Touring sport bad mpg?

[Kevinsheffield]

Hi!

I have a brand new Touring Sport Design 1.8 and I’m a bit worried about the mileage it’s getting.

My average MPG is showing around 53.7mpg but the car does seem to be chugging petrol. I have worked out from my own calculations (miles driven versus litres in the tank) that it’s actually running around 38mpg (best case).

ive been doing mixed driving, city (often 60-70%EV) hills (I live in Sheffield!) and motorway.

side note is that miles left in the tank figure seems to drop at an alarming rate compared to the odometer too.

I’ve done 1549 miles and the car is 1 month old.

Is there something wrong with it or have I just bought a car that is way less economical In reality than advertised? 

[forkingabout]

It's still running itself in.

It's now coming in to winter / colder weather where Toyota hybrid fuel economy does suffer slightly.

Are you using D for normal driving?

Some people mistakingly use B mode incorrectly as there mate down the pub told them it's more economical as it makes the system regen more energy.

[Kevinsheffield]

This is what I was hoping that the wether change and it being brand new were factors. Haha no I haven’t touched B.

[TonyHSD]

Hi and welcome. 
There could be a couple of reasons that define the fuel efficiency of your car however the recent drop in temperatures is the most common for lower mpg.  I noticed a drop up to 10mpg in the last few weeks. This is normal and happens each year. You will see much better figures in April onwards. You can check your tyre pressures, fill up premium 99 octane fuel, and if this is your first hybrid you may need some more time to adapt to it and perhaps adjust driving style. Hybrids usually ask for relaxed and smooth drive. Anything more spirited and efficiency will be reduced. If you get around 50+ in winter and 60+ mpg in summer than everything it’s ok. These are the realistic figures. Your calculations of 38mpg are too low to be true. There is some discrepancy for some reason. Perhaps you will double check next fill up.  

[Corollanutter]

As on many posts on here, the expected long-term average mpg for a 1.8 is around 55 to 65. For per-journey numbers I vary from 30 mpg on very short winter runs up to over 80 mpg on gentle drives in the summer. Obviously it all depends how you are driving it - and the best MPGs are obtained in the summer months when the engine doesn't need to run to warm the interior. I would get some more miles on the clock before making an overall judgement. There can also be quite a variance in "brimming" the tank - which BTW is not at all recommended.

[Steve Trice]

On 10/9/2022 at 10:15 AM, Corollanutter said:

There can also be quite a variance in "brimming" the tank - which BTW is not at all recommended.

Brimming the tank, I assume, is filling right up to the fuel cap housing. Why is this frowned upon, please?

[forkingabout]

40 minutes ago, Steve Trice said:

Brimming the tank, I assume, is filling right up to the fuel cap housing. Why is this frowned upon, please?

Can easily damage the emission system leading to an expensive repair bill.

 

[APS]

27 minutes ago, forkingabout said:

Can easily damage the emission system leading to an expensive repair bill.

As a "professional mechanic" I would have thought he was aware that all evap systems have a vapour shut off valve in the fuel tank that prevents liquid fuel from entering the evap lines (he appears to have omitted this part in his schematic drawing). Manufacturers have thought about the case of brimming.

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, APS said:

As a "professional mechanic" I would have thought he was aware that all evap systems have a vapour shut off valve in the fuel tank that prevents liquid fuel from entering the evap lines (he appears to have omitted this part in his schematic drawing). Manufacturers have thought about the case of brimming.

Absolutely agree with that and can confirm that I had even overfilled my tank to the point that petrol has started to pour out of the filler, nothing bad happened to the car. It’s not good to top up as it’s end of the world , first as precaution in case this valve is non operational to prevent damage to the charcoal canister and secondly because often when we click the pump only counts on the money and dispense almost no fuel at all , so basically we pay for nothing. This is also been recently mentioned in national paper too. 
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/drivers-stop-filling-petrol-click-25171217

[AndrueC]

What figures are being used to calculate 38mpg? I did wonder if US gallons were being used by mistake but that still only yields 45mpg when converted to UK gallons and is poor even for a 2.0.

The only time my 1.8HB has ever got close to that poor was when I hammered back home from my Dad's funeral a couple of years ago and averaged over 70mph on a 200 mile journey.

I typically expect mid 60s during the summer and high 50s in the winter. That's mostly extra urban driving in a fairly flat area.

[Steve Trice]

Well, I've learned something today. I'm amazed about the potential issues caused by brimming the fuel tank. Whilst I'll take the advice to heart and will act upon it, I can't help thinking that it renders accurate MPG discussions a bit moot. Given that petrol "froths" differently from station to station, the fill-up will (probably) never be at an identical level to the previous one, which is one advantage that brimming does have.

Thanks for the info though.

Steve

[TonyHSD]

The best practice imo is to refill at the same station at the same pump during the same time. Stop at first click without any rounding up to the pound. Do the maths and see what shows. Compare with the car dash readings. For accurate readings close to the real world the car should be driven for at least 200 miles or more , longer drives equals more realistic dashboard readings. 👍

[APS]

To set everyone's mind at ease. The reason there is a shut off valve on the vapour escape at the top of the fuel tank is not just to for the event of brimming the tank. Whenever you drive the car with more than say 1/2 tank full, the fuel is constantly sloshing about and would enter through the vapour escape route if there was no shut off. Some also refer to this as the "roll over" valve as it does prevent fuel escaping in the even of the car being upside-down. 

Further to the shut off valve (which is usually a simple float) there is a pressure release non-return valve. This will allow vapour pressure to build up in the tank before it can escape. This is why, you will hear a whoosh sound when you remove the filler cap. More so on a near empty tank than a completely full. 

Be aware - you can always find someone or something that confirms your point of view. 

 

Coming back to the OP's topic:

I don't think there's anything wrong with your car. Generally, measure your fuel economy manually. The computer calculated figure is invariably a little optimistic. Over time you will get to know your car, how much fuel you can fit in the tank. How many clicks after pump shut off you go. And so on. Enjoy those moments between fill ups!

 

[Meld]

My 2.0TS is running a long term average of 49.6, but I was very impressed with this recent trip, as recorded by MyT.  🤣

[AndrueC]

1 hour ago, Meld said:

My 2.0TS is running a long term average of 49.6, but I was very impressed with this recent trip, as recorded by MyT.  🤣

To quote the car: 'Reduce braking to improve efficiency'.

😁

[TonyHSD]

Lol, 426mpg 😉👌

With joke on the side now in cold weather the E5 97-100 octane petrol is better and increase efficiency in comparison with E10 95. 

[Popama]

9 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

With joke on the side now in cold weather the E5 97-100 octane petrol is better and increase efficiency in comparison with E10 95. 

Do you mean higher octane fuel does better mpg in cold weather or that lower ethanol percentage does better in cold ? Or both ?
Where I live all fuels are E10 and was wondering if it is worth giving higher octane fuel a chance.

[TonyHSD]

3 hours ago, Popama said:

Do you mean higher octane fuel does better mpg in cold weather or that lower ethanol percentage does better in cold ? Or both ?
Where I live all fuels are E10 and was wondering if it is worth giving higher octane fuel a chance.

Hi, you can try higher octane but I believe it’s from the ethanol content.
Last night was cold here around 4C° , I had filled up with E5 97 from BP.
The car drives much better and secondly the fuel consumption when I checked in the morning was at 57.4mpg in comparison with the night before at 50.9mpg with E10 95 from the same garage. The night before weather was warmer at around 8C° but there were same rain and wind which also impacts efficiency, but 7mpg difference is quite a bit. 👍 Will continue to monitor and if that the case indeed I will be switching to E5 only through out the winter. 

[pumucli]

On 10/10/2022 at 7:31 PM, Meld said:

My 2.0TS is running a long term average of 49.6, but I was very impressed with this recent trip, as recorded by MyT.  🤣

I can’t find this info in my MyT ? Where is it? 

[pumucli]

On 10/10/2022 at 7:31 PM, Meld said:

My 2.0TS is running a long term average of 49.6, but I was very impressed with this recent trip, as recorded by MyT.  🤣

Hi, I can’t find this info in my MyT app, where is it?  My phone is an iPhone XR and my car is a Corolla TS 1.8 Excel , one month “old” with Smart Connect

[Chuffmonkey]

I have noticed my MPG has drop around 5-7 Mpg during November when it has been colder.

I have also noticed the car is less keen to switch to EV. The Battery charge indicator is also a lot higher then usual, often sitting high with 1 or 2 bars from full charge. The car does not seem to like the cold weather. 

Does it it sound normal that my cars Battery charge indicator sits higher during the colder months effectively making the engine run harder and not using the Battery EV as much?

[Cyker]

There are a lot of factors at play that make it favour the ICE more. The biggest is the HVAC - If you have heating on, the engine has to run as that is the source of the heat. Another is the car will avoid high current draw from the Battery until it warms up, as pulling or dumping too many amps to it cold will shorten its life.

I find mine drives almost the same as it does in summer if I turn the HVAC system off completely. This does mean I have to drive while dressed like I'm going skiing however.

 

[Chuffmonkey]

That was my thinking around the heating, although I do have the heating in Eco mode. In the summer it was set at a constant 18 air con mode, Now its set at a constant 22 with the aircon light still on. I shall turn the aircon off now see if it helps the engine from working so hard. 

Normally in past cars, I have always left aircon on for the whole year just adjusting the temperature. On the Corolla however I can really tell when the engine is working hard at slow speeds. Learning curve for me. 

[Cyker]

It's really the heating that has the biggest impact - The AC is all electric so it makes almost no difference to the mpg, maybe a couple here or there, and in this weather, because it's so cold outside, the system is even more efficient than it is in summer, so it has a minuscule effect on engine load or mpg, so feel free to leave it on!

I'm not sure what else Eco mode does on the HVAC - The only noticeable effect on mine is it runs the fans slower!

 

[Chuffmonkey]

I want to be warm 😂 and for the car to sound like its not revving its nuts off. These Hybrids are certainly different to the Petrol/Diesel cars of past I am used too. Good job I like it so ill just turn the radio up. 🙂