Fuel Consumption

[stani]

What is your average fuel consumption?

I don't really like mine: 5,3 l (44,38 mpg). I've driven about 600 km (373 mil), 70% in the city.
It is also interesting that consumption dropped from about 5,9 l (39,87 mpg) to the current 5,3 l (44,38 mpg), mainly when driving outside the city, although it should be the other way around.
In the city I drive on "B"+"ECON". Outside the city on "D"+"ECON".  I ride with a "light foot".
Am I doing something wrong?

But the biggest shock was when I first took the car from the dealer. I drove about 200 km (124 mil), again with a “light foot”, only a small part on the highway. And at the end of the trip it showed me an incredible 8,2 l (28,68 mpg)!

[ninanina]

I have the same thing stani

I mostly drive short distances in the city and it ruins the mpg as the engine hardly has time to warm up

As soon as I drive out of the city the mpg shoots up

The best mpg I’ve seen is about 74 which was part city, part A roads and part motorway and a much longer run too

I wouldn’t worry about it too much

[FMIB]

Not checked the average for quite some time, but last time I did it was around 56mpg. The main use of my Jazz is very short 2-3 mile trips in and out of town, with the very(rare) occasional longer drive.
Consumption on cold starts during short journeys hurts the average, at times in the winter trips  can be mid 30's, whilst other trips I see 60's or low 70's with an all time high of 109mpg over 10 miles.

If the car is new, give it some time for the engine to loosen up a bit and I would switch off ECON mode as in my opinion it just forces you to press the accelerator harder. If you really are a light footed driver, you will do better with it off.
I use D most of the time to gain distance off throttle and pull it into B when slowing down for junctions, traffic lights, roundabouts etc to regain energy into the battery.

[Marmoset]

What is your average fuel consumption?

I don't really like mine: 5,3 l (44,38 mpg). I've driven about 600 km (373 mil), 70% in the city.
It is also interesting that consumption dropped from about 5,9 l (39,87 mpg) to the current 5,3 l (44,38 mpg), mainly when driving outside the city, although it should be the other way around.
In the city I drive on "B"+"ECON". Outside the city on "D"+"ECON".  I ride with a "light foot".
Am I doing something wrong?

But the biggest shock was when I first took the car from the dealer. I drove about 200 km (124 mil), again with a “light foot”, only a small part on the highway. And at the end of the trip it showed me an incredible 8,2 l (28,68 mpg)!

I've done over 30,000 miles and for the last 25,000 or so miles, I've averaged 72mpg.

When I first got the car, the mpg figure was much lower.  Two factors: the car took some distance to run more efficiently and I learned how to drive it more economically. 

I never use the ECON button.  If you drive it as you want to drive it, the ECON button simply makes you drive with a heavier foot.  The car itself only needs the very lightest of touches with the foot.  My daughter, used to bigger, more luxurious cars, found the car to be surprisingly quick off the mark.  She was accustomed to using more foot pressure in her Mercedes, Jaguar and Range Rover.

I drive mostly in B mode, aiming to get as much of the regenerative charge into the battery, so that the ICE engine doesn't have to do all the work. 

The biggest part of driving economically for me is keeping my cruise speed quite low.  Trucks cover great distances at lower speeds.  I avoid driving as though I'm in a rush and will usually relax into driving at the same speed as trucks.  Obviously, this style of driving won't suit everybody, but I find it more relaxing and less tiring. 

[Downsizer]

Stani - your picture shows a full tank (say 40 litres) and a range of 978 km. This suggests that the car thinks your consumption will be 4.1 l/ 100km (69 mpg). This does not square with the 8.2 shown for the last 240 km. Have you had some extreme weather conditions? What consumption can you calculate from your fuel purchases?

[stani]

Stani - your picture shows a full tank (say 40 litres) and a range of 978 km. This suggests that the car thinks your consumption will be 4.1 l/ 100km (63 mpg). This does not square with the 8.2 shown for the last 240 km. Have you had some extreme weather conditions? What consumption can you calculate from your fuel purchases?

Then I filled up the tank at the end of the trip.
Driving conditions were normal.
The next time I fill up, I'll write down the data and check the actual fuel consumption.
But it is quite possible that it could be software.

[Downsizer]

I’ve just corrected my dodgy arithmetic- 4.1 l/100 km = 69 mpg.

[stani]

I've done over 30,000 miles and for the last 25,000 or so miles, I've averaged 72mpg.

I drive mostly in B mode, aiming to get as much of the regenerative charge into the battery, so that the ICE engine doesn't have to do all the work. 

"B" both outside the city and on the highway?

[ahavoja]

When my Crosstar was new, it also estimated around 1000 km range with a full tank. But since then the estimate has become lower, and nowadays it shows 700-800 km estimated full tank range. For the last 500 km my consumption has been 4.6 l/100 km according to the car, mostly at a speed of 50 km/h around city.

[ahavoja]

I have a theory: Maybe when your car was new, it had been idling a lot at the dealership, burning petrol without moving anywhere. That could explain your high initial consumption 8.2 l/100km. The car has calculated this 8.2 l/100km averaged over the first 240 km that the car has ever driven. Now that you have driven more (600 km), the average has dropped to 5.3 l/100km.

I suggest to reset the trip meter, so the car would start calculating the average consumption from scratch, removing the possible effects of whatever happened at the dealership.

[stani]

ahavoja: that's a good observation, maybe that was really the case. Because this Jazz was the only one at the dealer.

[coldstart]

I never use the ECON button.  If you drive it as you want to drive it, the ECON button simply makes you drive with a heavier foot.

The accelerator pedal is not directly connected to the engine. It is merely an input device to let the motor control unit know your wishes. Pressing the ECON button changes the characteristic of the accelerator which means you have to depress it further to achieve the same level of acceleration.
This doesn't mean that you are using more power! - It just makes driving with a light foot easier.

ECON mode further somewhat moderates the climate control which in hot weather lowers the power consumption as well.

@stani:  I have found that cabin heat is a major spoil sport for fuel economy especially on short trips because it forces the ICE to keep running longer than necessary just to provide heat. It is more economical to use the seat heating and the heated steering wheel instead (if you have it).

Another "killer" for good MPG is speed. I've just returned from a 500 mile motorway trip to southern France and that has knocked off some miles from my average MPG. I keep one of my recordings on https://www.spritmonitor.de (just to show off)

[stani]

coldstart: so what do you advise? Use ECON or not? Use "B" (in the city/everywhere) or not?

[coldstart]

coldstart: so what do you advise? Use ECON or not? Use "B" (in the city/everywhere) or not?

Well, it all probably boils down to personal taste...

I have now done 19'000 miles in ECON mode within close to two years of ownership (with probably less than a handfull of exceptions in NORMAL when I felt the rare need for a very speedy takeoff).

My "sturm and drang" period is well over and I prefer a relaxed and anticipatory driving style which incidentally is quite beneficial to fuel economy.

So, my choice is very clear: ECON mode "for the win" and B-mode selectively when stronger decelaration is needed (like in dense stop and go traffic, going downhill or whenever in need to slow down more than D-mode offers).

You will have to experiment for yourself, what best suits your preferred driving style.
This is part of the "myth" that a new car has to "adapt" - imho, it is the driver who needs to adapt his/her habits to the car

[Downsizer]

I use B except when I want cruise control, which requires D. I have used Econ since new, and haven’t tried driving without it.