I read with interest comments on fuel consumption in your column. We have had a Golf Mk V Estate 2.0 TDI auto estate for over a year. It returns from about 50 to over 60 mpg, usually mid 50's. It is almost impossible to get below 50. The best was 62 on a run from Wiltshire to Brixton. Cruise control certainly does increase consumption. A full load increases it by some 3mpg. My wife's driving style adds about 2 mpg, as she's more on and off the power. Our other car is a Mk 1 Cooper S that averages 33mpg over 6,000 miles pa, sometimes driven ‘con brio.’ I tested a Fiat 500 TwinAir as a possible replacement for the Cooper but the dealer said you could only get the high advertised consumption using the Eco button, which made the performance pathetic. The readout on this demonstrator showed 37 mpg.