V5 mpg.... + cruise control....

[jafal]

Last week myself and my better half took a trip from Lincolnshire up to Newcastle. The milage was 143miles there and as we took the same route home a couple of days later, it was a round trip of just under 290miles.

We used both motorway (A1) and other 'A' class roads. I drove there and as usual made full use of the cruise control. I had it set at 60mph on the single 'A' roads and when on the A1, a shade under 70mph. The only time it went above this speed was to blend into overtaking traffic. We had a journey time of 2hrs 35mins..

On the way home Naomi drove. Her speed was constantly erratic & fluctuating between 55 - 80mph on the 'A1' and on the other 'A' roads 50 - 60mph....
At no point did she use the cruise control (too complicated & scary!!!). It also took just 15mins longer for the return journey....

NOW!! I averaged a respectable 37.9mpg and Naomi managed 44.8mpg!!
She now thinks that she's a far better driver than me... But I have explained that it was obviously up-hill on the way there, and she has to realise it was down hill for her coming home!!!!! (she isn't blonde but I'm working on it).

The question is should I be using cruise control? because I'm prepared not to use it if my fuel consumption can increase by over 20%..... Oh! I only put Shell V-Power in the tank....


Just to change the subject - my car has doesn't have memory seats but it does have folding mirrors and a 12v socket in the boot.. (2004 model - 53reg). Just in case some of you were interested?

Kind regards too you all, David..

 

[GrayT]

That's a strange one as I always get better mpg when I get the rare chance to use cruise control. Can't work out why it's done that - unless you were much more aggressive in your acceleration?

Or, because she did her run after you was her average benefiting from the fact you had already brought up a better mpg, if you see what I mean? In other words, unless you reset before you went each time, if your average over loads of miles before your journey was say 28 mpg, then you do your bit to improve that average to 37.9, she then has a better overall average on which to build because of your earlier journey.

 

[midcuk]

dunno mate i gave up trying to figure out my mpg i do regular 150 mile runs (at least 4 a week) and have tried all sorts it seems to vary quite a lot. at higher speeds if you put the cruise control on and sit and watch the mpg meter it seems to get really good mpg (steady cruising) at 60 not so good, i think its when the cruise control has to "adjust" to keep the same speed it appears a little more heavy footed than the reactions of a driver, i generally dont use it and get slightly better mpg but 44mpg is brilliant best ive ever managed is 38 (normally 31ish).

oh and on that note mines a 52 model 170 with memory seats folding mirrors and no 12v socket tee hee

 

[jafal]

Thanks Both!! Naomi drove the car back 3 days after I drove the car to Newcastle, so my drive didn't influence her average fuel reading on the return..

I will try not to use the cuise control for a few weeks just to see if it can make any difference.

The most I had ever managed on a run was 42mpg on a 30mile run. The speed limits were 30 - 40mph zones...

 

[andycupra]

with cruise, if the road starts to go uphill it will apply more throttle to keep the speed constant. you may not necessarily do this when not using cruise.

this is confirmed that she took longer to complete the same journey.
or was she actaully driving slower?

you have stated she was driving at 50-60.. so its not really a straight comparison.

but like you say, there the slight difference in the route (being opposit direstions..) prevailing wind...
lesss fuel in car and less weight..

cruise is fairly well known not to be so fuel efficient, but you will often find you get there a little quicker will the cruise. the reason without cruise you will often let off the throttle more on a road corners, and increase throttle less on hills.
the a1 has lots of roundabouts, how do you compare in how you approach or even cover roundabouts? did one of you stop more often? how did the traffic compare?

the difference in mpg seems too much im my opinion.

 

[kiearn]

The up hill down hill situation may sound a little silly but could actually make a difference, i have noticed this before as well as always try to use curise where poss as this should save u fuel.

 

[GrayT]

I seem to speed up on hills without cruise control...especially on the A1...and especially near Markham Moor (or do people just not enjoy torque these days)

 

[jafal]

Again thanks to everyone.... Naomi was obviously driving a little slower than myself, because the journey time was approximately 15mins longer.

Being the passenger in the car, I was aware of her constant accelerating / decelerating & maybe the torqueyness of the engine gave the impression she was being heavy footed. Not smooth, as I thought I had been with the cruise on!!

I have always tried to use the cruise control whenever possible... For the simple reason, I imagined it was the most fuel efficient way to drive.
Although the car is a 2.3 V5, I have been more than happy with it's economy to performance ratio.

As I mentioned earlier, I shall try using the cruise less, maybe drive a tad slower (oh dear!) & (even more reluctant than the last comment) let Naomi drive more!! maybe not... But at £1.04 per litre it could be an option..........

 

[Deleted member 5241]

Was the weather different for both trips? Ambient air pressure might have been different? Was the fuel load lighter coming back than it was going?

Personally, I find that cruise makes my mpg reading worse by approx 2 mpg on my Toledo TDi.

Maybe your other half applies the throttle more lightly than you which would also make a difference.

 

[thesonny]

cruise control is definitely less efficient than not using cruise control.
i travel to southampton from reading a fair bit. using the M3. i have done the entire journey (there and back) using cruise control there i got 33.9mpg and back i got 31.9 cruising at 80 pretty much on the whole m3 (more uphill on way home)
without cruise control i got 36mpg on the way there and 35 on the way back. still trying to stick to 80 as much as possible.. both traffic conditions were very similar so i think it was a fair test.

 

[thesonny]

and i have been putting v-power in my car since i bought it back in october and the previous owner had used optimax then v-power for the last 4 years. it runs so beautifully smoothly compared to me friends leon on the same engine which he fills with regular fuel. and i get about 25-30 more miles from a tank which more than compensates for the increase in price (£1.05 at my local)

 

[jafal]

Had a run today... nice & steady, just to Scunthorpe and back (obviously nothing exciting!!!). Cruise Control was OFF.. Computer says an average reading of 40.7mpg, Well pleased, so I am now officially a part-time cruise control user......

 

[DaftMule]

......

NOW!! I averaged a respectable 37.9mpg and Naomi managed 44.8mpg!! ....

OK...either I have a heavy right foot or my car is up the creek as my 99 V5 does about 30 to 31 mpg. I rarely get above this. If I really cane it, it drops to about 29 mpg.

On main roads I tend to stick to 60 (+/- 10mph) and on motorways I generally don't go above 80mph.

Is youre the 150hp V5 or the 170hp, post 99 model?

 

[midcuk]

mine must be totally screwed then

 

[dchbrown]

I know on my 25 mile commute with is all A roads about 50/50 single and dual carriage way she averages 32mpg but thats with what my gf would call spirited driving!!

Last weekend we went for a day out into the Cotswolds and on all the little windy lanes and B roads including a run back home up the M40 managed to get 38mpg.

To contrast that though when you really feel like getting a move on ive seen averages of 14-16mpg so its all down to how you drive it.

 

[jafal]

It's turning into a bit of a competition between Naomi and myself now!!!

We had a short run out yesterday, just 15miles eachway... Cruise control was off and from a cold start it did the run there at an average of 36mpg.
Naomi insisted that she drove back! (I wasn't expecting this, and it was 4hrs later). She did the return route at an average of 38mpg.
Next time I will drive particularly carefully, just to prove a point (I hope!!).

DaftMule,
my car is a 170bhp on a '53' plate...... and like yourself I do approx 60mph on 'A' Roads, and very rarely go above 70mph on the motorways, unless I am moving into faster overtaking traffic..
Travelling to work is a nightmare. I work shifts and public transport is non-existent. The distance is approximately 4 miles.. The car hardly warms up and can show a run average of just 21mpg!!!! - NO.. I've tried using a bicycle. Not too keen........

midcuk,
Trust me when I say, if the mood takes me, my mpg can be pretty horrific too. This economy run lately has been the result of my local garage charging £1.04 per litre.
As I mentioned before, my usual runs out & about were spent using the cruise control as much as possible...
Naomi drove back from Newcastle the other day because she had to... (I'd had an operation and I was instructed not to drive). She wouldn't have driven normally, she doesn't like it... Cruise control is just too daunting for her to use, so she didn't. As usual, I used it on the way there.. I was just soooo! suprised at how much more mpg she managed with what I felt was a more erratic driving style.....
I'm just hoping that Naomi refuses to drive again soon. 'Cos I don't feel like "snail driving" every time we go out together, in the fear that she INSISTS on driving back...

dchbrown,
Do you use the Cruise Control when driving about? & have you had any mpg comparisons on your commute to work, with the cruise on/off?



All The Best to Everyone... David

 

[EMSCUPRA]

yeh cruise deffo uses more fuel, i can get my 170 v5 to do 45mpg just by staying in 4th and 5th, not using the throttle agressively seriously makes a difference

 

[healy6660]

Cruise may use more petrol for you boys but I deffo get more from the oil burner WITH cruise
it applies the throttle a lot more smoothly than me(so the wife tells me)
can screw 56 on cruise and about 51 on foot (sorry about the numbers, don't mean to p**s you off but at 500 a week its a must, especially as I pay for them all, and I'd rather have the performance)

 

[dchbrown]

I used to have a leon 140 Tdi before the Toledo and i agree that with a diesel you got more on cruise than off it.

i wonder whether there is something to be said for the different engine characteristics??

 

[skinnylew]

just found this thread and makes an interesting read i must say.
Personally i find that my economy is far far better with cruise control on because it is alot smoother, with it off my foot normally stays buried and everything becomes more aggressive.

As for figures i dont monitor it that well but on a decent motorway run with cruise con i could probably get 375-400miles out of a tank of fuel. However when the motorway gets empty then it can just be too tempting to bury the throttle and hear the V5 growl almost to the limiter.