|
In July last year I bought a brand new Astra SRi Sport Hatch 1.8. The car was superb and I had no issues with it. In September my circumstances changed and I got a new job with a company van with fully expensed fuel etc so I decided it was time to give my Astra up :-(. During this time my Girlfriends car decided to pack in and we decided to get rid of the astra (Mainly due to the fuel consumption) and downgrade. i went to Vauxhall and asked what they could do for me regarding a possible swap for another Astra (maybe a diesel?). They did not have anything suitable unless I was to add money to the deal (which I cannot afford to do). The salesman recommended a Corsa SXi (new) could be a better option to reduce the Fuel costs incurred with the astra. Now I don't really like the new Corsa and the ones he was showing me were bland apart from the last one which had a really tidy VXR kit and upgraded alloys on it. I took it for a test drive and it was fine. Back in the office the sales guy was saying that it would be much better on fuel etc and was showing me the figures of a combined 48MPG (great I thought). After a few weeks my girlfriend found she was filling the thing up constantly so I went back to Vauxhall to mention it. They took it in and hooked it up to their computer and found no problems. They suggested that I Fill it up 3 times and record the mileage and reset the counter each time to work out the average MPG. I have done this and they have worked it out to be 37MPG (about the same as the Astra). Now my problem is that they are saying that this is between the Urban (35MPG) and the Combined (48MPG) the miles being consumed are mainly motorway so not a lot of gear changing etc. I was assured when I bought the veichle that the extras would make very little (if any) difference. Can someone please advise what actions I can take next? Sorry for the long one but we are loosing a lot of money filling this overgrown go-kart up all the time!!
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 04/02/2008 at 18:13
|
|
1.2 or 1.4 engine? SWMBO bought a brand new 1.2 Corsa D Design (petrol) 6 months ago and I've been quite disappointed at the fuel economy. We used to have a 1.6 (8 valve) Astra (1996) and although I haven't accurately measured the Corsa's consumption (mostly stop-start urban motoring) I'm sure it returns about the same as the Astra did. That said, the Corsa is big for a super-mini and needs 195 tyres for the weight which are bigger tyres than on my 2.0TD Mazda 323
|
Try not going over 70mph and see what it does ot the fuel consumption. Also try not to use the brakes* or to floor it away from every start.
_____________________________________
* anticipate the road ahead, and achieve speed reductions through friction.
|
Our 1.4 design averages about 42/43, mainly around town with several long trips in between.
The SXi is less efficient because of the close ratio gear box and the larger wheels will add to the inefficency.
However probably the biggest difference is the weight of the right foot. Ours simply isn't driven hard, it does 80 allegedly very easily, but time is taken in getting there.
|
Check out HJ's car-by-car breakdown for the quoted consumption figures, but unless you;re caning it the average does sound pretty poor for a small diesel.
My main motor at the moment is a Mondeo TDCi 130, which is achieving 44-46 on mostly urban miles, so something's wrong somewhere. You should be breaking 40 without too much difficulty, and my gut feel is that you should be nudging 50 on a good day.
On the technical side, go round to the back of the Corsa, look down towards the bumper...and see if it's towing anything as well! ;)
|
From your description of your previous car & apparent predilection for go-faster stripes/big alloys etc, you do sound like you might be trying to drive it like a racy petrol engined car.
(of which you complained about the fuel consumption of as well) Drive any car like that and fuel consumption will suffer. Driver, not car is my diagnosis!
|
|
Try easing off the right foot and see what happens...
Edited by b308 on 05/02/2008 at 07:53
|
"but unless you;re caning it the average does sound pretty poor for a small diesel."
No mention of the Corsa being a diesel.
If you cane a small engined supermini on the motorway mpg drops dramatically - at 80 it could be doing nearly 4,000 rpm.
|
Good point, Davey - I must have been half asleep.
So must anyone who expects to routinely record a combined figure - it's a nonsense.
I was always told that the figure you are most likeley to get close to in everyday driving is the urban consumption.
|
My daughter is whinging a lot about the fuel economy of her 2007 Corsa Design 1.4, having moved from a 1999 Fiesta 1.25. No precise figures but she knows she's spending a lot more.
Now, of course, fuel costs have gone up. The Corsa is a lot heavier than the Fiesta and I don't think the wide, low profile tyres help as they must increase rolling resistance. You can't talk to 22 year olds about driving style and economy 'cos they just don't listen (I'm not popular when I try to discuss how close she drives to the car in front, so economical driving is a no no).
Well, at least she got a very good discount on the Corsa and a good price selling the Fiesta privately so she'll just have to grin and bear the fuel costs.
|
|
My Mother bought her 1.2 Corsa 07 plate less than a month ago and is appauled at the fuel consumption. She had a 1.2 Clio previously and finds this Corsa uses about 5 times the fuel. She does not race around nor crawl, she drives at a steady pace using the same routes as before. We have complained to the showroom who have agreed to bring it in and have a look. After reading this website we can expect a negative result then. If they do find any fault I shall keep you posted, if not then beware, dont buy a Corsa!!!
|
She had a 1.2 Clio previously and finds this Corsa uses about 5 times the fuel.
I imagine the Corsa will be heavier than the Clio, so to expect a 1.2 engine to lug around something heavier will use more fuel. Maybe not 5 times as much, but how much of that is an exaggeration? Say the Clio did 50 mpg, that would mean the Corsa only manages 10mpg.
|
|
So must anyone who expects to routinely record a combined figure - it's a nonsense.
Depends on the car. What Car did a report a year or two back and found that in very few cars you could beat the combined, in most you were worse off and in some you were miles off the combined figure. Generally it seemed that small cars were further off their published figures, presumably because you need to cane them.
The Avensis 2.2 D4-D was one where it proved possible to beat the combined figure. My own experience bears that out, easily beating the combined figure consistently over the first 20k miles. Since the 20k service it has been strangely off-form, probably rarely beating the published combined figure. All based on a 16 urban/44 mway return daily commute.
|
|
I was recently considering downsizing from my mk2 Mondeo 1.8 petrol to an entry level 1.2 Corsa/Clio/Fiesta size car due rising fuel costs. As my commute is a mostly motorway 80 mile round trip I had a look at the mph/rpm figures in 5th for these cars and as stated above they can mean up to 4000rpm at motorway speeds. My Mondeo usually returns about 38-39mpg, but the recent potential fuel shortages in Scotland meant that I reduced my motorway speed to 60 for a couple of weeks and with the engine running at 2500rpm, the fuel consumption went up to the mid 40s. At 10years old and 110k it still never misses a beat, has needed virtually no repairs and has things like aircon and heated front screen missing from the basic versions of a newer small car. When it needs replacing I think I'll be looking at a used Mondeo again as it seems just as cheap for me to drive a bigger engined car thats not working hard at motorway speeds than to run a supermini at high revs.
|
Gave my daughter's New Corsa 1.4 Design a thorough check this morning because it has done over 6000 miles and doesn't get serviced until 12,000 miles. As I always do, swappped tyres back to front and vice versa. Noticed that front tyre wear is quite severe for this mileage and these are not cheap tyres. Needed a small top up of oil but nothing to worry about.
Then test drove it. Now I hardly ever drive this car so this was my first real impression of it. Sure, it feels solid and safe but almost as heavy a feel to it as the Ford Granada my dad drove in the late 1970's.
Now, as said in my previous contribution, she finds it heavy on fuel. Not surprising as it is so difficult to drive with a featherlight touch to the throttle.
Oh welll, she chose it cos she liked it and the bills are her bills.
|
|
I keep wondering whether to replace my Vectra 1.8 with a smaller car, to try and save money as I am soon retiring. I did fit into a Corsa, not quite as bad as Laurence Dalaglio on Top Gear into their car, but I did have the seat right back before I could get in. From reading these comments,it may be that I'd be as well off keeping with the Vectra, which has been good. It gives about 38 m.p.g. and after 28000 miles all the tyres are OK. And of course it is very comfortable, quiet, and has a big boot.
|
|
|
