Ekona Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 My daily hack is a current-gen Ford Ranger Wildtrak, the one with the 3.0L lump. I drive my cars hard when possible, and this is no different: Despite weighing 2.5tons, she gets thrown around corners and nigh-on redlined when I'm trying to get the most out of her. In short, she's driven more like a fun car than a works vehicle. As you can imagine, with the above driving style and the fact that the air con is delightful in the summer, I don't get the greatest MPG out of her. Ford reckon 29.7MPG on the combined cycle, and that mixed 50/50 highway/city driving is pretty much what I do day to day (28 miles on the dual carriageway commute, and then anywhere between 10-20 miles driving around the site depending on what I'm doing). In the last couple of fill ups I decided I would find out exactly what MPG I'm getting normally and what I could get out of her if I really, really tried. Results as follows... FILL UP NUMBER ONE I filled the ol' girl up with BP's regular diesel and proceeded to drive my usual way, so basically I thrashed the tits off her. Loads of aircon, loads of revs, lovely. After about 330 miles the fuel light came on and she needed a fill. A quick bit of maths later and I got the grand score of... 28MPG. I was shocked. That's almost spot-on for what Ford reckon, so if I can get that whilst nailing it what on earth can I get if I drive sensibly? Ooh, I did get a wee bit excited at this point in the challenge! FILL UP NUMBER TWO Right, I'm well up for this now. I must be able to near enough double that I reckon if I short shift everywhere, turn the aircon off and coast whenever possible. So I did. I was shifting as early as possible (we're talking between 1500-2000 RPM here), no foot-flat-to-the-florr acceleration, just use the torque to get her moving kind of thing. Pootle around everywhere granny-style, and just pretend I'm limping her home on every drive. I was really impressed at my own ability to change my driving style with such ease, and knew I was onto a winner. As the fuel gauge dropped I got more and more excited, knowing that the final numbers were just round the corner. Finally the time came, and once again I dropped into the welcoming arms of the BP garage and I proudly filled the tank, awaiting the eager numbers so I could do a proper calculation of what I'd got. I was sweating. It was now or never. This is it. My final MPG was... 29.8MPG And as such I will never, ever drive so boringly again. What a complete waste of time, much like you've spent looking forward to the awesome result of this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 didnt they do a test on top gear or fifth gear where they prooved it was best to accerate as hard as you can then coast rather than driving like a granny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 im glad there was a giggle at the end of that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmarky Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 Thtas the sort of thing i did in the Zed. I cant get anywhere near the figures some people talk about, I was averaging 34-26 MPG enjoying driving the zed and then being as careful as possible I only managed average of 28. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 The Zed seems to roll very well once going. On the runs I had over the last two weeks it averaged over 30 mpg, and if you get into a high gear when cruising at lower speeds it hardly uses any juice.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 Loved reading that and the suspense at the end was priceless I tried a similar thing with my STI a few years back... I though fook it for the extra couple of quid I will drive it how it was meant to drive.. Great thread Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted August 2, 2010 Author Share Posted August 2, 2010 didnt they do a test on top gear or fifth gear where they prooved it was best to accerate as hard as you can then coast rather than driving like a granny It was TG back in the day when it used to be good and it was Hammond in a Caterham IIRC with 1L of fuel. Well remembered though, sir! Honestly though, I was so disappointed when I found out that I'd only gained a poxy 2MPG by driving dull. I really thought it might be worth my while driving like that all the time, especially with a diesel truck that shouldn't be fun in the first place, but t'was not to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 such a shame, you will be forced to have fun now, pity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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