General TwinAir mpg over 2000 mile Euro Trip

[arorat]

Well guys, just got back from the 8 day euro trip and as requested kept a record of petrol used.

mainly motorway with some city driving
motorway speeds 60-105
total driving time 39 hrs
driving style medium-aggressive
max torque @ 4000rpm

Trip Comp says 47.1 avg mpg over 1908 miles, with some London driving yesterday its gone down to 46.8 mpg. After final brim up, the REAL milage is 45.77 over 1933 miles.

some other stuff...

not many 500s in France, quite a few heading into Turin, and we saw one heading back through germany.

Whilst on motorway in France we came behind another 500, it looks so small from the outside and what other people must think too. Its funny though how people slow down to admire the 500

The TA had enough power to keep up with other bmw/audi/merc traffic (once you build up speed) but you have to drive it around 4k/rpm, it obviously does not have the pulling power of a bigger engine but sounds good. on occasions when other cars cut in I did put the foot down to show what the 500 was capable of... and then let them overtake in a few miles... sad.

Stelvios pass was a good laugh, reminded me of the bike trip through the pyrenees, the TA did well but had to be driven, reaching the top smelt petrol in the cabin, this cleared after the downhill cruise.

Overall TA is great car for 2-up on any roadtrip, personally I would do the trip in an A500, which I think will suite my driving style.











oh... take loads of eruros to pay for a large coke Chamonix, pass through Turin, don't stay in Boppard - I am sure blackpool is better. Best bit Stelvios Pass and Austria... more hol info if required.

Cheers

 

[rkt2003]

That`s not bad mpg sounds like you had some fun on the way and some good info for ta owners

 

[306maxi]

Sounds like you enjoyed yourself

Chamonix isn't cheap, but it's bloody nice and the drive there is pretty special during the day Pictures please! Turin is definitely an afternoon place, go to the centre of town, walk around for a few hours and you've seen it

Good MPG for a car with such low mileage, we only did a couple of mpg better with an engine with about 12k more miles on it

 

[Petrolhead Tom]

Great to hear, planning on a road trip with my girlfriend and her TA myself!

 

[arorat]

Sounds like you enjoyed yourself

Chamonix isn't cheap, but it's bloody nice and the drive there is pretty special during the day Pictures please! Turin is definitely an afternoon place, go to the centre of town, walk around for a few hours and you've seen it

Good MPG for a car with such low mileage, we only did a couple of mpg better with an engine with about 12k more miles on it

A great trip, Chamonix was great, thanks for the tip.

As we could not do Aiguille du midi via cable car (and hike down) due to the number of people. We hicked down from mer de glace to chamonix instead, what a hike... http://www.compagniedumontblanc.fr/en/site-overwview/the-montenvers-mer-de-glace

Brasserie de L'M was worth it, smaller portions but ideal in the heat. I absolutely resented paying 7 euros for a 500ml coke at an adjacent restaurant when we got the bill. London is cheaper.

We know now I should have booked outside the city near Milan to make the next day easier. Turin was hot very hot and humid, around 35deg I think, very old town as you know and the first capital of Italy, seeing a copy of the shroud was worth it.

We didn't have Turin city maps and got lost, had to stop and ask 3 times (in Spanish, wtf... i know i know !!), finally had a brain wave to get a wifi signal in a side street (whilst watching some one put a needle up their arm) to get google maps on iPad and found the hotel in 2 minutes with the inbuilt gps. Long story about Italy maps on iPad anyway managed to cache all main roads to Austria where the Navfree map kicked in.

 

[306maxi]

Ouch! I think we had a similar shock for the cost of water or a glass of coke.

We got lost in Turin as well, the centre is nice and Mirafiori is interesting if only for a look at the old factories But it really is a working town so you wouldn't expect it to be pretty. Turin was quite hot for us as well, but we arrived late afternoon and it soon cooled down a bit. I don't feel the need to go back to Turin, been there once and that's enough

I quite fancy going back to Chamonix again, heading to Milan and then going up the Stelvio pass and then perhaps going back through Austria and Germany. That said next summer might be a trip to Scandinavia as we kind of missed out on that this year......

 

[arorat]

Liked Chamonix (thanks for the tip ) I could spend 5 days there but with proper hiking boots and walking poles next time. Doubling up on socks helped with the CAT boots, looking to get cork handle / sprung poles from amazon. Hiking undergarments are important too...

In a car, 14 days would be perfect covering Chamonix, Stelvios & Austria, any less then look to fly to one destination unless like us doing a hectic 8 day sampler via car.

Also I would change the trip around next time; go dover to dunkirk, seefeld, trafoi, stelviois, davos, then via smaller swiss roads to chamonix and to calais, skip Milan as that will add additional mileage and can be done as a short weekend break from uk.

Germany overall was dull, if going to chamonix go via germany to austria first as chamonix is the highlight not seefeld - although seefeld was very green and hospitable which now deserves a ski trip.

on top of Stelvios looking towards Trafoi




on a peak near Rosshute in Seefeld


outside our hotel in Seefeld

 

[306maxi]

Liked Chamonix (thanks for the tip ) I could spend 5 days there but with proper hiking boots and walking poles next time. Doubling up on socks helped with the CAT boots, looking to get cork handle / sprung poles from amazon. Hiking undergarments are important too...

In a car, 14 days would be perfect covering Chamonix, Stelvios & Austria, any less then look to fly to one destination unless like us doing a hectic 8 day sampler via car.

Also I would change the trip around next time; go dover to dunkirk, seefeld, trafoi, stelviois, davos, then via smaller swiss roads to chamonix and to calais, skip Milan as that will add additional mileage and can be done as a short weekend break from uk.

Germany overall was dull, if going to chamonix go via germany to austria first as chamonix is the highlight not seefeld - although seefeld was very green and hospitable which now deserves a ski trip.

Not a problem Chamonix is just one of those places you just know that people of all types will love, the town is pretty, the scenery is pretty, the food is good and the climate in summer is generally quite pleasant

 

[tommus]

Arorat, did you use ECO mode at all or was it all standard mode? My MPG is still very poor, in the last 100 miles around town it is showing as 34.5. I wouldn't say I drive it hard but I dont take it easy. Did a 160 mile round trip a few weeks ago using mostly eco with the odd burst of turbo for hills and overtaking etc and that only came back at 39.5.

 

[FloJo]

I drove home from the dealer yesterday - combination of duel carriageway, motorway and then into loads of 40mph road works - after 100 miles it was showing 44mpg (normal not eco mode). I wasn't trying to be careful at all really, just enjoying the new car

I've switched to eco mode for town driving and commute now, will see what I come up with.

 

[wigit]

great right up and road trip, just come back from france myself and couldn't believe how cr'p the uk motorway road surface was until i landed in dover

i'm fancying taking ours over for a more sedate break next year

 

[306maxi]

Anyone watching top gear tonight will have seen seen some of the fantastic roads that arorat and myself drove on when we did our journeys

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Anyone watching top gear tonight will have seen seen some of the fantastic roads that arorat and myself drove on when we did our journeys

100km of contra flows

 

[arorat]

Anyone watching top gear tonight will have seen seen some of the fantastic roads that arorat and myself drove on when we did our journeys

Dude, just saw the episode. Over the last 2 weeks I have been looking at the mountains in Europe. Last year we did Norway, train from Oslo to Bergen and a week on an island with driving / hiking. Norway was tough - so underated and rugged

Short list is Mont Blanc this year, I have a query out for a self catering apt in Chamonix, with 500 as the car of choice again as only us two. Will be doing 2 days driving in the MB basin and 5 days trekking in the chamonix area.

Question, can London to Chamonix be done in one day, Chunnel or Ferry ?

 

[306maxi]

I wonder when it was filmed, there were quite a few contraflows when we went in June.

 

[arorat]

Arorat, did you use ECO mode at all or was it all standard mode? My MPG is still very poor, in the last 100 miles around town it is showing as 34.5. I wouldn't say I drive it hard but I dont take it easy. Did a 160 mile round trip a few weeks ago using mostly eco with the odd burst of turbo for hills and overtaking etc and that only came back at 39.5.

Sorry tommus for a very late reply.. normal mode not ECO, sadly with Eco you have to drive with slippers and a pipe, also Eco only good when you are feeling unwell and going to the doctors

 

[Hellcat]

Anyone watching top gear tonight will have seen seen some of the fantastic roads that arorat and myself drove on when we did our journeys

Or pop over the border into Germany, through Switzerland, and St Gotthard into Turin. Bellissimo!

 

[ahmett]

Dude, just saw the episode. Over the last 2 weeks I have been looking at the mountains in Europe. Last year we did Norway, train from Oslo to Bergen and a week on an island with driving / hiking. Norway was tough - so underated and rugged

Short list is Mont Blanc this year, I have a query out for a self catering apt in Chamonix, with 500 as the car of choice again as only us two. Will be doing 2 days driving in the MB basin and 5 days trekking in the chamonix area.

Question, can London to Chamonix be done in one day, Chunnel or Ferry ?

Of course it can. I did london lugano in one day it felt fine. Took about 12 hours Chunnel is quicker by an hour!

 

[Mercky]

Dude, just saw the episode. Over the last 2 weeks I have been looking at the mountains in Europe. Last year we did Norway, train from Oslo to Bergen and a week on an island with driving / hiking. Norway was tough - so underated and rugged

Short list is Mont Blanc this year, I have a query out for a self catering apt in Chamonix, with 500 as the car of choice again as only us two. Will be doing 2 days driving in the MB basin and 5 days trekking in the chamonix area.

Question, can London to Chamonix be done in one day, Chunnel or Ferry ?

When in Chamonix make sure you take the Aquile du Midi Cable car - heads up towards the summit of Mont Blanc - you end up at about 12500ft - stunning!

 

[arorat]

When in Chamonix make sure you take the Aquile du Midi Cable car - heads up towards the summit of Mont Blanc - you end up at about 12500ft - stunning!

Thanks, Aquile is planned this year, we will get the multi pass http://www.chamonix.com/summer-pass,79,en.html