thfcmad Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Hello, this is my first post on this board so wanted to say hi and i hope someone can help me!! I have just bought a 55 plate ford focus zetec 1.6. I only use the car to go to and from work which is about 3-4 miles each way. The trip is stop start town driving. My trip computer is showing my average speed at 9 miles per hour and my MPG at 19.7! This seems very low. Do you think i have a problem or is it just because of the very short distances i drive? Dont know if this makes a difference but the car only has 8000 on the clock. If anyone can offer advice it would be greatly appreciated. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef123 Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Hello, this is my first post on this board so wanted to say hi and i hope someone can help me!!I have just bought a 55 plate ford focus zetec 1.6. I only use the car to go to and from work which is about 3-4 miles each way. The trip is stop start town driving. My trip computer is showing my average speed at 9 miles per hour and my MPG at 19.7! This seems very low. Do you think i have a problem or is it just because of the very short distances i drive? Dont know if this makes a difference but the car only has 8000 on the clock. If anyone can offer advice it would be greatly appreciated. Cheers! i would take the computers reading with a pinch of salt tbh. The readings the can give sometimes are ridiculously stupid. Best thing to do is brim the tank, drive a few miles them brim it again, work it out that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thfcmad Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 OK, Thanks. I will give that a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjt Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 If it's all town driving, which by your average speed I guess it is, then that mpg is probably not far out. Wait until you are on a decent out-of-town run then reset the trip computer and see what reading you get. I wouldn't expect a trip computer reading to be more than 5mpg out at most. As stef123 says brim-to-brim will give you a good idea of the error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liongolfer Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Make sure if you follow the brim to brim advice you only fill it until the pump clicks off, don't try to squeeze a little bit more in as this will just be lost down the breather pipe as the fuel expands when it get's hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thfcmad Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 Thanks for all your replies. I'm just getting to half a tank and its only just done 100 miles. Im a little concerned still as my 2.0 litre Peugeot GTI on a 1999 V plate did 240 miles to a tank, and its not looking like this is going to do any more miles, despite being a smaller, newer and more economical engine. I am beginning to think i have a problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thfcmad Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 So does anyone have any ideas on the above? I took it to my local ford dealer and they reckoned it should do at least 30mpg even on short journeys. Im getting about 250 from a tank, the same as my 2litre 10 year old peugeot 206. Ford said the first thing they had to do was a PCM upgrade to the latest software, i let them do this and it has made no difference. My warranty co are unwilling to let ford do any more work on it but the warranty co dont have a clue what might be wrong with it and are trying to say its normal!! My journey to work is only about 4 1/2 miles but surely i should be getting more than 250 from a tank?? I put 50 litres i it last month so thats about 22.7mpg. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. As would any comments on mileage from anyone else that owns a 1.6 zetec. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef123 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 So does anyone have any ideas on the above? I took it to my local ford dealer and they reckoned it should do at least 30mpg even on short journeys. Im getting about 250 from a tank, the same as my 2litre 10 year old peugeot 206. Ford said the first thing they had to do was a PCM upgrade to the latest software, i let them do this and it has made no difference. My warranty co are unwilling to let ford do any more work on it but the warranty co dont have a clue what might be wrong with it and are trying to say its normal!!My journey to work is only about 4 1/2 miles but surely i should be getting more than 250 from a tank?? I put 50 litres i it last month so thats about 22.7mpg. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. As would any comments on mileage from anyone else that owns a 1.6 zetec. Cheers when did it last have a full service? inc spark plugs, air filter, oil and filter... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SierraYankee99 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 If your average speed is 9mph I'd say 22mpg is about right. 4-5 miles at 9mph stop start isnt going to get 30mpg. Steady round town driving (stop start to 30mph) would give around 30mpg. On your mileage the engines not even getting to proper running temp so its going to be fuelling heavy (like old cars when they were on choke) just to keep the engine running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thfcmad Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Vehicle was last serviced end of january. Sierra yankee, i'd accept your point but i was getting the same mileage from a 10 year old 2 litre car. This is a 1.6. Surely i should be getting better mileage than i am? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w2575 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Like you i have exact same age of car and model , likewise travel 3-4 miles and get exactly the same readings, give or take , fords mpg and speed calculators leave a lot to be desired. Although journeys like this hammer mpg due to engine not heating to normal temp ! On a good run on dual carriage i get around 31mpg on a good day ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SierraYankee99 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Vehicle was last serviced end of january. Sierra yankee, i'd accept your point but i was getting the same mileage from a 10 year old 2 litre car. This is a 1.6. Surely i should be getting better mileage than i am? Not necessarily at all. The old engine was majorly mechanical fuel delivery so when cold feeds less air via the choke. Modern engines are electronic and do the same job by giving the engine more fuel. Therefore short stop start journeys use more fuel in new engines than old engines did. Modern engines are set up for economy on longer journeys not short ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thfcmad Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Hi Sierrayankee, thanks for your reply. One question though, why on earth are the ford dealer telling me i should get 30mpg?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w2575 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Thats what ford expect on an ideal situation ! 3-4 miles a day are not ideal for calculating figures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SierraYankee99 Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Hi Sierrayankee, thanks for your reply. One question though, why on earth are the ford dealer telling me i should get 30mpg?? Cos in ideal conditions, no wind resistance, smooth flat roads a CONSTANT speed and you might just scrape 30mpg. As you have none of these ideal conditions you wont. Even general 30mph stop start journeys you'd only just get 30mpg so slow stop starts is going to return less as you're always in low gear and potentially higher revs. 9mph you'll be in first gear all the time and pulling around 2000rpm. At 30mph you'd be in 4th and sitting more or less on tickover. Don't forget Ford technicians only work with the figures Ford give them which are the same details they give us. Try going out for the day at the weekend and get some decent motorway miles in see what you get then. I can guarantee you'll get a hell of a lot better mileage than you're getting going to work. It does work the other way round sometimes you know lol. My focus 1.8 TDDi is supposed to achieve 38mpg running around town. Remember thats based on a normally loaded car. Mine NEVER returns less than 45mpg running round town rising to close on 60mpg on motorway runs. Thats with a boot full of ICE as you can see in my sig. Believe me, that sub box aint light lol and neither am I :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thfcmad Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 Thanks for all your replies so far. What i dont get though is that the advertised MPG is 32. Now i know this is in a perfect situation but it is based on the engine running from cold and only covering about 2 miles - eg a short journey like i do. I dont understand therefore why it isnt getting at least 25-28mpg or something closer to its advertised mpg?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w2575 Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 If car manufacturers advertised actual figures no one would want to buy their cars, remember all figures and facts are based on a rolling road not actually on real roads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalester Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Have you contacted the manufacturer yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thfcmad Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 yes, they reckon i should be getting around 30mpg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SierraYankee99 Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I dont understand why you're not just pursuing it with Ford if you're so sure theres a problem. People have given good reasons why you are getting the mileage you are yet you don't accept it. Ford have said theres no faults logged. There is no way on earth a 1.6 focus that does 3-4 miles at 9mph is going to get 30mpg. The reasons are as stated, just accept it. To be brutally honest if you're doing stop start to a max of 9mph for 3-4 miles you'd probably be quicker walking. At the end of the day all we can do is give advice. Even another owner has said he gets similar returns on similar journeys. If you dont like what you're hearing then my friend all you can do is keep getting onto Ford about it. We can advise but we cant magically make your car get better economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thfcmad Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 Sierrayankee, i think you have misinterpreted my questioning as not accepting your answers. That is most certainly not the case. I dont know alot about cars and im just trying to get everything clear in my head so i fully understand how it is that my new car is less economical than my old car! Im sure you can appreciate its difficult when you are being told something by one person and somehting different by another! Anyway, i didn't mean any offence to anyone and appreciate all the answers that have been left! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SierraYankee99 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 You dont need to understand HOW its less economical than your old car. You do however need to ACCEPT that it is and that nothing is wrong its just the way of the world. You cant really compare two different makes of car let alone two focuses. No two cars are the same due to slight manufacturing differences and tolerances in manufactured parts. As you are comparing a focus to a pug there is no comparison. They are 2 totally different cars. Ones a "hot hatch" the others a "family car". The pugs smaller, lighter cos theres no computers associated electronics on board. Something else not yet mentioned is the cars only done 8000 miles. Whilst its possibly starting to loosen up a little it could take a few thou more miles before the engines fully loosened up. Its not even reached its first 12,500 mile service point yet (though I sure hope it has been serviced every year or that could point to a problem). Finally as I said earlier DO NOT take into account anything the computer is telling you. They are notoriously inaccurate. The best way to test economy is brim the tank with fuel. Do 100 miles of travelling and then brim it again. You then have the two figures you need to accurately work out miles per gallon. Take the miles covered and divide it by the number of litres of fuel you bought to re-brim it then multiply that figure by 4.55. That will give you a more accurate mpg for your car. Sorry for appearing arsey, its just when you've told someone the same thing 4 or 5 times and still they ask the same question it does get a little draining. Top and bottom there are many reasons why your cars less economical than your old one. The main one being because its a Ford and they arent the most economical cars on the road, but God they are so much fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thfcmad Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 Thanks Sierrayankee. Sorry for asking the same question so many times, as i said, was just trying to understand. I appreciate your time and patience and will now just accept that i dont have a very economical car!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SierraYankee99 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Daft as it sounds mate the 1.8 is as economical as the 1.6. On some runs it might even be more economical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thfcmad Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 I am deeply missing the power of my 2 litre so im not sure how much longer i will keep this. May well end up getting a 1.8 if its likely to deliver the same mpg!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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