mm, I noticed something strange today.


Driving along at 30pmh, in 3rd gear, I seemed to get a better mpg than when in 4th gear. It varied between 40-70, with an average of around 60mpg.


This is along a flat stretch of road and according to the onboard computer.


It`s a 2011 Panda Mylife Dynamic which I`ve had from new.


So, for the next month I`m going to keep it in 3rd until about 35mph (not very often or for very long) before changing into 3rd.


Has anyone else noticed this? Would the gearing be set that way purposefully by Fiat?

Jerseywurzel said:

mm, I noticed something strange today.


Driving along at 30pmh, in 3rd gear, I seemed to get a better mpg than when in 4th gear. It varied between 40-70, with an average of around 60mpg.


This is along a flat stretch of road and according to the onboard computer.


It`s a 2011 Panda Mylife Dynamic which I`ve had from new.


So, for the next month I`m going to keep it in 3rd until about 35mph (not very often or for very long) before changing into 3rd.


Has anyone else noticed this? Would the gearing be set that way purposefully by Fiat?

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The instant mpg readout on the Panda isn't really much use in helping you work out this sort of thing.

Remember also that at 30 mph even a very slight change in gradient will have a much larger effect on mpg than the difference you are trying to measure.

Best cruising mpg on a level road at a steady 30mph will be in 5th gear. The Fiat ecoDrive website recommends changing 4th>5th @ 1400rpm for best economy.

This only works if you have a very light touch on the accelerator. You can only accelerate very slowly at 30mph in 5th.

Try driving 10 miles on a level road at a steady 30mph* & you should get into the high '70's on the trip mpg.

*This is sometimes easier than you might think on the M25!

I get by far the highest numbers in 5th @ 30 MPH according to the trip computer but in real world driving I find it makes about 1 to 2 MPG difference, if that - I get between 44 and 46 MPG regardless of the 50+ that the trip computer usually says. I tend to leave it in 3rd, or 4th if the road ahead is clear and there are no parked cars at the side of the road etc. It does go in 5th OK but any sort of acceleration feels like you're unnecessarily straining the engine.