driving at 30mph around a market town and stopping for the occasional T-junction?
I would say 38mpg isn't that bad really, it's surprising just HOW much your average economy figure can drop if you stand still with the engine running for any length of time.
At the moment I'm getting 48-51mpg out of every tank, but then it's busy this time of year, not a lot of standing around between jobs. If it's quiet for us, and cold enough to warrant keeping the engine running for the heater, my economy drops to around 40-44mpg, because of all the standing around. If, however, I get a nice long run to the other end of the country, 5th gear all the way, I can get 58-60mpg+.
I had a courtesy car in November with the same engine as mine, but with a fuel computer. It was showing instantaneous consumption of around 78mpg cruising, dropping to 12mpg under acceleration, and obviously 0mpg at a standstill.
The "journey average" fuel consumption, though, started at around 60mpg on dual carriageway, rose to 65mpg on a busy A-road, but whilst I was in a layby on the phone it dropped to 35mpg average.
So the biggest factor I've found that affects economy is using the engine but not actually going anywhere.
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in reply to Dave the Taxi Driver and Mr.Fish, (and others - thankyou), my driving tends to be around 5-6 miles with a fair bit of accelerating to get off the line at traffic lights and uphill junctions, but I tend to change up early and am definitely not a thrasher. My reasoning behind getting a diesel was to replicate my old 60mpg figures I used to get from a trusty (but sluggish) Pug 205 Diesel. Sadly this isn't to be. BUT, I would love to know what all this talk about Isuzu engines vs. Vauxhall motors is all about. How can I tell the difference? Mines an 8valve for sure (I reckon - because the 16V says it on the boot).
I must say I am dissapointed at the performance from my Astra TD 1.7 LS, and maybe this is unfair, but at work we have a Audi TD (1.8) R reg estate, and it goes like the clappers, I mean really flies. The Astra is worlds apart, and doesn't respond at all like I thought it would. Fair enough, it cruises quite quietly at 80mph on a recent trip to London from Exeter (where we live), and returned more like 40-45mpg, but am I being unfair comparing it to an Audi?
With that in mind, what's the most economical family orientated vehicle that can be bought at auction for up to £4000? Are the Focus estates better? Are the Astra petrol engined versions better for short town trips? PS. The wife will NOT drive anything too small like a Daewoo Matiz!
Ta everyone.
Microbike.
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"am I being unfair comparing it to an Audi?"
Without any technical knowledge, I'd say that HAS to be an unfair comparison as they are a different pedigree (and value) of car.
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I've a 97 Astra Estate TD (low pressure turbo Vauxhall engine) that seems to average 40-42 mpg over a commute of 25 miles B roads and 5 miles town driving. I was a little disappointed hoping for high 40's considering the majority is on the open road, but it's better that the old Volvo 240 auto estate at 25 mpg.
I was after the TDS with the Isuzu engine as the works van with that lump in I used to drive really flew (but I didn't check the mpg on it) but needs must and the TD was local and available.
I've tried the injector cleaner, paraffin in the tank and switching fuel brands mentioned elsewhere but nothing seems to have made much difference (avoiding spanner work as much as possible in sub zero conditions). The best thing was the "how to drive a diesel" thread that gave a few good pointers on engine revs and the like.
So now I know someone else gets about the same mpg as me I feel a bit better.
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As others have said it does depend on the engine. I had an isuzu engined cav and that used to average 47mpg, which included a regular A road commute (but often stuck behind farm traffic) and some town driving.
Define 'town driving'. Do you rely on low rev torque to move the car, or do you thrash the turbo to beat orange lights?
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Microbike,
It takes a great deal more energy to accelerate a mass than to maintain it at a steady velocity, therefore accelerating the car will use fuel at a notably faster rate than steady speed motoring even if you do drive quite gently as you said. Add in the fuel wasted in stop-start events and 38 mpg starts to look quite good. I wish I could get that in my petrol-engined car!
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A quick look on parkers.co.uk confirms that a 99 car would be the Isuzu engined version, which I don't think is direct injection. In any case, it's thirstier than the current model, and therefore 38mpg around town is quite acceptable.
Performance wise, it is unreasonable to expect a 1.7 economy special Astra to match a 1.8 litre Audi with 57 bhp more. On the other hand, if it's only getting 40-45 mpg on a long run, you've been stitched up. My car does that at 80mph, it's also a 1.7 litre, but it has a 92bhp petrol engine.
A 1.8 litre Astra with 115 bhp would match the Audi for performance (less power, but also lighter), and would be available for close to your budget at auction. It would also be thirstier than the car you have now. Around town it would probably give 30mpg or so.
www.usedcarsales.net in Manchester has a 99 Astra CD estate for £4k. Downside is that it has 93k on the clock, with a clean HPI and FSH.
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Actually amend my mpg figures. The original manufacturer's figure, from ukcar.com is 39.8mpg for your car and 25.7mpg for the 1.8 petrol...
tinyurl.com/44ah for the 1.7
and
tinyurl.com/44ai for the 1.8
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