A160 fuel economy

[jibcl500]

All

My wife wants to sell the 04 A160 due to the poor fuel economy, the car averages about 25 mpg, Ive done some calculations and the manual suggests overall 38 mpg.
This car has never been good on fuel, Ive serviced it with all new filters and plugs etc which helped the performance but not the MPG. The SLK 230k has better economy !!!!!

Does anyone else here have the A160 and what kind of MPG do you get?

Jib

 

[Splatt]

Not the 160 but the 170, since new the overall is 36.8 this is vario trans job.
Most of this motoring is local running about

 

[A210AMG]

Hello

My wife has a A210 AMG and that does close on 40 all the time? last fill up was 38 mpg (worked out)

Even when I use it its good?

Its the older shape though, very lazy engine seems good to us?

 

[Splatt]

Not the 160 but the 170, since new the overall is 36.8 this is vario trans job.
Most of this motoring is local running about

Forgot to sat the 170 is the petrol jobbie not earlier diesel.

 

[stu99]

I'm running a petrol A150 manual and regularly get 45 mpg for some town but mainly motorway driving (average is 43.2 over the past 18 months). Best and worst are 32 and 50mpg respectively

I've noticed a peculiar thing though and that is that mpg is highly dependent on outside temperature and is much worse when temp falls below 10 degrees. What is the explanation for this?

 

[hawk20]

I'm running a petrol A150 manual and regularly get 45 mpg for some town but mainly motorway driving (average is 43.2 over the past 18 months). Best and worst are 32 and 50mpg respectively

I've noticed a peculiar thing though and that is that mpg is highly dependent on outside temperature and is much worse when temp falls below 10 degrees. What is the explanation for this?

Most people seem to get more mpg in summer than winter. Cold engine takes longer to warm up, oil thicker and air denser too. Plus heater working hard to get car warm.

MPG in the first 10 minutes or so is always poor while the engine is cold. Is the A160 petrol used mainly on short runs? Hard acceleration will greatly reduce mpg too.

For comparison, my brother's A160cdi MANUAL regularly tops 65mpg on trips from Bournemouth to the Wirrell and back (600 mile round trip) and has averaged in mixed motoring just over 60mpg over the first 26,000 miles since new in 2005.

My two A180cdis are automatics and regularly get over 50mpg on a run and over 40mpg pottering locally despite traffic etc.

 

[stu99]

Thanks for explanation and comparison.

Actually, I'm happy with 45 mpg which I think is pretty reasonable for an A150 (petrol) - unless of course others are getting better mileage with this engine spec.

 

[jibcl500]

03 A160 petrol 25-28mpg and thats it, will be looking to get rid asap as the wife does about 30k a year.

jib

 

[hawk20]

03 A160 petrol 25-28mpg and thats it, will be looking to get rid asap as the wife does about 30k a year.

jib

Quite clear from other postings that something is wrong. Why not visit an MB dealer and have a thorough check. Could be something quite simple and a lot less than changing the car. BTW are you relying on the computer read-out (can be faulty) or are you doing a tankful to tankful test?

 

[jibcl500]

Our A160 doesnt have a computer onboard so its done from tank to tank, Ive run diags on the car and it shows evrything is working correctly and no faults.
jib

 

[hawk20]

Our A160 doesnt have a computer onboard so its done from tank to tank, Ive run diags on the car and it shows evrything is working correctly and no faults.
jib

I still think you should get a Merc dealer to look at it and ask for their best technical guy. Most groups have a senior diagnostic technician. Our local guy is mustard.

Secondly, have you tried doing a reasonably long journey in it with you driving; since nobody else is reporting the poor economy your wife gets it must either be a fault on the car or -dare I say it- the way it is driven. Amazing how much driving style can affect economy.

 

[jibcl500]

Well I must admit I did use the A class for three days and did 180 miles in it and I didnt think the fuel usage wasnt that bad.

Then on thursday night the wife stopped outside the house to collect me so we could see another A160 CDi at a local garage and whilst following other cars I could see she was constantly on/off with the throttle and not set to one position. I didnt say anything at the time because its not the right time of the month to make comments about ones driving style!!!!


jib

 

[Splatt]

Exercise extreme caution. this could be tricky.

 

[hawk20]

Well I must admit I did use the A class for three days and did 180 miles in it and I didnt think the fuel usage wasnt that bad.

Then on thursday night the wife stopped outside the house to collect me so we could see another A160 CDi at a local garage and whilst following other cars I could see she was constantly on/off with the throttle and not set to one position. I didnt say anything at the time because its not the right time of the month to make comments about ones driving style!!!!


jib

Just visited your website for first time. Hadn't realised you're in the business and would have found a fault if there was one.

It seems what you need is not mechanical knowledge now, but psychological skills.

One thing I have noticed over the years, which might be relevant, is that if people feel their car is a bit underpowered for what they want, then they tend to work the loud pedal a lot more than is good for economy. Sometimes with a bigger engine, they adopt a far more relaxed driving style and oddly get better fuel economy. I only mention this because you mentioned looking at the 160cdi. My brother has one (manual) and the economy rivals a Smart car at 65 mpg on a run. But the 0-62 time is 15 seconds which is not brisk and not as good as a 160 petrol. I think you might find the 180cdi an excellent compromise between performance and economy. It is only 2 mpg less than the 160cdi on economy but close to 10 seconds 0-62mph which feels nice and brisk and the power comes in at very low revs so there is no need to work it hard or rev it high like so many petrols need to give of their best.

 

[jibcl500]

Thanks all for your imput. Yesterday as it was so cold and I had nothing better to do I decided to pull the A apart and see whats going on.

The air filter was pretty dirty, leaves, bugs, dust etc, so gave that a good vacume, service due in 1000 miles so it will get a new one then, I noticed the rubber tube from the throttle body going up is a push on tube, it can pull off easy, so I put a screw clamp on it after cleaning everything took it for a road test and it feels quicker, better throttle response so I will see if this makes a difference.

jib

 

[khughes18]

my a160 auto does about 260 miles to a tank. not impressed.

 

[hawk20]

my a160 auto does about 260 miles to a tank. not impressed.

On a 12 gallon tank that is under 22 mpg.
Compared to your 260 per tankful, I get between 500 and 600 miles per tankful.
Unless you are incredibly heavy footed, something is wrong. When were you last serviced? Was it a proper service with all the jobs done and checks made? I suggest a really good indie with STAR diagnostics or an MB dealer to find the problem and put it right.

Look at it this way. MB servicing (even without the discount they give on older vehicles) costs a bit over 2p per mile. Your fuel cost is 22.7p per mile. Getting that right could save you a packet.

For one tankful try never depressing the accelerator more than one inch (25mm). Works wonders.

 

[slender]

I got home last night from a three day trip around mid Wales in my 57 plate A160 automatic. Two up, boot full of luggage, we averaged 49mpg on the first day which included about 30 miles of motorway to start then twisty A roads before turning off onto single track roads and stop/starting. The second day we drove 70 miles, all on twisty, steep, roads with plenty of stopping and starting, and, according to the trip computer, averaged 15mph and 39mpg. By the time we returned home last night the trip computer was just shy of 50mpg - and a large part of the day the trip computer showed we were averaging 19mph. Previous brim to brim calculations suggest these figures will be pretty accurate.

 

[khughes18]

sorry, forgot to mention its a petrol.

 

[hawk20]

So useful if people put model, year, etc in their signature and an approx location is often valuable too.