I think I’ve narrowed it down to either this Kuga model or a similar Sportage. Both appear to come with the mod cons I would desire for my largely solo driving.
A decent spec Tiguan is slightly out of my budget used, as I’m trading in I don’t want to add much more on than my current car value.
Kuga appears to be heavier which might work out for slightly future proofing. Albeit some used websites had the same mpg as the Sorento did at a similar price and higher spec which surely can’t be right given the sheer weight.
I know you say 40mpg solo, is that urban or motorway? The specs for mpg on the Sportage and Kuga appear to vary, I’m looking between 2017/2019 models to get similar to what I have now.
Re MPG I barely do any real town driving , mostly country lanes A and B roads and Milton Keynes, plus Mway journey every 5 weeks 300 miles . I don’t do a lot of miles in the car per year, I am no boy racer but don’t drive slowly either the on board mpg is always around 40mpg goes up on a run . My manual Kuga’s were a bit better on fuel. If your going powershift route the gearbox must be serviced with proper proof. Around 36k or 3 or 4 years depending on the service schedule. Don’t buy one if you doubt the service history same as a VAG with the DSG gear box. As long as they are serviced they are fine. Lots of low mileage Kuga’s around Vegnale with some extras are a good spec and value. Good luck with your search. Sportage should still have warranty but a bit underpowered I found when I hired one on holiday.
The manufacturers have to submit each model of car to a set of tests to determine the vehicles official MPG. In real life its almost meaningless, as very few people's real driving would match the tests specifications, Whilst the official figures may not be a match for you it usually does provide a consistent method of comparing different vehicles mpg's
Give the same car to two people and ask them to drive the same route, and the chances are they will return differnt mpg's becasue of difference in their driving style, and changes to road conditions.
Give the same car to two people and ask them to drive the same route, and the chances are they will return differnt mpg's becasue of difference in their driving style, and changes to road conditions.
When they do the mpg test it is probably on a nice smooth oval track at Millbrook in perfect conditions so a high mpg is to be expected.
ICE cars with Smart Alternators use regenerative breaking to charge the battery.
Alternators can present a significant load on the engine. So cars with Smart Alternators will use the battery, when it's in a good state of charge, to power the electrics/electronics and the alternator output will be reduced. This removes some of its load on the engine.
When coasting or breaking the Smart Alternator cuts in again to recharge the battery. This will also slow the car although it seems hardly noticeable.
Alternators can present a significant load on the engine. So cars with Smart Alternators will use the battery, when it's in a good state of charge, to power the electrics/electronics and the alternator output will be reduced. This removes some of its load on the engine.
When coasting or breaking the Smart Alternator cuts in again to recharge the battery. This will also slow the car although it seems hardly noticeable.
While on the subject of MPG. We've just done the longest run ever in our car, from Skye to deepest Cornwall. Average MPG, 85.
The first part through the Highlands until south of Glasgow then mostly motorway the rest of the way.
Not towing obviously 😁
The first part through the Highlands until south of Glasgow then mostly motorway the rest of the way.
Not towing obviously 😁
It's done on a rolling road under laboratory conditions. It's supposed to replicate real world driving, but it doesn't seem to replicate the way most people drive in the real world.
Not sure about that as we had to deliver Vauxhalls to Millbrook for testing, but then this was way back in the mid nineties so things may have changed.
Oh yes, you don't want to be putting a car on a test track, only to find you unfortunately get an accurate MPG.
Even in the days test tracks were used for economy tests the manufacturers were allegedly fiddling the results, taping up panel joints and removing wing mirrors for better aero dynamics etc. Unfortunately the new test regimes didn't stop them finding ways to enhance the results, hence the dieselgate scandal.
Manufacturers will carry out a wide variety of tests on new designs, and will use many different types of proving systems, not every test is necessarily related to the official MPG tests.
As Beardy stated the official MPG figures are derived from a specific type of test defined by the Govt. The manufacture will need to carry them out in addition to all the other design proving work which may be performed at a number of different facilities around the country, like Millbrook, or indeed MIRA near Nuneaton and others.
Whilst some testing will be monitoring MPG of the vehicle, The official MPG figures can only be produced in accordance with the Government's Procedure.
Manufacturers will optimise their products to give their best fuel efficiency under the official test conditions. This is not quite the same as Diesel gate, becasue the official MPG tests are not carried out at a single speed, but across a range of speeds and duties prescribed by the test regime, even though the regime is not very realistic.
It's actually a rolling road with pre-programmed load variations to represent the test cycle.
The mpg and emission tests are done in closed laboratory conditions perhaps the Vauxhalls were being development tested for other parameters such as suspension life, or tuning the ride or handling.
No wonder the mpg figures are so wildly inaccurate as we found out on our Shogun which was supposed to do 32mpg, but we were lucky to see 25mpg on the motorway. When towing it averaged about 16mpg and it was not a 5L V8!
At the time, I am sure that the tests included the mpg amongst other tests. On a rolling road you can only do one vehicle at a time and on the test track, they probably could have 2 -3 cars. There were always loads of cars there for testing and many you could not identify the brand as they were "covered".
In that case they would have been manufacture’s tests to support marketing and sales activities. Since it became a legal requirement to publish mpg and emissions data it has been carried out under controlled laboratory conditions. How else can it be controlled?
For most of their life, Vauxhalls had different suspension settings for spring and damper rates to suit UK roads as the Opel engineers developed their cars for European roads - one of GM's last cost-cutting exercises was to get rid of those Vauxhall engineers and simply fit the same suspension to all Opel/Vauxhalls sold in Europe.
I recall from a documentory on diesel gate that emmissions / economy testing was done on test tracks in the very early days - it wasn't particularly well controlled hence the move to rolling roads (I assume that legislation was changed at some point to force this).
The first official testing using a controlled laboratory came in in 1992 which was many years prior to diesel gate.
Here’s a description of what was then included.
EU: Light-duty: New European Driving Cycle | Transport Policy
www.transportpolicy.net
PS New European etc relates to the old test regime that was superseded a few years back by WLTP
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Have a look at the Mazda CX5 (there is a 4x4 model) or the 6 estate. I have had 4 (diesel) Mazda 6 estates (all used autos) over the last 12 years. Towing capacity of 1600kg. 26-30mpg towing, low 60's when solo (55 mph not 70)
Utterly reliable, I have only ever had to buy tyres and wiper blades! and they are a VERY nice solo drive as well, hence me having 4 of them.
Another cracking tow car is the Skoda Superb, especially the estate (if you can find one)
Utterly reliable, I have only ever had to buy tyres and wiper blades! and they are a VERY nice solo drive as well, hence me having 4 of them.
Another cracking tow car is the Skoda Superb, especially the estate (if you can find one)
I rated my Skoda Superb 4x4 estate above my gen 3 Volvo XC 70. It had more luggage volume, more rear seat legroom and was more economical, and a better drive. It also had the advantage that the bases of the rear seats lifted forward thus opening up a large storage volume that swallowed a full size awning, or whatever. An excellent car for caravanning and general use too.
The documentary gave a 'potted history' of how testing had been done previously, if it mentioned dates I don't remember them but I do remember the bit about removing wing mirrors and taping up panel gaps to improve aerodynamics (this wouldn't have any effect on a vehicle on a rolling road). It then went on to explain how VW were caught out - they had programmed their vehicles to recognise when they were on test and modify their fueling characteristics to minimise emmissions during the test.
VW diesel gate hit the media in 2015
Even in 1973 VW were fined by US authorities fir publishing inaccurate information on mpg and emissions. Seems to be endemic.
Volkswagen Test Rigging Follows a Long Auto Industry Pattern (Published 2015)
Ever since governments began regulating cars, automakers have been finding ways to cheat to improve data on emissions, gas mileage and safety.
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