172 mpg advice please

[joyce]

hi there i am only getting 26 mpg out of my 172. i only drive 1mile to work and then the same home through a quite village. could the short journy time be the reason for this. dont drive it hard save that for weekend oh and i use v power petrol. thanks for any help.

 

[Chrisjk]

That rediculously short journey won't help at all, can't you ride a bike or something instead?

 

[Paul RN]

Assuming you've reset the trip to get that MPG over the actual journey you're travelling (not your weekend activity) what's the average speed saying?

 

[Brasseye]

you drive 1 mile to work !!!

seriously !!!!

the car is never going to get up to operating temperature

 

[joyce]

yeh reset the computer etc i walk it only started driving since it started to get cold. i do let it warm up before i set off tho didnt think it would do the car any probs tbh. or will it i do pick the gf up after work so prob drive about 7 at nite.

 

[mpitman]

i have only just got my 172, and drive it to work sometimes i can get nearly 45mpg out of it according to the computer, i take it you have checked your tyre pressures and stuff like that.

 

[BONGO1]

I drive about 3 miles to work and get about 26mpg too :dapprove:

 

[Fletcher]

Walk to work. Simples.

 

[Tupps]

It's probably because it'd being run such a short distance.

I run 7 mile to work with mixed driving (a few roundabouts etc) and mine averages anywhere between 33-39mpg

Depending if i go for fun days

 

[Fletcher]

It's probably because it'd being run such a short distance.

I run 7 mile to work with mixed driving (a few roundabouts etc) and mine averages anywhere between 33-39mpg

Depending if i go for fun days

ATM mines reading 33mpg, and it gets driven very hard most weekends.

 

[DMS]

Doing such a short journey to work will probably only return that MPG figure. Especially if you reset the trip computer first, since it takes a few miles to start getting accurate and the car will use more fuel just after it's been cold started.
Leaving it to "warm up" won't help matters either.

Reset your trip computer, go for a long drive (say 20 odd miles) and check it again. If you drive sensibly I bet it'll be in the high 30's.

 

[davo172]

hi there i am only getting 26 mpg out of my 172. i only drive 1mile to work and then the same home through a quite village. could the short journy time be the reason for this. dont drive it hard save that for weekend oh and i use v power petrol. thanks for any help.

Sounds about right to me !!!

 

[DannoTheGreat]

walk or bike you lazy sod!

 

[Arr0nUK]

Its cause your only driving 1 mile thats why your getting a bad avarage.

Is you drive 4-5 you should already see the numbers increase.

 

[joyce]

thanks for all the help put my mind at rest. yeh got the winter jacket out will be walking from now on haha. thanks for the help all .

 

[stacky]

mines 33 manifodl and de cat

 

[DrR]

So you leave the car to warm up before driving, then only drive 1 mile and you can't figure out why it only does 26MPG?

 

[joyce]

So you leave the car to warm up before driving, then only drive 1 mile and you can't figure out why it only does 26MPG?

yeh i no now. just walk to work now only use the car at nite and it back up to 30 mpg. only been driving the 1 mile becase iam getting over a footy injury and its cold in manchester haha thanks for help all

 

[marc182]

I only drive 1 mile to work in my 182 and i average about 31mpg.
If your leaving it to stand everyday to warm up then that will lower your mpg into the 20's.

Mines never averaged anything lower than 31 mpg even when thrashed everwhere.
I dont let mine warm up. I just drive it straight after startup. According to my old corsa 1.6 manual ur not supposed to leave it to warm up as this adds to engine wear and you should drive it straight after startup.

 

[DrR]

I've always read just get in and drive, don't let it warm up.

 

[Jamie]

Sounds about right to me for that journey.

 

[adam172]

you drive it 1 mile lol wont be long til you get a dead battery mate might be worth giving it a charge every now and then over these cold months 26 sounds about right for a short journey really i get about 29mpg over about 9/10mile drive to uni..

 

[Muttley1]

I find the short journeys are crap for mpg, plus when idling on the driveway, the mpg screen drops right down.

 

[adam172]

plus when idling on the driveway, the mpg screen drops right down.

because your using petrol but going nowere lol of corse its going to drop :rasp:

 

[Muttley1]

because your using petrol but going nowere lol of corse its going to drop :rasp:

lol. thanks for your input! :rasp: right back at ya!

 

[MarkCup]

I've always read just get in and drive, don't let it warm up.

Yep. ticking over at idle it's under barely any load at all, so doesn't get warmed through and sits there ticking away in its most ineffiecient state gently grinding everything away.

Driving it when just started will still wear the engine, but it will heat up far quicker.

The IAM slant is to always park so you can start and drive straight away, do the reversing bit into your drive/space when your engines still warm, not out of it when it's cold and eating itself.

Having said all of that, if you're daily commute is only one mile, long-term it's probably f***ed regardless of what you do.

 

[WillyCup172]

i drive 36miles to work every day then back again. at worst i'll use a quarter tank. heavy foot tho.

 

[markhinton]

As said, driving a mile is your problem - you know what the Clio's like when it first starts? It's chucking petrol in there to keep it from stalling, it hasn't got up to optimum temperature yet.

My drive to work used to be a round trip of 35miles and I'd get an average of 35mpg minimum, and that's with some spirited driving! I could go 11 days without having to fill up

On long journeys if I want to be anal enough, I can get it to nudge 50mpg, but I've seen to get it well below 30mpg before too. Everything depends on how you drive, the conditions and also very importantly, for how long.

 

[Adam 182]

Doing 50 through the bloody average cams on the m1 through roadworks and i was getting 56mpg with the cruise on

 

[joyce]

thanks for the help just walk 2 work now. but i pick the misses up most nites and its about a 6 mile trip and its alot better now. went away at weeekend and it was doing 49 mpg but thanks for the help. just cant wait for summer so can go for some good drives :rasp:

 

[Ralphizzle]

Live and learn Joyce... i find this a funny thread!

Never look at the mpg only when bored on highways pressing the stalk, i just look at the fuel gauge. To see how many juice is left for spirited driving.

 

[yap]

thats correct mpg for 1 mile you will need to do at least 5 miles at a fixed mph to establish your mpg, normally 37mpg