C220 CDI - What MPG?

[rf065]

Do you use your A/C often? That saps fuel
Also I can see those lovely alloy wheels. However, they are probably the upgraded ones and alot wider = more tyre on the road = more friction = more fuel.
The figures quoted in brochurs & magazines are based on the standard skinny tyres.

The air con sapping fuel is a myth.
I never switch mine off & still got 59.1mpg on a long run.


Russ

 

[Parrotman]

Have an '03 C220 CDI Elegance Estate 36500 mls. Combined average mileage is 36mpg with many short journeys. On a 60 mile run ( M25/M23 to Gatwick ) with a steady foot ( not exceeding 70mph) will get 58mpg.

I tend not to use cruise control though as I think ( or is it my imagination ?) it can use more fuel because it's striving to maintain whatever speed it's set at particularly when going uphill where normally one's speed might drop off a bit. Perhaps someone can put me right on this.

John

 

[timskemp]

Personally I think your consumption sounds OK, the Passat is particularly efficient rather than the MB being bad. I see 35mpg overall from the E class, last C220 I used was a W204 and mid 40s on the run to london and back were order of the day.

Aircon makes little or no difference at motorway speeds, in general use how many RPM are you seeing before it changes up - driven gently it'll change between 1500 and 2200, drive like that and you should see mid 40s. Also when you say not much over 70, remember that aero drag increases at the square of speed increase (I think) - so 10% faster is about 21% more drag, 80mph will not get you to your destination a lot quicker but it will be using a lot more fuel!

 

[Corrado]

Mid 40s is typical with a balance of urban (not stop-start town driving) and dual carriageways for mine. I don't see 50mpg unless I'm driving below 60mph. Get out of lower gears asap 'cos they're v. thirsty.

Think you might be expecting 10% better as yours is pre-facelift without the Euro IV compliance "benefits".

 

[Paddcomp]

I'm also in the camp that think's you fuel consumption is okay. I have a C220 CDI estate auto, and get about 45mpg on a run and 35mpg locally. I have a dragon performance chip which ups the indicated mpg slightly but I don't see more range from a tank, so this is probably suspect.

You can turn the a/c off and a manual would be better, but so would a Kia Picanto.

I too came from a 1.9TDI Passat 130ps, and the mpg is much lower for the same routes. Think luxury and comfort rather than frugality.

 

[W210 Fan]

Does anybody else think that car needs a bit of a thrash/engine clean out with a fuel additive if it only gets driven a few short miles on a cold engine, or are more modern engines capable of handling this type of driving without coking up, I know I have my own evidence supporting this but that is on V8s petrols not I4 diesels

 

[BTB 500]

Regarding cruise control; its problem is that it can't take advantage of downhill bits to gain "free" speed and it will push on up hills, where easing off a little would be more economical

Is speeding up as you go down a hill really more fuel-efficient? Cruise control obviously just backs right off the throttle to maintain the set speed.

Slowing down for hills is something that most people without cruise control do without realising. Bends too (even really gentle ones on motorways).

So not really comparing like with like. If you drive slower the fuel consumption improves (whether manually or on CC).

 

[robert.saunders]

I'm in the "thrash it every now & then" school of thought too

 

[BTB 500]

Yeah but we're talking about cars

 

[robert.saunders]

oh yea..

 

[CiaranMcKeown]

Im just wondering, how do we turn our A/C off, i have a button that says REST. Now i dont have a handbook, so when i push this there is a red/orange light that comes on but i dont know if that is it off or on. Is the A/C on until you turn it off or is it OFF until you turn it on, im confused.

 

[Ian_Mac]

I think the air con is on till you switch it off - ie when you have the little red/orange light on the air con is off.

Please feel free to correct anyone if I'm wrong.

 

[travelininstyle]

Welcome Ian to the forum.I have a C180K Kompressor,Auto and petrol - possibly the worst of all combinations some would argue.I always drive around in 'c',or comfort mode,for maximum economy and am very light footed.I commute 12 miles to work each day and achieve an average of 40 mpg. The most I seem to achieve is around 47mpg,I do not think I have achieved much above this,even on motorway runs and keeping at a steady 70 mph on cruise control.I have found some minor benefit from using Shells V-Power,as I believe this will clean out deposits from your valves etc,after a couple of tank fills,but the benefits are at max.an extra 2mpg and they tail off after the initial increase in mpg and the valves have been cleaned - this is particularly true where previous owners have been filling up with cheap supermarket fuels,with little,or no cleaning additives put in the fuel,resulting in the valves getting gummed up.I suspect that when my car is serviced and particularly the air filter is changed,I am hoping for a slight increase in mpg - but I think my current mpg,for an Auto Kompressor is acceptable - lowest mpg ever was around 24 mpg cold starts and 4 mile run.
Incidentally,I have never put my foot down hard enough yet to feel the kick down,or to give the car a blast - an for a kompressor,its perhaps what it needs - any thoughts ?

 

[Ian_Mac]

Cheers for all the comments and info guys!

 

[sweeper]

I'm still suprised at the low mpg people are getting from these diesels, and it is of particular interest to me as i am thinking of buying an E class estate diesel, i can get 31mpg out of our old 170000 mile 230k estate, fully loaded with a roof box cruising at 80-100mph and reckon i could get close to 40 on a steady run with no excess weight (rarely happens) best i have actually seen is 34 (still loaded actual mpg, not computer read out as it hasn't got one) i'm hoping for 40mpg without trying out of a diesel (not much point otherwise, by the way my van will do 35mpg! so what is going on, maybe you are driving to steadily, my jag is better at 80 than 50 for instance.

 

[Jimic220]

Hi,

I have a 2004 C220CDI Estate. It has done just under 50k miles, fully MB maintained etc and driven sensibly. The computers were reset when I bought it so over 5k miles of mixed driving it averages 38.8MPG. I dont think thats too bad, its a heavy car.

VWs are very economical though, my MkIV Golf TDi gives me nearly 60MPG being driven the same way.

 

[Ian_Mac]

Taking on board the comments given here's what I'm going to do - give it a good blast tomorrow to blow off the cob-webs is 1st on the list.

Next time I fill up (when the dash light comes on) I'll put 40 litres of diesel in, decent stuff - not supermarket standard together with the Millers additive. I'm not being tight by the way not brimming the tank but with the low miles I do I could take till Christmas to empty it again!

I'll run the car on "W" mode as much as possible during that period. Once the yellow light comes on I'll do the sums and work out the overall MPG.

Hopefully there may be some improvement, I'll post the results on here as soon as I know.

 

[crockers]

Do you use your A/C often? That saps fuel
Also I can see those lovely alloy wheels. However, they are probably the upgraded ones and alot wider = more tyre on the road = more friction = more fuel.
The figures quoted in brochurs & magazines are based on the standard skinny tyres.

I think turning off A/C is a false economy ....even if it does save mpg ..not using your A/C on regular basis may cause A/C problems which will cost far more than you save...

 

[Ian_Mac]

I'll bear that in mind, I normally have to use it do de-mist the windows when I come from the gym anyway!!

 

[pauldmaynard]

Over the last 3000 miles my E-Class220CDI has got 47 MPG as you see from the photo you can get much more, A little boring driving at 70mph but this car is just as boring at 90