General 1.2 mpg ?

[selsey billy]

Hi,we have a GP 1.2 360 Active it's just over a year old now with 3500 on the clock.
The problem is we bought the car for the wife as a run around and on the advice by the dealer that we should get around 45 per gallon.Well even on a long run it will only get 37 mpg max on the motorway @ 70mph and 25mpg on local roads.Were not heavy footed or boy racers by no means.What gets me is we P.X our 7 year old VW polo 1.2 in for the GP but even that did more to the gallon.The dealer checked the car on the first service but no faults was found.The engine sound fine,tyres pumped up to handbook specs,no mods etc.
Has any one else been disappointed with the fuel consumption on their 1.2 and what should it do to the gallon ?.

 

[Tris Harris]

you should get 45mpg easily... but at 3500 miles, it's not even run in yet!

when i first got mine (even though its a 1.4), i got 36mpg, now its done near 10000miles im getting nearer to 44/45mpg with combines trips on motorways, A & B roads.

And i have a heavy right foot

 

[DannyBoy88]

two points

1) as tris said its not even run in yet, i couldn't get over 33mpg till i had 4000 miles, its now at 6000 with 43-44mpg in town driving

2) the number one main reason for low fuel consumption without driving like a lunatic is simple pressing down too hard on the accelerator(i know this sounds stupid let me explain)

if you change up a gear at the very bottom speed for the new gear(i.e. 4th to 5th at 25-30mph there is a point on the travel of the accelerator where your car stops accelerating any faster, and there is normal about an inch travel that doesn't make you go any faster, but if you put your foot further down into that inch your still putting more fuel in the engine, the engine just can't go any faster as there's no torque down at the bottom end, and therefore your MPG goes right down

 

[selsey billy]

Cheers for that.We got a 2000 mile European trip in a few weeks time(south of France and back),hope the extra mileage can sort the mpg out a bit.
Any one know what the model "360" means even the dealer didn't know when we bought it.360 limited run model ?,only goes around in circles (360 degrees) ?.Even Fiat HQ were lost on that one.

 

[colin79666]

I used to get 40-45mpg out my 1.2 Got 50mpg once on a long motorway trip, sitting at 60mph. Always got significantly better MPG in the summer and as said above mpg does get better when the car has done a few thousand miles.
Interestingly I'm getting better mpg out my 1.4 8v than I did out my 1.2.

 

[1steamon1]

When I first got mine the idea of a mpg gauge was enchanting.
I got around 58mpg over 15 miles. You can realy boost your mpg buy coasting down hills, Leaving bigger gaps between you and the car infront, (being that its a 1.2 that shouldnt be to difficult), and letting the engine tick over pull you in a high gear on a flat road.
You can experiment yourself to see what works best by using the instant mpg which is one click after the average mpg.
The wife kept ruining my mpg score so taking the keys to work with me also helped.

The novelty has worn off now... but it sits around 41-42, mainly A&B roads.
Ste..

 

[Danny westall]

I have a 1.2 on a 57 reg at 16200 miles I am getting around 40 mpg:slayer:

 

[punto_matt]

1.2mpg? Even i struggle to get that.

 

[DannyBoy88]

1.2mpg? Even i struggle to get that.

 

[powered_up_pac_man]

Any one know what the model "360" means even the dealer didn't know when we bought it.

Taken from Yahoo cars:

"Which is in essence the thinking behind the latest special edition Grande Punto 360 model. Its based on the 1.2-litre Grande Punto Active and is available in 3 and 5-door specification.

Recognisable from the outside by the special series sticker, metallic paint, 15-inch alloy wheels and body coloured mirrors, the vehicle also gets a unique interior trim with Fiats new logo, air conditioning, the clever BlueandMe hands-free media system and a split folding rear seat. And with £1,700 worth of added equipment, these vehicles also represent decent value at £8,495 (3-door) and £9,095 (5-door), figures which are £55 less than the respective Active versions."

Just a tart-up for the Active then

 

[Shropshire_lad]

if you change up a gear at the very bottom speed for the new gear(i.e. 4th to 5th at 25-30mph there is a point on the travel of the accelerator where your car stops accelerating any faster, and there is normal about an inch travel that doesn't make you go any faster, but if you put your foot further down into that inch your still putting more fuel in the engine, the engine just can't go any faster as there's no torque down at the bottom end, and therefore your MPG goes right down

This don't sound right to me from what I've read about fuel injected or turbo charged engines... Got any evidence to prove this statement?

 

[Ffoxy]

When I first got mine the idea of a mpg gauge was enchanting.
I got around 58mpg over 15 miles. You can realy boost your mpg buy coasting down hills, Leaving bigger gaps between you and the car infront, (being that its a 1.2 that shouldnt be to difficult), and letting the engine tick over pull you in a high gear on a flat road.
You can experiment yourself to see what works best by using the instant mpg which is one click after the average mpg.
The wife kept ruining my mpg score so taking the keys to work with me also helped.

The novelty has worn off now... but it sits around 41-42, mainly A&B roads.
Ste..

The above in bold, by coasting do you mean out of gear (rolling) with the engine ticking over? Ignoring the illegality of that, modern engines actually cut off the fuel supply when running downhill IN GEAR, whereas when coasting the fuel supply remains. So coasting is actually worse for fuel economy than running the car downhill in a high gear, although you may not get quite as far.

 

[MarkSims]

The above in bold, by coasting do you mean out of gear (rolling) with the engine ticking over? Ignoring the illegality of that, modern engines actually cut off the fuel supply when running downhill IN GEAR, whereas when coasting the fuel supply remains. So coasting is actually worse for fuel economy than running the car downhill in a high gear, although you may not get quite as far.

Why is it illegal to coast in neutral?? Not like it affects your ability to brake...

And if its because you cant accelerate out of danger, then being in an innapropriate gear should also be illegal..

Stupid laws.

 

[punto_matt]

Never heard of engine breaking?

 

[Jim Wright]

Around town I easily get 34-38mpg, when going to work (mainly A roads) I average around 50+ mpg, on motorways (well dual carriageways, han't got no motorways! lol) around 42-45mpg (wen cruising 70ish).

 

[MarkSims]

Never heard of engine breaking?

Yes matt, im aware of engine braking...HOWEVER there is no way in hell engine braking outways what the discs can do. Unless your driving a big f**k off diesel, engine braking is effectively none existant.

There is no way braking in gear is slower than braking in neutral.

 

[selsey billy]

True modern cars use more fuel coasting and yes it is illegal to coast due to not being in full control of the car.Am a trained traffic officer with West Sussex Police,you know two hands,hi vis in case some one can't see me in the car etc,and i get more mgp out of a Merc estate,perhaps that's the answer get a Merc with a big engine

 

[Shropshire_lad]

There is no way braking in gear is slower than braking in neutral.

What a right loads of cobblers... Go and read up and learn about engines before making such dumbass statements! :bang:

The mechanics of engine braking are simple: instead of stopping the wheels at the source, you drag on them with the engine’s rotating mass. But there’s much, much more going on: factors like engine vacuum under negligible load and compression ratio determine the “plushness” of the piston’s pillow during the compression cycle.

Coasting in gear uses no fuel to speak of. Coasting in neutral still requires fuel to keep the engine running. The most efficient way is to come to a stop in gear for as long as possible and coast down hill in gear

And, you should never coast out of gear period, it is unsafe and illegal!

 

[MarkSims]

Ok, im willing to admit when im wrong....so why in that case are you told it's acceptable in an emergancy stop to brake with the clutch in?? surely that shouldnt be allowed and braking should always be with the car in gear?? In which case everything your told about braking when your learning to drive is ****e...and i passed with only 1 minor so apparantly there is nothing wrong with the way i brake...

Sorry for the confusion on my part here...but if i change down a gear in my lil 1.2 the speed hardly changes at all, it jus makes a whole lotta noise...in my dads dicso when you engine brake, you can actually feel yourself braking. Little petrols just dont seem to have any sort of reaction to engine braking, thats just my feel when im driving.

 

[98dizzard]

Why is it illegal to coast in neutral?? Not like it affects your ability to brake...

And if its because you cant accelerate out of danger, then being in an innapropriate gear should also be illegal..

Stupid laws.

It's classed as not being in control of the vehicle. You are unable to accelerate quickly in the event that it is nessecary. If you do it on test you will get an instant fail.

Also, before cars with ABS/EBD systems braking out of gear changed the dynamics of the front-rear braking bias. This could in theory cause the rear-wheels to lock before the front, resulting in a potentially very dangerous situation. With my old Peugeot without ABS, when practicing threshold braking it was alot easier doing it in gear, as the engine momentum tended to stop both the front wheels locking at the same time. Seemed to give more time to react.

Now, with ABS and more modern cars, people are generally taught two foot panic braking, so in an emergency they push the clutch and brake together allowing the car's electronics to control the stop. EDIT: This method also stops inexperienced drivers stalling if they forget to release the clutch towards the end of the stop.

A point to note however, as it is somewhat related, if you are at high rev's and do an emergency stop using the above method in the GP the engine actually hesitates and maintains power for longer than it would if you just remove your foot from the pedal (the rev's do not drop off immediately). I have no idea why it does this. Maybe to reduce engine braking to allow the ABS to work better, or to maintain power for the electric steering and ABS.

Did you know larger diesel vehicles actually incorporate an engine brake, because diesel engines alone have very little engine braking because there is no intake butterfly. This is specifically to stop the discs/drums overheating on long downhill stretches. It works by blocking the intake or exhaust to increase compression in the engine. Along with all drivers being taught to select a low gear when going downhill, stopping brakes from overheating is probably the main reason for having this law.

Anyway as Ffoxy said, the engine uses fuel at tickover, but not when decelerating in gear (as long as your RPM is above tickover). So there is no point in coasting anyway.

Sorry for the long reply, its not meant to be a lecture