Only 16-23 MPG ??

[Hollo]

Hello ,
        I've not had my 1989 230 TE long but I'm a bit concerned about the very poor MPG .Around town ( admittedly I only work 2 miles from home ) I'm only getting 16 MPG , i.e. £10 @ 69.9 litre = 14.3 litre = 3.14 gal , 50 miles between fill ups . At the weekend I went on a much longer motorway run but still only managed a piffling 23 MPG  , as I had to fill up again after 145 miles after having put £20 in  .
£20 @ 69.9p = 28.6 litres , = 6.29 gal ( x .022 )
145 for 6.29 gal = 23 MPG .  
   
    Please could someone check my maths , and is this MPG average , or could something be a miss ? . I do not drive like a club footed mad man in a hurry , I deliberatly try to 'waft' about as much as possible , and I was only doing 75-85 mph on the motorway . Any suggestions anyone , as I looked on the parkers guide on the web and that quoted 26-40 MPG 'Kin h*ll
if only !!.

Poor Mike ( getting poorer )

 

[David S]

Hi Mike,

I don't think there is anything wrong with your math. The car you drive is rather heavy and given a 230 engine (I feel) is a little under powered for such a large heavy body.

My E280 W124 saloon manages around 300miles before the reserve light is on, but this is only on motorways. Around town (London) to be honest I am scared to do the calculation, but would be suprised if it was greater than 15MPG. (I guess motorway at best is 23MPG).

The average MPG suggested by the likes of Parkers on-line guide I feel is un-reliable. The way I look at it, and this was the reason I bought the car, is petrol would probably work out at 15p/mile.

Using that reference (which is usually about right), I can estimate better my actually running costs of the car and this lets me sleep well at night.

David

 

[Matt Crooke]

Speaking of this, i was a bit disheartnened with the MPG on my 190e when i got it, about 260 miles from a tank before fill ups. Thats a mixture of town and motorway, and ive only got a 2 litre!

 

[Merc]

Hi

Regading your MPG figures,I have a 500se and for a tenner I'm getting between 45/50 miles (in town),which equates to roughly 15ish to the gal.
And petrol being £3.15 ish a gal,(well I think theres 4 1/2 ltr's in a gal,@ 70p ltr),mind you thats nothin' compared to the States eh!,Iv'e got family over in New Jersey and they moan,yes moan! about the price of their "gas",I was there at xmas and as my sister said once "Oh my god the gas has went up again,its now $1.16 a gallon",but she then very quickly realised I was in the car too,and I also quickly reminded her what we were paying.And she (like everone else I spoke to there) doesnt know how we Brits can afford to drive here,especaily us with Mercs and the like with engines from 2ltr's+,and quite frankly I dont either,but we do dont we!!.
I also remember a mate saying to me,just when I got the Merc "how are going to run that thing,I mean everyone else is going down (to smaller engines) and you go up!,I cant understand it",he said also "if you lived in the States I would understand,but not here",and eh,I dont quite understand either,does anyone out there know why we do it?

Regards

 

[Snake]

Hi Mike

Just a quick point, you mention your motorway speeds as being 75-85 mpg, if you were to cut this to below 70 your mpg would be greatly improved (& no chance of a speeding ticket as a bonus!). Seriously try it, you will be amazed at the improvement, maybe 25%

 

[Matt Crooke]

Ill drink to that, especially the way Mercs are geared, i find they rev particularly high in top gear.

 

[Andy]

Hi all,

I agree with "Snake". The speed even 10mph makes a significant difference. Driving at 70mph on motorways albeit boring will return a better fuel consumption figure.

But has the engine tune been checked and adjusted PROPERLY.

How many miles has the vehicle covered. Does it need de coking all this will make a difference to the fuel consumption.

I will admit that I would expect on a run a little more than you are getting. But I would be dubious when using a tenners worth to calculate fuel consumption.

Regards

Andy@ www.mercedesservicing.com

 

[Snake]

Mike

Me again, as Andy states, "a tenners" worth is not the best calculation.

To do the job properly, visit your bank manager & fill the tank "to the brim". Reset odeometer, cover "X" amount of miles, refill as  before. check miles covered. Then calculate, litres divided by 4.546 (to get gallons), milage devided by gallons, easy!!

 

[fuzzer]

With my C240 it normally works in about 19 in the town taking it easy and on the motorways between glasgow and Zurich  and back i was getting about 28-30 driving at 80+ . The car is only doing about 2900 at 80 , so the engine is hardly stressed ..

On the other hand , we also run a C220 Cdi which gets a healthy 30 in the town and  40 mpg at 80 ..

Maybe diesel is the way forward for all of us .....

 

[mhannaford]

Poor Mike.
How much are you prepared to spend to improve
your consumption?
If you want more power,smoother running,better
throttle response and improved consumption then
it'll cost you but it can be done!
Let me know your budget
Regards
Mark Hannaford

 

[white190]

My 1993 2.0 190E was very bad on fuel

Till I replaced the Air filter element with a K&N item and dumped the STD rear exhaust box for a straight through item , the MPG jumped up 5mpg straight away , oh and the cars pulls much better at low revs now.


I am thinging of fitting An EcoTec to my car has any one done this yet , and is it worth while????????.

 

[Tony]

One thing that has a significant on fuel consumption is tyre pressure. The higher the pressure the lower the rolling resistance. Buy an accurate gauge (about £10) and make sure they're right. I usually add a couple of psi because I drive fast. Under-inflated tyres wreck fuel consumption and wear the tyres out at the edges too.

The other thing I've found helps is using Mobil 1. Trouble is it costs so much that you probably don't save any money, but at least it's probably better for the engine.  

 

[white190]

good point that about tyre pressures
Kinda thing you assume people check
But Worth checking

 

[Matt Crooke]

I still think my 190 has shite comsumption....desparatly in need of a service me thinks.

 

[Hopin]

With my C250 D I get 33 to the gallon in town. I have a friend with an  S class and he switches his off in traffic. By the way ,I get  over 50,000 miles out of a set of Michelins.

 

[Hopin]

Re Hollo >> Swap that engine for a diesel.

 

[fuzzer]

C250 D , youre taking this too far ... people like at least some power ... Fit in the c220 cdi engine at least