I am a little concerned that I am getting poor fuel economy out of my car.

My typical working week involves very little travel. I total 12 miles per day travelling to and from work and only really 'drive' the car at weekends.

I have recently filled the tank to an indicated maximum level (i.e. the fuel gauge is at maximum level). Or after a couple of clicks on the fuel pump.

After having covered 120 miles the gauage is on the half way line and with the application of some simple arithmetic that's only 240 miles to the tank, which is a pretty ****-poor 22 MPG or thereabouts!!!

The journey to work consists of 30 MPH zones for 3 miles and the remainder being country roads which are driven at 60 MPH.

My driving style is reasonably 'laid back ' and I only really rev the car on the small section of dual carriageway for the last 1/2 mile of the journey to work.

The engine is operating at normal temperature as I understand a faulty thermomstat can result in dire fuel economy.

I also understand that regular short journeys are not good for consumption either.

Before I decide to potentially take action I have adopted a very boring and conservative driving style i.e. making use of 5th gear alot, to see what economy I get out of the car then.

Should I take the car to the Rover dealer to have a diagnostic check performed or should I be expecting figures like this as a result of my driving pattern.

Thanks for reading and any thoughts would be much appreciated!! :D

Steve

Hi Steve

Sorry for the delay in replying, my internet connection is very unreliable this weekend, probably due to the amount of ppl using it ???

Right, you've fallen right smack bang into the old trap most people do - they take far too much notice of their fuel 'gauge'

Remember, the fuel gauge is only an 'indicator' of tank contents; it IS NOT a calibrated instrument. Never read too much into what the fuel guage (I use that term loosely!) is saying when it comes to range.

Here goes:->
Fill the tank as you say you have done and zero the trip meter. Drive the car however you do and refill the tank when it is at, say, 1/4 full. Recored the amount of fuel put in and note the miles covered.

Convert the litres of fuel into gallons (divide by 4.54)

Divide the miles covered by the amount of fuel used and there you have your true MPG.

Just remember that today's catalyst equipped vehicles have a larger reserve capacity built into their fuel tanks - as running out of fuel in a catalyst car is bad news for your cat!

Try this procedure before taking your car in for a healthcheck - I think you will be quietly suprised.

[Edited by Dr Dave on 04-06-2002 at 10:00 PM GMT]

Cheers for the advice Dr, put £16 (21 litres) of fuel in from th 1/4 mark and the tank is almost full... I'll let you know how I get on! :D

Convert the litres of fuel into gallons (multiply by 4.54)

Sorry to be pedantic, but I'm sure Dr Dave means DIVIDE the number of litres by 4.54 to give the number of gallons!
Rather sadly, I have done this for every fill-up with every car I have had since my first, 16 years ago. Aswell as impressing all my friends, it is a good indicator of car engine health.

*****!!! Thanks Antony!!!!

Better go and edit it!

I took the time & trouble to make sure it worked on my trusty phone calculator and obviously got carried away in the excitement :D

Thx for pointing it out m8 :D :) 8)

antonypalourti
Yes me too! Sad aren't we:(