MPG Driving Economically in the Civic

[DeanFYoung]

Originally Posted by The Phantom

Well my MPG is ridiculous then as I'm getting an average of 37mpg.

That's 20 miles motorway (70mph+) and 10 miles town (10mph-) each trip.

If I do back road driving (B's & minor A's) with on-off gas I get 39mpg. Never had over 40mpg unless it was straight after a fill up or stuck in a traffic jam.

I find the throttle pedal far too sensitive to run 4 lights on Eco. If you let up even a fraction your power drops and sitting just on the power you are running 2 lights.

I think the only way to get decent figures is to use cruise control.

I've found this too - and I've not managed to display an odd number of lights either, its either 0, 2, 4 or all on!
So far, my trip computer says I'm getting 38mpg which is not very good for a diesel. Though I have only driven a few hundred miles so far so I am hoping things will get better quickly!

[FWH]

Had mine down to 5.9 L / 100 km on a 150km run at approx 100 km/h. Had it up at 9.2 as well over the same distance another day.

[Brodick]

Originally Posted by The Phantom

Well my MPG is ridiculous then as I'm getting an average of 37mpg.

That's 20 miles motorway (70mph+) and 10 miles town (10mph-) each trip.

If I do back road driving (B's & minor A's) with on-off gas I get 39mpg. Never had over 40mpg unless it was straight after a fill up or stuck in a traffic jam.

I find the throttle pedal far too sensitive to run 4 lights on Eco. If you let up even a fraction your power drops and sitting just on the power you are running 2 lights.

I think the only way to get decent figures is to use cruise control.

well I would say your lowish mpg is down to the 70mph+ bit depending on how much the + equals

our Civic is SE i-shift and so no cruise control and she will run with 4/5 eco lights on doing a steady 70 and I can have all on doing 58/60 on some local A roads we get around the 39/40 mark mpg (unless I floor it or
get stuck in heavy traffic then it is more like 37.5/38mpg)
best Mpg we have out of her is 44mpg on a slightly longer journey - mostly A roads

My CR-V 2.0 auto ES does have cruise control and I stick it on cruise control
as much as possible unless I am in a hurry a typical journey at the moment is 30 mile limit for 2.5 miles or so then dual carrige way 60 mph limit 2 miles and Motorway 70 mph limit 5 miles with cruise control on where possible the car returns 29.5 mpg without cruise it is around 28/28.5 ( car has 900 miles on the clock - mpg is improving slowly all the time so should see 30+ mpg on a regular basis

[longitude]

I've only been driving my 2.2 iCDTI for just over a week and found the economy can be improved by changing up to the highest gear asap; nothing new about that. But as long as you are not looking for an overtake opportunity or you are stuck in slow moving traffic the 2.2 diesel will happily poodle along at 35mph in 5th gear.

[Nitehawk]

In my ES with 4800K on the clock we did a trip from Cambridgeshire to Scotland using Cruise Control wherever possible. The best we got was over 60 miles giving us 51.9mpg....... I kid you not. I get the revcounter to steady at 3000rpm which in real mph works out around 71mph (actual) cos on my speedo it usually says I am doing 76mph, but I believe my Road Angel (that's why it's called Angel) and overall between trip up and pack we got 47.9mpg with the usual sort of bits n bobs you would carry in a car for a few days

[GHGH]

Originally Posted by DeanFYoung

I've not managed to display an odd number of lights either, its either 0, 2, 4 or all on!

They are coupled in pairs (as is the rev lights), and linked to the gas consumption. Studying the computer and trying to find what consumption the light changes isn't easy, but so far my impression is this:
- All on < 4ish l/100km:
4 lights between 4 and 6 l/100 km;
2 lights between 6 and 9ish l/100km;
No lights > 9ish l/100km.

l/100km - mpg converter:
l/100km to MPG / Litre / MPG / MPG to l/100km / Liter / Convert fuel efficiency - eForecourt.com

[The Phantom]

Curiously, I've found that if you back off up to 4 lights doing 70 in 6th the car starts to slow down. I can't seem to keep the power constant at 4 lights. Driving me nuts.

Anyway I've also noticed something curious after my G/F refuelled the car.

I've Trip A set to reset after each fill up so that I get an average for that tank to compare to my spreadsheet of mileage/fuel in (I'm sad I know). She being a ditz, manually reset Trip B.

Now Trip B hasn't been reset since I bought the car and had an average of around 37mpg based on the 7000 odd miles and fuel used in that time. A true average of how the car is doing in the long run.

In the past Trip A would would start off low after pulling away from the garage and jump up to the 37mpg mark quickly there after, and bobble up and down depending on how hard I was driving. Since the Trip B reset it doesn't do this anymore. It is sitting around the 35mpg mark.

So I'm wondering if the car is using the Trip B figure as a benchmark for when you have refuelled. It sounds mad to me but I haven't changed my driving style since last week but the fuel economy has gone down to 35mpg.

I'm gonna keep an eye on this.

[DeanFYoung]

I'd have had my car for two weeks on this coming Wednesday (3rd oct), and I'm on my second tank of fuel coming up to 1000 miles. Car arrived with 161 miles on the clock and I needed to fill it up at about 220 miles. My trip computer today reads 41.6 mpg, Ive done a few longer distance trips (2 x ~180 miles) but as I'm still running it in, I have been varying the cars speed rather than sit on the motorway and at a constant speed.
I'll probably settle it down a bit on my next tank and see what it does then.

Have to say I'm really impressed withe car so far, great performance too!

[br1tt3n]

MPG, I don't dare even think about it in the Prelude. I do a 14 mile commute in it every working day, its still as smooth as silk to drive but even the slightest poke of the throttle in urban conditions see's the MPG plummet into the 20's.

I swear I've had it into the teens before expecially when giving it "the beans", but to be fair, when I feather throttle it about, I can creep into the 30's.

Role on the diesel

[c0smic]

i drove to spain from belgium to roses

1400 km 2 fuel stops 756 km with 1 tank of gas
i was amazed

i have the 1.4 i-dsi

a minumum of 90 km/hr and a max of 145 km/hr

[nelster]

I've had a 1.8 for just over a year and normally do around 34 MPG. It's pretty poor I know, but first car and I love the outside lane of the motorway

The wife is a lot more reserved and seems to be able to go about 37/38 MPG.

At one point when I had the misfortune to put Tesco 95 RON in it, I got 30 MPG

[Kabi]

First of all,sorry for my english

Yesterday,I came from 2 days trip length for about 1000km,four in car with full luggage with a lot of driving between 140-180kmh and the average was 9.5 l 1.8 Sport

[Woette]

i am also quite happy with my fuel consumption.
On motorways i drive a relaxing 120-130 km and get 6.5 l/100 km. In the city i have learned that you have to gain speed in a lower gear and then put it in the highest gear possible and try to maintain a constant speed. It gives me about 7.5 - 8 L.
BUT when you make the engine rev it starts drinking like an alcoholic that hasnt had a beer in a couple of days = 16 L/100 km
For example i had driven quite economical and the computer said i could still do 600 km with my tank but then i hit the motorway ramp and let the engine go all the way in second, third and fourth. It took about 45 seconds or so but after it the computer said i could only manage 495 km with my tank
Anticipating for upcoming traffic and traffic lights can also save some fuel.

greetz

[Emil]

I am a "dynamic" driver. So at home, mixed mode j I have avg. 9.6 per 100km.
On motorways driving 130kmh around 7l per 100km.

Last trip i have made 700km I had 5.9 per 100kmh.

[Civic Fan]

It seems that the mpg will improve as the engine is run in. A friend of mine got a new car (Ford Focus - poor sod!) and has seen his MPG improve as the miles rack up.
I totally agree with the use of shell V-power fuel. My 1999 Civic 1.6 SE Sport (Rover 400 shape civic) ran very well, gave better mpg and was far more responsive using that fuel. The extra cost per litre was offset by more miles per gallon and therefore fewer trips to the pump over time. Official figures stated 36 mpg for my car at the time. I was returning nearer 42 mpg with 82000+ miles on the clock. It got the odd thrash along my favourite country road and motorway. My car was always serviced on the button at the local Honda dealer but that goes without saying in my books.
I haven’t taken delivery of my new Civic yet but will keep a watchful eye on the MPG and report back my observations.

Cheers – Paul

[chillicat]

There is a real balance with economy, performance and real world driving.

Of my past three cars MPG averaged over 20,000 + miles all in very similar speed/style.

Accord 2.4S Petrol 30.5mpg
Fiesta ST 2.0 Petrol 32.4mpg
Civic EX 1.8 petrol 31.2mpg

Conclusion?

Accord - smooth, quick & lovely
Fiesta - fast and fun
Civic - not like the previous two at all

[Woette]

Originally Posted by chillicat

Civic - not like the previous two at all

So what is the civic like then according to you
I would use all the words to describe my spaceship that you used for the other two

[GHGH]

I got an overall MPG of 40 (real - not computer reading) the first 16000 km/ 10000 miles.
Mixed driving, with good help from low norwegian suburban speed limits. Suburban mostly cruise control as high gear as possible, but quite a few bursts of reving when overtaking.

[chillicat]

I was being polite by not saying and will continue to be so, but as far as the engine gearbox & mechanicals are concerned - disappointing in the extreme.
I'll grant you in the right colour it looks good but starting to date already?

[Woette]

Originally Posted by chillicat

I was being polite by not saying and will continue to be so, but as far as the engine gearbox & mechanicals are concerned - disappointing in the extreme.
I'll grant you in the right colour it looks good but starting to date already?

But didnt you test the car then before buying it? You must have noticed all those things. And i am not with you on the looks part If that car is starting to look 'old' then its time for five wheel cars