Fuel consumption takes a hammering with short journeys

Alan_uk

Alan_uk

A2OC Donor
I've had my A2 6 years now and changes in work and family circumstances etc have meant different travel patterns.

The trend has been from (I recall) of typical return journeys of a mix of 60mls or 150mls to recently just a few miles (I know I should walk and that short journeys are not good for the engine).

This has been starkly shown over the last 6 months where I have only done 823 miles. The mpg has fallen to 44 :( My average over the 6 years is now down to 59 mpg

Here are the May figures showing the miles travelled and average over the last 12 months plus the average since 2005
_____ Period_____Miles 12mnths__Mpg 12mnths__Mpg since 2005
May 2005 to 2006 -- 10,639 miles -- 61.52 mpg ---- 60.30 mpg
May 2006 to 2007 -- 8,872 miles -- 63.11 mpg ---- 61.45 mpg
May 2007 to 2008 -- 9,502 miles -- 59.29 mpg ---- 60.76 mpg
May 2008 to 2009 -- 8,413 miles -- 57.04 mpg ---- 59.92 mpg
May 2009 to 2010 -- 8,169 miles -- 58.10 mpg ---- 59.60 mpg
May 2010 to 2011 -- 2,095 miles -- 48.69 mpg ---- 59.03 mpg

Needs another life style change to get back to 60 mpg - time to retire and tour Europe ;)

Details in the google spreadsheet - link below
 
on the other hand, using the number you provided, you have burnt 173 gallons of diesel between 2005-2006 vs only a quarter, 43 gallons in 2010-2011! I don't remember how much diesel was back then, but it couldn't have been 1/4 of 2010/2011. Besides, you've (proportionally) produced 1/4 of CO2 and other harmful gases into the atmosphere :) All in all, it looks like a good thing for the planet and your wallet. :)
 
I've seen the same.

150 mile commute = 70mpg
5 mile committee = 50mpg

I've often found manufacturers stated economy figures hard to achieve but I'm just about there with the A2, on a good day :) But more people need educating that when buying a new car that claims a maximum mpg of 50, they will not achieve it when driving though London in rush hour traffic. With more hybrid cars being sold it's also increasingly important to understand the duty cycle the test figures are achieved with vs. the owner's real world driving.
 
There was one chap on the TDIClub forum who was complaining that he wasn't getting the official figures ... city driving at -20c in Canada!
 
Get a bike and cycle those short journeys - not only will your MPG improve, your fuel bills will fall and you'll also have the massive benefit of regular exercise :)

We all should really know that short urban stop-start journeys are a killer for MPG, but it is very useful to be reminded of this and to actually see the impact on numbers.
Also as important is the impact of cruising speed on MPG and where the "sweet spot" is on the A2. It feels to me that once you get much over 60mph in the A2 the economy plummets markedly - so there's a balancing act there of how much extra time you want to spend sitting on the motorway vs the poorer fuel consumption!
 
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