Fuel Economy - What do you get out of a tank? (3rd gens only)

[Millenium7]

Conversely, there's the question of how many litres of fuel your car has used when you get to 'reserve'. On mine, the low fuel light used to switch on when there were 15 litres remaining - now it's at 25-28 litres. The latter will quite obviously result in a lower 'apparent' range. As I've said before, all these figures on what you get out of a tank are pretty meaningless (especially given differences in tank size between AWD/2WD sedans & wagons) - you need to track how many litres/100km you're using (and to differentiate between city and country driving).

I don't go by how many litres I put in on that tank, I go by how many litres it took to refill the tank. Its usually about 60L (maybe as low as 55L) to an average of 450km. That's an optimistic 8km/L or 12.5L/100km

A hell of a long way off some of the 10km/L or higher some people are quoting.

Someone suggested theres a way to check if the O2 sensor is in need of replacing before actually replacing it?

[vlad]

I don't go by how many litres I put in on that tank, I go by how many litres it took to refill the tank. Its usually about 60L (maybe as low as 55L) to an average of 450km. That's an optimistic 8km/L or 12.5L/100km

A hell of a long way off some of the 10km/L or higher some people are quoting.

Someone suggested theres a way to check if the O2 sensor is in need of replacing before actually replacing it?

Hi Millenium, isn't the bolded sentence the same? Please read my post above. Also, 55/450*100 is 12.22L/100km and 60/450*100 is 13.33L/100km. That is the range I get in my 1700kg AWD Verada GTVi doing the daily to/from work/drop kids at school weaving through suburbia and city.

[Millenium7]

Hi Millenium, isn't the bolded sentence the same? Please read my post above. Also, 55/450*100 is 12.22L/100km and 60/450*100 is 13.33L/100km. That is the range I get in my 1700kg AWD Verada GTVi doing the daily to/from work/drop kids at school weaving through suburbia and city.

No, the first is the previous tank of fuel i've just gone through, the second is the tank of fuel I have just filled up with. The former estimates how much was used and how far you got from it. The latter measures how far you drove, and then measures how much fuel was needed to refill the tank to the same mark. The former is not accurate as the fuel guage and reserve light won't come on at the same mark every time, the latter is as it measure exactly how much fuel was used, not how much fuel you think was used

Confused? I am too
Yours is an AWD which on average will burn a significant amount more than the FWD. I would expect a good 2km/L more just because of that

Where did you read this? First I've heard of it, I would think having the car maintain the absolute minimum output to maintain your desired speed and sitting exactly on that marker instead of the inevitable tiny ups and downs from your own foot on the pedal would yield more efficiency.

+1, CC will be more fuel efficient on flat surfaces as it doesn't fluctuate as much. I can see it being worse on inclines though as a drive can pre-empt the hill and slowly build/scrub speed earlier. Most of what I drive is pretty flat

[macropod]

I don't go by how many litres I put in on that tank, I go by how many litres it took to refill the tank. Its usually about 60L (maybe as low as 55L) to an average of 450km. That's an optimistic 8km/L or 12.5L/100km

A hell of a long way off some of the 10km/L or higher some people are quoting.

Someone suggested theres a way to check if the O2 sensor is in need of replacing before actually replacing it?

60l/450km works out at 7.5km/l (13.3l/100km). 55l/450km works out at 8.2km/l (12.2l/100km). Not too shabby for around town in an auto.

On country trips, my TW AWD VRX can easily return 11km/l (9l/100km) or better. Around town, it's typically around 7.7-8km/l (12.5-13l/100km). FWIW, I tend to re-set the fuel metering every time I refill, so it's quite easy to keep track of the average consumption on any tankful.

Anyone with an exhaust gas analyser should be able to check the O2 sensor's performance.