My new Eco Diesel
Let me introduce my new car to you. It's a 2013 Renault Clio fitted with a 1.5 litre Diesel Common rail Injection (DCI for short!) that has a modest 90 HP. I recently traded in my 09 Fiat 500 Abarth as the car's miles were creeping up, and the running costs were becoming a bit too much to justify for such a small car. https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...cc59b453f3.jpg It's packed with some awesome toys as it's a top of the range dealer demonstrator. It's rated at 70 MPG on the Urban/City test, 88 MPG on the Extra Urban/Highway test and has an overall figure of 83 MPG. https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...b68ce0a9c3.jpg The main reason it's so good on fuel is the engine, a small displacement diesel unit designed purely to save fuel, but it also has a lot of neat fuel saving features such as stop/start technology, regenerative braking, gear shift indicators to tell you the best time to change gear, active air shutter behind the grill which make the car more aerodynamic at higher speeds, electric steering which gives better feedback and uses less energy, low energy LED running lights and an ECO switch that controls engine torque, and alters the way the air con works to save fuel too. It's one of the most economical cars available. The only downside is the 17" wheels which eat up a whole 5 MPG from the figures quoted, so a swith to 16" might be on the menu possibly. https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...7e420d760f.jpg The main feature that sold it to me is the MediaNav system, a "floating" 7 inch tablet style console with Sat nav/GPS, Bluetooth phone, Media Player and many other things too. It also has speed limiter, cruise control, Digital speedo, Digital Radio, push button start etc etc. As a result of the excellent economy, it also has free road tax, my other car which was a petrol powered, smaller engine city car was almost £200 a year ($340 USD roughly). Despite the fact that this car has a bigger heavier diesel unit, and the car itself is much larger than my old one, it actually weighs less thanks to some clever engineering, and the use of lightweight materials such as plastic front wings! A wise choice when fuel is over $10 a UK gallon. https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...2acdeec757.jpg It drives beautifully, is as quiet as any petrol car I've owned and has a nice slick long geared 5 speed manual box, great for cruising. It's very sooth and refined and feel like a much larger car on the highway with very little engine, wind or road noise at all. I'm still getting used to the gear ratio's, my smaller city based car had a very versatile box which meant you could be in 5th gear by the time you're doing 30 MPH, this one has longer gears. At the moment i'm getting 64 MPG which is not bad as I've been doing a lot of short trips with the AC on around town, but as the car has only covered 4k, I guess it will improve with age and wisdom! What do you guys think? https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...3f972707ad.jpg |
First week in the car, I've travelled 450 miles so far, and according to the range reading, I still have another 450 to go! Pretty good going, i'm sure I read it has a 10 gallon tank but I think it must be bigger than that as the computer also says im getting around 64 MPG. We'll see on the first fuel up...
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First fuel up, 719.8 miles 63.1 UK MPG, i'm pretty pleased with that even though it seems far from the 78 MPG combined official figure. On the 6 mile trip back, I managed an indicated 86.4 MPG, although that's probably not very accurate given i'd just reset the trip computer.
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2nd tank only came in at 60.9 UK MPG, been doing a lot of short trips, with a lot of AC on and carrying 5 people at times too, and I also disengaged ECO mode on this tank. It's obviously had an effect on my fuel consumption.
After refuelling and resetting the trip reading, there was a nice flat 16 mile drive home. I put it back in ECO mode and even with the AC on, it managed an amazing 90.4 MPG! About 10% was downhill too. After 70 miles, the MPG has now dropped to 74.3 MPG, still pretty impressive, i'm more than happy with this for a non-hybrid car. The only downside to having such a vast range per tank is that short trips per tank are increased, as I do most of my small trips during the week, so i'm trying to reduce my short trips. |
Nice car! There has recently come out several 3.2L/100km cars. Great to hear it's comfortable too but how come you didn't go for the ZOE at once skipping the fuel at $10/gallon all together? Should be similar to the clio but 100% electric.
I see in one of your pictures 2400rpm at 60km/h?! Indicator says up-shift, what gear is that? 3:rd? :) I would think even in a small diesel keeping the revs. between 1100-1500rpm is the most efficient. 5:th gear would be possible at 60km/h. |
The Zoe is only electric as you say, so has a limited range. I have a 800 mile round trip to do next week, so imagine how many times I would have to charge it for that!
That is a stock image from the web, not my actual car, I didnt have one of the instrument pannel on mine :) |
Just a brief annual report on my car. Just over 10,000 on the clock now. Stats are below (only bought the car in June, so not a full year) Overall i'm pleased with the economy, in all honesty, I was expecting a little higher, but it's to be expected if I carry on doing lots of short trips mid week. I only really did one large highway stint when I went on holiday, and the economy averaged out at 74 MPG whilst cruising at 70 MPH, so obviously I would be looking at mid 70 MPG's if I were to use the car more on the highway.
https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...735c7a52e7.png The car itself is fantastic though, so smooth quiet and refined, not to mention comfort levels similar to a large cruiser, all the toys and gadgets are so simple and easy to use too. Overall, I love this car! Still not had a chance to polish that beautiful metallic flame red paintwork yet though, it's the best coloured car I've owned. The concealed rear doors still catch a few people out as they open the front door and attempt to slide the front seat forward to get behind, makes me chuckle! The car is due it's first service, but with only 10,000 on the clock it seems a waste having the oil changed so soon (the intervals are 19,000 I think) but as the car came with 2 years free servicing anyway, I'll get it done to be on the safe side. I enjoy using Fuelly and the forums, thanks to the team behind fuelly, good work ironing out the glitches! And as I like photography, here are a few edited arty shots from the last few months. Happy Motoring people! :) https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...13c1acc2e0.jpg https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...d0f36ac581.jpg https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...66cd592140.jpg https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...9ce3f5ee86.jpg |
You have a sweet looking car there, and I'm envious of the economy you get from it. Most of my driving is done on the Freeway, and would imagine I would see the 70+ Mpg regularly. Unfortunately it appears the Diesel doesn't get imported to Australia. We are yet to fully embrace Diesels, so it looks like I'll have to stick with my 40+ Mpg out of my Mazda 3 Diesel.
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Thanks. Well you're still getting pretty good economy from the Mazda, you're lucky some diesels are available in OZ, the US has an even worse selection of diesels due to overstrict emission control. :)
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Talking about cleaning the car made me want to clean my car! So today I detailed the car, starting with a wash, then I used a clay bar to remove the paint contaminants like tree sap, old bug splats and tar. Then I used a resin based polish on top, treated all the non-painted black trim around the grill/mirrors etc, and used a foaming tyre spray too. Took about 3/4 hours so should see me through until spring.
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Decided it was time to ditch the red wheels. I'd never really taken to them, probably because the red was an entirely different shade to the bodywork. Anyway picked up these sweet looking "Audi R8" style wheels from my local powder coating contact who said I could pick a colour. I chose gloss black to match the finish on the exterior bumpers/trim, and interior too. I think they look much better and give the car a more sportier aggressive look. At £180 for the set, they are the best bargain I will get this year. I wrapped them in cheap rubber, but the tyres looks very decent for the money. I wont save any money at the pumps though, as they are only rated E or F for fuel usage. I did consider swapping for a smaller rim, but decided style was more important than the pennies I'd probably save at the pumps! I'll take some proper pictures when the car's been cleaned up as it's a bit of a mess.
Now I've got a red/black theme going, I'm contemplating whether or not to have parts of the car wrapped. I thought the chrome side strips would look cool in gloss black or maybe carbon. Maybe the roof or rear spoiler? I'm getting the windows tinted black in the next few weeks too. What do you think? https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...091b347c7b.jpg https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...3ae91eb16a.jpg https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...3e117a9c90.jpg |
It's hard to say! Personally, my favourite colour is the Mazda 2 vivid green. Not a fan of red, except where it belongs - on Alfa Romeos - but your car suits it well. I was thinking of a respray or wrap in 3 years, but heard they are over £2,000....! I like as much chrome as possible, will the bump strips look plastic of redone in back? On 4 vehicles (up till my "Jag" and i20) I used to (badly) apply huge vinyl flames leading back from the front wheels to past the drivers door, a Nissan Terrano, Citroen Xantia estate, ZX hatch and (briefly) a VW Polo all were jazzed up in this way. So I'm no benchmark of style. I also used to sport a jolly roger on an old football window flag pole, till the missus put a stop to it. Maybe the clientele of Max Power are better suited to style tips than the Fuelly gang!
Oh, some Volvo estates a while back had completely black tailgate doors, I always thought that looked a bit foxy. Completely wrap the boot door in black? Probably a terrible idea! |
Haha huge flames? I think we are on different pages when it comes to styling by the sounds of things, no disrespect! ;) Appreciate the ideas though, i'll come up with somthing im sure. There's a fine line between cool and utter tack, but at the end of the day, its not lifes biggest mistake if it turns out utter trash, the ideas I had in mind are all peelable anyway if you get my drift, nothing lost but time.
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Wheels looking uber cool after I washed the car today. They just seem to have transformed the looks entirely :cool:
https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...e23b94878b.jpg https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...f00b67f657.jpg https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...efa93438df.jpg https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...250d7f492f.jpg |
Nice look! Any change in tyre size? Hopefully they don't add any aero drag.
I really do like the look - and at that price it certainly is a bargain, powder coated and all. |
No I matched the tyre profile so as not to affect the economy, steering feel etc. Have to admit, my friend accidentally left 50 PSI in them from when he popped them on. Some people recommend running at this pressure for best economy. After driving a few miles with them like that, I wouldn't recommend it at all! There's so little tyre in contact with the road, the steering becomes very numb, and grip is sacrificed too. Really not worth sacrificing safety for economy in my opinion.
The only annoying thing was that as they weren't official Renault wheels, I needed spigot rings so they would fit the hub, but like you say, can't complain at that price. |
Well I knew there would be a catch buying second hand wheels. At 70 Mph I was getting a slight vibration through the steering wheel, nothing catastrophic but noticeable and God knows how bad it would be at 80+ on the motorway. Had my mate rebalanced them and he found one of the wheels had a slight buckle in it. He's now put that on the back so hopefully the vibration will be less noticeable. If it persists, I may have to get a different set, or put the old ones back on. Any idea what the long term affect this could have? Extra strain on the bearing perhaps?
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Today I got the rear windows tinted to continue the gloss black theme. Obviously it's illegal to have the fronts tinted here. I think it looks great, gives the car a more aggressive look. It only cost £110, modifying doesn't have to be expensive, I got tints, wheels and tyres all for less than £500.
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Would you look at getting all the chrome parts in black to match the wheel. That could look quite good.
Oliver. |
Yea it's something I've considered. I don't want to go too overboard, it's hard to get a balance between extra detail, and looking tacky.
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I decided to get some better rims, the others were ok but I always thought they could look better. So sticking with the gloss black theme, I bought these tasty Calibre rims, 17" again but went for some ECO tyres this time. They are rated C for both fuel efficiency and wet braking, so considering they are at the lower end of the price market, they perform well. I should hopefully see better fuel economy now, I'm running them at about 10% higher pressures than recommended.
Couple of phone snaps, will do some better pics in the daytime and when the car has been cleaned! https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...70585b0884.jpg https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...c9a4bd5c78.jpg https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...f3f75ddbe4.jpg https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...8f00a267a3.jpg |
That's an interesting sticker. We don't get the 3 ratings the graphics give you. That would be nice to have for comparing tires. Good looking wheels too.
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I hadn't heard of Mazzini tires before (not sure what that says about me) but yea that tire/rim combo looks good !
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Yea the efficiency labels were bought in by the European Union a few years ago, thier aim at reducing fuel consumption across Europe by helping motorists make better informed choices and encouraging the purchase of more fuel efficient tyres.
Believe it or not, the difference in fuel consumption between A and G can be up to 7.5% so can save a fair bit of fuel and money in the long run. I think every appliance sold in the EU now has a similar label, from refrigerators to houses (my house is rated B which is impressive for a house nearly 200 years old!) So how do you guys chose tyres with nothing to compare to? Tyre manufacturers must spend a fortune on marketing out there? |
The Dunlop Sport Bluresponses I now sport on each wheel are rated B for economy (the best available for my tyre size) and A for braking in the wet. Cost £65 a corner, fitted on steel rims and plastic wheel trims for a nice "stock" look...!
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I don't think I can get anything higher than a C with this profile. Usually what you find is tyres that are good for wet braking are bad for effeicncy, and those that are more economical and have a lower rolling resistance are terrible in the wet. Yours are pretty good by the sounds of it. Mine were only £40 a corner.
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We get treadwear, traction and temperature ratings like 480 AA A or 600 A A or 320 A B etc. but we don't get the fuel efficiency, wet performance or noise ratings on the tires. The treadwear rating is only partly helpful because each company does their own rating. It helps when you compare all the tires from Michelin to each other but it is meaningless to compare a Michelin to a Bridgestone or Dunlop.
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Sounds like a bit of a free for all. What with tyres being the only safety part of your vehicle to touch the road, and the fact that tyres alone account for 20% of your fuel consumption alone, you'd think things would be a bit more black and white.
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Yes, it would be nice if the treadwear rating were mandated to match so tires from all makers could be compared equally. It would be nice to get the extra information you get as well. I'd really like to have noise ratings when purchasing tires.
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There are various sources across the Web, perhaps the most credible one is the EU site where tyre testing originates from:
Tyres labelling – saving on money and CO2 You learn something new every day don't you Charon, even at your age ;) |
Ah. I see. They are speaking only of rolling resistance, which forms a fairly small part of total resistance at any sort of usual road speed. This article goes into a bit more depth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_resistance Isn't research educational?
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Nice car you got there!
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Two interesting articles. Now I have the best eco tyres available, what next?! My car has a small skirt at the front, I hear extending this down to nearer the ground is a good way to improve economy through aerodynamics. My fear is that I'll bodge it, and make a mess. The car is completely stock, and being 2 years old, in fair condition. If I found a bigger air dam at the scrapyard from a suitable donor, I guess that may look better than trying to make one out of scrap plastic or sheeting. Can you think of any better eco mods?
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Ben, this might sound extreme, but have you considered Rally mods? As you may or may not know, Hyundai entered the i20 into the WRC and it's proving pretty good! You might be able to get some "rally replica" inspired diffusers/spoilers to make the car more aerodynamic and Sporty! I too have looked at the aero mods on the Clio Trophy with 220 bhp, but they would have to be ordered direct from Renault which could cost thousands...
Perhaps the cheapest way to get your car lower is a set of springs, a decent set will cost £200-£300 but then you'll have to pay to fit and have the wheels/camber/tracking reset. You may also ruin the soft ride, but the car would handle better too. |
I originally thought of lowering, but I hear I can kiss my 5 year warranty goodbye if I do! So that and a remap or chip box will be tested in 3 years...
As for rally mods no, never thought of that, ta! I will ask on the Hyundai forums. However, the rally i20 is much wider with the body kit, I d need to see if it fits - and can look like it fits! Again, I wonder if insurance hike and part costs may negate any fuel savings there! |
I did a quick Google search, there are some very sporty kits you can get, but they are probably 90% aesthetic and will probably have no positive aerodynamic affect anyway. Lowering your car won't avoid your warranty entirely, just parts associated with the suspension, so related bushes, bearings and such. I had my last car remapped with 35 extra bhp, had loads of warranty work done, even when I told the technicians it was modified (because I'm a nice honest chap) they were pretty open minded. As you say though, any modifications can be expensive, and you have to declare anything to your insurance company that affects the the way the car looks, sounds, performs, handles etc so any money saved on fuel would be wasted on other such expenses.
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Thanks. I checked out the WRC i20, and the parts are based on flared arches and wide wheels, so no front bumper swap. On the plus side, I came across a Hyundai i20 Fan Club on Facebook, based in India. These guys know how to jazz up their rides- none of the bland 6 colours and no mods as I've only seen on UK sites!
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So I just had my first oil/filter change at 18,444 miles. The handy thing with diesels is that they are very low maintenance, so no other parts or tune ups are required. Very impressed with Renault, given thier customer service over recent years has been far from perfect. Free hot drinks as you'd expect, but they also gave me a bus ticket into town so I could burn some time/money whilst the work was carried out. I also received a video message direct from the workshop of my car whilst it was being worked on, with the mechanic informing me of any advisory work to be carried out soon. When I went to collect the car, there was a list of 28 things they check on the car, luckily all were green, apart from I got 1 yellow box for front brake pads, which were 7mm, the legal limit being 5mm. Just an advisory, but handy to know. They had also upgraded my sat nav, so now I can put in the full post codes, and whilst driving home, I got a new beeping noise, looked across to see a speed camera logo in the corner of the screen, so now it tells me where all the cameras are hiding, a very handy feature. All of this was free as I got 2 years free servicing, the only thing I bought was a litre of 5W30 oil, handy for top ups. Next oil change is due at 36,000 miles. Pretty impressed so far.
Below is a pic I took on the forecourt, a nice selection of Renaultsports, including the new Clio Trophy with 220HP, and the Megane Trophy 265, the fastest front wheel drive car around the infamous Nurburgring. Was tempted to ask for a test drive but sadly I ran out of time! |
Nice! My 30,000 mile 3rd Hyundai service came with a video message sent while we had popped into town, a walk around my car while it was in the air ! Advisory on rear tyres and rear wiper (both since replaced).
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