SMALL ‘EFFICIENT’ CARS HAVE MOST PUMPED UP FUEL ECONOMY FIGURES
NISSAN NOTE, MINI HATCH AND FORD FIESTA AMONGST CARS SOLD WITH MISLEADING FUEL ECONOMY FIGURES
Analysis by consumer motoring website HonestJohn.co.uk today reveals that new, small cars are some of the worst when it comes to meeting their official MPG figures. In a study of over 60,000 cars, HonestJohn.co.uk uncovered the UK’s best and worst performers and discovered that the latest small cars, which are often sold on the strength of their greater fuel economy, are failing to meet official optimistic fuel economy estimates.
The reason is intense pressure on car manufacturers to reduce the CO2 that car engines emit, and to do that they optimise their engines for EC ‘drive cycle’ laboratory tests rather than for real life.
According to HonestJohn.co.uk, the worst performing model is the 2013 Nissan Note, which misses its official economy rating by a woeful 32.3% of the EC drive cycle fuel economy result of 74.72mpg. The 2014 MINI Hatch comes a close second with 32% and finishing joint third from bottom are the 2012 Citroen DS5 and 2013 Renault Captur: both missing their ECDC averages by 29.2%.
The best-selling car of 2014, the 2013 Ford Fiesta, is the fifth worst performer achieving a real world fuel economy figure of only 67.57 MPG – 28.9% short of its official fuel economy.
The Land Rover Defender from 1984 onwards remains the best performing car for two years running achieving 106.3% of its official fuel economy (26.58 MPG). The iconic Defender is based on a 1948 model and due to be replaced this year yet, despite its age, it real world fuel economy figures are better than its ECDC test figures. The 2000 – 2007 Toyota Celica also exceeds expectations, achieving an average of 37.09 miles to the gallon, 3% better than its official MPG figure. The economical 2003 – 2010 Nissan Micra comes in third, achieving 102.6% of its official fuel economy, while the ever-reliable Volvo comes in both fourth and fifth with the 2000 – 2008 Volvo S60 and Volvo 2000 – 2007 V70/XC70 – with real MPG figures of 102.3% and 102.2% respectively.
On average, cars achieve 86% of their official MPG figures – a statistic HonestJohn.co.uk has found is decreasing by 1% every year. The website compared actual miles per gallon figures of vehicles, submitted by motorists themselves, to official ECDC manufacturer data – and the results were startling.
While a car purchase is often guided by official fuel consumption figures, the analysis shows that a car’s fuel economy can only truly be assessed by real drivers on real roads. This figure can vary based on driving style and conditions.
The publication of HonestJohn.co.uk’s Real MPG report allows consumers to compare official figures with real user experience, helping them to make better decisions about their next car purchase.
Daniel Powell, managing editor of HonestJohn.co.uk, commented:
“It’s no secret that car buyers are confused by official fuel economy figures. Indeed, HonestJohn.co.uk receives thousands of complaints about misleading fuel economy figures, which shows that many car owners are out of pocket when it comes to calculating real world fuel costs.
“Rather than attack the official EC figures, which form the basis of car and company car taxation, we prefer to offer realistic figures achieved by real motorists to be used alongside official guidelines. Real MPG allows car owners and buyers to make accurate predictions as to how much fuel they will use and be better prepared as to how much that will cost.”
Top 5 performing models Real MPG Ratio
1. Land Rover Defender (1984) 106.3%
2. Toyota Celica (2000-2008) 103.0%
3. Nissan Micra (2003-2010) 102.6%
4. Volvo S60 (2000-2008) 102.3%
5. Volvo V70/XC70 (2000-2007) 102.2%
Bottom 5 performing models Real MPG Ratio
1. Nissan Note (2013) 67.7%
2. MINI Hatch (2014) 68.0%
3. Citroen DS5 (2012) 70.8%
4. Renault Captur (2010) 70.8%
5. Ford Fiesta (2013) 71.1%
MOTOVIEW’S EDITORIAL
Inspired by Honest John’s press release, I reveal my combined mpg figures calculated through brimming the fuel tank to the first click to diminish with the glow of the fuel warning light and then subtracting the reserve capacity from the whole tank litreage then dividing this figure by the miles driven, after converting to gallons. Fuel gauges are a dying species with ambiguous bar displays becoming more popular and I suspect, cheaper to produce. Furthermore, some manufacturers don’t state any reserve capacity in handbooks advising owners to rely on the warning light with thirty miles worth of fuel, the oft quoted reserve mileage in some city cars. As fuel tanks are not designed uniformly, you would be deceived into thinking that your fuel efficiency is doing so well during the first half of fuel only for the mpg figures to tumble towards reserve. Of course, early gearchanges and anticipation are important if you want to save fuel with block changing a rare technique for the advanced driver.
So, here we have our combined mpg results with official figures in brackets:
2005 Skoda Superb 2.5 TDi 40 mpg (35.8)! 112%!
2005 Saab 9-3 Sportwagon 1.9 TiD diesel manual 49 (47.9) 98%
2012 Peugeot 508 2.2 HDi diesel estate 46.5 mpg (47.8) 97%
2005 Honda FR-V 2.0 Sport 32 mpg (33.6) 95%
2013 Isuzu D-Max 2.5 diesel 36 mpg (38.2) 94%
2012 Citroen C1 1.0 petrol 62 mpg (65.7) 94%
2005 Peugeot 407 (136ps)2.0 diesel saloon 44.71 (47.9) 94%
2013 Citroen DS3 Cabrio 1.6 T petrol 45 mpg (47.9) 94%
2010 Peugeot RCZ 2.0 diesel 50 mpg (54.3) 92%
2009 Kia Rio 1.5 CRDi diesel 58 mpg (62.8) 92%
2004 Volvo S80 2.5 T petrol auto 26 mpg (28.2) 92%
2008 Mazda CX-7 2.3 petrol 25 mpg (27.7) 90%
2012 Fiat Panda 1.2 petrol 48.8 mpg (54.3) 90%
2010 Skoda Yeti 1.2 TSI petrol 39 mpg (44) 89%
2014 Peugeot 308 1.2 THP petrol 54 mpg (61.4) 88%
Skoda Fabia vrS 1.4 TSI estate 39 mpg (45.6) 87%
2008 Hyundai i20 1.2 petrol43.5 ? 50 mpg? 87%
2005 Mazda 5 2.0 manual diesel 38 mpg (44.9) 85%
2009 Suzuki Splash 1.2 petrol 47 mpg (55.4) 85%
2006 Proton Savvy 1.2 petrol 42 mpg (49.6) 85%
2011 Mitsubishi ASX 1.8 diesel 2WD 47 mpg (56.5) 83%
2012 Seat Ibiza Ecomotive estate 1.2 TDI diesel 65 mpg (80.7) 81%
2006 BMW 520 diesel saloon 38.9 mpg (47.9) 81%
2011 Kia Picanto 1.0 petrol 52 mpg (67.3) 78%
2012 Mazda CX-5 2.2 diesel 42 mpg (54.3) 77%
2014 Mazda 3 2.0 (120 ps) petrol 36 mpg (47 mpg) 77%
2013 Peugeot 208 1.6 HDi (92) diesel 57 mpg (74.3) 77%
2014 Subaru Forrester 2.0 T petrol 25 mpg (33.2) 75%
2012 Kia Rio 1.1. CRDi diesel 54 mpg (74.3) 73%
2010 Mazda 2 1.6 diesel 49 mpg (67.3) 73%
2013 Mazda 6 (175 bhp) 2.2.diesel auto estate 42 mpg (57.6) 73%
2013 Mitsubishi Colt 1.3 petrol 40 mpg (51.4)
2010 Mazda 3 2.2 diesel 65.6 mpg
2009 Peugeot 207 cabriolet 1.6 THP (150) petrol 30 mpg (39.2)
2005 Skoda Superb 2.7 petrol saloon 30 mpg
2004 Alfa Romeo 166 2.0 T-Spark petrol saloon 30 mpg
2005 Volvo V50 2.0 diesel manual 42 mpg
2005 Vauxhall Zafira diesel auto?1.9 CDTi
…and fuel efficiency doesn’t lie within the domain of city cars either with the majority below 85% with only the Fiat Panda and Citroen C1 surpassing. There’s almost a 20% difference between old and new Kia Rio diesels proving that a mid-sized engine with a small body provides better efficiency than the new car that has a smaller engine with a larger body.
February 2015
