Today I had a trip over to the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh with clothes and stuff for my mother-in-law, who is currently a patient there. When I joined the A92 dual carriageway at Kirkcaldy, I joined behind an empty HGV flatbed with one of those considerable cranes behind the cab, an ideal vehicle for drafting. I followed it along the A92, M90, M9 and M8, all the way to Hermiston Gait, keeping 3 to 5 seconds behind it, at speeds of between 50 – 55 mph. When we parted company, my ScanGauge E showed 58.5 mpg for the 28-mile trip. Without the help of the HGV, I would have expected 48 mpg, at best. Unfortunately, I spoiled my excellent work by driving for 5 miles, on the return journey, in 4th gear instead of 5th. The engine is so quiet, and with the fan on position four, trying to get some cool air into the car, it was an easy mistake.
I topped up the tank on my return, and this tank full returned 56.7 mpg. It looks like my all-weather tyres are not impacting my fuel consumption.
My average for my last ten tankfuls worked out at 51.3 mpg (Fuelly figure). That is from 10th December 2020. So throughout the winter, with all the rain and The Beast From the East 2, a total distance of 3,600 miles. Since the Lockdown started after Christmas, I have clocked up 3,000 miles, which I would rather I hadn’t.