Getting by the week.

I say "computer" but what I really mean is "old fashioned turny bits what tell't you the miles".

Sub 15 mpg from a 1.0 Yaris is funny, as is 13 mpg from a 406 HDi.

At the moment, screwing my SOEscortVan about, I don't seem able to get that below whatever 100 miles for a tenner of proper diesel is.

Oh dear.

And now here it is forver in the firmament of t'interweb forever and a day that PeteM got a diesel escrot to do......

(If we assume 99p a litre for the DevilJuice.)

How can you live with youself.......

That's pretty much my technique.

From first flash of the wee orange "oh oh, not much left now" light - stick

300 miles later, the orange light comes on again.

I'm very cool with this arrangement.

And much as it troubles me to say it, unlike LPG, I can buy it everywhere.

Iam rather fond of Cashback.

Sub 10 grand now, that's with an autobox and rear drive too. Driven with complete disregard for the license it can run to 16-20 mpg, but even cruising at 110 it's running low to mid 30s, bet there's a lower powered smaller manual lexus on here that can't do that...

No it isn't, especially on a diesel.

Bet he'd have used more fuel travelling at the same rate in a similarly horsepowered Petrol car.

Depends on your POV I guess.

Managing to get it that low? You're not kidding. I guess Steve doesn't know how to drive a TDCi properly. I can imagine him leaving the 30 limit dropping it down to 3rd as he approached the NSL sign, as you would with a petrol donk, then taking it up to just before the redline before changing it. Whereas those who know how to drive them would've left it in 4th, planted their foot to the floor, leaving the transient overboost do its thing, then watched as he disappeared in the rearview mirror - all whilst achieving a higher MPG and not having to change gear once.

You've not driven a 1.6TDCI, have you?

Doing that in 4th would produce lots of vibration, lots of noise and not a lot of go.

It's a revvy little lump, not a slogging 2.0TDI.

Wrong.

It's a TDCi. They're all designed to be driven the same.

Yeah but you don't get to /really/ stick it to the HR department and punish them for giving you a car you didn't choose by using LOADS of fuel, hahahah then, do you?

(c:

You really don't know, do you?

The 1.6TDCI is very free revving (to well into the red zone on the rev counter) and has very little low down torque compared with a 2.0TDCI.

There's a steep hill on the Heads of the Valleys which the Passat would happily take in 5th / 6th, but *needs* 3rd in the Focus.

Not when you've chosen a Pious to replace it.

I want to cut my tax bill by 60% and gain more comfort and more toys.

If I'm going to drive a hateful CO2 mobile, then it needs to be cheap to tax, comfortable and with a decent standard spec.

The Focus fails on all counts, as it's not actually that much cheaper in tax than a Passat TDI.

The Prius challenge will obviously be one of singularly using up all crude reserves in punishment for being the "only" company car choice based on tax statistics.

Have you driven a Pious yet?

To be fair, I haven't.

I've looked at the spec. sheet and the tax bill for it, and found out that they have comfortable seats which aren't 2ft off the floor of the car. That's enough for me - as the LX Focus has just about the most uncomfortable seats I've ever sat in.

And WTF is that adjustable steering setting about? - stiff, less stiff, or comedy 70s American barge settings.