What's made you smile today?

[StevenRB45]

Now I'm sure the "my wife's driving stories" tend to have a pinch of salt due to what is likely an element of artistic licence.

So now I'm back to work allow me to quantify it.

After 100 miles of 98% me driving the car on my commute..the other 2% being her driving it to the next village for her nails (after which it was showing 37)

We have this as an average..

Which includes me getting stuck in traffic on my commute..as below long term average is low 40s but I do the majority of long distance drives which does skew the average upwards.

 

[portland_bill]

Reminds me of my time with a Rover dealer. Living 15 miles from work, I would frequently collect customer cars for service/repair, returning them on the way home. Early eighties, with the Maestro having a trip computer, one customer had left the display on average consumption. Despite the workshop carrying out a test drive after repair, I still managed to return it with a better figure displayed. A few months later, same car, showing a better figure, so again, I improved on it. Next time, he'd managed to improve it still, so this was a challenge. My journey, was gentle, the workshop took extreme care, and a gentle drive home. Best figure ever. Nothing was ever said, but next time I saw the car, the figure was nearer the first one again, so the owner had got tired of that game.
Most fun was the 'instantaneous consumption' on the '82 on Rover SD1, 3.5l V8. Could drop to 3-5mpg accelerating hard up a steep hill, followed by over 100mpg after the crest. Instantaneous consumption readouts can be risky, as watching where you're going becomes secondary.

 

[StevenRB45]

Only 100mpg? PSA ones display 999.9mpg when off throttle.

I regularly used to play a similar game with the range counter on the C3...which bless it would get very confused between me and my wife driving. I used to be able to drive 40 or even 60 miles and park up at the end of a day and the car would still be showing the same fuel range as it had been when I got in the morning. Of course my wife would then use it for night shift and the range would be 100 miles lower the following morning despite her total commute being 14 miles.

Now she's fully unleashed on the Toyota it's struggling to better 40mpg with both of us driving it..given she somehow in that manages about 33 it's very hard to remedy that.

However at least touch wood she's not broken the suspension of that one yet...

 

[SB1500]

Now she's fully unleashed on the Toyota it's struggling to better 40mpg with both of us driving it..given she somehow in that manages about 33 it's very hard to remedy that.

Only 100mpg? PSA ones display 999.9mpg when off throttle.

This puts a lot into perspective... my DS3 was reporting like 68mpg (even with my driving) most of the time. When I got the Avensis I knew it wouldn't be close being two sizes bigger but I called the dealer thinking something was wrong with it because it was getting 42-45mpg.... Now this 'super efficient' hybrid manages around 45-48 - all far from claimed figures. The DS3 probably wasn't that good (but the little 999.9 values when not accelerating kept propping up the figure)... the Avensis for the size of it actually probably wasn't that bad.... and shockingly was actually not much worse than the 'super efficient' Hybrid... Although this also shows that compared to a similar size car (mines would be heavier I'd say) with a petrol turbo, there's a nice gain from the electric standing in for a turbo.

Wish I logged what my little Panda MPG was... I think I recall 56mpg on the screen. Never really worried too much back then about it as I just used the cheapest supermarket fuel and had little issue with fuel. I could drive it anywhere anytime and it never bankrupted me in petrol (being a student took care of that lol)

 

[StevenRB45]

It very much depends on driving style and usage and where you live I think.

My best tank out of the Auris is 46mpg odd I think best tank out of the C3 was when I did Chester Zoo and back on a single tank and that was 58mpg.

But in my day to day every trip ends with 4 miles where I climb from slightly above sea level to 700ft above at national limit. That trip will never be efficient unless there was a long cruise before you got to the hill.

I don't drive a hybrid because my average speed is a bit high (minimum of 30 sometimes 50), they work well if you stuck in traffic round town but I'm generally not so the electric boost isn't going to do a huge amount accelerating 40-70 and it's never really going to operate as an EV except pulling into the street or rolling down the hill on the way out. But modern engines cut fuel when you're off throttle so there's very little fuel used rolling down hill anyway so it's not really a benefit.

But I'd willing to bet the none hybrids are more efficient at 60-70 cruise in undulating terrain which is where I spend a lot of time. The electric boost really tails off above say 40 and you're left with less than 100bhp petrol driving a CVT gearbox. I do very little town centre work at all so low speed EV isn't really a thing I need.

As it stands we got 40 mpg out of the DS3 1.6 diesel as well..you can buy efficient cars but the driver tends to be who determines the economy.

 

[Johnbee]

My neighbour is looking for a new car. Her requirements are that it be small, red, auto, under £10k, 2 seats if possible, easy to park and something that she won’t lose in the carpark. I think I’ve met her brief and so I have sent her a link to the car below. My work here is done

Pardon our interruption...

 

[SB1500]

As it stands we got 40 mpg out of the DS3 1.6 diesel as well..you can buy efficient cars but the driver tends to be who determines the economy.

Maybe coming from my 2017 Panda meant at that time, I had a lighter foot

 

[StevenRB45]

Nah, the way the car got used just was terrible for a diesel, even the petrol C3 isn't warm until about a third of the way through my commute due to the downhill. The temperature gauge doesn't rise above the peg until I reach the Tyne, cross it, and then boost up the slip road to the A1 (about 5 miles). Should say the Toyota seems to heat much faster with it's dual cooling system.

The diesel never got warm...unless it was being driven flat out to get back up the hill. Both of those situations are not an efficient way to use a diesel. Coupled with an average journey length of 7 miles it was the incorrect car for the job.

 

[porta]

My neighbour is looking for a new car. Her requirements are that it be small, red, auto, under £10k, 2 seats if possible, easy to park and something that she won’t lose in the carpark. I think I’ve met her brief and so I have sent her a link to the car below. My work here is done

Pardon our interruption...

That was for sale last year…there must be a reason, which I can’t put my finger on, for thinking ‘that’ll make a great car’

 

[Johnbee]

That was for sale last year…there must be a reason, which I can’t put my finger on, for thinking ‘that’ll make a great car’

Since its 660cc I’d assumed it was a Japanese imported Kei car. There’s some pretty odd looking (depending on one’s tastes that is) Kei cars on eBay, such as the Subaru Sambar or the Daihatsu Midget.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Most fun was the 'instantaneous consumption' on the '82 on Rover SD1, 3.5l V8. Could drop to 3-5mpg accelerating hard up a steep hill, followed by over 100mpg after the crest. Instantaneous consumption readouts can be risky, as watching where you're going becomes secondary.

I think it was the peugeot 406 diesel that had a 4 digit display for instantaneous mpg meaning it would show 999.9mpg when off the gas. Was a fun game to see how long you could go before having to tough the throttle again (this was back when I was in the trade)

On our first Mini you had an actual game you could play where there was a picture of a fish bowl on the screen stood on top of the mini and the better you drove the car, the more stars you would get.

Different categories for acceleration, braking and use of gears. If you did badly the picture would change to water spilling from the bowl and a worried looking fish.

Actually now I think about it, I think our current mini still has this game, I will have to check later

 

[SB1500]

My neighbour is looking for a new car. Her requirements are that it be small, red, auto, under £10k, 2 seats if possible, easy to park and something that she won’t lose in the carpark. I think I’ve met her brief and so I have sent her a link to the car below. My work here is done

Pardon our interruption...

Oh wow! It's definitely done up in BBC Presenter spec... Still more of a car than the Citroen Ami / Fiat Topollino - what with its doors and all!

 

[StevenRB45]

On our first Mini you had an actual game you could play where there was a picture of a fish bowl on the screen stood on top of the mini and the better you drove the car, the more stars you would get.

Different categories for acceleration, braking and use of gears. If you did badly the picture would change to water spilling from the bowl and a worried looking fish.

Actually now I think about it, I think our current mini still has this game, I will have to check later

Toyota has a similar game...of course the fish was too fun to be in a Toyota so it's just a glass of water.

I'd bet the C3 trip is the same basic architecture as the 406 one hence also going to 999.9, my dad's Pug 307 also did it also I can still pick out bits in the C3 interior Peugeot was using on the 307 .

 

[porta]

Since its 660cc I’d assumed it was a Japanese imported Kei car. There’s some pretty odd looking (depending on one’s tastes that is) Kei cars on eBay, such as the Subaru Sambar or the Daihatsu Midget.

Oh yes, says fresh import, must be a theme!