How meaningful are the published Official Fuel Consumption Figures? A friend of mine has a 9-month-old Vauxhall Astra. He has run three tests, over a distance of 180 miles, mainly on motorways, visiting his daughters. The car is well run in. His consumption figures fell short by about 20% over that stated in the literature. He was the only occupant in the car, with no excess luggage other than what came with the car when it was new. Tyre pressures were checked carefully. Tank was filled to the brim, both before and after the test runs. Mileages carefully noted. He claimed there were no holdups, and he stuck firmly to the speed limits. I have looked into this, and have read reports written by two American universities that seem to bear out my friends' findings. They state substantial differences between official figures, and that obtained in the real world, of between 15-25%. I would be interested to hear your comments.