[naman]

hi i bought an almost new vauxhall corsa (2011) 1.2L recently which has done about 200 miles. The advertised mpg is around 38 in general however I am only getting around 26 mpg. i am not racing it around and i do all the eco friendly things ive been told on the internet but i just cant manage to increase it. is there anything i can do to get a higher mpg? thanks in advance.

[t1gger123]

the type of journey you are doing, also effects the MPG, if you doing lots of stopping and starting it will lower the MPG, but when you are cruising down the motorway, the MPG increases

[naman]

is it riduculous for a 1.2 litre 3 door car to get 26mpg in london? i mean my dad has a 4x4 and he gets around 25mpg!

[JC.]

(Original post by naman)
is it riduculous for a 1.2 litre 3 door car to get 26mpg in london? i mean my dad has a 4x4 and he gets around 25mpg!

My 3.5 litre V8 sports car manages 26mpg on the motorway. Around town is usually about 18mpg.
Having said that my 4.2 litre Jag manages about 16 around town and can drop to single figures when pressing on.

Make of that what you will!

[NewFolder]

If the mileage is not a typo, cars usually use a lot of fuel when they're new. Just drive it carefully for the first 1000 or so miles, and then it should get better.

I find that keeping my RPM below 2000 at all times saves a substantial amount of fuel, even compared to changing gear at just 500 rpm more.

Also, every so often, go a short distance on the motorway, I notice that my MPG is at least 2-3 mpg more when I've been on the motorway for a few miles. Do between 55 and 65 on the motorway, not 70, it saves a lot of fuel (or just ensure that the RPM doesn't go above 3000, that wastes a lot of fuel).

[naman]

(Original post by NewFolder)
If the mileage is not a typo, cars usually use a lot of fuel when they're new. Just drive it carefully for the first 1000 or so miles, and then it should get better.

I find that keeping my RPM below 2000 at all times saves a substantial amount of fuel, even compared to changing gear at just 500 rpm more.

Also, every so often, go a short distance on the motorway, I notice that my MPG is at least 2-3 mpg more when I've been on the motorway for a few miles. Do between 55 and 65 on the motorway, not 70, it saves a lot of fuel (or just ensure that the RPM doesn't go above 3000, that wastes a lot of fuel).

why is it that new cars use more fuel?

[Maccees]

It takes a fair few hundred miles for engines to wear in doesn't it? By that I mean you wont get 'optimum' mpg until it has worn in. Although your first error was expecting a Vauxhall not to be thirsty haha.

[NewFolder]

(Original post by naman)
why is it that new cars use more fuel?

They don't. It's just that when an engine is new, it'll use more fuel and oil and not give as much performance for the first few hundred miles, happens to all cars. Don't know why exactly, it'll probably tell you why in the manual.

[initiation]

Also are you reading it of the onboard computer, actually work it out by filling up, driving a few hundred miles and then filling it up again.

[shaun12345]

I'm pretty shocked by the quoted 38mpg from Vauxhall. I have a 58 Suzuki Swift, 1.5l, and that quotes at 45mpg combined. I was looking at similar aged Corsas too and they were all quoting mid to high 40's

[Nuffles]

(Original post by NewFolder)
They don't. It's just that when an engine is new, it'll use more fuel and oil and not give as much performance for the first few hundred miles, happens to all cars. Don't know why exactly, it'll probably tell you why in the manual.

I think it's something to do with things like the valves and rings being machined almost perfectly at the factory, but there being minute differences between the tolerances of each part. As the parts move together and wear together, they wear to each other and start sealing better. I may be wrong but that's a logical answer to me.

[Kevmeister]

(Original post by naman)
hi i bought an almost new vauxhall corsa (2011) 1.2L recently which has done about 200 miles. The advertised mpg is around 38 in general however I am only getting around 26 mpg. i am not racing it around and i do all the eco friendly things ive been told on the internet but i just cant manage to increase it. is there anything i can do to get a higher mpg? thanks in advance.

http://www.whatcar.com/truempg/

Use that to calculate your true mpg.

Also, the avg MPG is actually 51, the 38 is for town driving. You should be getting around 40, once the engine has loosened up.