...XC90... new mpg record :-)

[Patrick lince]

Me too....it is impossible!

[Clan]

well not impossible for a V70 , so think what's different besides the obvious drag co-efficient which is a bit higher , but under say 60 mph wont have such a great effect ..
The mass of the car will be unfavourable if accellerated a lot but at constant cruising speed wont have much of an effect at all .
The killer for fuel economy on an XC90 is accelerating and going up hills .... you only have to watch instantaneous MPG to see this ... same with cruising at 60 mph on a flat road .. very good ...

[tem]

Attached is a photograph of the Average MPG of MY2007 D5 XC90.

I can confirm that the trip computer has not been reset, since new.
Do not do short trips, no town driving and tend to stay within the speed limit.

Until recently (see "Power Steering", when software update was carried out to EMU), I averaged between 37.8 to 38.7 MPG.
Has the EMU update improved things?

I took this photograph at the DFDS Terminal, Ijmuden, Netherlands, on my way home, to show to a co driver (heavy footed friend), after driving from the North of Scotland to Austria.

tem.

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by Clan

well not impossible for a V70 , so think what's different besides the obvious drag co-efficient which is a bit higher , but under say 60 mph wont have such a great effect ..
The mass of the car will be unfavourable if accellerated a lot but at constant cruising speed wont have much of an effect at all .
The killer for fuel economy on an XC90 is accelerating and going up hills .... you only have to watch instantaneous MPG to see this ... same with cruising at 60 mph on a flat road .. very good ...

Clan...your finger sticking out at a right angle at 60mph takes 80 watts of power. I measured it at 30mph on my bike useing an SRM power crank taking 10 watts. Doubling the speed requires 8 times the power. I can tell you that going over 20 mph on a bike starts to hurt and over 30mph well......

I agree about the hills and acceleration would also add braking and weight to the mix. In Cornwall with steep 1 in 3 climbs off road work lots of tracks with tight turns so lots of braking with 7 people on board,I got my mpg down to 28.4 mpg. That compares to 38.9 mpg on the way down from London on motorways and A roads.

Roy

[ckp]

nice to see such high numbers. my 2008 rica tunned (226bhp) xc90 should have better mpg than the original! that's what the saleman/rica said ..... ha. well, I didn't believe them, and a good job too.

around town 26mpg (computer says 30 as it always reads high)
400m round trip (all m/ways 75mph) to new forest 34mpg
1200m holiday to france (roof box + bike rack) 28mpg

generally with 2 adults + 4 kids

overall, happy with it.

btw, does the aero roof bars effect the mpg at upto 80mph?

[GSMGuy]

The roof bars will affect the fuel consumtion at ALL speeds, the faster you go, the more the effect..

Mike

[RoyMacDonald]

btw, does the aero roof bars effect the mpg at upto 80mph?

See my comments about sticking your finger out. The roof bars are a lot bigger.

To increase the speed from 60 mph to 80 mph requires more than double the power by the way, thanks to the laws of aerodynamics.

Roy

[ckp]

OK, I'll take them off and see if I get any measureable gains!

Note that 226hp = 168 000 watts, so it's the % gains that are of interest, not the odd 1000w or so. It all adds up I guess .....

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by ckp

OK, I'll take them off and see if I get any measureable gains!

Note that 226hp = 168 000 watts, so it's the % gains that are of interest, not the odd 1000w or so. It all adds up I guess .....

Can you do some tank to tank mpg meaurements with and without them on a variety of journey types and post them? It would be intersting to see what effect they have. If you can push them together when you're not useing them that should reduce the drag. It's the vacuum behind that causes the bigest losses on that shape, so you'll only have the vacuum behind one bar.

Roy

[manikdesign]

the only way to find out what you really get is what mileage do you get out of a full tank