a140 mpg

[chrispbug]

Can anybody tell me what to expect from a standard 03 plate A140 ?
At the moment I'm doing about 250 miles per week back and fore to work and am quite sursprised to be only getting 35 mpg from my car.
Is this about right ?

 

[hawk20]

Depends how fast you drive (80 uses a lot more than 70 etc), how much you accelerate, and how much traffic you are in. I get over 50mpg from my A180cdi auto and my brother gets over 60 from his A160cdi manual but most people with the A140 petrol get around 40 on a run I think.

For a day or two try accelerating gently (only use one inch of accelerator movement), and cruise at a max of 70 (indicated 72/3). See what that achieves. Check your tyres are 31 psi all round.

 

[psmart]

My A140 classic, manual, if I drive it carefully, no more than 60mph, gentle acceleration, I get circa 46mpg tank-to-tank test. Last tank-to-tank test, flat out, it achieved ~28mpg. Driving the 15mins to work each morning in stop start traffic, the tank empties at an alarming rate. I havent bothered to test it, but circa 30 would be optimistic (70miles on 1/4 tank so far this week).

Ive noticed before that small engines are generally not as economical as you would think, and the A140 proves this. If you want the economy, drive the car gently and avoid traffic and harsh accelerating (which I tend to do when commuting)!

 

[stu99]

Ive noticed before that small engines are generally not as economical as you would think, and the A140 proves this.

Not sure that I would agree. The average mpg in my A150 (manual) since new (now on 24,000 miles) is 43.5 mpg which represents a combination of urban and motorway driving.

However, I would agree that driving habits are a big influence and depending on how I drive, the range can be between 36mpg and 48 mpg. I also notice that consumption goes up in winter (42 mpg) and down in summer (45 mpg) - not sure how this can be explained.

 

[hawk20]

I also notice that consumption goes up in winter (42 mpg) and down in summer (45 mpg) - not sure how this can be explained.

The air is denser and so offers more resistance to forward motion.
The engine takes longer to warm up from lower temperatures.
You burn fuel to keep the car warm via the heater and maybe heated seats.

 

[psmart]

Not sure that I would agree. The average mpg in my A150 (manual) since new (now on 24,000 miles) is 43.5 mpg which represents a combination of urban and motorway driving.

I had a Seicento,1.1 Multipoint injection, weighed 750kg, but mpg was if anything, worse than the A-Class. Driving style is a major factor, but underpowered cars have to be worked harder to keep up with the flow (unless you dont mind holding everyone up), hence the lower mpg. Big engined cars, you hardly need to work them, hence my statement about smaller engines.

 

[Blobcat]

I had a Seicento,1.1 Multipoint injection, weighed 750kg, but mpg was if anything, worse than the A-Class. Driving style is a major factor, but underpowered cars have to be worked harder to keep up with the flow (unless you dont mind holding everyone up), hence the lower mpg. Big engined cars, you hardly need to work them, hence my statement about smaller engines.

Maybe you could get a V6 3.0 Diesel in there You wouldn't have to touch the throttle at all, however I would recommend upgrading the brakes...

 

[psmart]

Maybe you could get a V6 3.0 Diesel in there You wouldn't have to touch the throttle at all, however I would recommend upgrading the brakes...

Lock your car up..... you might have a 1.1i Petrol in it tomorrow morning

Unfortunately, the Seicento, and the motorhome have gone the way of the dodo! The two most reliable vehicles Ive had in the last 5 years and I opted to keep the Mercedes!!!! Perhaps we should start a thread on Unreliable Mercedes cars?

chrispbug - if you dont need them, take out the back seats, there quite heavy and when removed, economy is better and so is performance! I had to do a 500mile round trip this weekend to move some equipment and on the journey there with the car empty, on the Tom Tom, I got 184km/h briefly, but could maintain 178km/h, which is 110mph, not bad for a 104mph car!

 

[Blobcat]

Lock your car up..... you might have a 1.1i Petrol in it tomorrow morning !

Hmmm..

chrispbug - if you dont need them, take out the back seats, there quite heavy and when removed, economy is better and so is performance! I had to do a 500mile round trip this weekend to move some equipment and on the journey there with the car empty, on the Tom Tom, I got 184km/h briefly, but could maintain 178km/h, which is 110mph, not bad for a 104mph car!

I took the rear seats out of the Caravelle yesterday and it is just about as much as 2 people can lift so once I've moved the lathe and associated equipment up to my father I should get decent economy on the way back. If I can live without them in I may leave them out for awhile. Only problem then is when I need the 7 seats. Still I can always ratchet strap the kids down.