General Grande Punto Sporting mpg

[mikeyv8]

Hi guys,im just waiting to take delivery of my punto sporting,its the new 130bhp diesel engine,does anybody else own one,who can tell me if its good on juice?Can i expect 50mpg?

Ive ordered a skydome roof,are they actually anygood?

Thanks in advance

 

[Venters]

Howdy!
Can't tell you about the skydome but I have heard a few of the grande guys saying they aren't getting 50mpg more like 45. Although I suspect its got more to do with heavy right feet!

 

[jskn]

hey iv owned the 1.9 for wt 3500 miles. iv gt the skydome...its great! really really gd and looks awesome. erm mpg tho...well iv had around 37 mpg...and thts inc town driving and motorway...and im nt heavy footed, change at about 2000 rpm...well nt all the time anyway!

 

[ChrisUK]

hey iv owned the 1.9 for wt 3500 miles. iv gt the skydome...its great! really really gd and looks awesome. erm mpg tho...well iv had around 37 mpg...and thts inc town driving and motorway...and im nt heavy footed, change at about 2000 rpm...well nt all the time anyway!

Thats the problem! your changing to early peak torque only kicks in at 2000rpm and carrys on till 3000!. Shift at about 2800-3200 rpm using light throttle. I drove how I described and achieved 40ish mpg with purely town driving and 52ish on a pure motorway run. Also DONT believe the trip computer its ****** .

 

[jskn]

so hold on....right iv asked this before...how come shifting before 2000 makes me use more fuel? cos shorely tht defies logic? logic being less revs less petrol???

 

[pedroleite]

Logic: car makes less effort if both engine and turbo work together.

Rule: Turbo needs to have compression, introduced at certain revs.

Logic: car needs more fuel at higher revs

Rule: sure, but, if you're gaining speed you want to make the multiplying factor the higher possible, so get there fast and then use a higher shift to cruise.

Logic: Lower revs save fuel

Rule: Only, and only if you're at a higher rev (depending on shift there's a minimum stable speed) and crusing - keeping the speed with minimum pedal effort.

What really gives is that you should "surf" the torque, try to keep the engine compressed. But keep in mind that only a higher shift can save the mileage.

Why don't you try it for a while?

(A sample of CB instant will tell you that, fuel is pumped to achieve the 2000 mark, but between this and 3000 you see a reduction on the consumption, and shifting up makes this better)

I have a skydome, you get lot's of picture on this thread:

Chipped windscreen

PL

 

[Turbodiesel]

I'm interested in getting some answers to this question also, as a possible future GP owner

Because Diesel is more expensive than petrol here is Aus, it has to be quite a lot more economical than my current car to justify buying one which means I need to do about 50mpg. About 75% of my trip to work is done at 62mph.

I have another question for you sporting owners...what is the ride/comfort like? Is it suitable for long trips?

 

[VindiVee8]

I'm interested in getting some answers to this question also, as a possible future GP owner

Because Diesel is more expensive than petrol here is Aus, it has to be quite a lot more economical than my current car to justify buying one which means I need to do about 50mpg. About 75% of my trip to work is done at 62mph.

I have another question for you sporting owners...what is the ride/comfort like? Is it suitable for long trips?

I intend to drive mine on a 2700 mile round trip next year, and I am really looking forward to it. Yes the car is fantastic on a run, and the leather seats REALLY comfy.

 

[pillhead]

I get about 32MPG average in mine, up and down motorways each day but I have a right heavy right foot ;p

I had to hire a Grande Punto 1.4 petrol the other day whilst mine was in for repair, it was the worst thing I had ever driven, it couldnt pull the skin off a hot cup of milk and it cost me over £20 in fuel to go from warwick to redditch, from redditch to banbury, from banbury to Warwick, it was crapper on fuel economy than my 1.9 sporting!

In terms of engine youve made the best choice, you get 10x the performance of the 1.4 petrol and a little bit better fuel economy

 

[jskn]

cheers 4 tht explanation!....but im a bit confused by it. So you say that i have to basically shift at a higher rpm so that the turbo and engine work better together? wts all this multiplyer effect? and when you say get there faster and cruise....wts cruising rpm? what would you suggest? cheers

 

[jskn]

Logic: car needs more fuel at higher revs

Rule: sure, but, if you're gaining speed you want to make the multiplying factor the higher possible, so get there fast and then use a higher shift to cruise.

Logic: Lower revs save fuel

Rule: Only, and only if you're at a higher rev (depending on shift there's a minimum stable speed) and crusing - keeping the speed with minimum pedal effort.

What really gives is that you should "surf" the torque, try to keep the engine compressed. But keep in mind that only a higher shift can save the mileage.

Why don't you try it for a while?

(A sample of CB instant will tell you that, fuel is pumped to achieve the 2000 mark, but between this and 3000 you see a reduction on the consumption, and shifting up makes this better)

PL

sorry if im being stupid. just that i dont understand some of it! :bang: but it sounds v helpful!

 

[Sporty]

First of all I must say that the car is very good for long trips,...very comfortable and quiet.....I did about 1000 km last weekend in highways and not tired ,.......I also agree abt the leather seats,...very good...

Regarding fuel consumption, I have the 1.4 16v Sporting and I have to say the foll:

- Inside the crowded city with much traffic, 1st/2nd gear, etc....but also very heavy right foot ....I get about 9.2 l/100km...i.e. about 31mpg....

- On the same situation with economical driving I get abt 8 l/100km...i.e. abt 35 mpg......

BUT during the weekend that I did the 1000km on highways, mountain roads, etc.....with average driving and speeds on highways of up to 160-170 km/hr (not always.....)....I got about 6.4 l/100km..i.e. 44-45 mpg....a friend of mine on the same route with more economical driving saw abt 5.9-6.0 l/100km...i.e.about 47mpg.....I guess a very good performance....

That's all

 

[kip02]

Had my car now for just over 4000 miles and it has 7400 on the clock. I usually get about 43mpg over a tank and this is a mix of NSL and town driving. I don't hang about to get that, so how are some of you lot driving

 

[deeyup]

I'm getting about 42mpg with mixed driving, mostly emptyish a roads and motorway. I don't boot too much.
I drive it the same as my old cars.
Shogun 3.2 did=32mpg
Clio 1.5dci=60mpg
scenic 1.5dci=50mpg
golf 110tdi=57mpg

In comparison, i think the fiat is thirsty.

If you budget for 40 mpg, you'll most probably be about right.

deeyup

 

[allanhelen]

Just to put this consumption into perpective I've just ragged the B*****ks off a Mondeo TDCI estate hire this week for the best part of 1500 miles fully loaded for most of the time and that managed 49.4MPG

Agree makes the GP look thirsty

 

[Turbodiesel]

What is it with you Brits and lead feet?

Diesels are supposed to be economical even if you thrash them.


Another question:
I remember reading somewhere that the 130 Sporting is that the ride is crashy over rough roads and there is a lot of tire noise. True or False?

 

[ChrisUK]

What is it with you Brits and lead feet?

Diesels are supposed to be economical even if you thrash them.


Another question:
I remember reading somewhere that the 130 Sporting is that the ride is crashy over rough roads and there is a lot of tire noise. True or False?

More than a lot of cars but for a hatch with such a firm suspension and good cornering ability its very good its not much louder than my Alfa 156 2.0

Also if you shift at 2000rpm it means the turbo is only just getting time to spin up and then your changing gear! meaning the engine is struggling 95% of the time. The ECU is clever it senses the engine struggling and it will over fuel it so it doesn't stall (you can test this at a stand still put into second dont touch the accelerator and bring the clutch up quite fast to biting point).

As described you need to surf the torque which means keeping the revs between 2000-3000 until you reach your desired speed then get them down to 1200-1400rpm to sustain the speed.

The economy was better on my Fabia vRS but it handled like a bag of s**t round corners and the power delivery was better and felt a lot more powerful on the GP despite both having 130bhp.

 

[Turbodiesel]

Cool stuff. You do make sense there, when accelerating lightly you do tend to keep the rpm higher for a longer period of time.

The thing that still puzzles me about fuel economy be it a diesel or petrol, is whether more throttle + less RPM is more efficient than less throttle + more RPM. Any theories?

Also, would you be able to tell me what RPMs the 130 would be pulling at about 60mph? You seem to be a very knowledgeable chap

 

[RichC]

Hi,

As many people are saying on here the best way to drive is to achieve your target speed as quickly as possible and then bring the revs right down. The reason this works out more economical is because although you are driving harder to get there you are coming down to low revs quicker and then cruising. The most effective way of driving any diesel is by keeping it in the power band, in this case, 1700ish-3200ish revs. You gain nothing whatsoever by redlining it.

With regard to rpm at 60mph it obviously depends on gear. In 6th you would be around 1500 i think, not certain though. Pretty much perfect for the driving your talking about.

Rich

 

[Jim-Armao]

Cruising with 120km/h ( 74.5 mph ) -> 5.9lt/100 km ( 48mpg )
Average so far with mixed cruising + city and the occasional trashing 6.5lt/100km ( 43.3 mpg ).

It burns less than my wife's Kia Picanto 1100 that has half the bhp and 1/3 torque.
And it certainly is a lot better than my old fiat bravo 1.4 that burned more than 10lt/100km no matter how you drove it.