Low mpg C180 auto

[Quallie]

Have recently bought my first merecedes C180 coupe automatic which i love but is very thirsty (20 months old). Have done 1500 miles and spent £250 which averages out about 25mpg. This seems very low to me given i drive it on the cruise option not sports. Aabout 60% of milage has been around town, the rest out of town including quite long journeys. have had car tested today and they say its fine. is this what i should expect for mpg?

 

[Blobcat]

Driving with the cruise control on is not the most fuel efficient method. The cruise control tries to match the requested speed when going up hills where a driver might ease of slightly.
Even though yours is the coupe MB's are not noted for their lack of weight. The 1.8ltr engine has to work quite hard just to move the car. An Auto will always use more fuel than a manual.
I think with the ammount of town driving you are doing the fuel economy is not that bad. However if you wish to improve it, try the following,
Check that your tyre pressures are correct
Empty everything out of the car you do not need
Put some injector cleaner in the tank and give it a good run
Switch off the engine and do not idle it for long periods
Switch off all electrical equipment (keep the AC on though)

 

[Quallie]

Sorry when i said 'cruise' i meant as a general mode, not the sports general drive option, not cruise control which i don't use. Thanks for your suggestions will definitely try the injector cleaner, but leaving kids by side of road (so not so much weight in boot) may not be such a viable option, although tempting. just wondered if any other C180 coupe petrol auto owners can give an idea of their mpg?

 

[jberks]

The official figures for yours are
Fuel consumption (mpg)[2]
city 26.9 (24.1)
extra-urban 47.1 (46.3)
combined 37.2 (34.4)
so it does seem a bit low, but it also depends on how you drive. The gearbox settings will be mostly irrelevant, the town driving aspect is probably right (24.1 is the official figure for your car and you're ahead of that) and depending on your motorway/ A road driving style the rest will vary. I can tootle along in mine, (as I do most mornings)keeping just below 80 and being gentle and get 41-44 (have seen 49), then again, on my way home I tend to say "stuff it" and stay with the outside lane traffic and then drive a little BMW ish through the rush hour town traffic when I hit the city. I can easily get 35 or less. Home to the shops and back with a bit of turbo use and I'm looking at 23.
Driving style is all.

 

[Micman]

C180K fuel economy

Hi,

I have the 2004 facelifted, C180 Kompressor Automatic Saloon.

I must admit I have been slightly disappointed by the economy figures the on board computer displays, and have to agree they match what you are saying.

I don't do big miles, a trip into town, constant stop start 3 mile trip each way displays a return of between 21-24mpg.

My journey to work is slightly longer 8 miles each way, with little traffic - and the computer displays a better 26-28mpg.

On longer journeys - I must admit it gets better and reaches 30+mpg.

My fuel economy for around town and to work is about 25-26mpg!

One thing I would point out is that the C and S buttons you have on the auto actually stand for Comfort and Standard. The S does not stand for Sport, turning it off of S wont improve your fuel economy.

You should leave it on S for everyday driving, The C mode is best in winter, wet roads and slippy surfaces. In C mode the gearbox pulls away in a higher gear to minimise wheelspin etc and shifts up through the gears earlier. Therefore if you are always driving in C mode in the dry, you are probably being a lot heavier footed on your accelorator to make the car pull away, especially on stop start short trips around town etc and therefore in effect using more fuel.

I have noticed that S mode is definately better for everyday use.

Hope that helps, but I still have to agree the fuel economy isn't the best - then again you have to remember that if you have the Kompressor (similar to a turbo) you will be using more fuel depending on how you drive it.

A simple tip when driving an automatic is to accelerate gradually to the speed and then lift off. Sharp changes in speed will also effect the economy, as wilth any car.

Mike

 

[dagd]

I had a C180 SE sport coupe Kompressor, I found that the milage improved once I had gone over the 20,000 mark. I got rid of it a couple of months ago and made a note of the average mpg from new, had done just over 27,000 with simular usage (mostly sort journeys to work). I got around 26 to 29 mpg for short and 39 mpg on motorway runs. Using cruse control on long journeys made no diffference, in fact, it was a mile or two worse, but did give me a chance to rest the right leg.

 

[Blobcat]

Using cruse control on long journeys made no diffference, in fact, it was a mile or two worse, but did give me a chance to rest the right leg.

That's exactly why I use it.
Does anybody buy a Mercedes primarily based on economy? I don't think so. It is a compromise.
With the ammount of miles I cover economy is important but so is comfort and power. All three of these could be the corners of a triangle, where do you wish to be in the triangle depends upon which choice you make.

 

[Quallie]

Thanks to all. Sales guy told me C was for cruise and S for more sporty use! I feel abit stupid, what does the 'Comfort' and 'Standard ' refer to then Mike? I didn't buy it for the fuel economy of course but am just surprised rarely get over 31 out of town, even on a long journey best has been 37. Oh well have to accept that for the shear pleasure its a trade off, comfort and pose value definitley more important!. Other comments much appreciated thanks

 

[Micman]

Hi Quallie

I agree you don't by a Merc thinking it's going to be the most economical car, and you definately feel pretty special owning a Merc, and can have a good pose!

I seem to remember the salesman telling me a similar thing - S means sport and C means cruise, but upon reading the owners manual it all becomes clearer. Quite simple S means standard, recommended by Merc for everyday use. C means Comfort, recommended by Merc for smoother acceleration and to reduce wheelspin in the wet etc.

M

 

[Rory]

Agree on the C/S thing - better to drive mostly in S. Even in my C270CDi, it seems to take a big effort to get it off the line in C, but if you really boot it then it drops to 1st anyway. Just seems simpler to use S.
I think the big thing with town driving is to try to avoid actually stopping! I know that's not always possible, but accelerating from a rolling start is hugely easier (on the fuel consumption) than getting the car going from rest.

 

[jberks]

lots of different techniques but I found that by leaving a bigger gap (not always possible but still) and making a concerted effort at anticipating whats going on, I improved my MPG dramatically. It meant that whilst the cars in front were still under power and using fuel, I've seen that 5 cars up, they were slowing and had already dropped the throttle. (amazing how may people only see whats at the end of the bonnet) Cars directly in front then brake and turn all that fuel energy into braking heat (wasted). I can often do a stop-start style motorway journey without really using the brakes and if I do brake, I'm often already down to 20mph by then anyway. Worth 5+mpg easy, gentler on the car and much less stressful for everyone.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Consumption should improve during the summer months. I would have thought that you should see a 5-10% improvement. As JB says it might be worth adjusting your driving style in town to see if it makes a difference. To be honest I wouldn't have expected any better consumption than what your experiencing given the mix of motoring.

 

[Quallie]

what about higher grade petrol? Does it actually help the engine and improve mpg or does the extra cost out weigh any benefit?

 

[television]

When the difference in price of the premium is more than 8p it is not worth it. We had a thread on this subject, and that was the genral opinion. though the cars do feel a little faster.

malcolm

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

My advice would be steer clear of supermarket petrol. If you are calculating mpg use shell or BP to get a proper reading.

 

[television]

lots of different techniques but I found that by leaving a bigger gap (not always possible but still) and making a concerted effort at anticipating whats going on, I improved my MPG dramatically. It meant that whilst the cars in front were still under power and using fuel, I've seen that 5 cars up, they were slowing and had already dropped the throttle. (amazing how may people only see whats at the end of the bonnet) Cars directly in front then brake and turn all that fuel energy into braking heat (wasted). I can often do a stop-start style motorway journey without really using the brakes and if I do brake, I'm often already down to 20mph by then anyway. Worth 5+mpg easy, gentler on the car and much less stressful for everyone.

Yes I agree completely, just by leaving a reasonble gap from the car in front you can go for miles without touching the brakes, makes a boring journey more interesting.

Malcolm