Ford Fiesta

Alfa Mark

Does anyone know how many miles approx. you should get from a full tank of petrol for a 2002 1.25 Fiesta? I recently got the car serviced but think that the economy has dropped as I'm only getting 250 miles from a full tank and I think I used to get more then this (it's the wife's car so i can't be certain)

E39MSport

Sounds poor.

To get a rough short term estimate of mpg, fill it up to the brim, zero the clock, put a good few miles up (preferably almost empty tank), then fill up to same mark and note miles covered. Then do your calculations.

I think the 1.25 fuel tank is about 10 gallons. That meas your getting about 25 which is poor. I reckon you should get 40 plus ish.

edit: can't say off the top of my head what aould give you such poor consumption. Is it blowing smoke? Check all spark leads are connected. How's it driving?

Gavman84

Hi I had one before and they always seemed to do 300 miles exactly on a full tank pretty much and others I know have the car and get the same. Mixed driving but that would be with a bit around town also. Always seemed fairly consistent I found.
Gavman

zilog_jones

E39MSport wrote: »

To get a rough short term estimate of mpg, fill it up to the brim, zero the clock, put a good few miles up (preferably almost empty tank), then fill up to same mark and note miles covered.

You should also take down how many litres you filled it up by afterwards to get a more accurate measurement as you'll exactly (more or less) how much fuel you've used. The tank is 40 litres, but even on the empty line on the gauge there's still about 3-4 litres left so you'll never actually use that much.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/fiesta

People are getting around 35-40 MPG (you'll have to change it to "UK" in the top left corner to get imperial MPG). I'd say you're getting around 30-35.

Was the correct grade oil used when the car was serviced? Those engines need 5W-30.

E39MSport

zilog_jones wrote: »

You should also take down how many litres you filled it up by afterwards to get a more accurate measurement as you'll exactly (more or less) how much fuel you've used. The tank is 40 litres, but even on the empty line on the gauge there's still about 3-4 litres left so you'll never actually use that much.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/fiesta

People are getting around 35-40 MPG (you'll have to change it to "UK" in the top left corner to get imperial MPG). I'd say you're getting around 30-35.

Was the correct grade oil used when the car was serviced? Those engines need 5W-30.

Of course - oops.

Alfa Mark

Would the wrong grade of oil really effect fuel consumption so much? I was more thinking of the wheel alignment(tyre pressure is correct) or possibly air/fuel mix.I'm sure the engine is firing correctly(spark plugs/leads)

EPM

I had one a few years ago and it used always give 300-320 miles to a tank mostly city driving

zilog_jones

Alfa Mark wrote: »

Would the wrong grade of oil really effect fuel consumption so much? I was more thinking of the wheel alignment(tyre pressure is correct) or possibly air/fuel mix.I'm sure the engine is firing correctly(spark plugs/leads)

Apparently it can lead to sticking valves, camshaft wear and other bad things. But I guess that would be after a lot of wrong oil usage. Is it burning any oil?

A thermostat stuck open could also affect fuel consumption, probably moreso in weather like this. How long is it taking the engine to get to "normal" temperature?

corktina

just checked oursa and it did about 46 to the gallon on mixed driving.... checked consumption over just over 300 miles (almost a tankful....)

On contrast our escort only manged 33 which i think is poor and probablt needs a new CAT..the NCT is due soon so then I'll know...

zilog_jones

What engine is in the Escort? The 1.3 Endura-E is not the best for fuel efficiency (I have one in my Fiesta but it's banjaxed so gets about 25-30 MPG), and neither are the 1.4 CVH or 1.6 Zetec (not Zetec-SE like in the Fiesta and Focus) though the latter is slightly better than the 1.4 going by official figures.

Alfa Mark

Thanks Corktina & EPM. I thought we used to 320 from a full tank too. This fiesta has been nothing but trouble. We've had to replace the cat and then after it was serviced the water pump went. I think up untill we had it serviced we were getting the 320 miles but since then it's dropped to 250 miles. I think it gets to running temperature fine (about 5 mins/5miles)

mossfort

i suppose the very good ride quality makes up for a bad car mechanically and cosmetically.:rolleyes:

corktina

zilog_jones wrote: »

What engine is in the Escort? The 1.3 Endura-E is not the best for fuel efficiency (I have one in my Fiesta but it's banjaxed so gets about 25-30 MPG), and neither are the 1.4 CVH or 1.6 Zetec (not Zetec-SE like in the Fiesta and Focus) though the latter is slightly better than the 1.4 going by official figures.

its a 1.4 cvh...i have another escort (glutton for punishment) in the UK and that does about 45 mpg (its a 1.4 also) but I use that mostly for motorway driving, cruising at just below 80 mph.

Nonetheless, good cheap motoing...the irish one cost me €1400 in the summer with 100k miles up and 6 months NCT..the UK one (50k miles only)cost a staggering £310 with 6 months tax , 11 months MoT and a new CD.... thast as close to free motoring as you can get (Oh and Insurance cost me £175...)