Volvo V50 (2004 - ) - Miles Per Gallons

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Mon 17 Mar 2008 15:51
Miles Per Gallons - Richard Mckevitt
I have just recntly bought a V50 2.0D . The manufactuers guide states I should be doing approx 45 mpg which is what I would expect on a 2.0 Diesel.

I filled the tank up to full and so far have done approx 170 miles to half a tank, and my own workings lead me to assume that I am getting about 30mpg?

Has any other V50 drivers come accross this issue?

Cheers
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Mon 17 Mar 2008 16:00
Miles Per Gallons - TheOilBurner
Is it new? If so then the engine will need time to loosen up.

Also, what kind of driving are you doing? My S80 D5 Auto easily does 45mpg average with motorway driving but only 30mpg with mostly short runs. Official combined consumption for mine is 37mpg...

Also make sure you take an average over at least 2-3 tankfuls to get the most accurate measurements.

HTH.

Edited by TheOilBurner on 17/03/2008 at 16:01

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Mon 17 Mar 2008 16:01
Miles Per Gallons - valmiki
you've probably got more than half a tank full left!

do the brim-to-brim calculation instead (ie. how many litres/gallons to fill up to full compared with miles covered)
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Fri 21 Mar 2008 18:51
Miles Per Gallons - Richard Mckevitt
I am now on empty and I have done 310 miles. I did have a GT TDI Golf and that was getting me 430 miles to tank which is a hell of a difference


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Fri 21 Mar 2008 19:21
Miles Per Gallons - ex-Triumph man
Interesting you should comment upon mpg on your V50. I too have just bought a new V50 2.0 D SE 2008my which has now covered 2500 miles. I live in a rural part of South West Scotland where I seldom meet any heavy traffic. Therefore running in 6th gear is quite the norm. I had commented to the dealer that I was getting "only" 45mpg. However in the past few days and in the right circumstances, I have achieved over 50. The dealer told me they normally expect around 35mpg until the car has done about 10k miles then they get around 45.
Certainly my previous Volvo, an XC70 DSE Auto returned around 35 until it was run in then the consumption went to around 48-50.
Very much depends upon driving style, operating conditions etc as to what mpg you can expect. Curiously I find BP fuel gives the best return.
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Fri 21 Mar 2008 22:05
Miles Per Gallons - Bill Payer
I live in a rural part of South West Scotland where I seldom meet any heavy traffic.
Therefore running in 6th gear is quite the norm.


Can you really maintain speeds on those those of roads that make it sensible to be in 6th?

Edited by Pugugly on 21/03/2008 at 22:08

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Sat 22 Mar 2008 20:52
Miles Per Gallons - ex-Triumph man
I was only testing what mpg was possible by keeping to 6th. I agree use of 5th is more the norm. However queues of traffic are virtually non existant in this part of the world.
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Fri 21 Mar 2008 22:39
Miles Per Gallons - maz64
Certainly my previous Volvo an XC70 DSE Auto returned around 35 until it was run
in then the consumption went to around 48-50.


Sorry, you make it sound like the consumption suddenly jumped up at some point. Is this what happened (and if so, why), or was it just a (less interesting) gradual increase over the running in period?
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Sat 22 Mar 2008 20:54
Miles Per Gallons - ex-Triumph man
Yes the improvement in mpg was just the engine settling in over the running-in period.
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Fri 21 Mar 2008 21:02
Miles Per Gallons - stunorthants26
How are you working this out? Is that half a tank according to the gauge or working it out by the refuelling amounts?

Try running it to the fuel light and see what you get as ive had many cars which give more miles in the second half according to the gauge than the first.

And of course it does depend on your driving style, useage and how loose the engine is.
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Fri 21 Mar 2008 21:09
Miles Per Gallons - SuperBuyer
Forgive me for being rude, but I would suggest that if you only got 430 out of a Golf, you probably have a relatively heavy right foot?

I find in the Golf a tank is at least 550 mixed use driving...



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Fri 21 Mar 2008 21:24
Miles Per Gallons - dodo
Well I now have done 2500 miles on my MY2008 Volvo V50 2.0D Se Lux. Replaced a much loved 2.0 TDci C-Max which has the same engine. Yes it will take 10,000 miles for things to improve and the engine will bcome much quicker and about 15% more economical. My Volvo is currently doing about 38-45 mpg. One thing - don't assume that just because you are in 6th gear you are driving more economically. True the Volvo pulls 6th gear much better than the Ford but the computer's instantaneous read out shows that at around 60 -70 mph you are better off in 5th gear. Can we V50 drivers report back when we get to around 10,000 miles to see how we get on? Have a good Easter Break!
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Wed 7 Mar 2012 08:35
Miles Per Gallons - Roly93
Well I now have done 2500 miles on my MY2008 Volvo V50 2.0D Se Lux. Replaced a much loved 2.0 TDci C-Max which has the same engine. Yes it will take 10,000 miles for things to improve and the engine will bcome much quicker and about 15% more economical. My Volvo is currently doing about 38-45 mpg. One thing - don't assume that just because you are in 6th gear you are driving more economically. True the Volvo pulls 6th gear much better than the Ford but the computer's instantaneous read out shows that at around 60 -70 mph you are better off in 5th gear. Can we V50 drivers report back when we get to around 10,000 miles to see how we get on? Have a good Easter Break!

Seconded, every diesel needs AT LEAST 10k miles to get economical. My diesel Audi is at least 20% more economical than it was in the first 2000 miles.

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Sat 22 Mar 2008 15:35
Miles Per Gallons - bintang
If it is a new car, doesn't it have a computer to tell you what you have used?
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Wed 7 Mar 2012 04:31
Miles Per Gallons - badapple

I know this is an old thread BUT did anyone suss out why these V50s drink soooooo much diesel. I too have a 2005 V50 & like the OP I too am only getting 330 miles to full tank. I am loosing over a 100 mile to the full tank & my V50 has done over 100,000 mile with full service. Any advise, apart setting fire to it?

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Wed 7 Mar 2012 13:30
Miles Per Gallons - HandCart

How big is the tank? Maybe it's smaller than you think. Or maybe its design is such that it gets an air pocket in it and it can't be filled to its intended capacity? (sounds daft, but who knows?)

You definitely need to run it down as low as you dare and then fill it until it is spilling out of the orifice - then check how many litres you have put in and see if it matches the claimed capacity.

And why does a Volvo definitely pull 6th gear better than a Ford with roughly the same platform and powertrain? Is the Volvo lower-geared overall? If so, might that be a reason for worse fuel consumption than the Ford?

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