Fuel consumption

Carol B · 12-11-2021 12:59pm #1

Hi, Can anyone shed some light as to why my 1.4 2014 vauxhall astra is so sore on fuel, I've always had astra's & none were as sore on fuel as this one.

magicbastarder · 12-11-2021 1:02pm

what sort of fuel comsumption are you seeing?

Carol B · 12-11-2021 2:15pm

Hi, I'm putting 60e a week & I travel to work which is about 14 miles each way, I know fuel is through the roof but for a 1.4 petrol it seems alot & especially when it lacks power.

magicbastarder · 12-11-2021 2:23pm

€60 is about 35l at current prices - and that usage (if it's only that usage) is 225km a week. or else, about 15l/100km. which is very high.

Miscreant · 12-11-2021 2:23pm

So you you are getting around 34 litres of petrol for €60 these days (at 174.9c). From this, you drive 280 miles in the week (purely for work), giving you 8.1 miles or thereabouts per litre.... This works out as 37Mpg or 6.3litres/100km. It does not sound to be terribly off the mark to me for a 1.4 petrol in a reasonably heavy bodied car.

What kind of traffic conditions are you encountering on your way to and from work? Traffic has got a lot worse lately so that might account for a rise in fuel consumption, coupled with it getting a little colder going into winter. A lot of factors contribute to fuel consumption so we would need to know all the variables. Also, about a month or 6 weeks ago, you would have been getting about a gallon more of petrol for your €60 as the price has shot up in a short time.

magicbastarder · 12-11-2021 2:31pm

From this, you drive 280 miles in the week

you've double counted the travel. 28 miles a day is not 280 miles a week.

kirving · 12-11-2021 2:47pm

It's much easier to work in kilometers and litres, not € and weeks.

14 miles e/w = 140[miles] = 225[km] = 2.25 [100km]

60[€] / 1.70[€/l] = 35[l]

35[l] / 2.25 [100km] = 15.7 [l/100km] / 18mpg

It's high, but if you're doing that in stop/start city traffic it's not beyond the realms of possibility at all.

Carol B · 12-11-2021 2:50pm

I travel 28 miles per day & the traffic is not bad until I am coming into the town but still not heavy like city travel, I thought then is it the model as she is low on power maybe more fuel is being consumed to try & get more power.

Carol B · 12-11-2021 3:49pm

I'm old school miles & gallons & my bank works in €s not litres LOL, I'll keep digging thanks for your help.

magicbastarder · 12-11-2021 4:13pm

does your car have any sort of trip computer or average fuel consumption display?

[Deleted User] · 12-11-2021 4:15pm

Petrol I assume?

I can only say in my limited experience of petrol and diesel that driving "style" seems to affect consumption more in a petrol. When I had a 1.8 diesel Ford It usually hovered around 8L/100km with mixed driving, could get it down around 6L/100km on long runs and if I had a week or two in the winter of short runs and letting the car warm up etc. it could nudge over 10L/100km.

With the 1 litre petrol I have now with normal mixed driving I get roughly the same consumption as I got from the diesel. Higher consumption on motorway runs though. I tend to have a fairly light foot day-to-day. The major thing I've noticed though is that it only takes a little bit of driving like a dick or booting it for a couple of minutes and it absolutely drinks the petrol.

If you're keeping it under 2k RPM and being conservative then I'd consider that kind of fuel usage very much on the high side. Otherwise it's on the upper end of normal I would have thought.

magicbastarder · 12-11-2021 4:17pm

there's a saying that one of the biggest influences on your fuel consumption is your mood.

Atlantic Dawn · 12-11-2021 4:18pm

X a week is no way to measure.

Fill the tank with fuel, reset the trip computer, drive until the low fuel warning light comes on, then refill car and check how many km's were covered, this will give the fuel consumption in an accurate figure.

Outside this, first thing I would check would be tyres are not poorly inflated and car has been recently serviced.

dePeatrick · 12-11-2021 4:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118156437#Comment_118156437

I’m driving about 24 miles a day mixed driving, getting 50 mpg now but that was 40 mpg until I changed my driving style. It’s a 1.4 Golf petrol.

Just to add I did a Dipitane treatment around same time I changed driving style and I think that helped a lot too.

Buddy Bubs · 14-11-2021 1:07pm

35 litres for 225kms is 15.5 litres per 100kms or 18.8 mpg but I'd wager you do more driving outside of your commute.

I'd be expecting about 30mpg in mixed driving in an older astra (if it is older) which would get you 315kms for 35 litres. I know you work in miles so if you do an extra 50 to 60 miles in the week you are getting 30mpg. In which case, car is probably fine. Your 60 euro is only buying you the same amount of petrol 40 euro or so was buying a while back.

Miscreant · 15-11-2021 5:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118155972#Comment_118155972

Oops.... You are right so it is double the consumption I had calculated..... 18ish MPG is a scandal for a 1.4 petrol for sure if this is the true extent of the mileage in the car. There must be more travel than just work and back for the OP, otherwise the car is running incredibly rich and should stink of fuel while going down the road.

For the OP: If it is only work mileage you are doing for the week, then you most definitely need to get the car checked out by a mechanic. That much fuel being pumped into the engine is not good and I would imagine a lot of it isn't being burned off completely, thereby potentially ruining the catalytic converter in the car as well. That would be a pretty big bill to sort!

JCN12 · 18-11-2021 2:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118156578#Comment_118156578

OP - you can buy an ultra gauge that plugs into your OBD, if your car does not have the consumption delta.

You'll see very quickly where you are using up the fuel. 🙂

JCN12 · 18-11-2021 6:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118156694#Comment_118156694

Definitely agree with driving style. I'm getting about 50 mog out of Octavia 1.4 petrol (non turbo) now too.

Fuel consumption

Comments