Hi Everyone - I am a long time lurker on here - in fact, over three years ago, I posted a thread up about improving the economy (I was getting about 30 imperial MPG) I got out of my 1983 Austin Mini!
Because I ran that car on a shoestring, I couldn't really give it the attention it needed, to get the economy it should have (there was something wrong with the ignition advance, I believe).
Since then, I have been mostly car-less - I did spend some time driving my other half's 1.3 petrol Ford KA which between us we got about 44 imperial MPG out of. And more recently, I spent a lot of time driving rental cars for work, most of which were 1.6 diesels that saw over 60 imperial MPGs (90% motorway doing 70-75mph).
Anyway, me and my OH (who will be sharing the car, and won't drive quite as economically as me) bought a car just over a week ago - and it's a bit different to the usual that you will see on here, because we're from the UK (as you probably guessed by the classic Mini, and imperial MPG's).
It's a 2003 Renault Clio with a 1.5 turbo diesel engine producing 80hp, it weighs about 1000 kilos and the official EU economy figures are:
Urban: 53.3 MPG (44.4 US, 5.3L/100km)
Extra Urban: 76.3 MPG (63.6 US, 3.7L/100km)
Combined: 67.3 MPG (56.0 US, 4.2L/100km)
That sounds like a lot - but for those that don't know - the EU economy tests are a lot 'easier' than the US ratings. If the car got an EPA figure, it would probably be about 45 US mpg highway / 36 US mpg city.
I haven't ran a full tank through it yet (the car has a 50L capacity), and the economy readings from Torque Pro on my phone don't seem to be accurate... so who knows what I will get. It will probably be on the low side with room for improvement
.
It would be nice to see 71 MPG (59 US, 4L/100km) with a little effort which would put me well in the top 10 on here for diesel. Usage will be mixed, stop start city driving, a 40 mile each way motorway journey a couple of times a week, and some fun weekend trips.
Here are a couple of pics from the day we picked her up:
It's not fast or sexy but it will hopefully make up for that in its running costs.