41 replies to this topic

[fionamarg]

I recently bought a Yaris diesel (with MMT) because I have a new job with an energy efficiency quango, and I wanted to do my bit to reduce my carbon footprint. So my husband's lovely Volvo left us to make room for the Yaris. What a disappointment. Not only do I find the MMT a pretty useless idea (neither one thing nor the other - people who drive automatics don't WANT to change gear manually!) but the fuel economy is nothing vaguely like what's promised. I'm getting less than 55 mpg at best (and that's on 90% non-urban driving) as against the promised 70. Because I have learned all about 'eco-driving' I'm driving in the most fuel-efficient way possible. I complained to the dealer, and was told that "diesels are always very thirsty for the first 2000 miles" (thus far, I've done just over 800, as I got it with 0 on the clock).

HOWEVER, a colleague also has a Yaris diesel which has now done 20 000 miles, and she's equally disappointed by the car's great love for visiting filling stations.

I bought this car partly because it has such low carbon emissions (I was still in the first giddy flush of enthusiasm about saving the planet!) - but it seems to me that the published emissions figure must be dependant on the fuel burned - and if the car's being greedy, then I'm burning more fuel to cover a set number of miles.....etc?

Interested to hear other owners' experiences.

[dav303]

I recently bought a Yaris diesel (with MMT) because I have a new job with an energy efficiency quango, and I wanted to do my bit to reduce my carbon footprint. So my husband's lovely Volvo left us to make room for the Yaris. What a disappointment. Not only do I find the MMT a pretty useless idea (neither one thing nor the other - people who drive automatics don't WANT to change gear manually!) but the fuel economy is nothing vaguely like what's promised. I'm getting less than 55 mpg at best (and that's on 90% non-urban driving) as against the promised 70. Because I have learned all about 'eco-driving' I'm driving in the most fuel-efficient way possible. I complained to the dealer, and was told that "diesels are always very thirsty for the first 2000 miles" (thus far, I've done just over 800, as I got it with 0 on the clock).

HOWEVER, a colleague also has a Yaris diesel which has now done 20 000 miles, and she's equally disappointed by the car's great love for visiting filling stations.

I bought this car partly because it has such low carbon emissions (I was still in the first giddy flush of enthusiasm about saving the planet!) - but it seems to me that the published emissions figure must be dependant on the fuel burned - and if the car's being greedy, then I'm burning more fuel to cover a set number of miles.....etc?

Interested to hear other owners' experiences.

I was getting about 52mpg when I was driving home via the motorway everyday (25 miles) doing on average 85 (I love flexi time!).
I was very happy with this as it was over twice the mpg I was getting in my 11 year old bmw.
However, due to rocketing fuel costs I have started to stick to the speed limit to see how much of a difference that makes. (I knew it would make some difference I wasn't entirely sure how much)
After one week of not going over 75 on the motorway I am now getting over 57mpg and that is climbing everyday (by usually 0.3 mpgs).

[liverpoolmiss]

Going at 90 burns twice as much fuel as going at 60.

Wind resistance really hurts at high speeds.

There's a noticeable difference even between 75 and 70.

25 miles on the motorway takes about an extra 1 min at 70 compared to 75 if my calculations are correct.

[dav303]

Going at 90 burns twice as much fuel as going at 60.

Wind resistance really hurts at high speeds.

There's a noticeable difference even between 75 and 70.

25 miles on the motorway takes about an extra 1 min at 70 compared to 75 if my calculations are correct.

Yes but people generally get speed creep when driving. They gradually get faster.
Hence me keeping it under 75 not at 70.

[fionamarg]

Going at 90 burns twice as much fuel as going at 60.

Wind resistance really hurts at high speeds.

There's a noticeable difference even between 75 and 70.

25 miles on the motorway takes about an extra 1 min at 70 compared to 75 if my calculations are correct.

As I mentioned, I'm heavily into eco-driving, because of my work.

That means:
1) watching the revs AND watching the speed - I aim for the most efficient speed range, whixh is around 57 mph, since I'm driving on reasonable-quality rural roads, not motorways
2) avoiding short journeys
anticipating road conditions so I'm not having to brake hard or accelerate sharply
3) not sitting with the engine idling
4) not driving with the windows open, or a roof rack in place
5) plan (as far as possible) to avoid times of traffic congestion.

So it ain't the speed that's causing the poor consumption!

Fiona

[Bos]

Going at 90 burns twice as much fuel as going at 60.

Wind resistance really hurts at high speeds.

There's a noticeable difference even between 75 and 70.

25 miles on the motorway takes about an extra 1 min at 70 compared to 75 if my calculations are correct.

As I mentioned, I'm heavily into eco-driving, because of my work.

That means:
1) watching the revs AND watching the speed - I aim for the most efficient speed range, whixh is around 57 mph, since I'm driving on reasonable-quality rural roads, not motorways
2) avoiding short journeys
anticipating road conditions so I'm not having to brake hard or accelerate sharply
3) not sitting with the engine idling
4) not driving with the windows open, or a roof rack in place

Are you using the air conditioning a lot, this will affect your mpg !!!
5) plan (as far as possible) to avoid times of traffic congestion.

So it ain't the speed that's causing the poor consumption!

Fiona

[cabcurtains]

In my experience modern Diesels need to have about 20k on them to produce optimum fuel economy, so as the dealer says the car is still tight. However the chances of acheiving the official 70 ish MPG will be low, with the official figures coming from a bench test and in perfect conditions you can see the problem.

You will also get different MPG results depending on the fuel you purchase, typically brands will differ, in my old Accord 2.2d ASDA knocked 5 MPG off when compared with Shell. Some cars just seem to like certain fuels.

Let her bed in and experiment with the fuel you buy and see how it goes.

[Yarisgord]

For my first 2000 diesel miles, I was having serious doubts that I'd made a good choice - tight as hell, sluggish, and not particularly economical. After that, it started to improve noticably, to the point where I thought, "this is actually quite quick for a small diesel!"

Regards mpg, my 1.4 returns a steady 49mpg now, and that's a bit of urban, but mostly M-way at speeds I cannot put in print! Deffo not grumbling!

[Pandemonium]

I've had my SR diesel since January and I've found that I'm now getting 58MPG on mixed driving of town, motorway and single carriageway A roads. The MPG does increase as you drive as mine was below 50MPG for a while.

Diesel price may be high now, but I'm still spending far less on fuel per week compared to my old petrol Focus, and that's comparing current diesel prices to the petrol prices of a few months ago!

[Pandemonium]

You will also get different MPG results depending on the fuel you purchase, typically brands will differ, in my old Accord 2.2d ASDA knocked 5 MPG off when compared with Shell. Some cars just seem to like certain fuels.

Yep, Sainsbury's is the worst for me so far. I'm getting 58MPG on Shell Diesel Extra at the moment.