V50 Engine 2.0D : Fuel Consumption?

[Uk Saint]

Hey guys, some advice if possible.

Being a new owner of a 57-plate V50 2.0D SE (74k) I'm still finding out what figures I'm getting from a tank.

That said I think the car may be "over-estimating" the miles to empty figures. Basically I ran it from a full tank on picking it up and it appeared to use fuel quite rapidly compared to my old 1.9 CDTi Vectra. I got around 390 to the tank and a fair chunk of that was motorway.
Even now after doing a little test of putting in £20 from empty and clocking the miles I got it seems very low, just 137 miles. Weirdly tho my trip computer states I still have 100 miles in the tank to empty yet the needle has just entered the redzone and the light is on?

Does this seem about right or is it as I suspect and it's using a little too much fuel? If so any ideas on what can cause such thirstyness?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[benr7310]

when i fuel up when the light comes on i get get about 40-42 litres in the tank.. meaning i have 10-12 left so you could get somewhere near 100 for that

i get about 38-40 mpg but all mine is town driving and going up a large hill for work.. and i have a heavy foot :P

[SonyVaio]

It is always hard with a new car until you have pushed the boundries a couple of time to see just how many miles you can get to a tank, as well as how far you have left when the needle is at a certain position.

Have a look at my thread here - LINKY! and look where my needle is, bare in mind the engine is still running! When I hit the top of my red I know I've still got atleast 70 miles to go. Whilst on my ECO run this was nearer to 100.

From a full tank my needle starts to move traight away, the first half of the tank (indicated by the needle) goes quicker for me than the 2nd half. You just need to keep pushing the boundries but also try and not run out of fuel, you will get a false hesitation warning in the diesels (like a misfire/stutter) once this has happened you really don't want to go much further.

[Uk Saint]

Cheers for the input fella's been a bit of a learning curve for me.

Having run the same car for about 6 years, adapting to the new one is kinda like starting a new relationship where you have to spend some time learning the new ones sounds etc.

Hopefully will just be a case of finding out the threshold of each tank. Was a little worried though when I saw the light come on after only 137 miles!

@SonyVaio
I read your thread with interest and was impressed with how you managed to keep the car running even when supposedly empty!
I'm toying with the idea of brimming the tank with some of the premium like V-Power or the BP stuff to see if it does as described and cleans up the engine and helps run a little smoother. You never know it might help clean up the mpg figures in the long run.

[SonyVaio]

Originally Posted by Uk Saint

Cheers for the input fella's been a bit of a learning curve for me.

Having run the same car for about 6 years, adapting to the new one is kinda like starting a new relationship where you have to spend some time learning the new ones sounds etc.

Hopefully will just be a case of finding out the threshold of each tank. Was a little worried though when I saw the light come on after only 137 miles!

@SonyVaio
I read your thread with interest and was impressed with how you managed to keep the car running even when supposedly empty!
I'm toying with the idea of brimming the tank with some of the premium like V-Power or the BP stuff to see if it does as described and cleans up the engine and helps run a little smoother. You never know it might help clean up the mpg figures in the long run.

If the pocket can stretch to it I'd very much reccoment the Shell V-Power Diesel over any of the others.

[VenomS40]

Recently I was getting 40-45MPG and about 400-450 from a tank of fuel. Last week I got the tracking done and instead of filling the tyres up with 36psi (eco), I opted to try a little more air in the tyres and chucked in 43psi and it’s a revelation!! Now currently sat on 47.6MPG since last filled up but haven’t tried a full tank yet. I filled with £30 from the trip comp reading --- once it goes below 15miles till empty and I still have 130miles till empty left and its sat just above the redline.

Will keep you all posted...

[Bendolfc]

For MPG the trip computer tends to overestimate quite a bit on my car, when it says 67 it is more like 60.

[Welton]

Originally Posted by VenomS40

chucked in 43psi

I'd say that was excessive and you'll likely wear the centres of the tyre quite quickly and have strange-feeling handling. I'm surprised you haven't noticed more 'crashing' over bumps in the road.

[Volubilis]

My 2.0D Euro 4 with standard (not Eco) tyre pressures is reading 47.8mpg but it seems like im always putting fuel in. My old car (Audi A3 2.0 TDi) was reading 54-57mpg no matter how hard I dove it and early 60's on a good run and I was in the fuel station half as much as I am now

[72dudes]

Please don't quote how many miles per tank you get when comparing different makes of car - it's meaningless and akin to saying "the picture on my 32" Sony TV is smaller than that of my 42" Samsung TV" !!

Cars do not have the same size fuel tanks. UKSaints previous Vectra had something like a 65 or 70 litre tank, the S40/V50 diesels have a stupid sized 52 litre tank.

Also, how many litres did you buy for £20?? Did you pay £1.36 or £1.46 per litre - big difference. At £1.40/litre, your 137 miles would mean 43.6 MPG, but you can't possibly tell that the needle was at the same point in the red as before you re-fuelled.

The only way to accurately work out your car's fuel consumption is by filling brim to brim over several weeks or several thousand miles: Fill up each time beyond the cut out point on the fuel pump, so it really is full. Note the mileage (let's call this A). Next time you re-fill in exactly the same way: Note mileage (let's call this B) and litres added. Fuel consumption for this tankful is:
(Mileage B - Mileage A)/(Number of litres/4.546) = MPG.. Simples

Do 4 or 5 brim to brims to get an accurate figure.

Over 12,000 miles my S40 2.0d has averaged 49.1 MPG. Mix of suburban/A road/dual carriageway with occasional urban

And I run with 33psi in the front tyres and 31psi in the rears. Anything more and I find the ride too harsh for my tastes. I have no tyre wear problems.