X-rated Bob wrote:
British data, so convert miles to Km and ... don't know what to do about the pence as it's not just the exchange rate but the price of fuel, but understand that there is a measurable amount of money involved.
To help drivers understand better the impact of winter driving on their fuel bills, the AA Fuel for Thought campaign offers the following facts:
• The heated rear window uses around two per cent extra fuel. If both the front and rear heated screens are used the increase in fuel consumption equates to six per cent as heated front screens consume more power than the rear screen.
• Even at a relatively mild outside temperature of +10C, a car's fuel consumption for the first mile will be around 40 per cent higher than with a warmed-up engine. This falls to around 16 per cent over the next three miles and, even up to 6.5 miles from start-up, fuel consumption can be 8 per cent higher.
• The increase in fuel consumption due to cold weather is similar for both diesel and petrol cars. AA tests show extra fuel use after 1 mile and 3 miles respectively are:
typical small petrol car – 34% and 17%
medium petrol car – 38% and 16%
small diesel car – 32% and 12%
medium diesel car – 43% and 18%
• For demisting windows and getting the cabin comfortable, basic air conditioning on a small car can increase fuel consumption by up to 10 per cent. A more powerful petrol engine will suffer less, as will a larger diesel.
• Getting stuck in a traffic jam is another daily problem with winter driving. Even with a warmed-up engine, a petrol car can lose at least two-thirds to three-quarters of a litre of fuel every hour, or 1.2 to 1.4p a minute. A diesel car can lose a third to half a litre of fuel an hour, or 0.6 to 1.0p a minute.
I'm a scuba diver and drove down to Sodwana with a Jaguar X type2.2L diesel engine. The on-board computer shows the average consumption from 0 Km to current distance travelled. I had to follow a school bus which could not go faster than 70Km per. So including stop time for lunch and filling up (the bus, not the Jag) and visit to the loo once and a while it took us the whole day to get there. At that speed leaving JHB and arriving at Sodwana the compute indicated a average consumption of 4.5L/100km. Not bad for a fully loaded Jag with 4 people, a bunch of cylinders and diving gear in the booth.
In town the jag uses about 7.4 on average and according too the on-board computer average consumption is 6.1 L/100km over a 10,000km distance.
I think smaller diesel engines driving the same trip and driving the way I drive should go below 3L/100km. Give me diesel anytime.
