New van MPG increasing with miles

[Antl]

Picked up the new van on 5th March. It’s a 4x4 Sprinter with 190bhp engine.

On the drive home, taking it easy, it just about managed 24mpg.

I have now clocked up over 2000 miles. On the run back from Scotland today I clocked 30.9mpg, despite using adaptive cruise control most of the way.

This is a far better increase than I was expecting.

 

[Carpmart]

The joy of an engine bedding in! Best thing to do now it’s through its early life, give it an oil and filter change then give it some beans!

 

[Grummyb]

What would you think using adaptive cruise control would reduce the mlg surely all these things are designed yo improve the efficiency of the engine (tin hat on ready for all the "I can drive better than the computer" comments)

 

[Rapido666F]

I hate adaptive cruise control! It insists on using the brakes to keep me the same large distance behind someone whilst I would take my foot off the throttle and allow the distance to reduce slightly. It acts as a speed limiter going down hill by applying the brakes even if the road is clear in front whereas I would allow the speed to increase and then go back to the original value when the road levels off. If I get “too close” to something that I want to overtake it slams the brakes on, so I move into the outer lane well in advance of my usual manoeuvre. If the car in front turns off it can slam the brakes on because it sees the car as almost stationary. I didn’t have any of those problems with “ordinary” cruise control and I’m sure they all result in higher fuel consumption.

 

[Guigsy]

Wind speed and direction make a difference. And a few miles of roadworks or 50mph roads will give you a big mpg average boost too. I can get 30mpg in my a-class, but fighting a headwinds to Norfolk last weekend, I was down to 25mpg.

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[Just smiffy]

Well coming from Scotland it is all down hill…

 

[The Wino]

Well coming from Scotland it is all down hill…

In both senses!

 

[Antl]

I hate adaptive cruise control! It insists on using the brakes to keep me the same large distance behind someone whilst I would take my foot off the throttle and allow the distance to reduce slightly. It acts as a speed limiter going down hill by applying the brakes even if the road is clear in front whereas I would allow the speed to increase and then go back to the original value when the road levels off. If I get “too close” to something that I want to overtake it slams the brakes on, so I move into the outer lane well in advance of my usual manoeuvre. If the car in front turns off it can slam the brakes on because it sees the car as almost stationary. I didn’t have any of those problems with “ordinary” cruise control and I’m sure they all result in higher fuel consumption.

I have had vehicles with adaptive cruise control for several years and they have definitely improved. The Sprinter seems to be softer when slowing and I suspect that it is using some form of regenerative braking. The vehicle information shows that on down hill sections or slowing that the MPG increases and then switches to ‘charging’.

 

[TerryL]

Just changed my car, it's got adaptive cruise control. Not much impressed after a long trip last weekend, same as above, but I've now found the settings and reduced the "activate" distance a notch so we'll see.

As for van consumption, I get an overall 26 mpg (keep accurate "Fill to fill") records, 07 Ducato 2.3 but different driving conditions can see quite big differences, most notably if I go above 60mph. I do use the cruise control a lot but if I've a mind I can improve mpg (slightly) by switching CC off.

 

[Wh05apk]

I use the adaptive cruise a lot in both my car and can, find it is great to use, normally just flick it off and allow it to run downhill, coming back from calais on Tuesday at 56-60mph we achieved 32 mpg which I find amazing for a 4.5t coachbuit.

It may be more efficient not using it, but it is just so relaxing to drive on the cruise, it will maintain a safe distance without having to keep adjusting speed.

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[Scottish Scrutineer]

I hate adaptive cruise control! It insists on using the brakes to keep me the same large distance behind someone whilst I would take my foot off the throttle and allow the distance to reduce slightly. It acts as a speed limiter going down hill by applying the brakes even if the road is clear in front whereas I would allow the speed to increase and then go back to the original value when the road levels off. If I get “too close” to something that I want to overtake it slams the brakes on, so I move into the outer lane well in advance of my usual manoeuvre. If the car in front turns off it can slam the brakes on because it sees the car as almost stationary. I didn’t have any of those problems with “ordinary” cruise control and I’m sure they all result in higher fuel consumption.

I tend to use the speed limiter function in preference to the ACC for the same reasons. I think ACC is one of the reasons why there is so much bunching and surging of speeds as people are not paying attention.

 

[Barriesimpson]

It's you getting used to the nuances of a new vehicle. It is normal to get better mpg over a time, especially using cruise control - yes, the machine really does do it better than you and this is why airplanes have auto pilot.

 

[Grummyb]

I tend to use the speed limiter function in preference to the ACC for the same reasons. I think ACC is one of the reasons why there is so much bunching and surging of speeds as people are not paying attention.

I bet thats more down to dumb arses on their phones than any form of cruise control

 

[Guigsy]

I tend to use the speed limiter function in preference to the ACC for the same reasons. I think ACC is one of the reasons why there is so much bunching and surging of speeds as people are not paying attention.

Shockwaves mainly happen because density is high (i.e there's too much traffic). Roads are much busier than they used to be. Another contribution is taller SUVs and tinned windows. It's a lot harder to see past other cars than it used to be.

It's a game to play in stop-start motorway traffic to try to avoid needing your brakes and to iron out shockwaves. So you just trundle along with a gap opening up as everyone accelerates away and then closes up with the harshly brake for the next stop. It's satisfying if you can time it so they move away just before you need to brake. And much easier in a van when you can see over most other vehicles.

 

[The Wino]

Shockwaves mainly happen because density is high (i.e there's too much traffic). Roads are much busier than they used to be. Another contribution is taller SUVs and tinned windows. It's a lot harder to see past other cars than it used to be.

It's a game to play in stop-start motorway traffic to try to avoid needing your brakes and to iron out shockwaves. So you just trundle along with a gap opening up as everyone accelerates away and then closes up with the harshly brake for the next stop. It's satisfying if you can time it so they move away just before you need to brake. And much easier in a van when you can see over most other vehicles.

Interesting explanation on the Hannah Fry programme on motorways. I must admit I couldn't really understand how lower limits could! increase traffic flow until I saw it. I would have thought if everyone was on adaptive cruise the flow would actually be maximised unless people dodge lanes and cut people up

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[Guigsy]

Interesting explanation on the Hannah Fry programme on motorways. I must admit I couldn't really understand how lower limits could! increase traffic flow until I saw it. I would have thought if everyone was on adaptive cruise the flow would actually be maximised unless people dodge lanes and cut people up

Yeah. Optimum throughput and minimised shockwaves happen at somewhere between 40-50mph on motorways. Lower where there's a lot of weaving or merging. Which is part of the reason for reducing speed limits when it gets busy. The other being that if you do hit the back of a queue, it's safer.

 

[TerryL]

Was I imagining things? When the adaptive limiter activated I put the indicator on to pull out and it speeded up again............

 

[Scottish Scrutineer]

Was I imagining things? When the adaptive limiter activated I put the indicator on to pull out and it speeded up again............

Yes, it responds to your lane change (into a space) and reverts to the previously set speed

Shockwaves mainly happen because density is high (i.e there's too much traffic). Roads are much busier than they used to be. Another contribution is taller SUVs and tinned windows. It's a lot harder to see past other cars than it used to be.

It's a game to play in stop-start motorway traffic to try to avoid needing your brakes and to iron out shockwaves. So you just trundle along with a gap opening up as everyone accelerates away and then closes up with the harshly brake for the next stop. It's satisfying if you can time it so they move away just before you need to brake. And much easier in a van when you can see over most other vehicles.

It is good when you get it right. Used to be a pastime when driving Lorries, especially what would now be considered underpowered. Much easier with an elevated view and paying attention

 

[Guigsy]

I've got adaptive cruise on my cheap Hyundai EV. It works pretty well on the motorway. Even in pretty heavy traffic, I can just set the speed and let it do its thing. Smoothly brakes and accelerates as it catches a car in front or the leader accelerates away. Even smoothly nudges me around the curves, and it's fairly good at realising when the car in front is changing lanes. Just loosely hold the wheel and it's like driving with my mind, it pretty much does what I want it to do. I'm still driving, but it's a second opinion that I trust. And no, I never play with my phone while driving.

One thing it doesn't do though is track cars in neighbouring lanes. It'll quite happily undertake if you let it. A VW ID3 I hired a while ago would track all the cars around it and didn't undertake. And it had a heads-up display that put little lines under cars with a different colour on the one it was locked on to, so I had more confidence it was working correctly. Although it was a bit slow at realising the car it had lock had changed lanes, so it'd slow quite a lot if the car in front went into a service station.

I'd love the van to have similar adaptive cruise. It's not an auto pilot. But having a system that's watching your back and can probably react quicker than you is reassuring and it does reduce fatigue on long motorway hauls.

 

[Gaston aires]

I use normal cruise control all the time and while we’re talking about slight MPG savings I hate that infernal stop start system and the first thing I do is switch it off. I’m sure there must be a way to cancel it permanently.

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[The Wino]

On the subject of mpg . It's in the news today that octopus are launching an unlimited ev home charging cost of £30 a month. I know that there are a lot of sceptics but if you charge at home it's an attractive proposition compared to diesel. Probably at the moment most attractive to car owners doing a 60 mile commute to work every day but ev charging at the moment is showing no signs of getting more expensive. For a 60 mile commute each way it's the equivalent of 480 mpg and free fuel at weekends!

 

[Gaston aires]

I use normal cruise control all the time and while we’re talking about slight MPG savings I hate that infernal stop start system and the first thing I do is switch it off. I’m sure there must be a way to cancel it permanently.

I looked on Utube and hey presto found a simple way to cancel it. I’ve been meaning to do it for ages. Yippee

 

[Barriesimpson]

I looked on Utube and hey presto found a simple way to cancel it. I’ve been meaning to do it for ages. Yippee

The problem is that now with all this 'green' shit they put on the diesel engines means that running on idle buggers up the filtration system resulting in expensive trips to the dealer. I always switch the stop/start off on the Jag, but it is a petrol engine so no problem. On the van, I just let it do what it wants.

 

[dunnah01]

On the subject of mpg . It's in the news today that octopus are launching an unlimited ev home charging cost of £30 a month. I know that there are a lot of sceptics but if you charge at home it's an attractive proposition compared to diesel. Probably at the moment most attractive to car owners doing a 60 mile commute to work every day but ev charging at the moment is showing no signs of getting more expensive. For a 60 mile commute each way it's the equivalent of 480 mpg and free fuel at weekends!

But it's subsidised by me paying through the nose to heat our house

 

[cyberyacht]

I've kept detailed stats on fuel since I bought the A Class almost 5 years ago. It's averaged a whisker over 31mpg on a Euro 5 2.3 150BHP manual. I rarely use Cruise Control or toll motorways.

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[The Wino]

But it's subsidised by me paying through the nose to heat our house

I doubt there's any subsidy it's going to be charging mostly at night there are t and c on daytime charging. Not much call for heating at night. I do think that the next big take up will be battery storage off peak to use at peak times and balance the grid and people are going to find it makes sense to invest in storage at home.

 

[dunnah01]

I doubt there's any subsidy it's going to be charging mostly at night there are t and c on daytime charging. Not much call for heating at night. I do think that the next big take up will be battery storage off peak to use at peak times and balance the grid and people are going to find it makes sense to invest in storage at home.

Most suppliers have stopped any decent Economy 7 type tariffs so if you have electric storage heaters overnight heating is expensive. Not sure how long EV charging will be off -peak if the take up is as required and they're all plugged in overnight.

 

[The Wino]

Most suppliers have stopped any decent Economy 7 type tariffs so if you have electric storage heaters overnight heating is expensive. Not sure how long EV charging will be off -peak if the take up is as required and they're all plugged in overnight.

If you get an EV you can get the EV rate for all the electricity you use when the cheap EV rate is on
Economy 7 is as far as I know about to end it relys on a radio signal that's being stopped. People on it who go to a smart meter ought to have similar rates to EVs.

 

[Brains]

Wind speed and direction make a difference. And a few miles of roadworks or 50mph roads will give you a big mpg average boost too. I can get 30mpg in my a-class, but fighting a headwinds to Norfolk last weekend, I was down to 25mpg.

I used to drive my Landrover Defender between my home in London and my parents in Cornwall on a regular basis every few weeks.
It's 276 miles each way.

Cornwall to London (with the prevailing wind behind me)
always used less fuel than the other way
London to Cornwall (into the wind).

The difference was about 50 miles worth of fuel.
Which is about 1 litre extra per 75 miles into the prevailing wind.

 

[dunnah01]

If you get an EV you can get the EV rate for all the electricity you use when the cheap EV rate is on
Economy 7 is as far as I know about to end it relys on a radio signal that's being stopped. People on it who go to a smart meter ought to have similar rates to EVs.

I'm years away from an EV based on 2nd hand car prices. The only way it could work if it was just a glorified battery storage for the house but the tech is too new at the moment. Smart meter low cost off peak tariffs except for EVs are virtually non existent nowadays.

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