Focus TDCi fuel consumption

Just put the third tank of fuel through our recently acquired 2003 Focus TDCi 100. It's averaging 37.5 - 39.5 mpg (Imperial gallons), 7.2 - 7.6 litres/100km on a mix of long and short trips, lightly loaded. This our first diesel-engined car, and I'm beginning to think the diesel "economy" thing is b**s**. Is this consumption normal, or is there something wrong with the engine?

David Millen wrote:
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I've got a 1.6TDCi C-max and currently get about 52mpg, although this varies depending on where I get the diesel (supermarket or other garage) and the type of driving. Long journeys obviously give better economy. However, short journeys give quite poor mpg.

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I've been tracking the mileage on our '03 TDCi wagon (115hp) over the last 37'000 km since we bought it. We definitely have very mixed driving (commute to work, city driving, 140kph motorway on weekends, cold winters, snow etc.). It has *averaged* a real-world 5.7 l/100km. This is based on km driven and litres filled, not the overly-optimistic onboard computer readout.
Can't complain at all, as I flog the thing repeatedly.
Stephen

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I've never got less than 45mpg out of my TDCi 115. Mostly 30 mile plus trips twice daily, mixture of motorway and country roads. Driven in a "press-on," but not overtly wasteful manner, I seem to average around 45 to 47. I vaguely recall pushing that up to 52mpg once on a series of long motorway runs. Don't know what the official figures are for the TDCi 100 though.
Gary.

On Wed, 01 Jun 2005 22:03:20 +0100, Gary McClean wrote:
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I see pretty much the same from my 2003 TDCi 115 Ghia. Not quite as good I'd hoped, but not bad. ISTR it was quite a bit worse for the first 5K miles though.

"David Millen" wrote...
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i would certainly expect better economy...
are the exhaust gases unusually smokey? if so it could be your egr valve playing up.
although, i must admit the defective ones i've seen are *very* smokey and the fuel economy has been *much* lower than you are experiencing.
fairly quick to replace but, iirc, about 180 quid plus vat for the part.

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Indeed, there is a voluntary recall for EGR valves on virtually all Ford TDCi's, which are to be changed if the owner reports poor starting , poor mpg, poor performance and smokey exhaust. This applies to the mondeo 2litre TDCi's also. It is also thought to be a possible cause of premature failed turbo's on this engine also.
Tim..

On Fri, 3 Jun 2005 17:05:28 +0000 (UTC), "Tim.."
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Thank you, Gandissy and Tim. No, it's not smoking, and it starts fine and goes all right for a diesel. But that gives me some ammo for discussions with the dealership.

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Had a Ford Sierra TD for ages and always mentioned if letting someone drive not used to a diesel, they'd always turn gears/revs much to high. Like driving a petrol engine with little displacement which is common over here. Sure this will lower your mileage easily without making you a second faster. Best idea would be getting an eye on the torque plot of your engine and compare it with one of a petrol engine in the size/power and you should see.

I've had my 115 TDCI focus from new (march 03) and it's never returned more than 48-49 mpg. My previous 306 HDi was much better, but not as good to drive. It's had the egr valve changed and it didn't make any difference to the mpg. It's got 49,000 mile on it now and I'm thinking of changing to anew focus 2.0 TDCI 136 bhp version - any comments??
Cheers
Geoff
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Geoff wrote in message ...
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anew
Try to get a stage III engine, the stage IV has poorer consumption even according to ford. This probably one Ford consumption statistic that you can believe in. I have read that early Cmaxs were returning poor consumption and that this had been fixed from 54 plate cars onwards. My Ford dealer refused to be drawn on speculation of poor fuel performance recently so it's possibly true!
Have you lurked on http://www.ffoc.co.uk/forum/ to see what they reckon?
Bob

thanks for the website - intersting reading.
After having had a test drive in the 2.0 TDCi - I must have one!!! Seriously though, I hope it does a little better than my particular car, maybe the 6th gear will help??
Cheers
Geoff
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I’ve only had my 2003 115 TdCi a couple of weeks but the first figures show 5.6 to 5.7 / 100 km for a 1500 km round trip on autoroutes plus 300 km in and around town. Most of this was with the air-con switched on and with a fuel leak on the injector ramp (see other posting). Not bad at all.
However, I am VERY careful on the use of the accelerator - pulling away from lights/tollbooths/stops etc and anticipating when overtaking to minimize speed loss/ recovery. It’s a major factor in economy - maybe more for diesels than petrol engines, I don’t know.
"Geoff" wrote:
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Thanks to all. Looks like either the TDCi 100 is thirstier than the 115, or I need to modify my driving style. I have suspected for a while that much of the supposedly better economy of diesels is a result of the driving habits of the folk who select them in preference to petrol engines because of their greater economy - a bit of a circular argument, and probably one for another thread!

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Over 40'000 km of driving my TDCi has averaged a real-world 5.8L/100km (don't believe the onboard computer; it is hopelessly optimistic). For general commuting I move with or faster than the flow of traffic, on the open road I tend to boot it quite a lot (that torque is sooooo tempting). Motorway speeds are in the range of 130 - 140 kph (80 - 85 mph) and I charge up and down Swiss alpine passes quite regularly. I have mountain bikes or kayaks on the roof half the time. Summary: I am *not* careful and still manage great economy. If I really try to baby it, I have managed under 5 for a motorway trip (flat, 110 - 120 kph). The absolute record, however, goes to my girlfriend who managed 2.8 L/100km for the 10km from the filling station to home! (lots of downhill)
Stephen

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 08:19:45 +0200, "Stephen F."
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That sounds like my driving style, pointing to the 100 engine as the culprit; over 4000km so far, I'm averaging 7.5l/100km - nearly 30% worse than your 115.