Fuel consumption

[Quintrix]

What is the best figures/source to use to do comparisons ?

I know that part of the info on Autotrader they give the consumption but how reliable are those and has the formula change in the last 10/15 years? Can you use those figure to compare a 15 y/o with a new car?

Are there more reliable /trustworthy sources readily available ?

 

[epah]

Figures on Autotrader are manufactures claims. They are not real life figures. The formula is still the same .

Remember manufacturers test fuel consumption in closed environments. So what they claim will not apply to you in the real world.

Real life consumption is often higher than what the manufacturers claim.

The best you can do is ask owners of the particular cars you are looking for to tell you what their consumptions are, but even then it still won’t be precise because your own driving style is different to their.

So my suggestion is add another 2L/100km on top of the manufacturer claims. That will give you the best clue on what you can expect in the real world.

If you are looking at a Chinese car however add another 5L/100 to what the manufacturer claims.

 

[Quintrix]

I do know those are manufacturers claims and the real world figures are higher but are they somehow verified by somebody that subject all manufacturers to the same test or are they pure manufacturer's claims?

 

[SauRoNZA]

Fuelly.com

 

[SauRoNZA]

I do know those are manufacturers claims and the real world figures are higher but are they somehow verified by somebody that subject all manufacturers to the same test or are they pure manufacturer's claims?

They are all verified and accurate but are there only for comparison to each other, not to represent the real world.

So they are all done under the stand circumstances on a rolling road at the exact same speeds etc.

Problem is on the real world speed varies and so does aerodynamics and as such one car could do very well economically at say 100km/h while the next does better at 105 and so on.

So use Fuelly for research and you’ll get real world data from people who actually own the cars.