T180 Mpg Test

[OldSkoO1]

Now some of you may find the following quite sad.

I'm an engineer type of person, like to take things apart, figure out how things work just for fun really.

Currently i have no issues with MPG but seldom get the opportunity to deviate from my daily routes. Today i got that opportunity to go further afield and decided to see how MPG varies in different situations.

Typical up and down a-road hoon returned 38mpg, eventually.

Stop hooning and i was up to 43mpg (by this i mean i kept a steady speed and didn't press on as much).

Journey back home involved a good stretch of m-way, although this particular m-way was very up and down with some significant hills, i judged there was as many up's as there were down's. So i reset the mpg computer, cruise control bang on 70mph in 6th. By the time i exited the m-way i was showing 49.7mpg. Not bad i thought.

The i had a brain wave, i though well i'm nearly home now, i have nothing else to do, the mrs isn't in i'm feeling quite happy with that m-way mpg i'll just pop down the dual carriageway which consisted of a fair few miles of again quite up and down road with a significant hill. I thought to myself i'll drive down here to the roundabout and back up and take an average mpg in 4th, 5th and 6th gear all at 60mph with cruise control. When i get back i'll go round the first roundabout and repeat in next gear.

So thats what i did, i drove exactly the same every time, same conditions, no hazards, accelerating with the same smoothness when i had to and braking or coming off cruise control using road signs as markers.

@ 60mph with cruise control

4th = 41.6mpg / 2.6k RPM

5th = 46.3 mpg / 2k RPM

6th = 51mpg / 1.6k RPM

There you can see a significant deviation between the rev range, which i'm confident to say extends across all gears. There is just 1 emission from this test, there was a significant hill climb on this route which there was no way i was going up in 6th at 1.6k RPM, so i dropped down to 5th for that bit.

However, i repeated the same route straight after, again in 6th just to see and the second run in 6th produced 50.9 mpg :) near as damit 51mpg from the first run.

So i carried on home which involved about 6 miles through town, all at 30mph. At the start of the town run, i reset the mpg computer yet again, and attempted to stick to the 1.6k RPM range. Which in the test above produced the best results. I also tried not to stop. Amazingly i arrived home showing 54.2mpg, town was quiet and flat but even still! I knew it was accurate because it was dropping 0.5mpg for every 15secs i spent faffing reading a text message and getting the phone camera and taking a pic. (Must point out i was idling on my drive).

I also know my mpg calculator is within 1mpg accuracy proved by all the brim to brim calculations i do.

I was running on v-power diesel and i over-inflate my tyres by 2 psi all round

I also noticed a change in the engine at 1.6k / 1.7k, possibly up to 1.8k. The diesel clatter is slighter more pronounced as you would expect as by 1.8k you are generating max torque. Because the t180 uses piezo injectors, i.e. no moving parts, the clatter is quieter but still there. It comes from the sudden change in cylinder pressure as the fuel system gets to work by spraying fuel in precise quantities at extreme pressure which atomize and ignite with the pressure and heat. Its at this point where the car is running most efficiently. Therefore, you want to maintain steady speeds around 1.6k / 1.7k, 1.8k MAX if you are trying to save fuel.

However, you must down shift and maintain 2k + for steep hills and for acceleration, well thats when the t180 drinks no matter what, my preferred method is fairly quick to get up to speed and smoothly, using max torque, so between 1.8k and 2.6k.

With that said, and you follow the rev ranges above, if you cannot avoid a plethora of stop / start situations your MPG will nose dive. No matter what you do with the throttle, getting the car moving, stopping and repeating for even a mile is going to destroy mpg :)

zzzzzz over.

[carlowlad]

Thats a very comprehensive test. Well done!

Another method to cut fuel use is to lift off the throttle and stay in gear while deccelerating. This is really easy to do and is handy if you are coming down a hill or coming to a red light or junction etc.

Do it as soon as you realise you have to stop at a certain point down the road. Lift off the throttle and let the car slow down by itself. It's not coasting, you are still in gear. With practice you will stop exactly where you want to. The lights may even be green when you get there so you won't even have to stop, therefore saving more fuel.

This engine mode is called DFCO or Decceleration Fuel Cut Off. Power to the injectors is cut and you use no fuel. Your momentum is what keeps the engine turning.

I might also add that petrol cars deccelerate much quicker in DFCO due to the vacumn caused by the throttle plate, which the diesel engine does not.

[Aurissimo]

The Clatter you refer to I think you'll find is the Variable Nozzle turbo, trying to work with insufficient Boost pressure. This is not ideal for the efficient running of the vehicle. this engine needs Boost and you don't get much of that below 2000rpm.

Agree though 1.8k rpm is optimum for fuel efficiency, 2.1k rpm is best for torque delivery, and smooth progress.

Very good assesment

[Johan007]

@OldSkoO1 I bet you could get even more MPG if you changed below max torque range so after a gear change at low speeds your revs shows as low 1100 revs. At higher gears that would labour the engine so make sure your no lower than 1200, 1400 etc... in my test in an D4D I get better MPG. The way the DCAT works maybe different.

[bubbles66]

Hi, reading this i feel i have an issue with my T180, i recently bought it a, and one of the reasons i bought it apart from the superb looks of the car is the MPG stated in the book. Im struggling to get 30 MPG no matter how i drive it cananyone help?

It has a T spirit twin exghaust sytem on but i wouldn't think that would make a difference because it was factory fitted. would it?

Thanks :(

[OldSkoO1]

That certainly isn't right

I dont really get below 40mpg unless i'm driving around town and even then its about 36-37mpg.

Check your air filter and try v-power for a tank. 30mpg certainly isn't right.

Are you noticing any flat spots or judders as you rev?

[bubbles66]

That certainly isn't right

I dont really get below 40mpg unless i'm driving around town and even then its about 36-37mpg.

Check your air filter and try v-power for a tank. 30mpg certainly isn't right.

Are you noticing any flat spots or judders as you rev?

been out today and done about 50 mile, averaged 35mpg driving it like an old !Removed!, definately not right. Can an air filter make you loose that much mpg? i would say there is a flat spot in 2nd gear probably at about 1000 rpm. As i have only just bought the car, i thought this might be normal.

[doogal1]

to state a fact more people are unhappy with t/sr180 mpg than are not

another fact everyone drives diferent

i believe the mpg is very dissapointing for the car

another fact myself driving volvo s60 d5 on a journey 49mpg

myself driving 170 vw touran same journey 51mpg

myself driving t180 same journey 38mpg

my driving will not be the most economical someone getting 50mpg from t180 will probably get 65/70mpg from volvo or touran

this mpg thing needs to be put to bed

the sr/t180 fuel consumption is not its best asset

i also use 3.0d4d h2 hi-lux for work and almost equal my t180 mpg

[Rick D4D]

That certainly isn't right

I dont really get below 40mpg unless i'm driving around town and even then its about 36-37mpg.

Check your air filter and try v-power for a tank. 30mpg certainly isn't right.

Are you noticing any flat spots or judders as you rev?

been out today and done about 50 mile, averaged 35mpg driving it like an old !Removed!, definately not right. Can an air filter make you loose that much mpg? i would say there is a flat spot in 2nd gear probably at about 1000 rpm. As i have only just bought the car, i thought this might be normal.

thats ok for the time of year, we have just done a 70mile round trip this morning and 40miles was M1 and we got 34MPG, last week short 6mile journeys we only got 28MPG over 140 miles

[Rick D4D]

to state a fact more people are unhappy with t/sr180 mpg than are not

another fact everyone drives diferent

i believe the mpg is very dissapointing for the car

another fact myself driving volvo s60 d5 on a journey 49mpg

myself driving 170 vw touran same journey 51mpg

myself driving t180 same journey 38mpg

my driving will not be the most economical someone getting 50mpg from t180 will probably get 65/70mpg from volvo or touran

this mpg thing needs to be put to bed

the sr/t180 fuel consumption is not its best asset

i also use 3.0d4d h2 hi-lux for work and almost equal my t180 mpg

Yes this is true but the T180 / SR180 has better / lower emissions and this is where the MPG is lost, all the new diesels that have caught up with Toyota on the emissions have similar MPG to the T180 / SR180 for the BHP. The fact is you can not have a low emission high BHP diesel that does 50MPG + without trying very hard.

[Beretta]

to state a fact more people are unhappy with t/sr180 mpg than are not

another fact everyone drives diferent

i believe the mpg is very dissapointing for the car

another fact myself driving volvo s60 d5 on a journey 49mpg

myself driving 170 vw touran same journey 51mpg

myself driving t180 same journey 38mpg

my driving will not be the most economical someone getting 50mpg from t180 will probably get 65/70mpg from volvo or touran

this mpg thing needs to be put to bed

the sr/t180 fuel consumption is not its best asset

i also use 3.0d4d h2 hi-lux for work and almost equal my t180 mpg

Yes this is true but the T180 / SR180 has better / lower emissions and this is where the MPG is lost, all the new diesels that have caught up with Toyota on the emissions have similar MPG to the T180 / SR180 for the BHP. The fact is you can not have a low emission high BHP diesel that does 50MPG + without trying very hard.

As Rick quite rightly states, to get really good mpg, you would have to remove most of the emission controls/dpf etc that currently strangle the breathing of this engine, you would also have to get rid of a load of the weight from this car.

I drive with some degree of restraint, and get 35mpg on average, and 42mpg on a run, and whilst I agree we all drive differently, there seem to be too many drivers that fail to get anywhere near the claimed mpg figures for us all to be cursed with a heavy right foot.

Comfortable long distance cruiser.......Yes.....................................Hot/sports hatch.....Never.

[Rick D4D]

Comfortable long distance cruiser.......Yes.....................................Hot/sports hatch.....Never.

This is one of the biggest points people miss, they think because of the "SR" Badge they have a hot hatch but the truth of the matter is at the moment Toyota don't really seem to make an hot hatch! The Auris is like shall we say, lightly sporty but approx 30% heavier than a hot hatch and a very capable cruiser. Me myself used to own an EP3 Civic Type R now that was a hot hatch and quick, it was a very good drive on A & B roads but TBH on long runs it was not the best due 3600 rpm at 70mph, no cruise control and then the road noise (because the geometry of the car was to make it grip but this also gives noise) but then again a CTR is not designed to cruise up and down the country. To be fair 0-60 the T180 is approx 2 seconds slower but 50-100 I would say even with all the extra weight the T180 would not be much slower, defo slower but not much and when you then note that this does worst 25MPG in cold short heavy traffic runs and the CTR could be down to 12MPG for the same runs then the T180 is very impressive. On a run in the summer the best I ever got from the EP3 was approx 37MPG where the same run 1 year later in the T180 is 46MPG then add the fact we had the climate control, cruise control on and 9 air bags (not 2 like the EP3) along with 30% extra weight of chassis and 40% less emissions then these figures are very good. The fact is as much as I loved the CTR I would not swap the T180 for another, if money was no object and we had the space then I would love another EP3 but then again money no object and it would be a Mclaren F1, this maybe the reason I bought the Chaly, small, cheap to insure, good fun, will only go up in value and does between 60-100mpg depending how you ride.

[bubbles66]

Comfortable long distance cruiser.......Yes.....................................Hot/sports hatch.....Never.

This is one of the biggest points people miss, they think because of the "SR" Badge they have a hot hatch but the truth of the matter is at the moment Toyota don't really seem to make an hot hatch! The Auris is like shall we say, lightly sporty but approx 30% heavier than a hot hatch and a very capable cruiser. Me myself used to own an EP3 Civic Type R now that was a hot hatch and quick, it was a very good drive on A & B roads but TBH on long runs it was not the best due 3600 rpm at 70mph, no cruise control and then the road noise (because the geometry of the car was to make it grip but this also gives noise) but then again a CTR is not designed to cruise up and down the country. To be fair 0-60 the T180 is approx 2 seconds slower but 50-100 I would say even with all the extra weight the T180 would not be much slower, defo slower but not much and when you then note that this does worst 25MPG in cold short heavy traffic runs and the CTR could be down to 12MPG for the same runs then the T180 is very impressive. On a run in the summer the best I ever got from the EP3 was approx 37MPG where the same run 1 year later in the T180 is 46MPG then add the fact we had the climate control, cruise control on and 9 air bags (not 2 like the EP3) along with 30% extra weight of chassis and 40% less emissions then these figures are very good.

thanks for all your replies and good information, i was just concerned with the book saying 45mpg combined thats all. The car is wicked but with the warrenty about to run out i thought this might be a common issue.Just an example, i filled the car up yesterday which was about 45 litres (10 gallon) and the computer said 285 miles thats less than 30mpg for a diesel car.

[bubbles66]

Lets not move from why i originally posted, and that was because of the amazing figures done by oldsko1, if his car is geeting that mpg then there is a problem with my car or i have a lead foot.

[Rick D4D]

thanks for all your replies and good information, i was just concerned with the book saying 45mpg combined thats all. The car is wicked but with the warrenty about to run out i thought this might be a common issue.Just an example, i filled the car up yesterday which was about 45 litres (10 gallon) and the computer said 285 miles thats less than 30mpg for a diesel car.

Yes mine the same but if you will keep looking you will notice that it does not go down on a mile to mile basis, I have found with normal driving (not sat in loads of traffic on short journeys) you should get about 380-440 miles to a full tank. I think they have to quote a worst case mileage etc on these type of things, its like all car speedos always read faster than your going.

[bubbles66]

thanks for all your replies and good information, i was just concerned with the book saying 45mpg combined thats all. The car is wicked but with the warrenty about to run out i thought this might be a common issue.Just an example, i filled the car up yesterday which was about 45 litres (10 gallon) and the computer said 285 miles thats less than 30mpg for a diesel car.

Yes mine the same but if you will keep looking you will notice that it does not go down on a mile to mile basis, I have found with normal driving (not sat in loads of traffic on short journeys) you should get about 380-440 miles to a full tank. I think they have to quote a worst case mileage etc on these type of things, its like all car speedos always read faster than your going.

Ok thanks Rick, if i got those figures i would be more than happy. I will test it this week, if not i think it might have to go for a check up.

[OldSkoO1]

I dont know what i'm doing differently

People here are saying mid 30's is what they usually get.

I drove to London and back recently over a weekend of use and finally filled up and got 500 miles to a tank with 45.2mpg.

Back to my normal commute and i reset the trip computer and got 47mpg on my a-road commute until i hit crawling town traffic which drops it to about 42-43mpg.

The overwhelming factor to my under-performing MPG and not hitting the average is the town traffic. I know if i wasn't crawling through endless junctions and lights i would get 45mpg. The MPG tests they do don't factor in stop start and the 2.2d lump is pretty heavy to keep moving it from standstill.

Having said that, i only got 48mpg out of the new avensis 150 2.2d on a trip from the Midlands to Devon and after a week's driving around through towns etc and back up the motorway the whole trip was sitting around 44mpg. I expected more.

I will say, i do seem to get a few mpg more on v-power over Shell diesel extra. But worked out, extra is better value for money by 1p for litre. Which, imo is nothing, infact if it was its 7p better a litre i would still use v-power anyone, its only an extra fiver.

Apart from the pretty heavy weight of the t180 and the fact it is a 2.2 litre capacity compared to other similar 2 litre hatches the design doesn't seem like the best for high speed wind resistance which makes it not too great at m-way speed on MPG compared to low slung smaller capacity saloons.

[bubbles66]

I dont know what i'm doing differently

People here are saying mid 30's is what they usually get.

I drove to London and back recently over a weekend of use and finally filled up and got 500 miles to a tank with 45.2mpg.

Back to my normal commute and i reset the trip computer and got 47mpg on my a-road commute until i hit crawling town traffic which drops it to about 42-43mpg.

The overwhelming factor to my under-performing MPG and not hitting the average is the town traffic. I know if i wasn't crawling through endless junctions and lights i would get 45mpg. The MPG tests they do don't factor in stop start and the 2.2d lump is pretty heavy to keep moving it from standstill.

Having said that, i only got 48mpg out of the new avensis 150 2.2d on a trip from the Midlands to Devon and after a week's driving around through towns etc and back up the motorway the whole trip was sitting around 44mpg. I expected more.

I will say, i do seem to get a few mpg more on v-power over shell diesel extra. But worked out, extra is better value for money by 1p for litre. Which, imo is nothing, infact if it was its 7p better a litre i would still use v-power anyone, its only an extra fiver.

Apart from the pretty heavy weight of the t180 and the fact it is a 2.2 litre capacity compared to other similar 2 litre hatches the design doesn't seem like the best for high speed wind resistance which makes it not too great at m-way speed on MPG compared to low slung smaller capacity saloons.

Those would be the figures i would expect to get, i think im going to get mine checked out, i can get 35 mpg on a fifty mile round trip but thats driving it like a 80 yr old.

[Paul Mack]

thanks for all your replies and good information, i was just concerned with the book saying 45mpg combined thats all. The car is wicked but with the warrenty about to run out i thought this might be a common issue.Just an example, i filled the car up yesterday which was about 45 litres (10 gallon) and the computer said 285 miles thats less than 30mpg for a diesel car.

Yes mine the same but if you will keep looking you will notice that it does not go down on a mile to mile basis, I have found with normal driving (not sat in loads of traffic on short journeys) you should get about 380-440 miles to a full tank. I think they have to quote a worst case mileage etc on these type of things, its like all car speedos always read faster than your going.

Ok thanks Rick, if i got those figures i would be more than happy. I will test it this week, if not i think it might have to go for a check up.

Hi,

I have to agree with Rick's numbers I can confirm similar with my 57' SR180.

I also agree with him ref the car itself, overall, I am more than happy with mine

Cheers Paul

[bubbles66]

Just an update

I filled my car on sunday and the computer said 280 miles thats for 45litres, i have recently done 130 miles driving in it with a little more care shall we say, and the computer says 210 miles left which means my 280 to the tank has now gone to 340, a 60 mile increase. This is an average of 34mpg (town driving mainly) which is what the book says, on this information i think alot of it is down to the driver. I think at a push i could get 40 mpg just driving around town.

I just need to learn that im getting old and i cant drive it like i stole it. (but its !Removed! hard)

[Aurissimo]

old skool data while valid, has to be assesed in context, and there are many variables not mentioned.

So don't take those values factually, simply indicative...

Driver, road, climate, and other usage conditions will have significant effect. (e.g. have you considered that ECU's these days "learn" your driving style and can adjust settings accordingly? )

I moved from petrol cars into this diesel. and it has taken me about 25 fillups to understand diesel engine characteristics fully , considering torque output, and capability to drive the car, power band and effective usage, and more importantly for me has been "rev-feel adjustment" .

coming from petrol cars ( (honda nissan and previous car being a 350Z) and driving "spiritedly" I am used to hearing 4000-6000 revs and this being the gear change point... re-tuning my ears to 1-2k rpm and still keep the power going is quite a hard...

When i started i got 35-37 on the motorway run, I now get 42-43 without, [ehem] lets say, compromising the progress I make on the motorway...

Look at my signature and you'll see my average over 40 fillups... now it is gradually creeping up...

[Mr Tall]

Make sure your tyres are at the right pressure - I feel like such a pillock, mine were really underinflated.

Blown them up, and I'm now getting 47mpg on my commute to work (that's taking it really easy, low revs/low throttle etc). I was getting less than 40 before :o

[OldSkoO1]

old skool data while valid, has to be assesed in context, and there are many variables not mentioned.

So don't take those values factually, simply indicative...

Driver, road, climate, and other usage conditions will have significant effect. (e.g. have you considered that ECU's these days "learn" your driving style and can adjust settings accordingly? )

I moved from petrol cars into this diesel. and it has taken me about 25 fillups to understand diesel engine characteristics fully , considering torque output, and capability to drive the car, power band and effective usage, and more importantly for me has been "rev-feel adjustment" .

coming from petrol cars ( (honda nissan and previous car being a 350Z) and driving "spiritedly" I am used to hearing 4000-6000 revs and this being the gear change point... re-tuning my ears to 1-2k rpm and still keep the power going is quite a hard...

When i started i got 35-37 on the motorway run, I now get 42-43 without, [ehem] lets say, compromising the progress I make on the motorway...

Look at my signature and you'll see my average over 40 fillups... now it is gradually creeping up...

The test is fair, same road conditions, same climate, same acceleration consistancy, same braking points, same routes, same weight same tyre pressure... about as fair as a test could be without being in a lab.

The results show how the car responds to different rev ranges and gearing which can be applied to any driving situation.

So its saying, regardless of factors, providing you maintain speed between 1.6k and 1.8k RPM and you change gear at about 2.2k RPM you will return the very best possible economy for your route.

I personally don't religiously stick to this. I indeed accelerate and change at 2.2k (coincidently when the gear shift light comes on) and maintain speed between 1.6k and 1.8k when there is traffic (i see no point in going higher, its just wasting fuel without going anywhere, any faster). However, when there is an open road or an overtaking opportunity i would take it up to 4k RPM because i believe you should always allow the engine to stretch its legs, and you can even use the pulse and glide technique to even get good economy from planting your foot. This probably reduces my overall economy by a measly 2mpg but its good fun!

[T Sport 1978]

Curiously I have just had my worst tank ever.

33.05mpg

It has been dropping since October from around 40 MPG, I hope it is just the cold and not something wrong.

[Rick D4D]

Curiously I have just had my worst tank ever.

33.05mpg

It has been dropping since October from around 40 MPG, I hope it is just the cold and not something wrong.

No mate this is how we have been for the last 6-8 weeks, I also think the wind is one of the main factors people seem to forget ;)