MPG issue

[Catlover]

It’s going to take nice warm days to judge how good fuel consumption is. Take a good April day when outside temperature is at least 15 deg c. No good those wet windy cold days, you loose 10mpg in winter. Any car will take a hit in winter but more so an hybrid cause the ice engine will be used more to keep it and occupants warm.

[Legge]

I have a Corolla TS GR Sport 2.0 Hybrid. It has been quite cold in Finland lately. At -10 C I was still getting ~51 mpg on my 15 mile commute (1/3 town, rest 50 mph). Now it's -20 C, and the mileage dropped to 42 mpg. At this cold temperature the EV time is only 5 %, but I'm still quite happy when comparing to my previous turbo petrols.

[AKLZ]

^ you're doing well then!

I am not concerned, as I realise it's the weather, but of interest my mpg has dropped from 48mpg 2 weeks ago down to 46mpg this week. I think if my car was kept garaged this wouldnt have happened, but being left on an outside driveway, it gets that much colder and takes that much longer each day to de-frost and warm up, and that's impacting the economy. I continue to drive ultra-carefully (have only done 2 brief hard accelerations in the month I've owned it!!)

I cant wait for spring so I can see how economical it really it.

For now, I am comforting myself that it's certainly not worse than a standard car, and still remains probably a little more economical than a standard car.

[Timmon]

2 hours ago, AKLZ said:

^ you're doing well then!

I am not concerned, as I realise it's the weather, but of interest my mpg has dropped from 48mpg 2 weeks ago down to 46mpg this week. I think if my car was kept garaged this wouldnt have happened, but being left on an outside driveway, it gets that much colder and takes that much longer each day to de-frost and warm up, and that's impacting the economy. I continue to drive ultra-carefully (have only done 2 brief hard accelerations in the month I've owned it!!)

I cant wait for spring so I can see how economical it really it.

For now, I am comforting myself that it's certainly not worse than a standard car, and still remains probably a little more economical than a standard car.

I collect for the local food bank, and drop the load around to the collection point once per week, which is only about 1.5 miles away, through the town, so 30mph max. From cold at the moment, around zero to 5 degrees, I get around 38mpg on the out bound journey, and 48 if I am lucky on the return journey. If I go to another town 8 miles away, through  a village and a 1 mile stretch at 70, out bound get around 46mpg, on the return about 50 (but 1 mile stretch of 70 mph road is up hill all the way).  In summer I would add about 8 mpg to those figures. In summer at 70 mph I have achieved 60mpg on the motorway, even a bit more for flat stretches, when the EV mode can take you a mile at 70 on it's own. So it is worth waiting until the warmer weather to see how your car performs, and by then you will have even more experience of which power modes work for you and when. Personally, I use normal all the time, I forget all about EV mode, and Sport mode I use probably once a month , just to get past a lorry or something. 

[TonyHSD]

You know taxi and ph drivers are not that much affected by the cold weather, mpg will vary but not as much as in private users cars, since the taxis use the cars longer hours the cars gets into working temp and while they keep using them the cars are hot and they now behave like in warmer weather if we exclude other various factors like wet roads, winter tyres , wind etc. I have achieved my best fuel consumption in ice cold weather (-5C°) in night driving through empty streets of London’s suburbs with Prius and with diesel cars too, colder air is reacher on oxygen and this helps for better fuel mixture burn. To get a decent fuel consumption especially in cold winter you need to drive the car for over 15miles (30min) at a time before you switch off the engine. , otherwise efficiency always suffer. My point is as fellow members said wait until mid April and temperatures over 15C° and then check fuel consumption to get more realistic picture. 👍🚗

[Catlover]

Posted on another topic about 20 mihnutes ago, its 11/12 days since beeen out in my Gen4 Prius, hevy frost overnight again, car stoney cold. Did 7 miles, EV didnt kick in for the first 4 miles, but the car still did 54mpg, which seems to be better then Corolla drivers are getting "normally". Of course, Prius was designed to cut through the air and has one of the lowest coeficient of frictin in mass produced vehicles.   

[AndrueC]

Pre-lockdown I was getting high 50s and even nudged 60 once but that was driving to golf courses so a dozen miles per journey. This lockdown I've only driven the car once - last night - so impossible to judge.

[Timmon]

On 1/15/2021 at 1:00 PM, Catlover said:

Posted on another topic about 20 mihnutes ago, its 11/12 days since beeen out in my Gen4 Prius, hevy frost overnight again, car stoney cold. Did 7 miles, EV didnt kick in for the first 4 miles, but the car still did 54mpg, which seems to be better then Corolla drivers are getting "normally". Of course, Prius was designed to cut through the air and has one of the lowest coeficient of frictin in mass produced vehicles.   

Yes, it is strange. The 1.8 power train in the Corolla is supposed to be the same as the 1.8 Prius's power train. You would think the Corolla is lighter than the Prius, although I have not checked this. I believe the software set up in the Corolla may be different to the set up in the Prius, which impacts on mpg, as well as different aerodynamics. Maybe due to the target market for Corolla and Prius. I would imagine the Prius is aimed at those wanting maximum efficiency, whilst the Corolla is aimed at those wanting a sportier look.  Certainly, power train wise, the 2 ltr software set up will be different to the 1.8 for many other reasons, and energy recovery system seems to be different with the "B" function not considered to be of interest to 2.0ltr drivers, so it is not included. 

[AndrueC]

I was a bit naughty this morning and took my Corolla out for a jaunt. Only circumnavigating the town on local A and B roads but it took 45 minutes. Got the car back up to showing 58.7 mpg on the dash.

[TonyHSD]

The only difference between Prius and Corolla comes from the shape and weight, Corolla is heavier and not as slick as Prius except the saloon version which I believe will have the aerodynamics of Prius or closest to it ., hatchback and estate usually are not the most efficient shape, the most efficient is the one that has similar profile to an aircraft wing. 

[Roy124]

Living in the sticks and home delivery being like hen's teeth we use our car regularly.  The route is down and up the A1, literally.  Downhill, cold 65.3mpg at 30mph average over 20 miles and 21% EV distance.  Uphill 53 mpg at 32 mph over 14 miles and 19% EV distance.  Only a round trip would give the true mpg.

Those average speeds include the A1 mileage at 65 mph indicated with some slower using the ACC, say about 2/3 of the distance.  Since new a one hour trip has been the maximum time we have driven.

"21/01/2019 · According to government fuel tests, fuel efficiency is around 10% lower at -5°C than it is at 20°C. What’s more, for motorists driving under 4 miles, fuel economy can decrease by as much 20% when temperatures drop below 0°C?"

"Fuel economy tests show that, in city driving, a conventional gasoline car's gas mileage is roughly 15% lower at 20°F than it would be at 77°F. It can drop as much as 24% for short (3- to 4-mile) trips. The effect on hybrids is typically greater. Their fuel economy can drop about 30% to 34% under these conditions."

 

 

[Roy124]

5 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

The only difference between Prius and Corolla comes from the shape and weight, Corolla is heavier and not as slick as Prius except the saloon version which I believe will have the aerodynamics of Prius or closest to it ., hatchback and estate usually are not the most efficient shape, the most efficient is the one that has similar profile to an aircraft wing. 

A clue there is where the dirt sticks.  The tailgate are on my Corolla gets dirty even when the front remains quite clean.  In contrast SAAB only fitted a rear screen wiper on the 99 as owners demanded it and it was only needed to remove standing water on the glass,

[TonyHSD]

6 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

A clue there is where the dirt sticks.  The tailgate are on my Corolla gets dirty even when the front remains quite clean.  In contrast SAAB only fitted a rear screen wiper on the 99 as owners demanded it and it was only needed to remove standing water on the glass,

Absolutely, Ford Sierra was one of the most aerodynamic cars ever built, hatchbacks are not. Just have a look at this dirty car. 

[AndrueC]

I think the worst HB for dirt that I ever owned was the Nissan Almera. I frequently had to clean the number plate on that during winter because it would get totally obscured.

[Stivino]

Hatchbacks are prone to dirty back ends, as are vans.  As your car breaks through the air, it creates a vacuum, it is this vacuum that sucks in the dirt which then sticks to the rear of the car.

 

[scar]

We have 2 hybrids a RAV4 and a Yaris both the latest versions. 
 

I initially did a few brim to brim fills an both cars were around 0.5 mpg over reading. I was pleased with the mpg in the summer. RAV 52 and Yaris 71 mpg. I had planned on re setting the fuel trips at 3 monthly intervals to see how the weather affects the consumption. Tried it once on the RAV but won’t bother again. I do mostly short journeys and the displayed consumption was rubbish. It took a few hundred miles for it to settle down.

So as folks suggest taking short trips as a mpg mean result are misleading.

Now in the cold months the RAV (2 wd ) is showing 45 mpg and the Yaris 63 mpg. I run my tyres at the recommended pressures plus 10% and my gauges are calibrated. 
 

I did the fist few 1000’s miles in eco mode but then switched over to normal. The economy is so good why bother. The heated seats and steering wheel are a luxury but dam nice in the frosty weather.

I do like the Corolla, when we move down to one car that’s my choice. Hope your mpg is improving.

[Timmon]

On 1/17/2021 at 1:26 PM, Roy124 said:

A clue there is where the dirt sticks.  The tailgate are on my Corolla gets dirty even when the front remains quite clean.  In contrast SAAB only fitted a rear screen wiper on the 99 as owners demanded it and it was only needed to remove standing water on the glass,

Yes, I can second that. My beloved SAAB 93 Turbo 02 plate, clean as a whistle on the back even in the worst weather. I went for years without the rear washer working, as I never used it anyway. The Corolla is almost as bad as my worst ever, a Ford Sierra estate, which seemed to clean the atmosphere wherever it went, and the number plate was barely visible after a run to work on a cold morning! With the Corolla, the rear view camera could do with it's own wiper and water spray.

[AndrueC]

The Corolla's rear camera isn't as bad the Jazz. I got into the habit of wiping that every time I was near it. Ironically the car itself hardly ever showed the dirt. The advantage of orange I suppose:

The Jazz after about ten months without a clean:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ss4VxwEM63wxJWZp8

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Z4iZoTWZ7fkTaHPW8

[Timh21]

On 1/8/2021 at 7:28 PM, RabButler said:

Stop driving in Eco mode. Put it in Normal and drive as if you have mug of hot coffee on your lap.

 

Funnily enough my Dealer told me this Friday when I collected my car. Said to only use ECO when stuck in traffic or in a city with lots of stop/start and that Normal was best most of time.

Only done 250 miles in mine (1.8) but brimmed the tank today for work tomorrow and real MPG is 50 so far. Considering its brand new and Ive been playing a lot with all the Modes including Booting it in Sport a few times I dont think thats too bad, fair amount of that was M/Way and fast Dual Carriageway too. Ive started to learn the knack to coasting etc so reckon it will improve

[Timmon]

21 hours ago, Timh21 said:

 

Funnily enough my Dealer told me this Friday when I collected my car. Said to only use ECO when stuck in traffic or in a city with lots of stop/start and that Normal was best most of time.

Only done 250 miles in mine (1.8) but brimmed the tank today for work tomorrow and real MPG is 50 so far. Considering its brand new and Ive been playing a lot with all the Modes including Booting it in Sport a few times I dont think thats too bad, fair amount of that was M/Way and fast Dual Carriageway too. Ive started to learn the knack to coasting etc so reckon it will improve

A dealer who agrees with me. I've said the same a few times now, this is my experience after 20 months of driving the Corolla.

 

 

[Locard]

Hi All,

I have the corolla gr sport 2.0 hybrid and I find that the longer I had had the car the lower my mpg becomes. I use the car to commute to work (approx 15 mile one way). The journey is a mix of A roads, duel carriageways and motorway. I drive 95% of the time in eco mode and feather the accelerator to build my Battery charge, yet my mpg is slowly dropping over time. I have had the car for 8 months. In the beginning my average mpg was 43.4, now it is at 42.9 and falling.

 

[TonyHSD]

20 minutes ago, Locard said:

Hi All,

I have the corolla gr sport 2.0 hybrid and I find that the longer I had had the car the lower my mpg becomes. I use the car to commute to work (approx 15 mile one way). The journey is a mix of A roads, duel carriageways and motorway. I drive 95% of the time in eco mode and feather the accelerator to build my battery charge, yet my mpg is slowly dropping over time. I have had the car for 8 months. In the beginning my average mpg was 43.4, now it is at 42.9 and falling.

 

Hi, 

likely to be because of the weather changes and temperatures dropping down. You can check tyre pressures on cold are exact as the recommended psi and try E5 99 petrol to see if will make any difference. 
Regards 

[Locard]

Hi Tony,

I never considered the weather could have that much of an affect on your mpg. Mind you, it has only become cold and wet where I live recently. I'd say it has been declining over summer, maybe at a slower pace. I've probably lost a couple of decimal points though since October to now. I bought a hybrid because I was informed it should get plus 50 mpg if you drive it well. You shouldn't need to drive like a vicar to get good economy from a hybrid. OK its a 2.0 L sport, but it's only 187hp, not like its a gas guzzling monster. Just feel a bit lied to to be honest.

[Mojo1010]

Well mpg figures depends on what the journey condition is like and how the car is being driven. Cold weather is a massive factor for mpg to suffer, that applies to all cars. 

My Yaris 1.5 hybrid 99 bhp suffer 15-20 mpg loss in the depth of winter. 

 

[Trewithy]

My average MPG for the current tank full is showing as 49.3.  Even in the coldest parts of last winter it never got anywhere near that low.  My last fill was with Esso unleaded instead of my usual Tesco unleaded or Momentum. But I don't think the disappointing consumption is anything to do with Esso,  I'm sure it's due to the E10 fuel mix.  Looking at MyT I am still recording an average EV distance of 50% which is about normal for me, its just that the fuel consumption recently has got remarkably worse.  Next fill will be back to Tesco Momentum E5 99.