"Official" fuel consumption figures

[John_C]

I'm car hunting at the moment and over and over again on owner's reviews, forums and from talking to people I hear the same thing over and over again - how annoyed they are that the fuel economy doesn't match the manufacturer's claimed figures.

There seems to be a very common misconception about these fuel figures. The "manufacturer figures" are in fact EU standard fuel consumption tests.

The authorities themselves acknowledge they are not representative of real life driving:

http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/inf...dard-Tests.asp

There is a link to how the tests are run here:

http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/inf...ing-scheme.asp

You might also want to take a look at this article from The Times which goes into far more detail than I can be bothered with

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/dri...cle2214542.ece

So if you can't achieve the "manufacturer MPG figures" don't be surprised.

Your best bet is to ask for real world MPG figures from owners, as many people already do on this forum and others.

Cheers,
John

[222s]

Those explanation links were very interesting. Given that the tests are entirely on a rolling road, can we presume that crucial factors like the vehicle weight and aerodynamics aren't part of the equation? If so, then imho the 'official' figures are about as useful as that piece of paper which Mr Chamberlain brought back from Munich 70 years ago.....

[Seeker_UK]

Interesting links.

In my experience though, always be pessimistic and base your fuel consumption on being no better than the 'urban' figure.

If that depresses you too much, I usually estimate at fuel consumption which is about 80% of the Parkers combined figure.

[Clan]

These "manufacturer-Figures" are for one purpose only , and that is comparing one car/make/model against another as the equipment is standard so takes out all the variables you find on the road . They may or may not give an indication of what you are likely to achieve on the road in any particular car . In any case the same car on the same journey could get wildly different figures . eg i have seen C70 D5 's showing an average of 19 mpg ( ave speed 25 mph) the lowest i remember to 45 mpg ( ave speed 45 mph ) The average speed is the critical factor as well .

[Seeker_UK]

Manufacturers figures are always uber-optimistic because they are usually not derived from real driving - ie taking the car on the road. The usual way is by using a rolling road, indoors, so free from stop-start and acceleration / braking.

One effect of this is that quoted CO2 emission figures are also lower than what they actually put out.

[GSS]

Originally Posted by 222s

....the 'official' figures are about as useful as that piece of paper which Mr Chamberlain brought back from Munich 70 years ago.....

LOL I like the analogy!

[ovlov25]

What cars are you looking at John?

[John_C]

Everything and anything mate With the market as it is at the moment there are some blinding lease deals around at the moment, nearly picked up a brand new 58-plate Merc SLK for £350 a month but I was too tall for it. Also found a blinding deal on a Civic Type-R but the seat was just too uncomfortable for my.... ahhhh.... how to put this..... "ample frame" (fat arse ).

Lexus IS220d is a possible at the moment, just looking for confirmation of the deal at the moment as the offer may have finished.

Not discounting Volvos at all, I very much like the new C70 and the S80 plus the C30 D5 is nice too, but the deals just aren't there on them at the moment.

The sort of leasing deals I've been seeing mean you can lease the car over two years for less than the depreciation on a used one. Talking to a few separate leasing agents they all say the same thing - it's down to stock being cleared at the end of financial years/reporting periods and there being excess stock in the supply chain due to the downturn.

All good fun.....

Cheers,
John

[ovlov25]

Sounds fun, I must be in the wrong line of work!!

I take it then its not really a company car scheme? surely you would get hammered with tax etc if it was.

The lexus is a nice car, would be my choice