Citroen BX diesel automatic.

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Post by citsncycles »

My 19RD estate used to get between 45 and 55mpg, but I tended to find that weather conditions and load had more to do with it than speed. When you consider 'loaded' quite often meant a micro caravan full of bicycles or a trailer with a 2CV on it, I'd have been surprised if there wasn't a difference.
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Post by Kitch »

anaconda wrote:How on earth is a non turbo diesel slow? So the acceleration isnt particularly impressive. That would only really be felt on town based journeys when accelerating every stop/start . If you were on a long haul this would be virtually irrelevant - it\'s comfortable at 80 mph all day.

This is an ideal car for long journeys at high speeds. I really dont get it. What is this imaginary problem some people have? Go for your turbo diesels of you like. No problem. But for long drives the turbo makes virtually sod all difference.
Simple. Different people have different opinions on what is slow and what is fast.
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Post by anaconda »

Speed is obviously the same in any car, the only difference I can see is acceleration. I can see this impacting in town as you're up and down the gear box, but on a long haul its 'cruise control' mostly.
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Post by Des Smith »

Kitch wrote:Simple. Different people have different opinions on what is slow and what is fast.
I think the perception of speed is also influenced by geography. I used to live in Bournemouth, where 20mph is fast; in London it's slow.

In Bournemouth, direction is also a matter of opinion, as some inhabitants seem to indicate left when they want turn right and vice-versa. I survived a few years there trying to avoid collisions with slow moving vehicles with a penchant for changing direction quite unpredictably and it marked me for life!

Ultimately, your conception of fast and slow is down to expectation, and if you have a diesel auto you probably don't expect to accelerate quickly so it's not a problem. Even if you have got bags of horsepower, you tend not to use much of it, most of the time.

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Post by MULLEY »

Andy, so you're basically calling me a liar, nice, i've gotten 810 miles out of a tank, so you work it out. Just because you can't manage to better that, then don't start saying its impossible. Even my 40 mile commute to work i can get 50-53mpg, so on a run i do surprisingly get more. I would imagine that if i drove even slower i'd get even more mpg. Try driving differently if you can be arsed :roll:
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Post by Philip Chidlow »

I'd be interested to know Mulley, your tips on geting the most out of your tank of diesel. I drove back from Lincolnshire today at an average of 62.66 mph and was driving, in a slightly spirited fashion, and when conditions allowed, at between a TomTom indicated 71-79mph (sorry officer!)... I did a refuel at the end and reckon I got 44mpg. Seems appalling by your standards :?

Tell me where I'm going wrong :lol: :lol: :lol: :roll:
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Post by MULLEY »

I try & keep the revs to a max of 2k when going up the gears & again try not to get above 3k in 5th gear when at speed. I think what kills fuel economy is lots of braking & acceleration, try & be as smooth as possible on both, progress doesn't seem to be all that much slower tbh & i get much better economy than gunning it.

Also when coming upto traffic lights that are red, i just come off the throttle well in advance & time it so that i can stay in as high a gear as possible whilst the lights turn green. Occasionally i'll do a bit of coasting down hills as well where possible.

I rarely need to change down to 1st gear, i'm usually trundling in 2nd, so again that saves fuel, i'm always amazed at how often people come to a full stop & then blast off in 1st gear, thats what kills decent economy.

I don't feel as though i'm driving all that slow, i keep to the speed limits & just time things better than other drivers, so i rarely have to take much speed off for roundabouts & lights & even traffic ahead. Again i'm surprised with how many people see traffic ahead at a standstill & still go racing up behind only to brake last minute, all that fuel wasted as they are still on the throttle & they haven't gotten any further up the road.

Try some of the above & see how you get on, it might prove initially to be a bit strange or akward to do some of them if you aren't used to doing it, but with a bit of practice you'll soon see better mpg.

I also suspect that not all cars are the same due to slight variances on pumps, mileages & how well the engine has been looked after which can mean some cars might struggle to get the higher figures than quoted. But i bet most of it is down to driving style, which i'm guessing most drivers won't realise that they are probably not as efficient at as they 1st thought?
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Post by philhod »

My 19n/a has always done between 45 and 50 either batting down the m/way or knocking about round town.
A couple of years back I took a trip down to Ross on Wye and back from wigan. A mivture of A roads and m/way.
Being in no hurry just on a day out with er in doors, I kept below 75 an the m/way and stuck to 50 or 60 on other roads, slower obviously on some sections.
As this distance was well within a BX's range, tank top to top I averaged just over 59 mpg, without overtly trying to save fuel.

When I had my ZX with the same engine I did 2800 miles over 3 weeks travelling to Sweden and back Each time I filled up I checked the mileage. It ranged from 48 up to 61, So I think the way you drive and the conditions you are driving under are the biggest factors in consumption
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Post by Kitch »

anaconda wrote:Speed is obviously the same in any car, the only difference I can see is acceleration. I can see this impacting in town as you're up and down the gear box, but on a long haul its 'cruise control' mostly.
So on that principle a Fiat 126 is fast enough because it can do a constant 40mph on a road with a 40mph speed limit without the need to accelerate rapidly? If an F1 car could easily do 200mph, but took ages to get there it'd never win a race, because the cars that can out-accelerate it are faster cars. Speed is only one factor of performance, and performance is the key.

Performance is down to a varied number of factors, principly how quickly the car does what you want it to do. An n/a diesel can do 70mph, but it can't get there quickly, relatively speaking. In gear performance isn't great, but then it's not designed to be.

I've always found the n/a's to have a good throttle response for an old diesel though. They can't do much, but what they can do they try hard at. Couldn't say the same of the TD, they always feel laggy and lazy when I drive one.
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Post by Mothman »

MULLEY wrote:Andy, so you're basically calling me a liar, nice, i've gotten 810 miles out of a tank, so you work it out. Just because you can't manage to better that, then don't start saying its impossible. Even my 40 mile commute to work i can get 50-53mpg, so on a run i do surprisingly get more. I would imagine that if i drove even slower i'd get even more mpg. Try driving differently if you can be arsed :roll:
Sorry, bud,
didnt mean to upset you nor call you a liar. Just having a rant as i cannot with my driving style do as well as yourself. Ime not a boy racer but i like the drive diesels hard as i think they are better for it.

Andy
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Post by Tim Leech »

Chill out boys.

I put fuel in when the light comes on........ :wink:
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Post by anaconda »

Doesnt matter what speed I do...the rev counter shows zero. The very definition of Efficient! :D
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Post by Dollywobbler »

Phil - 45mpg doesn't sound good. Green Tiger never dropped below 48 (with occasional forays into the low 50s). I drive briskly, but generally stick to something approaching the motorway limit, but try to lose as little speed as possible when on the B roads (that's my excuse for cornering so quickly, it's good for the environment!).
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Post by ken newbold »

Roverman wrote:Chill out boys.

I put fuel in when the light comes on........ :wink:
I did see that light go out on mine once :lol:
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Post by Kitch »

45mpg is perfectly fine on a 1.9 n/a diesel. The difference between 45mpg and 48mpg could be something as anal as tyre pressures! So many miles and years have passed since the original figures were published it\'s not worth worrying about. I\'ve know people who had a diesel car spend out on fuel filters, getting injectors cleaned, getting pump setup etc.....spending £100\'s of pounds to lift their eceonomy by 3-4mpg. How many years will it take you to claw that £100 back!? if the car runs and drives happily, it is happy.

Over the years with the XUD\'s I\'ve driven, the n/a\'s varied between 45-50mpg and the TD\'s between 35mpg - 45mpg (Xantia\'s were the worst). I\'ve never experienced some of the figures claimed on here (not to say they\'re bullshit, but I must have a heavier foot!) and don\'t spend much time worrying about it.....could be a miscalculation. My Picasso HDi only gets 44-45mpg around down, though it does crack 53mpg (ish) on a run. Could probably get more if I went easy on the throttle, but I do want to get where I\'m going on the same day I leave generally!

I\'ve been using that Fuelly site to work the 16v\'s economy out. I\'m not doing it with anally-rententive accuracy, just on when I put money in it......which is the only bit I\'m bothered about.
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