Fuel prices gone mad!!!!!!

[JonnyG]

Jonny, it's quite simple. I made the change from a 2ltr petrol laguna to a diesel Rover 75. To start with the Rover was and still is 20% better on fuel consumption. So yes , here in Herefordshire we have had fuel go up about 20%. That's not too startling as the average fuel price annually has gone up 15%. That was quoted by a fuel watch dog.

I'd get rid of the Rover mate,if its Only 20% better on fuel than your old Renault, as it should be at least 30% on average better.if you are still driving as you did before, and not booting the rover and enjoying its massive torque advantage. Rover co2 average will be around the 160/5 mark. An old renault 2.0lt petrol luganna will be around 211, a drop of around 20 points in Co2 like for like is worth about 5to7 miles per gallon, but if you compare the CO2 of a petrol against that of a diesel then you need to add on 20plus percent for diesels advantage
If you could get 40 mpg out of the lugana, then in the same conditions you should get 52mpg out of the rover.....at least

 

[Dustydog]

i cant see how people say that different fuels give different MPG , i use the Diesel from Tesco in Swansea , and i quite often drive to Farnborough in Hampshire a journey of about 170 miles , the best reading i have had is 67 MPG in my Ford Mondeo 130 TDCI estate , but i have also had readings of 54 MPG , most of the journey is motorway , and i keep it in 6th gear as much poss and never do more than 65 MPH , every journey i never get the same reading , and the 67 MPG i have only acheived once since 2004 , so i cant see how you can say its the Fuel , there are lots of other variations in the journey

Joeby
I agree the variations are a very important factor. Tyre pressures alone can adversely affect the mpg.
Road gradients also make a significant difference. The ones you don't know really exist like the A417 between Cirencester and Cheltenham. A quick look at the ordnance survey map shows a rising terrain on the contours in a northerly direction.
Winds temperature etc
I wish I could argue over a mpg between 54 and 67.

The Kia garage categorically stated the supermarket fuels do not contain the same additives as the likes of BP. Hence the coking up problems I had.
The local Esso is still 2p cheaper than the Tesco store 3 miles away!
We all know the only way to beat the Government and Oil companies is to vote with our feet. If everyone had the courage to boycott the likes of BP, Shell or Esso , prices in theory would come down.

 

[JonnyG]

All fuels sold in this country have additives,and yes they do vary.All i can say about the KIA garage is welcome to the 21st century.
EGR valves have been sooting up/coking up since their introduction to diesel cars,nothing new and is a well know fact and has nothing to do with super market fuels, regardless of what KIA may think! these issues were reported in "what diesel" mag back in 1999! have been cleaning my Egr valves for a long time, when possible blanking them off,ie the older non electric ones, indeed my 2.2 Mondeo has had Two replacements, one 6 months before I bought it, and another 4 months after I bought it, thankfully I didn't pay but the cost would have been around the £350 mark from rip off ford.
Try doing a google search of EGR problems, they actually pre date KIA even making a diesel, and its so easy to blame others than admit that its a known problem based on driving not fuel, indeed BIO fuel actually is so much cleaner than normal diesel, that the EGR valve stays cleaner for much much longer

 

[max1979]

i do the same journeys to work and back every day i usually use bp fuel where i can get around 150 miles on £20 of diesel last week i used esso fuel and i got 120 miles on £20 quite a bit of difference

 

[JonnyG]

i do the same journeys to work and back every day i usually use bp fuel where i can get around 150 miles on £20 of diesel last week i used esso fuel and i got 120 miles on £20 quite a bit of difference

if you assume a gallon is £5.90 ie £1.30 a litre then £20 would be approx 3.4 gallons. so on BP you got 44 mpg and on esso you got 35mpg.! Indeed it is a big difference!

 

[JonnyG]

i do the same journeys to work and back every day i usually use bp fuel where i can get around 150 miles on £20 of diesel last week i used esso fuel and i got 120 miles on £20 quite a bit of difference

if you assume a gallon is £5.90 ie £1.30 a litre then £20 would be approx 3.4 gallons. so on BP you got 44 mpg and on esso you got 35mpg.! Indeed it is a big difference! and BP were claiming it could give an Extra 22 miles per tankful.! in your case irs almost 100 miles per tankful

 

[emmerson]

The term "MPG" is a bit meaningless now, and complicated to work out, so why not use the more meaningful "MP£"? After all, that's the important figure, isn't it?
F'rinstance, my Volvo 850, on a decent run,will do around 30mpg. My 4.2l Range Rover, on the same run about 13mpg.
So, you'd think we would use the Volvo for economy.Not so, cos the RR runs on LPG, so both cars will travel 5 miles on £1 worth of fuel.
But then, it's only playing with figures. I'm the same as everyone else - when I can't afford the price of fuel. I'll park the cars up, because whatever we do, fuel ain't gonna come down!

 

[JonnyG]

The term "MPG" is a bit meaningless now, and complicated to work out, so why not use the more meaningful "MP£"? After all, that's the important figure, isn't it?
F'rinstance, my Volvo 850, on a decent run,will do around 30mpg. My 4.2l Range Rover, on the same run about 13mpg.
So, you'd think we would use the Volvo for economy.Not so, cos the RR runs on LPG, so both cars will travel 5 miles on £1 worth of fuel.
But then, it's only playing with figures. I'm the same as everyone else - when I can't afford the price of fuel. I'll park the cars up, because whatever we do, fuel ain't gonna come down!

understand what you mean but unless a £5 or £20 is enough to fill your tank up, how acurrate is it to say i get 100 miles on a £10 of fuel? No piont in saying well it goes up to "about "the same mark on the fuel gauge is it? so to know what you are getting or spending, you need to fill up the tank and then work out how much fuel you use when you next fill up against the miles you have covered. thats why using MPG works and using miles to pounds doesnt.

 

[emmerson]

But miles per £ does work! I've just filled up the Volvo with £60 and a few pence. The trip meter read 309miles. Divide 309 by £60.pence and you get about 5. Therefore 5miles per £. Why does it not work?
I always fill the tank; never could be bothered with a few gallons here and there.A habit from transport days, I suppose.

 

[emmerson]

And MPG only works AFTER you convert litres back to gallons, which without a calculator isn't always accurate.

 

[JonnyG]

And MPG only works AFTER you convert litres back to gallons, which without a calculator isn't always accurate.

nor is "about 5 miles to the gallon, as you were getting 5.15 miles per pound or 51.5 miles per 10 pounds.
Where as if you assume you paid £1.35 per litre then £60 and lets add 20p so £60.20 would have got you 44.59 litres which makes it 31.5 mpg, actually better than the 30mpg you claim and making it cheaper to use your diesel than your lpg.

Of course neither is accurate due to you mile ometer not being smack on. but in comparison to each other its a fair one

 

[ProfAlGoogle]

I keep my fuel tank full (diesel) fill up at the end of the week, reset the odometer, quick calculation in my head and usually works out mid 40s and I am happy. Firm believer in checking my fuel consumption against mileage, as this normally gives an early indication if all is not well if the mpg reduces.

 

[Steve L]

Jonny, it's quite simple. I made the change from a 2ltr petrol laguna to a diesel Rover 75. To start with the Rover was and still is 20% better on fuel consumption. So yes , here in Herefordshire we have had fuel go up about 20%. That's not too startling as the average fuel price annually has gone up 15%. That was quoted by a fuel watch dog.

I'd get rid of the Rover mate,if its Only 20% better on fuel than your old Renault, as it should be at least 30% on average better.if you are still driving as you did before, and not booting the rover and enjoying its massive torque advantage. Rover co2 average will be around the 160/5 mark. An old renault 2.0lt petrol luganna will be around 211, a drop of around 20 points in Co2 like for like is worth about 5to7 miles per gallon, but if you compare the CO2 of a petrol against that of a diesel then you need to add on 20plus percent for diesels advantage
If you could get 40 mpg out of the lugana, then in the same conditions you should get 52mpg out of the rover.....at least

Your about right Jonny.
I average 49Mpg on rual and town driving, and get 52 to 58 Mpg on a steady run on dual track & motorway keeping to approx 65 Mph. The turbo doesn't kick in until 2100Rpm so keeping to 2'000 Rpm gives me a very good Mpg. The torque of the diesel is great and even when towing my goods trailer at 750 Kgs and loaded to level wit the car roof line, I still get 45Mpg on a rural run down the A49 from Hereford to leominster and that includes climbing Dinmore hill (1 in 10 and approx 1 mile bottom to top). Of coarse I could only tow at 50Mph and there is a 50 mph limit on the hill.

Not planning on getting rid of the Rover anytime soon. the leather heated seats, climate control, and electric everything. They are a much maligned and under rated car and equally as comfortable as a Jaguar, merc or beemer but at a fraction of the brand image concious must be seen to be wealthy yuppies or yam yams. It's a great shame the UK wasted billions instead of supporting british motor manufacturing. I know that's probably a bit rich comming from me as I've had Renaults for the last 17 years. But when you are on a tight motoring budget, you have to shop second hand and with your hand on your wallet and until 2006, 75's were holding very good prices. Having said that, I'd only go for a BMW diesel, purely for build quality and reliability, oh and of coarse the £155 per annum tax banding.

 

[Dustydog]

Not planning on getting rid of the Rover anytime soon. the leather heated seats, climate control, and electric everything. They are a much maligned and under rated car and equally as comfortable as a Jaguar, merc or beemer but at a fraction of the brand image concious must be seen to be wealthy yuppies or yam yams. It's a great shame the UK wasted billions on the *ankers instead of supporting british motor manufacturing. I know that's probably a bit rich comming from me as I've had Renaults for the last 17 years. But when you are on a tight motoring budget, you have to shop second hand and with your hand on your wallet and until 2006, 75's were holding very good prices. Having said that, I'd only go for a BMW diesel, purely for build quality and reliability, oh and of coarse the £155 per annum tax banding.

A Company I used to do a lot of business with always had Jags as company cars. As soon as anyone retired they quickly changed the Jag for a Ford or Vauxhall. Running costs!

.
Do I worry about the badge? No. My Sorie has all the whistles and bells but maybe the wrong badge??

 

[Steve L]

Hi Dusty.
These days people do have to shop wisely and having the correct badge still bothers a few. My Bro in law has always had Jags, his latest on being a 2.5 petrol auto. I couldn't get better than 20Mpg out of it and when overtaking it went down to 8Mpg. I suppose that's the price you pay for a leaping cat or more of a hop in his case as the car was gutless to drive. he had a go in my Rover and was well impressed, saying that I'd got a better fitted out car than his.
The new sorries come with a 100'000 mile warrantee I believe. That stand you in good stead if they have that much faith in the product.
I had a Diahatsu F70 SWB commercial 4x4 which towed a 3500Kg Ifor Williams fully loaded trailer. It didn't have the bells and whistles of Discos or Isusu or shoguns but did very well doing what it was designed for. Towing heavy loads on road or field.

With the ever increasing cost of fuel and oil based products I can see people looking at those more reliable, perhaps not so street cred vehicles any way. Not only will oil products play a part, but also service costs and reliability will become the watch words.

I have signed up to the Current Bun fuel protest online, to show my support for lower fuel pump prices and a balanced taxation system. Have you?

 

[ChrisUK]

Our local town center BP garage is always within + or - 1p compared to the local Tesco. Yet Tescos is always perceved to be cheaper. Long queues at Tescos, no queues at BP.

I have said before, I did a job a few years back at a well known engine developer to the big names, they have to test all the fuel they put in. My guide told me that he would never use supermarket fuels in his own car.
There also seems to be some relationship between cheap low cetin rated fuels and diesel particulate filter problems, i.e. the higher the better.
Perhaps I am going off topic above. We are using oil which is in big demand, the price will go up - supply and demand, however there is no excuse for the gov to rip us off.

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Steve
I can't find the new protest. Found the original when diesel was 95p a litre!!

 

[ProfAlGoogle]

mmmmmmmmmmm Bit of cockney rhyming slang there Dusty................... current bun.....................Sun

 

[Dustydog]

I don't get the Sun but even so I still can't see it on the net.
Must test my mince pies

 

[Steve L]

Hi Dusty
Try the address below.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/money/3371812/Sun-fuel-petition-reaches-100000.html