Is the MK4 more economical in urban driving?

[Bristol_Crosstar]

According to the excellent video on another thread explaining how the drive works the ICE direct drive only occurs between roughly 62 and 75 mph as it only has one gear and that's using it at it's most efficient. Outside that range it's in hybrid mode (or EV mode at lower speeds or going downhill). I think any speed below 60 mph is pretty good in terms of economy, not much in it anywhere in that range.

[Jazzik]

Really useful figures Jazzik. Full hybrids like the Jazz, Yaris etc seem to fit my driving profile completely. I would also benefit from the extra torque.

But a bit strange that the post with those figures seems to have been removed... 
Overactive moderator?

[John Ratsey]

According to the excellent video on another thread explaining how the drive works the ICE direct drive only occurs between roughly 62 and 75 mph as it only has one gear and that's using it at it's most efficient.

Points 1 and 2 at https://clubjazz.org/forum/index.php?topic=12223.msg84912#msg84912 summarise my observations from July last year. You can see for yourself by setting the right mode on the multifunction display. Something I noticed is that while in direct drive there's often a small power flow to or from the battery which to balance the power produced by the engine with the power needed to move the vehicle plus there appears to be deliberate modest charging of the battery up to the 70% limit.

[Kenneve]

Yesterday, I made my usual trip to see my wife in the local care home, a journey of roughly 9 miles.
The trip is normally by local roads around the Solihull, West Midlands area and usually returns around mid 60s Mpg.
However, traffic was backed up around the town and I elected to take the M42 route, somewhat longer but hopefully quicker.
Big Mistake!!  traffic between junction 4 - 6, was virtually stationary, moving perhaps a couple of yards at a time.
So, the 9 mile trip eventually took over an hour.
However what was amazing was a recorded fuel consumption of 86.2 mpg.
Whereas with the previous cars, consumption would have been hit hard by the traffic congestion, it seems that the Jazz Hybrid seems to thrive on such conditions.
I guess this is due to the fact that the engine is stopped when the car is stationary and the slow movement forward is mostly in EV mode.
The return journey was by the normal route and returned 66.4 Mpg.

[Karoq]

As previously mentioned, my recent test drive round Poole in a Crosstar. 10 miles including 2 miles aT 70 on dual carriageway and FULL beans up a 1/4 mile 1:6 hill, resulted in overall average of 71MPG. In 'B' "Normal' all the time.

[sportse]

Much more economical.

Sustained 70mph for long periods gets me a regular 52mpg.

Whereas urban/slower roads below 50mph gets 60-70mpg.

Always D mode unless going down steep hills, always normal mode unless the low fuel light is on.

[Hugh R]

When comparing mpg it might be useful if people could state if they were in eco or normal mode and also in 'N' or 'B' drive.

[Kenneve]

Nearly always in ‘B’ mode and usually in ECO mode.

[peteo48]

On the fibometer my MK 4 is showing 60.1 mpg (that's after 135 miles). This seems quite a bit less than some others are getting but it is between 10 and 15 mpg more than my Mk3 would be showing in a similar driving cycle.

For me, the big downer is the colder weather. This means the engine fires up every time I start the car presumably to avoid overloading the battery as the heater kicks in.

So very short stop/start stuff is still going to be a downer. If I did the stop/start stuff but on longer trips I'm sure the mpg would increase accordingly. It's the 1.5 mile trip to the supermarket that kills my mpg.

I use B all the time on short local trips. I have "toyed" with the Econ button but haven't used it long enough to see if it works - what I can say is that there is no noticeable affect on acceleration so I might use this as a matter of course from now on.

Over the just under 2 years I owned my Mk3 I got a real average mpg of 43.3. I suspect I'm looking at about an extra 10 mpg - probably more - from the MK4.

I'll take that. More economical, quieter and faster - what's not to like (apart from safety feature obvs!)?

[Expatman]

On the fibometer my MK 4 is showing 60.1 mpg (that's after 135 miles). This seems quite a bit less than some others are getting but it is between 10 and 15 mpg more than my Mk3 would be showing in a similar driving cycle.

For me, the big downer is the colder weather. This means the engine fires up every time I start the car presumably to avoid overloading the battery as the heater kicks in.

The cabin is heated by the engine only, there is no ‘electric' cabin heating so when the temperature falls then the engine will kick in to heat the cabin and to keep it warm as you drive along.

[peteo48]

Yep - you're right come to think of it.

[Bristol_Crosstar]

More economical to use the heated seat(s) than climate if that is sufficient

[Expatman]

More economical to use the heated seat(s) than climate if that is sufficient

Depends how hardy you are!

[Jocko]

Here. south of Edinburgh, it has not yet been cold enough to require the heating on. The only time mine has been on is when the windscreen fogs up, and once that's clear, it is back to cold air.

[Kremmen]

I assume the Jazz is the same as other aircon systems in that it needs the climate on regularly to maintain the compressor seals.

I just drive the car as normal and use the climate set to 21.5c all year round and I'll take whatever MPG it gives me.