Its relative to the performance I'm sure and acceptable to me for what the car is capable of. A 3litre six speed auto with a 155mph top end isn't really built to compete with the 2litre diesels out there on fuel consumption. My point was just that high mpg cant/shouldn't be expected out of the bigger 'performance diesels' unless you drive like a pensioner on a Sunday, and even then its a big ask.
I don't doubt it Zimbo, the 5 speed box is superior in every way to the new 7 speed boxes, yes the dsg box is far more advanced but I think to the detriment. I had a clk 280 with that 5 speed and it was awesome, when I got one with the 7 speed it was a totally different animal - it didn't know whether it was coming or going. Also I don't get the chance to cover the motorway mileage either so even on the 20 mile journey to work it never really gets a chance to stretch its legs fully. How many miles have you done in it out of interest?
ONe of the delights of owning an older car (13 years old now) is that you still pretty much understand it. It's got barely any knobs, only a few basic dials, almost no buttons. It doesn't do much for you, you do it all yourself. I like this. When a mate hired a BMW 5 series, I thought the thing was going to drive itself it was so full of gadgetry. So do these cars get you somewhere faster/more relaxed/with more enjoyment/cheaper than older ones, or are we all in thrall to marketing people like me and their little stories? When I visited the Geneva Motor Show this year, I sat in quite a few cars (well, once you're there...) and was extremely underwhelmed with most of them. I still think the interior is one of the most important bits, after all, that's the bit you spend all the time in, sitting in jams or slow-moving traffic. The total engine performance, in somewhere as congested as the UK seems to be almost a secondary consideration.
In short, yes. 5 series has to be one of the most comfortable cars you can drive, and can do hours in the saddle and still be fairly stress free and fresh when you arrive. More and more economy and comfort are being designed in, as although speed sells to some still, its far less important than Clarkson would have you beleve.
I've just retired my '04 205,000 mile Audi A4 1.9TDI Avant, still with its original clutch, battery and exhaust. Like Bradders, I spend large slices of my working life ploughing up and down the nation's highways which gives the opportunity for respectable mpg figures. About 12 months ago, after leaving the 50mph average speed section around Luton, I noted I'd got an average of 64mpg with A roads and fast motorway driving leading into the miles of camera controlled 50 limit. Being in no rush, I wondered if, by sticking to 50-ish, I could get the mpg up to 70 by the time I got back to Liverpool. I stroked it along and simply paid attention to when I needed to add fuel to progress and eventually turned off the motorway at my exit with the average for the journey showing 70.3mpg... 642 miles on a tank and not yet on reserve - so it can be done - maybe just the once! The 2wd Evoque returns approx 47mpg on relaxed (70-80mph) runs, 40/42mpg paying less attention (70-90mph) and has delivered 51mpg on a 'lazy' 200 mile trip.
This thread seems to be full of guys going on about how good their fuel economy figures are when they drive really slowly in their cars. I thought I must have strayed into the wrong forum entirely, or I was dreaming.
OK Pete, I'll rise to your challenge. I've got a Subaru Forester 2.0 petrol and I am lucky to get anything over 25MPG. Less if I thrash the tits off it. As much as 30 on a long slow run I'm told but I've never tried that so I've no idea if it's true. Wasting the world's resources one tank at a time
Well I've started driving the Alfa slowly. I suspect the motor comes into its own after 4000 rpm, but unfortunately, that will have it drinking like a fish. You'll end up getting somewhere a few minutes earlier and paying hugely more for those saved minutes. It's just not worth it. I now I carry on making progress on the bike, and just pootle around in the car. Still faster than most people, it would appear, but I am more interested in my journeys costing as little as possible. I noticed that the difference in fuel economy on the motorway from 70mph to 85 was enormous, so now I just bumble along at 70, getting overtaken by everyone. As if I car. At least I'm not camped out in the middle lane. Better sound from the stereo at 70 too - less engine noise.
Same with my a4 avant. Keeping to speed limits and driving sensibly I could do Salisbury to hull and back twice before filling up. Always gave at least 600 to a tank, even with town driving. Got me thinking now why I got rid of it. Oh, that's why, everything else started breaking.
That's interesting Sev, I am close to changing mine and was considering a 250cdi with the 7 speed auto, haven't driven one yet. The current 5 speed is just coming up to 100,000 miles and has definitely improved with miles, it's far easier to average 50mpg now than when it had 50,000 on it. Best i've seen is 66, all long runs on motorways / dual carriageways. Shorter journeys, or in stop / start traffic, it only manages around 40mpg.
That's really impressive Zimbo. I know that the merc diesels historically can take anything up to 20k to really come into their own, so your improvement at 100,000 comes as no surprise. I saw an old merc once with 500,000 on the clock and the block had never been cracked open once, the owner just changed oil on it religiously. I think you should try the 7 speed as with long runs on motorways and carriageways it just gets into its rhythm and probably would do really well. Admittedly I see 40 when its all fully warmed up but never really more than this but mine are all short journeys and stop start. One thing I found was that compared to the 5 speed, the 7 speed boxes dance up and down the gearbox a lot more when it comes to B roads and back roads where you're constantly varying throttle speeds and braking. I'd definitely go for the 250 over the 220, as the extra few horsepower does help in this respect, and so far I've found the fuel consumption difference negligible. I've got a few long motorway hauls coming up in the next few weeks so I'll be able to see what it's really like after a proper long run.
BMW 1 series is great. Little small but I know quite a few who drive them and race about them. Head and shoulders above A3 etc apparently
bmw is shoite.......rear wheel drive..........ultimate driving machine, my arse! all that technical crap just to try to get it to drive in the crap weather......a volvo is better.......let alone an audi quattro of some description.
