General TA fuel use

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General TA fuel use

IMO the TA's real-world fuel consumption is perfectly respectable given the car's performance; the reason so many folks have complained is that Fiat's official fuel economy figures bear absolutely no relation to what you are likely to achieve in practice. They could also mislead you into the mistaken belief that the TA is more economical than the 1.2.

Fiat have probably used every trick in the book to get the best possible result in testing; this may have gained some fiscal advantage for both the company and the car, but it has also set the car up for new owners to be disappointed by the real world figures.
fiat dont care they already sold you their lie = ) they dont think long term though, as in once i bought a fiat i never will again
 
Still only got 450kms on the last tank highway & country driving. This equated to 7.0l/100km. OTOH yesterday I took delivery of a brand new VW Touareg weighing in over 2.2 tons with 20km on the clock. Just drove it 400ks and on the same route essentially as I last measured the Fiats consumption . Straight of the blocks it is achieving 6.7l/100!!!

I'd have to be really thrashing UFI to get into the 7's, but I also have a 2 ton VW TDI that returns 7.5 city. On the other hand, I don't see UFI costing $24K to repair at 40,000km. VWs are great, but they're designed to make it through warranty and then be disposed of. Even changing brake pads requires special tools.

In other news, I scored some brand new 14" steelies and stock conti tyres from a girl who put alloys for her Pop. I'm going to try to do a semi scientific test of the difference between steels and alloys. It probably won't happen for at least a month as I'm working about 84hours a week...fingers crossed for at least matching the combined cycle over a tank.
 
they dont think long term though, as in once i bought a fiat i never will again

In my experience, NO ONE, wants repeat business, and not just in relation to cars(n)
 
In other news, I scored some brand new 14" steelies and stock conti tyres from a girl who put alloys for her Pop. I'm going to try to do a semi scientific test of the difference between steels and alloys. It probably won't happen for at least a month as I'm working about 84hours a week...fingers crossed for at least matching the combined cycle over a tank.

I'd be surprised if you couldn't see an improvement, but take care to cross-calibrate with a GPS to make sure you're not also measuring a change in the effective rolling diameter of the wheels.
 
In my experience, NO ONE, wants repeat business, and not just in relation to cars(n)

If you want an example of a company that puts outstanding customer service at the forefront of its corporate philosophy, take a look at Lego.

If you are building a model and one of the pieces breaks, you can go online and order a replacement for any Lego set produced in the last few years, and they will send it you free, postage paid, anywhere in the world, no questions asked and without needing to provide proof of purchase.

Now just imagine being able to go onto the Fiat website, see a list of all the parts used to make your specific 500, clicking on the one that broke, and receiving it in your mailbox a few days later, all for free.
 
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But it has also set the car up for new owners to be disappointed by the real world figures.

I wasn't :D

While I agree that the 'official' figures bear no relation to the real world figures I am amazed by the many owners that are surprised by the fact they are not regularly getting 70MPG :bang: did they not do ANY research before they went out and spent 000's of pounds?

It is acheivable as I've done it, but its not the type of driving I would be comfortable doing on a regular basis. I did actually achieve 96MPG on one 25 mile run but have never been able to repeat it, or wanted to, as it was very tiring. As with all cars the more right foot you use the lower the MPG and the TA does encourage the driver to use the right foot with a dramatic drop in MPG. I also believe that driving style has a big influence on MPG and many of the people 'moaning' about low MPG should look at themselves first. Even the most ecconomical car will suffer with the on/off (full accelerator/full brake)driving style which seems to be prevelent these days.

Happy driving
 
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My TA does around 43 on average mixed driving but rises significantly on a long run if I'm careful. TBH I think my achieved mpg is fine as JR rightfully said when you take in to account the added performance and fun factor punch that it delivers. The real problem arises from the expectation from new owners but if it was marketed as only achieving mid 40's urban and 55 on a long run I think everyone would have bought one anyway and been perfectly happy. Incidentally, are mpg tests not carried out independently and not actually by the manufacturers themselves? Something I thought I read in auto italia recently re the 105.
 
As a matter of interest to some folk, is that sometimes our 85TA only drives a mile or so into the village and back, and is then switched off. Later in the day, it drives a mile or so again.
During that time, it averages only 28mpg.

However, just going into the next town and back - total of twelve miles - she'll be doing 42mpg average.

Recently, I drove down to Bodmin and back. 28miles each way, and returned an average of 52mpg. I spent some time on the A30 at a steady 60mph but most of the time I was on hilly B roads.

From my experience so far, our TA is really great for fuel economy PROVIDING the journey is far enough. Very short hops it's as rubbish as any other car.

However, having owned our 1.6 16v Clio for fourteen years, the annual VED has now been raised to over £200. Our TA is zero VED so £200 saved is a lot of petrol! Say £5 per gallon = 40galls. That makes about 2,000miles of "free" motoring. (y)

Regards,
Mick
 
My TA does around 43 on average mixed driving but rises significantly on a long run if I'm careful. TBH I think my achieved mpg is fine as JR rightfully said when you take in to account the added performance and fun factor punch that it delivers. The real problem arises from the expectation from new owners but if it was marketed as only achieving mid 40's urban and 55 on a long run I think everyone would have bought one anyway and been perfectly happy. Incidentally, are mpg tests not carried out independently and not actually by the manufacturers themselves? Something I thought I read in auto italia recently re the 105.

Spot on! Exactly my experience too : )
 
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While I agree that the 'official' figures bear no relation to the real world figures I am amazed by the many owners that are surprised by the fact they are not regularly getting 70MPG :bang: ..

Why should owners be surprised? As mentioned my VW matches the Official figures from day one.

I am curious, if the TA fuel economy figures are BS, its emission figures probably are too. If these pork pies were corrected, would this impact the vehicle tax rates (or whatever the green road taxes are called) you guys pay in the UK?

Buyers read the reviews and the manufacturers propoganda. The majority tend not to read enthusiast forums. It seems reasonable to me to hope to achieve at least something close to the quoted Urban figure 0f 4.4l/100 64mpg when driving on more economically on the highway. Extra urban is quoted at 3.6l/100 or 78mpg! Yet I see 40mpg.

I am not fussed about paying for more fuel. Just disappointed this supposed high tech engine does not come close to advertised figures in the real world.

From now on, if anyone asks me about its fuel economy I will tell them it uses the same amount of fuel as my Touareg. Alternatively I might just drink the Koolaid and tell them its supposed to do 78mpg, but you cannot actually achieve this in normal driving, because unlike any other car it encourages spirited driving & also takes 10,000kms to run in an loosen up :bang:
 
Completely agree. What would the scenario be if Fiat brought out a 105hp 1.2 engine? I doubt people would continue comparing it to a 69hp 1.2 or any diesel. Yes, TAs are capable of decent mpgs but that is not the sole focus.

What mpgs does the 100hp panda do?

Folk seem fixated on this being an Eco engine, it is but its a petrol and its tiny so if you thrash it the mpg will be poor. Most who buy the TA will use the performance available. I bought the TA because it's a lot more gutsy than the 1.2 (we have both).
It's partly Fiats fault for the way they marketed it and also the dealers themselves do not really 'get' the TA.
I've also noticed how short geared it is in 1st and 2nd so a lot who are not used to it will redline it very easily, particularly in 1st. My Mrs does it all the time after coming from the 1.2
Just my thoughts : )
 
I've also noticed how short geared it is in 1st and 2nd so a lot who are not used to it will redline it very easily, particularly in 1st.
I've found it's "long geared" 3rd, 4th and 5th, but as you say, 1st is very short.

We live on the side of a steep valley. In fact, the lane past our bungalow is a long 1in4 (25%) hill and our drive is about 200yds up from the bottom. As our drive is at a sharp angle to the lane, we either have to reverse up our drive if we come in from the bottom of the hill, or go forwards up it if we come down the hill ............ if you see what I mean. Our drive is equally steep up to the bungalow, perhaps steeper, and the drive is 100yds long.

If we come up the hill and reverse up the drive, it is very evident that reverse gear is too high, and I reckon it would be better if it were lower. Unless we get a move on, we have to slip the clutch all the way up.

Conversely, if we come down the hill and forwards up the drive, the gear ratio is seems fine.

Is there some data on overall gearing for the TA?
Is reverse actually higher ratio than 1st?

Thanks,
Mick.
 
Well 'er indoors and I over the last 7 days, have done a round trip to Portsmouth from where we live, so with the actual getting from A to B and the running around we did whilst we were there, we achieved 56 mpg (all data from Fuelly).

The car was full with our weekend going away stuff (back seat covered lol!) and boot full, and with our combined weight of 25 stone, climate control running the whole time, headlights on the whole time because of the appalling visibility through rain the whole journey and an average speed of 65mph, I don't think we did too bad really.

I'm not into this whole hypermiling thing and I trust the data put through Fuelly, so overall, I'm very happy with the figures achieved on a proper run. Car has just this morning hit 10,000 miles.
 
I don't think there are many hills to speak of between East Midlands and Pompey.
I spent many a happy year in Pompey, as I'm ex-RN. :)

Having driven from here in Cornwall Up North and back many many times over the years, the fuel consumption changes after you leave Devon as it really drops off from the Devon border all the way north. Returning, it's fine again until you hit the Devon hills on the A30 after leaving the M5.

I've done this journey in the 500TA too, and been averaging high 50s mpg for most of the journey, but by the time we get home, it's been in the low 50s.

Regards,
Mick.
 
Normally in the Welsh hills I get 43 that's just me, on a 14ml round trip to work.

Just done a run to Manchester airport @ 120 miles, two up with 50 kg of luggage and got 55.

Never have her on Eco. Just on 5000mls after 10 months.

So far so good (y)
 
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