C200 true mpg

[Ken fowler]

Hey all

New to the site so please forgive me if I am posting in the wrong place or asking the same old question!

I am thinking of buying a c200d for private hire use and am concerned about the true mpg!

When I first saw the car on the forecourt I checked the average mpg and it said 40! I sat in another and it said 30.3! I understand it will differ due to the driving circumstances but don’t know how these previous owners drove.

The salesman says to expect 50 around town, 45 at worst so why do both those I sat in say less than the worst case scenario? You don’t get much worse than full time in town at a snails pace so how can they be so low?

The cars are gorgeous and meet my needs in every way but this is a 5 year commitment and I don’t want to regret buying it.

Anyone driving a c200d as a private hire or personal use in town fairly continuously and know a real mpg that I could go on? I am looking at a 16 or 17 plate.

Honest John seems to say average around 50 but is that one person or 100 - who knows!

I took it for a 4 mile test around the city having (reset the trip first) and got 27mpg but I am not sure if this is a true test.

All help appreciated

Ken

 

[LostKiwi]

When looking at trip computers look at the mpg over distance covered. You can make these read almost anything you want by carefully calculated resetting.
For example a 5 litre V8 would never do 50mpg but reset the trip at the top of a hill and coast down and it'll show that kind of figure at the bottom.
Likewise idle a diesel for half an hour after resetting the trip and driving 5 miles and will show low figures.

Go back to the dealer, ask for a test drive, do a representative loop and see what it shows. That will give you a pretty good idea of mpg.

 

[Ken fowler]

When looking at trip computers look at the mpg over distance covered. You can make these read almost anything you want by carefully calculated resetting.
For example a 5 litre V8 would never do 50mpg but reset the trip at the top of a hill and coast down and it'll show that kind of figure at the bottom.
Likewise idle a diesel for half an hour after resetting the trip and driving 5 miles and will show low figures.

Go back to the dealer, ask for a test drive, do a representative loop and see what it shows. That will give you a pretty good idea of mpg.

Thanks for advice
I did a 4 mile loop and it showed 27mpg which is far below anything else anyone has suggested

 

[Blobcat]

For town driving you’ll get nowhere near the manufactures figures. What are you currently using and what are you getting from that?

Trip computers are unreliable, tank to tank is the only true test.

I think if you’re just doing short town work you’ll only be in the 30’s

 

[JimmyTheJock]

It's enlightening when you compare 'real' driving with manufacturer values.

My partner has had a C160 Sports Coupe from new about 13 years ago and over 36,000 miles only gets about 24mpg around town and 35mpg on a long motorway trip while I can easily get 40+ mpg on the motorway. It's all down to how smoothly you drive.

My SLK200 has averaged about 34mpg over it's 12 years and 67,000 miles but on a 110 mile trip from Chester to Bangor and back I averaged 48.5mpg when I tried very hard to drive it economically.

If you are easy on the brakes as well as the accelerator then the difference in mpg may surprise you.

Don't forget once the engine is warm and also in summer you will generally get better mpg figures.

 

[umblecumbuz]

If you are easy on the brakes as well as the accelerator then the difference in mpg may surprise you.

There's the key!
It's not so much what you drive as how you drive that makes the difference.

My father, back in the day, taught me to drive. His mantra for economy was to accelerate with a (hypothetical) egg under your foot, and to count every time you touched the brakes as a demerit.

I'm still working off the demerits!

 

[Blobcat]

There's the key!
It's not so much what you drive as how you drive that makes the difference.

My father, back in the day, taught me to drive. His mantra for economy was to accelerate with a (hypothetical) egg under your foot, and to count every time you touched the brakes as a demerit.

I'm still working off the demerits!

I only brake for UFO’s so my economy is pretty good.

Those who stamp on the gas away from the lights then hard on the brakes at the next set might not be doing many miles but they’re killing their fuel economy and wearing their car out prematurely.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Welcome, honest John also says on average over all c class real life figures were 71% of manufacturers claimed mpg which is about right I think