Poor Megane MPG

podge3

I have a 03 1.4L Megane for a few weeks and I think it MPG is very poor.

The best I can get on the open road @60MPH is 38/39 MPG. The car also feels very "dead" acceleration-wise.

Is this normal for these cars?

ongarite

Is this the current model, Megane II or the older model?
The current model is a heavy car, like all modern cars with lots of electronics and safety features. A 1.4 motor aint going to set an speed records.
Your MPG is good for the weight and size of the car IMO.

podge3

ongarite wrote:

Is this the current model, Megane II or the older model?
The current model is a heavy car, like all modern cars with lots of electronics and safety features. A 1.4 motor aint going to set an speed records.
Your MPG is good for the weight and size of the car IMO.

Its the new model.

The car is heavy @1.2 tonnes but I think the fuel consumption is appaling. I should also have mentioned that town driving is about 25 MPG.

Henry Ford III

Did it break down yet?

Guy:Incognito

Renault reckon it should do around 40mpg combined but in fairness that depends on perfect driving and conditions so reality will be less.

bazz26

Stekelly wrote:

Renault reckon it should do around 40mpg combined but in fairness that depends on perfect driving and conditions so reality will be less.

The manufacturer's claimed figures generally tend to be a bit on the optimystic side though. I think 38mpg is good.

Guy:Incognito

bazz26 wrote:

The manufacturer's claimed figures generally tend to be a bit on the optimystic side though. I think 38mpg is good.

assumeing for them overestimating, 38 might be, but when you take into account anythign above optimum revs and maybe heavy braking etc, maybe 35 combined?

podge3

Stekelly wrote:

Renault reckon it should do around 40mpg combined but in fairness that depends on perfect driving and conditions so reality will be less.

Yep 40 combined and 50 on the open road. These figures are almost impossible to achieve in any car and I think the best you could hope for is about 90% - so the car should do about 45MPG on the open road and 36 MPG around the town. My car does far less than this.

I had a new model 1.6 Primera a few years back and it did almost 50 to the gallon. I also had a 1.8 Rover 75 and that had better fuel consumption figures than the Megane :mad:

ongarite

I have the same car, 04 model and I get around 34-35 MPG combined. Winter MPG will be worse due to heavier load on alternator, lights, heater, etc..

Guy:Incognito

If it's any consolation I get about 20mpg in the safrane.:)

mloc123

What MPG do people expect out of cars? Anything over 30mpg is good imo.

Guy:Incognito

mloc123 wrote:

What MPG do people expect out of cars? Anything over 30mpg is good imo.

Thats a sweepign statement that just cant work.

ie. in my clio I use for work, 30 mpg would be appaling. in my 2.5 petrol safrane it would be great. In a 1.9D octavia, it would be worse again.

colm_mcm

anything under 90mpg on an Octavia is appalling, if legend is to be believed!

Guy:Incognito

colm_mcm wrote:

anything under 90mpg on an Octavia is appalling, if legend is to be believed!

I really shouldnt have mentioned the O word, but then it hadnt got it's obligatory mention in this thread yet.

tbh it was the first car that came to mind when I was looking for diesel figures. I was reading a thread were it was metioned just before though, so maybe that stuck it in my head.

Max_Damage

mloc123 wrote:

What MPG do people expect out of cars? Anything over 30mpg is good imo.

Well, my Micra gets between 35 - 40mpg, which is pretty rubbish considering it only has about 50bhp and it could get 55mpg+ when new.

ongarite

A small engine in a heavy car is always going to be pushed hard and high revving so MPG will suffer. AFAIK the 1.6 in the Megane will get same MPG as the 1.4 while being more comfortable to drive.

PauloMN

ongarite wrote:

A small engine in a heavy car is always going to be pushed hard and high revving so MPG will suffer. AFAIK the 1.6 in the Megane will get same MPG as the 1.4 while being more comfortable to drive.

Good point. My 1.8 Astra achieves better fuel economy than my wife's 1.4 307.

The fact that you've pointed out the car's poor acceleration is a hint that you are probably driving it relatively hard. Not having a go by the way, just speaking from experience, I drive foot to the floor in the 307 a lot of the time just to keep pace with the traffic as the old 1.4 is soooooooooo ssssllllllooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwww but you can bet that the fuel consumption is going through the roof.

unkel

Henry Ford III wrote:

Did it break down yet?

Now now, no need for that!

Guy:Incognito

wielding the axe already, eh.?:)

unkel

Stekelly wrote:

wielding the axe already, eh.?:)

I ain't done nothing yet - chorus: baby, baby