Vauxhall Corsa 51 Plate 1.2 - Using A Lot Of Petrol

[buffymad]

My other half bought a second hand Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 car, 51 plate. Only two previous owners and in very good condition and no problems with last MOT.

He thought with it being a small engine he wouldn’t have to pay out much a month petrol wise. However, he seems to have to put petrol in more often than when he had a big old Qashqai!

It’s not leaking anywhere so not sure why this is - any clues? He doesn’t drive massively far to get to work and back.

I’d read that because it’s an older car it’s heavier and is not so fuel efficient as say a newer 1.4 car - might that be true?

All comments welcome. I don’t have a clue and he’s not particularly mechanically minded!!

[Buenchico]

Start with the obvious and cheap:
Change the air filter!

My 1.8 litre Saab costs about 12p per mile on long runs or 15p per mile around town. A 1.2 litre model (sensibly driven!) should cost rather less than that per mile.

[gingejbee]

...seems to have to put petrol in more often....not a very exact measure of mpg in either vehicle! Perhaps he's putting petrol in more often because the tank is a lot smaller?
What I'm saying is....without a decent idea of the actual mpg you're getting, it's difficult to know if it's really that poor.

[gingejbee]

Presumably Chris's "cost" figures are just the price of the petrol per mile....

[Buenchico]

^^^ Yup! ('cos that's what the question's about)

[Hymie]

The Qashqai will be more fuel efficient than the old Corsa (do more miles per gallon despite the bigger size), and the Corsa has a smaller fuel tank, so will need filling up more often (all other things being equal).

[buffymad]

Sorry, I’ll try and give a bit more info.

Tank was filled last Wednesday after work. He drives roughly 28 miles on a weekday, less on a weekend. As of today, the gauge was showing half way between the first black line and the half mark (hope that makes sense). Put £20 in and that took the gauge to just over the three quarters black line.

[buffymad]

Is the air filter easy to change or a cheap job for someone else to do?

[Maydup]

The petrol tank on my car is way smaller than the last one I had and I have to fill up more often. Drives me mad, but its no more expensive.

How much did it cost to fill up the Qashqai?

[Buenchico]

A blocked air filter can ruin the fuel economy of a car so, unless you know that it's been changed recently, it's always one of the first things to try when a car seems to be using a lot of fuel. A new air filter only costs £5 to £10 and replacing it takes just a couple of minutes. (My competence with working on cars in next to nil but even I can change an air filter!)

[douglas9401]

I had one of these for a few days years ago as a courtesy car.
Dog of an engine had to have the udders kicked in to make the thing go, all noise and no performance. Heavy for the size of it too I thought.

None of that helps economy.

[Buenchico]

To check the mpg (and/or pence per mile) figure for the car accurately:

1. Fill the tank right to the very top.
2. Note down the mileage (or set the trip meter to zero).
3. Drive until quite a bit of fuel has been used (preferably at least half a tank).
4. Refill the tank to the very top, noting down how many litres of fuel it takes (and, if you want a 'pence per mile' figure, the cost as well).
5. Also note down how many miles the car has been driven between the two visits to the filling station.

To get an mpg figure, first divide the number of miles driven by the number of litres used to refuel the car. (That gives you 'miles per litre'). Then multiply by 4.546.

To get a 'pence per mile' figure, divide the cost of refilling the tank (in PENCE) by the number of miles driven.

A 1.2 litre car, driven sensibly with a mix of town roads and faster roads, should be achieving at least 40 mpg. (I get that out of my car's 1.8 litre engine).

Looking at it the other way round, the cost of using fuel for the same type of driving shouldn't exceed 16p per mile (at the most). That, of course assumes that you're paying supermarket prices and not filling up at an isolated country garage in the Scottish Highlands.

[malagabob]

Are you like my son. Hard acceleration,late and hard breaking.

[malagabob]

Is the choke sticking.

[buffymad]

Car is running fine and no, he’s a good driver and doesn’t mess about with it lol!

[Zacs-Master]

Sometimes manufacturers don't get the engine / car weigh ratio right.

This might be useful:
http://www.fuelly.com/car/vauxhall/corsa

Tyre pressures can make a big difference to MPG.