Recent Trip to France - Interesting Observations

[theogeor]

Earlier in the week we did a quick trip to Disneyland Paris (2 nights/3 days) As we were having visitors and we were 8 of us we had to take two cars (wife's B180/W246 and my 911/997 C2 ) Driving was nd most cost effective way of going and in terms of time taken was comparable door to door with either the Eurostar or Plane.
While I have driven to France many times the recent trip it was the only one that I did exactly the same route both ways. In both directions we kept close the speed limits (wife was following me and she doesn't like taking risks)
Route we followed was M25 J16 to M26 then M20 towards Euro-tunnel and on the other side A26 then A1 towards Paris followed A104 and A4.
The Onboard computer on the first leg registered an average of 28.5MPG for the 911 and 47MPG for the B180. On the return trip (weather conditions were almost identical) I observed that until Calais the quoted fuel economy was 32MPG for the 911 and 49MPG for the Merc. That with almost constant speed of 80MPH/130KMH as I was using the cruise control and we found very little traffic if any. Interestingly as soon as we hit UK and got onto the motorway fuel economy was averaging less despite driving at slower speed. Main difference I observe was the smoothness of the French Roads compared with the roughness of the UK ones.. The difference was massive. I could barely hear the tyres of my 911 in France but in UK it was the only thing you could hear... Now the overall economy by the time we hit home was 30MPG on the spot while for the Merc was 48.9MPG. Both cars did extremely well overall on the fuel economy part (maximum I have seen on my 911 ever ) however I started researching the subject and I found a lot of scientific articles that indicates that fuel economy can be affected as much as 12% depending on the road surface.
Beyond that I started questioning few other things.. Why on earth the French have such smooth motorways and ours as so terrible. The weather conditions are not much different between the South East and that part of France. Also if we have such a pressure to drive more fuel efficient cars why more effort is not put on having fuel efficient roads... ?
Anybody else who had made similar observations or wants to add any other info ?

Regards

Theo

 

[pipmk]

Because the French have a much more egalitarian society than ours,because they don't let their bankers and "captains of (usually failed) industry" give themselves awards of millions of euros,because they believe a good infrastructure is worth paying for,I could go on....

Cue all the "but their economy is much worse of than ours" comments.
Question,how much do you feel better off under Gideon?
Question,is life about the economy or is it about quality of life of its citizens?

BTW I lived in France for many years so it is not just holiday inspired romance.

 

[Red C220]

I drove to France late last year on a booze run and the quality of the road surface was immediately apparent.

It was like a driving on a billiard table over there compared to the nonsense we deal with here. I also found Belgium the same, not only was is smoother, it was less tiring and far more enjoyable.

 

[190]

12% surprises me but I don't doubt the effect at all. I've noticed the reduction in drag that a really smooth road produces just by the seat of the pants feel and observation of the MPG meter when crossing onto to a nice smooth surface. All that road noise that rough surfaces produce can't be free in energy terms although there is probably more to it than that.

The roads surfaces in my locality are most awful. How come there are so many nice roads in Wales.

 

[crockers]

Also you pay to use the roads and the French kick up a stink if they're paying and not getting more back...

 

[mattc]

The roads surfaces in my locality are most awful. How come there are so many nice roads in Wales.

Because everyone has to drive as there is precious little public transport. Councils put the money into the road surface. May also help that they don't necessarily have the volume of traffic you see in and around large conurbations.

 

[PenelopePitstop]

I drove to France late last year on a booze run and the quality of the road surface was immediately apparent.

It was like a driving on a billiard table over there compared to the nonsense we deal with here. I also found Belgium the same, not only was is smoother, it was less tiring and far more enjoyable.

Hm.. is it the same Belgium I travel through? When I go to Germany, Belgium roads are the worst. There's difference in quality of surface as soon as you cross Holland's border. I get the best fuel efficiency in Belgium and Holland, but that's because of low speed limit and driving at constant speed using cruise control.

I agree, paid motorways in France are nice and usually deserted outside of Paris.

 

[ss201]

"I also found Belgium the same, not only was is smoother, it was less tiring and far more enjoyable".

You probably didn't stray too far from the Belgian motorways, then.

I spotted a book entitled "The Belgian Guide to Pothole Repairs".

Just a front cover, a back cover and not a single page between them!

 

[rsvgreg]

Drove to the alps Alps at Easter and to Italy in Summer 2015. Road surface in France is superior to ours and to those in northern Italy. The minute you get back on the M20 the cabin noise and the bumps hit you like a tax return. We use the 'Bip n go' tag which not only allows to sale past the toll booth queues but also allows you to track you journey times and cost per leg of motorway use. I would gladly swop some of the hundreds of pounds I pay in road tax for a pay as you go system. Instead I have to chop, change and SORN the various cars we have and still I find myself climbing out of some pothole filled roads. I live in the east of England, after the floods in some parts of the UK I dread to think how this will have affected the road surface in those parts of the country.

 

[Vlad]

Per average mile of motorway the British motorway will take a much higher volume of traffic compared to the average French Motorway, so ours will take a hammering and wear much quicker.

 

[rf065]

Per average mile of motorway the British motorway will take a much higher volume of traffic compared to the average French Motorway, so ours will take a hammering and wear much quicker.

The only reason UK roads wear out quicker is due to lack of maintenance because most road authorities are skint. Also, potholes are repaired time and again when major road reconstruction is really required, but no one has the budget to do so.
From the minute I leave the ferry in France until my return to the UK, I do not hear a single stone hitting the car or windscreen on the Autoroutes. On UK motorways & roads it feels like the car is being sandblasted at times. This cannot be coincidence!

Russ

 

[tonysmb]

Interesting. I have driven the length and breadth in France for years and have always felt their road surfaces are far superior to ours.

I've never given it much thought but I know people are sometimes doubtful of the (good) mpg figures the car shows. 80% of the mileage is in France, mainly on autotoutes, so maybe the surfaces do help. Having said that, I don't think they deal as well with water drainage when it rains hard.

As for Belgian autoroutes, limited experience but the sections I drove on made our roads look wonderful. After miles of huge potholes and terrible expansion strips/gaps I was very happy to leave Belgium

 

[Deleted member 11979]

I noticed it too, 4 up from Calais to La Rochelle via Paris and the average in our e250cdi cab was 57mpg, including the trip into the centre of Paris. We weren't going fast, about 75mph but I was still impressed and thought it markedly better than the uk

When we got back to the uk the first thing I noticed was the deterioration in driving standards

 

[rf065]

I noticed it too, 4 up from Calais to La Rochelle via Paris and the average in our e250cdi cab was 57mpg, including the trip into the centre of Paris. We weren't going fast, about 75mph but I was still impressed and thought it markedly better than the uk

Northern France appears very flat unlike most of the UK, could be a more likely reason for better MPG than just the road surface?

Russ