Proof That The New Ecosboost Engines Mpg Reading Is Wrong By A Big Margin

[andygayle83]

ive just proved that the MPG reading is wrong and ive got it all in black and white.

My father in law had a 2011 focus zetec 1.6 100ps and he was getting around 38mpg and a tank of around 330 miles for about £57 worth of fuel. he has now got one the same car but the 1.0 ecoboost 100bhp version. He is currently getting 35.1mpg but he said he doesnt seem to be filling up as often. He keeps receipts for everything so I went through his last 8 receipts of the old car and the last 8 receipts for the new car and sure as hell it showed what i thought. The MPG reading is miles out.

last 8 receipts on old car all read between £53-£55(this is slightly less but to be fair petrol was slighty cheaper so with the petrol at the same price its near as damn it identical) and he filled up 8-10 days. The 8 receipts from the new car read £54-£59 however the gap between each receipt was 10-13 days. Now obviously he doesnt drive exact amount of miles each week but doesnt use car much at weekends so there is only probably 50 miles difference at mot. So for the fuel tank to be the same size(which it must be as the petrol bills are the same) the MPG must be wrong because the new car according to the readout is doing about 5mpg less which based on an 11 gallon fuel tank means it should be doing 55 miles less than the old car which means a fuel tank would only be averaging about 280 miles but its doing around 440. As I said previously the readout could read 1mpg for all i care all Im interested in is the actual amount of money Im spending but if people are buying this car based on cheap fuel costs and look at the MPG they arent going to be very happy. I drove home from mile end to rainham last night on the A13. Anyone who knows this stretch of road knows it is littered with average speed cameras so i couldnt go faster than 50(in some areas 40) if i wanted to. I stuck in 6th gear, didnt go above 2000rpm in fact didnt get anywhere near 2000rpm and still i couldnt not get it to average more than 37mpg. Surely this must have been picked up/flagged up as Im sure management and staff at Fords have these cars. God knows how slow you would have to drive to achieve 40mpg. The only comfort Ive got is knowing that Im getting alot more out of one tank. Ive done 130 miles and tank still says 287 miles left. On acceleration(not hard acceleration up to about 2300 in first gear) i get a readout of 4-5mpg, ive had mr2 turbo subaru impreza turbo rover coupe turbo and under hard accelaration(im talking 5000rpm) ive not even seen mpg that low. This explains why this new engine is being slated by everyone.

[Giffer2]

Have you done a manual calculation? Eg fill the car and note the the exact mileage, then when it needs filling note the exact mileage and now much fuel went in, that way you can work out exactly how much fuel the car used regardless of the roads etc, then compare to what the onboard computer reckons.

[btmaldon]

Ive got a 1.6 100 PS and average anything between 38 and 42mpg depending on the type of driving I do. I found that trying to drive economically didn't work. It only made things worse. I filled up for a 215 mile run to Shropshire. All motorway. Kept the car under 75mph, kept the revs down and accellarated like a granny and the MPG dropped to 36mpg over the first 100 miles. I decided to drive it a bit harder at 80 to 85mph and averaged 41mpg for the second 100 miles.

I normally get between 420 and 460 to a tank.

[andygayle83]

it may be that your in the optimum power for the turbo that driving at around 2000 rpm so isnt very economical. i will try on the way hoome to drive faster. my father in law resets his odo every time he fills up. his current reading is 387 miles travelled and 57 miles left. now at 35.1mpg. his old car was averaging around 38mpg but only doing 330 miles roughly to a tank. even if you take all the exact science out. he said hiself. he is filling up less often so subsequently travelling more miles for his money, spending the same amount of money to fill up but is getting a lot less miles to the gallon. something doesnt add up. he is of the same mindset as me. he is spending less on fuel and thats all he care about

car 1 £55 to fill up travels 330 miles 38mpg

car 2 £55 to fill up travels 440 miles 35mpg

how do you explain it?

[iNath]

The only way to make sure is to note down the miles then manually work out the MPG and compare it to the cars read out.

[Foci_st3]

Driving at 40-50mph in 6th gear will bog it down, try going into 5th at those speeds and see what you get. My 1.6 182ps will do an average of 37-38 during the colder weeks and will get higher when it warms up. I have had my mpg sit around 35 at the start of a week and in one trip it can fluctuate between 36-38 before it really settles after a few days, with cruise control just the difference to setting it at 69mph and not 70mph helps the mpg.

[andygayle83]

hi Foci_st3. you have got a 182ps and at worse your getting 35. published mpg is 47. our published figures are 56. i have just taken your advice and driven at 80mph and to be fair im actually getting better mpg. im not sure the police will take it as an excuse as to why i am breaking the speed limit. im so confident that the mpg readout is wrong that i challenge anyone to come and drive my car for 50 miles and try and get average of 38 or more. its impossible, well it is according to the readout. my manual calculations say that i am doing around 38mpg but best i have got so far is 35.1