Buying a new XC70

I have a 2003 Volvo XC70 diesel auto estate which I have owned from new and which has a little over 60K miles on the clock. It has generally been reliable, but has recently required both front coil springs...

Used cars with low fuel consumption

We have owned a 1989 Volvo 740 estate from new and now want to buy a relatively new used car (or a very low priced new car) to replace it. The new car must have a low fuel consumption. Medium sized, well...

I'm very pleased with my new C-Max diesel, which drives superbly.

I have recently changed to a new C-Max 5-seat 1.6 diesel. This is my first diesel and I am grateful for several tips via your column, particularly the recent one about letting out the clutch at idle revs...

Why is my Skoda Fabia Greenline II returning worse mpg than the Fabia Greenline I I had previously?

I have recently bought a Skoda Fabia Greenline II estate, having run a Greenline I estate for nearly three years and easily achieved the stated combined mpg of 68.9. It was therefore with confidence that...

Eco-tuning

I have received a flier for an ECU-remapping service claiming to improve fuel consumption by up to 20% - www.ecu-remapping-service.com. It is not cheap, about £250.00, but as I do 20,000 miles per year...

Guiles per gallon

The article comparing diesel and petrol Fabias was very interesting but was probably not how most people drive most of the time. I am trying to choose between two Octavias: the 1.2 TSI petrol (currently...

Does Shell V-Power give better diesel fuel economy than BP Ultimate?

I have usually used only BP Ultimate diesel in my Land Cruiser, but I have recently tried the Shell V-Power diesel. I am not totally sure but I appear to be getting a couple of miles per gallon extra with...

Fuel additives

My daughter has used Lucas upper cylinder lubricant as a fuel additive with her Honda Civic 2.2 cdi and experienced much better mpg figures. Would this be OK to use with my Audi A6 3.0 se TDI quattro automatic...

Economical small car with space for a wheelchair

I am looking to buy a small-medium size car. I currently drive an automatic Corsa (07 plate) but I am finding it only does 40 mpg. The car needs to have room for an average size wheelchair in the boot...

Belt or chain cam?

I am considering buying a Polo 1.2TDI (Not the BlueMotion). Is it chain-cam? I assume as a three cylinder diesel it is a little rough and noisy, but is there anything else against it as the mpg figures...