Whatever.
I have no idea what sort of journeys you were doing, but I do know that I drove mine very hard and never saw less than 54mpg from a tank (I was strapped for cash in those days and kept a record of economy, Dervy stylee). That was with a mix of A/B roads, motorway and city driving.
I wouldn't go back to one now, but it was by far the most economical thing I've ever driven.
I don't know about the mixed economy, but travelling in convoy with a mate (1.4D 106) on a long motorway journey, my 1.5 got slightly better economy. It was noticeably more gutless, yes and was apparently prone to head gasket problems.
Agreed. But then neither of us is a hopeless diesel addict.