(T) Lower mpg after service!

we don't really do enough miles in the Pandas to say but I have noticed my consumption has worsened a lot in the C4 since the cold weather. Did fill up the 1.2 today and it reckoned the range was 534 miles, I wish.

The first service (12,000 miles / 20,000km) is really just an oil change, so nothing much should happen there that can cause the effect (unless, perhaps, fault codes are cleared). The second service (at 24,000 miles) includes checking and altering if necessary the valve clearances and the replacement of the spark plugs, and so has 'potential' to set things differently, maybe? If I remember right, the air filter doesn't get changed until the third (36,000 mile) service (which seems a long time to me)...

No point - that's why we all have thermostatically-operated cooling fans now. (In really old cars with a true fan belt, the fan ran all the time, leading to the chance of overcooling in winter).

However, related, I note there doesn't appear to be any pre-heating on the air intake? My previous cars have had a 'winter' intake that sourced warmer air from around the manifold, again controlled by a thermostat. So far as I can see, the Panda only ever breathes 'ambient' air.

My wife does mainly short runs and I did post that our fuel return had dropped markedly but got short shrift other than "witty" comments. This time of year though we tend to run the heater fan, dap the screen washers every five minutes, heated rear screen, side lights/dips....all contributes to higher slurpage.

Trev,
I'd confirm my mpg went down throughout December and for the first couple of weeks of January, but has come back up now without doing anything (it was around 49mpg and went down to 45mpg), so I imagine it must be to do with cold starting.
I spoke to a friend with a multijet diesel Panda last night- he says he gets around 60mpg locally (and he lives in very hilly country on the Welsh border) and 72 on the open road.

Alan

cheers Alan