17 replies to this topic

[stevoT]

Hi,i am new to these forums,i would just like to know what sort of mpg every body gets out of their 1.8 TDCI.I average about 43 mpg in my 2007 focus model,driving at around 65mph and keeping the revs under 2000 when i can.I have tried the the premium fuel from shell,i have not noticed any noticable improvement in mpg,also i keep the tyre pressures up to what they should be.
My drive to work is around 15miles mostly on motorways. Are there any other things i could do to get more mpg?

Thanks in advance
StevoT

[Pauly]

If you really want to be a MPG geek the latest thing is to coast in neutral if you can see you are coming to stop or a junction.Be aware this relies on the brakes instaed of engine braking and will increase pad wear although the price of fuel now its worth it.Chuck out any unnecessary crap in the boot too !
I have to say 43MPG isnt that good I have a 1.6 petrol and 20-22 miles each way to work motorway on way home and I get 39-41Mpg !!!!!! Do you keep it serviced ?

[artscot79]

coasting makes no difference the injectors are still squirting fuel to coast and save a teaspoon of fuel you would have to switch the engine off completely dangerous and damaging to the engine so you save nothing its been proven other than that its bad for the gearbox bearings and syncromesh and doubles the use of the clutch wears the pads and is dangerous.

youre problem is extremely easy you have a diesel designed to sit on a motorway at low revs and do miles you do 15 the cars engine barely gets warm diesels take a while for the engine temp to get to its optimum ignore the temp gauge thats a rough visual guide then you get to work by the time you go home its cold again. diesels are useless for small journeys no more economical than petrol.if i put the same litres of petrol in as you do diesel i get the same mpg but pay less.

you wont increase the mpg by much as the mileage just isnt enough if you did double even triple thosn miles it would be higher thats the simple truth that most people who buy diesels dont research before buying they think its diesel il get 50mpg sadly not

[focuscolin]

I have a 2008 focus 1.8tdci and do 90 miles a day my trip computer is saying I get 56 to 57 mpg which I'm very happy with.

[artscot79]

the further you drive in a diesel the better the mpg.

i bought a diesel once and made the same mistake yet my mate bought it to do 70mile a day journeys and got more mpg than i ever could. yep i too was niave about what diesels could do ive had petrol ever since i just dont do the miles

[NorthSussex]

the further you drive in a diesel the better the mpg.

i bought a diesel once and made the same mistake yet my mate bought it to do 70mile a day journeys and got more mpg than i ever could. yep i too was niave about what diesels could do ive had petrol ever since i just dont do the miles

Yep, I'll second that, I was lucky when I bought my Focus, (I do short journeys), and I intended to get a diesel thinking more MPG, but the garage gave me good advice and I bought a 1.8Ltr petrol instead. I get 37 to 38 MPG on short 5 to 7 mile journeys; can't complain.

I've learnt a lot since joining this forum; thanks all.

[stevoT]

Thanks guys,all of the replies make sense.Looking back to when i bought it, i was advised not to by the salesman because i didnt do enough miles.He obviously knew his stuff!.Lesson learnt i suppose !!

[Simon098]

Trip computer is ALWAYS wrong in my car unless I do a long journey on the motorway. Generally I check mine every 2 weeks when I fill up.

Results are (I have a 5 speed 1.8 tdci):

- Driving round town I get about 36-38mpg
- Driving to work where I NEVER get out of 4th gear, I get about 42-45mpg
- Driving to Leeds I can get a constant 48mpg if I keep to 70mph. On the way back I get about 52mpg keeping to 70mph.

All these are done by working it out at the pumps. Computer is more often than not, about 7mpg out.

P.S. I drive a 2007 Mk2 Focus, not the facelift.

[Robato]

All these are done by working it out at the pumps. Computer is more often than not, about 7mpg out.

I'd agree with that. The computer's average is about 5mpg higher than what I calculate at the pumps.

I only got my 1.8 TDCI (2007) a few months ago and am new to diesels so had been experimenting. I got these in recent experiments on my daily commute (90 mile roundtrip which includes central London + motorway traffic):

Target speed vs achieved mpg
80mph - 46 mpg (50+mpg indicated)
70mph - 51 mpg (56+mpg indicated)
60mph - 56 mpg (63+mpg indicated)

That's average mpg from a tank-to-tank run. But on one journey, my average shot up to 70mpg (just before I reached London) where I was probably doing nearer to 50 mph. I find lifting my right foot one or two millimetres and dropping a few mph from my desired speed saves me a good percentage. Makes me wish I had cruise control.

[Pidu]

Makes me wish I had cruise control.

Why don't you get one? If you are lucky you won't even have to visit dealer to activate it. All the info is in guides section.

[Robato]

Why don't you get one? If you are lucky you won't even have to visit dealer to activate it. All the info is in guides section.

Ooo, thanks. Looks handy. I might do, just need to find the time.

[xxbarbsxx]

Hi All

I am in process of buying the 3rd focus ive owned and i the one i have purchased 57 2L TDCi has a trip computer (i hope this is correct term as i said - you know that counter that says how much diesel you have left lol - yes i know) something i have never had before - anyway i noticed on test drive that when we left garage it said 35 miles to empty went about half mile up the road it said 27 miles then another mile (im being generous) it said 10 miles.

SO my question is to all that know -

Does this sound like it has an issue?? and needs fixing?

Just i have raised this with the garage and am worried they are fobbing me off as a meer woman, AS they are telling me that all trip computers do this?? IS THIS SO??

Thanks for helping the newbie

Barb

[artscot79]

if its the one im thinking about then as you use the accelerator it will go down take youre foot off the accelerator and see if it goes up it may be youre heavy foot lol are you sure it wasnt the mpg counter you were looking at?

[xxbarbsxx]

Well i dont know what exactly you call it all i know it said 35 miles to empty when we left the garage and then half mile up the road it said 27 miles to empty then 10 miles to empty. It was a digital display.

As i havent seen this before in my previous focuses i wanted to make sure he wasnt telling me a load of bull as he says its an estimation and it always does this. But surely if you are supposed to be guided by this to as in when to get diesel it would have to be right like the fuel gauge would it not???

Does anyone else have this in there focus???

Thanks

Barb

[Stoney871]

It's an estimated fuel range calculated by speed, weather, driving style etc.
Your range will go down in cold weather as denser air needs more fuel to run evenly.
Loads of nipping around in low gear and start/stop driving will reduce it too.
The difference in estimated range on my 1.8 tdci can be 70-100 miles depending on whether its summer or winter.
It is quite possible that you could be showing 0 miles range on the screen and still going strong.
I'd go by the physical fuel gauge, more believable and accurate.