Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Fri 20 Jan 2012 22:20

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - guygamps

Hi,

I may be looking for a good quality 5 door hatch, petrol (too many short runs to consider diesel), and with "Start/Stop" feature. I would look for something up to 3 years old, a little more if from one of the premium brands.

Has anyone compiled a directory of makes/models that have been offered with start/stop?

Cars I could be interested in:

Audi A3, Seat Leon, VW Golf, VW Scirocco
Citroen C4, Peugeot 307 or 308
BMW 1 series
Volvo C30

Need to find something under £10K, so something that has been around a few years would be of interest, newer models won't be in my price range range yet

Guy

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 20 Jan 2012 22:33

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - unthrottled

Probably not since it's largely a gimmick.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 20 Jan 2012 22:43

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - daveyjp

I like my stop start "gimmick", it saves me money.

OP look for 'e' green or blue editions of models you are looking at.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 20 Jan 2012 22:53

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - jamie745

I like my stop start "gimmick", it saves me money.

No it doesnt. Anyway how much did you pay for the car?

This tech is hardly new is it? I thought Toyota experimented with this 40 years ago.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 21 Jan 2012 08:34

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - daveyjp

I like my stop start "gimmick", it saves me money.

No it doesnt. Anyway how much did you pay for the car?

This tech is hardly new is it? I thought Toyota experimented with this 40 years ago.

How doesn't it save money? Does your car burn fuel when the engine isn't running? Lower tax band too. I bought the car because it fits my needs, the stop start wasn't a consideration, but is standard fit so I use it. VW had it 30 years ago, but it didn't work well. Modern starting and charging systems and electronics mean it is now viable. In a few years it will be as standard as power steering. I do spend a lot of time in traffic going nowhere so for me it's ideal.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 20 Jan 2012 22:55

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - unthrottled

If it's included-then any saving is better than nothing. But don't pay for it-you'll never recoup the cost. On paper, it appears to offer meaningful benefits because 30% of the NEDC is spent stationary. You'd have to have a horrible commute to spend 30% of your journey not moving.If you're going to be stationary for a long while-just flick the ignition switch.

Be careful about 'bluemotion' models. They're often nothing more than standard cars with tall ratios. The ratios are often inconvenient for town use-and you just hold onto a lower gears so 3rd become second etc.

There's a lot of smoke and mirrors in the fuel economy game. Don't fall for it all. The nut behind the wheel makes the biggest difference.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 20 Jan 2012 23:26

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - Avant

I don't know of any list of cars with start/stop: I think you'll have to find out one by one. It's a commoner feature now than it was even 3 years ago, so your choice may be restricted (and the same model that offers it now may not have done so then).

It does of course save fuel (or manufacturers wouldn't offfer it) but I suspect that worthwhile savings happen only if you spend a lot of time stopped in jams or at traffic lights. If you don't live in the centre of a city, you're probably better off looking for a hatch with an efficient, economical petrol engine - say the Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris 1.3 or maybe a VW / Skoda / SEAT with the 1.2 or 1.4 TSI engine if you can find one within budget. Lack of stop/start needn't be a deal-breaker.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 20 Jan 2012 23:30

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - jamie745

If you regularly find yourself in the notorious Los Angeles traffic jams then stop/start might save you a bit of money. However for congested cities where you spend a lot of time sat still or moving at a very slow speed, the Prius addressed this nearly 10 years ago by using batteries at slow speeds.

Stop/start offers nothing we havent seen before, its just an expensive way of saving money and means you dont have to own a Prius to have a car which is like a Prius.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 20 Jan 2012 23:36

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - Avant

There's a thought, Guy - why not add the Prius to your shortlist? One unexpected bonus is that there's a huge amount of rear legroom in it.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 20 Jan 2012 23:37

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - Auristocrat

Think the following have stop start technology: BMW 1 series; BMW 3 series (four cylinder models); Hyundai i30 Blue; Kia Ceed ISG; Mazda 3 2.0 DISI; Mercedes A Class Bluefficiency; Toyota Yaris 1.33 (previous model); Toyota Auris 1.33; Toyota Urban Cruiser 1.33.

I have an Auris 1.33 and, compared to my previous Corolla 1.4, I get an additional 5mpg on a heavy traffic commuter run, and an additional 6-7 mpg on a run. For example travelling back from Skye last May (which included 300 miles motorway travel, with two adults, back seats folded and loaded with luggage) I averaged just over 48 mpg. The 1.33 Toyota package comes with stop start as standard and a six speed gearbox.

Not worth paying extra for one of the economy editions (Bluemotion, Blue, etc).

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 20 Jan 2012 23:59

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - unthrottled

Argonne National laboratory experimented with 3 cars fitted with stop start (link below)

www.transportation.anl.gov/D3/reports/ANL_APRF_D3_...f

They compared Stop-Start enabled and disabled for the US urban drive cycle for 3 cars: A smart 0.8 petrol , A maxda 3 2.0 petrol, and A gold TDI Blue motion.

In summary they found:

On the US urban cycle the savings were 5, 4, and 2% respectively

On the European cycle, the savings were 14, 8, and 6% respectively.

Sounds good. But they also found that the use of air con far outweighed any Stop-start savings, increasing consumption by a whopping 42, 19 and 21% respectively.

Bear in mind that the test started at a balmy 23C-and not all stop-start systems work when the engine is cold.

Edited by unthrottled on 21/01/2012 at 00:01

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 21 Jan 2012 00:09

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - Auristocrat

On my Toyota, stop start only operates when the system produces enough charge. We have traffic lights approx three minutes travel from our road, and the system often first operates if I have to stop at these lights. Cold weather also affects when the system operates - although I have had it operate when the external temperature has been -4 degrees C .

The trip from Skye I mentioned earlier was with the climate control operating for thevast majority of the journey.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 21 Jan 2012 00:22

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - unthrottled

It'll work at low ambient temperatures-but it'll obviously take the engine longer to get warm enough to activate it. Air con has a very small effect on the motorway when the power drain from the compressor is very small compared to the power equired to move the car.

The best strategy is to avoid stopping!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 21 Jan 2012 08:59

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - skidpan

Stop start is fitted to one of our cars and it does not operate at below 4 degrees C, that is part of the design, tells you that in the handbook and not to panic. Even on temperate days it will only work as long as the battery voltage is high enough and even with a healthy battery which was replaced under warranty since the original was defective (stop/start stopped working) it will only manage about 6 starts in a queue before it gives up.

Its pretty much a gimmick that helps manufacturers get better urban figures in the official fuel tests, I would not put it on a list of essential kit when buying a car.

Remember that on A roads and motorways it saves no fuel at all.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 21 Jan 2012 13:19

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - unthrottled

My '96 Renault has Stop-start, otherwise known as the ignition key. Works perfectly. Driving economically can be quite hard work-flicking the ignition on and off is as easy as it gets.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 21 Jan 2012 16:25

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - Auristocrat

Remember that on A roads and motorways it saves no fuel at all.

Until you get caught up in a tailback - when it does.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 21 Jan 2012 17:45

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - unthrottled

Until you get caught up in a tailback - when it does.

What's wrong with the ignition switch on a conventional car? I just switch off, and put the car in first gear. When the blockage clears, dip the clutch, flick the key and go. no hassle at all.

People always look for wonderful new gadgets to perform simple tasks that they can easily do themselves.

It's worth noting that a warmed up 2.0 TDI engine (ACCESSORIES OFF) idles on about 0.1 gallons of diesel/hour. So 10 hours idling would save a massive £6. 10 hours is a lot of idling...

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 21 Jan 2012 16:07

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - xtrailman

To what i've read these stop start cars have a expensive starter motor, and battery, the battery is said to have only a four year life, so i dont see stop/start as a selling feature.

The son in law dislikes stop start on his works merk, because of the slight delay before application, setting off.

Some systems have a overide to switch the system off.

Most new cars now have it, well the ones i look at.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 21 Jan 2012 17:58

Any - Is there are a directory of start/stop - Graham567

My old 'R' reg Vectra had stop/start.Pull up at a junction and it would stall.Turn the key and it started.Voila stop/start!.

On a serious note i never did get to the bottom of the problem and traded it in because if it!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Ask Honest John

Sell Your Car

Real MPG

Fuel Calculator