A manufacturer's ad has appeared in our local paper citing the "Taylors" who managed 126 mpg on an economy drive. Fair enough I thought as I know specialist economy techniques can achieve some remarkable mpg figures. However the ad goes on to say "You could achieve this too and you don't need any special driving skills or additional equipment. Just a few good driving habits and the 308 HDI".
An amazing claim that I assume relies heavily on the "could". In the small print it goes on to state this as a Guiness Record. I know its only advertising "puff" but seems to stretch reasonableness somewhat! I wonder what other records I "could" achieve and what these "few good driving habits" might be..............
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 16/07/2009 at 20:18
|
and what these "few good driving habits" might be..............
Pushing it?
|
I can't think of any road that is always down hill...:-)
|
|
|
|
'fuelacademy.com', now there's a website I wouldn't expect to come across by myself, I must thank the above gentleman for introducing it to me as I'm finding it REALLY interesting! ;-)
I notice there isn't much guidance on there about how to go about thrashing a car to within an inch of its sorry life. To quote Troy Queef from sniffpetrol.com, "the Peugeot 308 HDi is a bitch, and I spanked it"!
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 17/07/2009 at 01:02
|
|
They forgot the tip about always driving in temperatures of 70 - 80 degrees which is more fuel efficient than driving in 50 degree pouring rain. Maybe that's why they went to Australia and didn't try it in Scotland or Wales!!
|
|
|
|
|
I'd sooner enjoy my driving than drive with economy in mind. You're a long time dead.
Edited by L'escargot on 17/07/2009 at 08:56
|
Being fairly neurotic about fuel consumption and sticking behind big lorries got me 62 mpg out of my Passat, beating the book figure by 12 mpg. Wouldn't want to repeat it, though.
Also take issue with this tip:
Conserve Momentum
Instead of coasting when you reach a downward slope, maintain steady engine revs. This will mean you pick up speed, and if you've then got a hill to climb, it gives you considerable added momentum to help go up it, energy efficiently.
Uh, no, keeping the engine speed the same will keep the vehicle speed the same. So do they mean maintain the same speed, or hold the accelerator in the same position and speed up?
|
|
|
|
Is 126mpg actually achievable?
... only down gentle gradients, regardless of all the 30 bits of advice.
|
the 30 bits of advice.
The one I liked most was number 25 or 26 - don't use the telephone while driving.
Yeah - that would really save a significant amount of fuel!!
|
I once got over 62 mpg from a tank of diesel in the goona as an experiment. It was the most stressful, fraught, paranoia inducing time of my life. I am sure the stress took a year off my life.
|
The Pug 308 1.6 HDi engine is similar to that in the Focus 1.6 TDCi and that also returns superb fuel economy. All the tips mentioned by the Taylors work in real world driving conditions, and when applied any driver can expect to see a noticable improvement in fuel economy. I can get mid/upper 80s mpg in warmer weather on A & B roads included some stop/start motoring and maintain a good average speed at the same time.
I can see how getting 100+ mpg is achievable with low speeds coupled with high gear usage coupled with enhanced drivering techniques but in real world conditions it's only achievable in near perfect conditions.
|
|
|
|
It would appear that numbers 5 and 18 are in conflict with each other.
Life is too short.
|
|
|
|
|
