MPG Driving Economically in the Civic

[jayt43]

Maybe it's guilt about the fact we're not looking after planet earth properly, or perhaps I've simply become a boring old fart, but recently I've become obsessed with driving as economically as possible on each and every trip.

It's not so much being more light footed on the juice, but rather about adopting strategies to minimize the use of the accelerator and brakes.

For example, on a route you know, when approaching a set of hills it's possible to gauge how much gas is needed to get you over the first crest, before using that momentum to get you over the next few (without touching the accelerator at all).

Or, through better anticipation of traffic flow, you can keep up with other cars using just one or two judicious (and light) dabs of the throttle (and then coast in gear in between each dab, rather than just using constant light throttle, brakes, constant light throttle etc).

I've always been one to look at the road ahead, rather than just the car in front, but over the last few months I've become much more savvy with my technique, so much so that both throttle and brake usage have been reduced to a minimum. Hopefully, my new found skills will also help with the longevity of my discs and pads too

To give you more of an idea of what I'm on about read this excellent 4car article.

Certainly, with the way the i-VTEC 1.8 works, the combination of engine and driver can certainly make a difference to your wallet and CO2 emissions!

[Smazy]

I once managed to squeeze out the number of 5.0L / 100 km which equals to about 47MPG. I have to admit that the engine was already hot and this was after a fill up. But still I’m pretty happy about the fuel consumption of both me and the car (1.8 Sport). It stunning to see how many people don’t look further then the one car in front of them. Doing this will probably also lower the chance for an accident.

The piece of leaving it in gear when driving off hill is new for me. Not that we’ve got a lot of hills in Holland.

[jayt43]

Yes, 5.0 litres/100 km is really good going. Was it on a tow rope though when you did that? . Like you say, the petrol Civic is well-suited to gentle and economic driving.

By the way, you may not have many hills, but you still have a lovely country (and very clean/tidy roundabouts). Was in Valkenburg last Christmas. Most enjoyable!

[Smazy]

Nope. It was on a 20 mile drive with pieces of motorway and some towns. But I was pretty lucky on the traphic lights and gentle on the throttle and shifting at 2400 rpm. 2400 rpm seems to be the most economic point for my car to change gears. But when you are not challenging yourself it's a bit boring. I still like to put it into second gear and blast up the motorway ramp :P.

Roundabouts are a lot better for fuel consumption then traffic lights I guess. If you take the first exit you don't have to brake at all (when there is no other car ). But you create some heat in the tyres I guess.

[FWH]

Well I try for a while, and enjoy it... and then I just need to floor it and hear those VTEC revs.....

[Wheelchair]

Years ago I had a Mk1 Fiesta with the econopack which had an amber light which came on when driving slightly uneconomically, then red for very uneconomical. By trying to drive without illuminating the lights, you learned that most of the time you could save fuel. That type of throttle control has stayed with me over the years and even when overtaking I never floor it.

Funny how the Civic has the lights working in the opposite way!

[Rocko]

I managed to get 47mpg out of my Type R a while ago. From the pump to the edge of the forecourt

The best I've had out of it was 39mpg though, keeping to a steady 70mph for about 50 or so miles.

[Ramsay]

Have just driven back down from Scotland to Surrey in 2 stages of 150 and 250 miles, the last stage gave 49 mpg whilst the overall trip was 48.7 mpg.

Cruising at around 70 mph using either auto/manual or cruise control I found that driving in manual mode I was able to achieve the better economy figures. One thing I did notice was that when comparing computed averages to calculated averages on a tank to tank basis, the calculated was always less (as we all know). However in my case with 2000 miles on the clock, the percentage error is not constant. It will be interesting to see how this pans in a few months time.

Ramsay

[jayt43]

Interesting that 1.8 petrol owners seem to be returning better than expected fuel consumption figures, whereas some 2.2 owners have been a bit disappointed with theirs (against the official figures at least).

Maybe, it's a case of owner expectation with each engine i.e. when petrol owners bought their Civics, they expected less MPG than the diesel, but are pleasantly surprised at how efficient the i-VTEC unit is, whereas diesel owners aren't getting the returns they expected (only in some cases, I hasten to add).

[slowhand]

JAYT43 has a good point, I have now got 10k miles on my 8 month old 1.8, I have not reset the mpg counter for the last 3.5k, and it is showing 43mpg, most days I drive on the M4 and A34 and several trips from Swindon to Portsmouth including sitting in the Portsmouth summer traffic, and I reckon the consumption is very good, much better than I was expecting.
Keep it under 3500 revs when cruising, and limit the revs to 5500 during acceleration (unless you feel the need to let it howl, which it does now and again, especially on the slip road onto the motorway), and it hardly seems worth the extra £1000 for the diesel.

[Tamster's Civic Batmobile]

Originally Posted by jayt43

Interesting that 1.8 petrol owners seem to be returning better than expected fuel consumption figures, whereas some 2.2 owners have been a bit disappointed with theirs (against the official figures at least).

Maybe, it's a case of owner expectation with each engine i.e. when petrol owners bought their Civics, they expected less MPG than the diesel, but are pleasantly surprised at how efficient the i-VTEC unit is, whereas diesel owners aren't getting the returns they expected (only in some cases, I hasten to add).

I think the 1.8 is returning better MPG. After filling her car up with Shell Premium to "clean/flush" the engine last week; I noticed I was getting an average of 43-44 MPG when I filled her up again on normal Shell unleaded. I cover an average of 1500 miles a month mainly on motorway and A-road dual carriageways and I am a bit foot heavy. This should keep the bank manager a little happy...for a while anyway!

[czechplastik]

Originally Posted by Smazy

It stunning to see how many people don’t look further then the one car in front of them. Doing this will probably also lower the chance for an accident.

One of the keys to advanced driving is being able to read the road ahead and anticipating things, i.e observing lamp posts and telegraph poles in the distance and being able to gauge what way the road will bend, looking for gaps between hedges. If you can predict things you will be better served to react to them. Another key point is always driving so that you can stop safely, on your own side of the road, within the distance you can see to be clear.

[slowhand]

Originally Posted by slowhand

JAYT43 has a good point, I have now got 10k miles on my 8 month old 1.8, I have not reset the mpg counter for the last 3.5k, and it is showing 43mpg, most days I drive on the M4 and A34 and several trips from Swindon to Portsmouth including sitting in the Portsmouth summer traffic, and I reckon the consumption is very good, much better than I was expecting.
Keep it under 3500 revs when cruising, and limit the revs to 5500 during acceleration (unless you feel the need to let it howl, which it does now and again, especially on the slip road onto the motorway), and it hardly seems worth the extra £1000 for the diesel.

Well that is not the case anymore a quick 150 miles to cheltenham and back 4 up dropped my mpg from 43 after 3000 miles to 40, I was giving it a bit so I suppose I cant complain

[Smazy]

Originally Posted by slowhand

Well that is not the case anymore a quick 150 miles to cheltenham and back 4 up dropped my mpg from 43 after 3000 miles to 40, I was giving it a bit so I suppose I cant complain

That's not bad. Mine is on 39 MPG after nearly 8300 km with a lot of driving done in heavy traffic.

[Korkut Varol]

Just fresh data for the topic.
Today I made a trip about 400 km. starting from sea level to a final 900 meter, with ups and downs having past a peak of 1500 m altitude.
I drove (as much as possible) with cruise control at a steady about 125 km/h, on a motorway with moderate to strong sidewinds. There were many disturbances from the traffic around, so the trip could have been with a better result if people obeyed the rules.

The first photo was taken after 113 km from the start, reading 6.6 lt/100 km (42.8 mpg): (note that the fuel gauge is still showing full; must be consuming the fuel between the filler cap and the tank by then )




And the second photo is at the end of the trip, still very close with an increment, 6.7 lt/100 km (42.1 mpg):



I am quite happy with the engine's consumption.

[HappyMan]

so would I be. I hope I get that kind of economy out of mine when it arrives. I am planning a trip to Belgium at the end of the year so that kind of economy would be great.

[civicg]

I totallyknow what you mean, for the first time in my life im ashamed to call myself a grandad driver. If I floor it I feel guilty and keep looking at the fuel economy!!!!

Curse that trip computer!!!

[chillicat]

You have to try and drive economically cos the 1.8 certainly won't go fast.

[ETandK]

I have bought my Civic 2 weeks ago and had a consumption of 9.1L/100KM on the first tank and then 8.6L/100KM on the second fill.

Only have 1000KM on the clock now.

I have not been driving for fuel consumption but rather working through the revs through twisty roads, uphill and down, city and open roads. So a real combination of driving conditions.

Did anybody experience an improvement with fuel consumption as the engine starts to run in?

Very happy with the car so far - 1.8 iVtec, we only get one spec in South Africa.

Cheers

ET

[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.