Cheating the test

[LDB]

Yes, Fiat is making a comeback. I see them regularly and have a dealer a few miles away. I was not aware of the Renault engine usage. I looked at Renault U.K. and learned a little about the cars. There are some interesting looking models. Not joking or sucking up but the Clio has to be one of their best looking offerings. Is it gas or diesel? I can't remember what they called the model now but about 35 years ago Renault had a car here that was very nice looking and they had an SCCA racing class for them as an inexpensive way for people to get into racing.

[Draigflag]

Mines a diesel, probably the most popular choice here, diesel still dominates the majority market here. I'm not going to pretend to be a big Renault fan boy, I actually don't know very much about them and this is my first. I'm pretty open-minded about cars, quite willing to try anything. I haven't existed long enough to know about any old ones I'm afraid!

[LDB]

It's a good looking car. I imagine they'd sell a lot on looks alone if we could get them. If the site I found is accurate 62.0 UK equals 51.6 US mpg which is excellent in anyone's book.

[Draigflag]

Yea that's about right, but with your nice straight roads out there, I reckon you guys could do way better, the potential with diesels is amazing. Did you read the story about the new Honda Civic? They managed to get 100 MPG (about 80 US) over an 8000 mile journey. Epic!

[LDB]

No, I haven't kept up as much with Honda since I no longer own one. That is amazing, 83.25 US according to that site I found. I'm satisfied with mine and hope to enjoy it for a very long time.

[OliverGT]

Have to agree on what is possible with diesels, the only problem now is all the extra emission controls that are being applied, this is making them less economical and less reliable.

10 years ago Peugeot 206 was rated at 78mpg (UK) on the extra urban cycle, this was a 1.4 turbo diesel.

Anything over 50 MPG in a Petrol is doing well, but most diesels will do that without trying now.

I have to say I'm turned off the modern diesels due to their complexity, probably doesn't help that anything I buy is well out of warranty when I get it ��

Oliver.

[Draigflag]

I think both petrols and diesels are very complex these days, but with advancing technologies, they do get more reliable as they develop. Have to say though, some petrols are starting to catch up with fuel efficiency now, the VW groups ACT engine (active cylinder technology) can run on 2 cylinders, so the 1.4 TSI with 140 bhp, still does 0-60 in 7.8 seconds, yet has emissions similar to a Prius, and is rated at 70 MPG on the extra urban cycle, so a good all round engine.

[Charon]

Active cylinder technology isn't exactly new. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_0xifuTqVA I believe some of the rotary engines in World War 1 used a variant, shutting off some of the cylinders to act as a sort of throttle control for landing.

[Draigflag]

I appreciate the concept isn't new, many technologies aren't, but they have only recently starting using the idea in mass production automotive vehicles in the last few years. These things come and go, some of the old VW's had stop start systems in the late 70's, where the engine would shut off when idling. It was always rising fuel prices that helped persuade manufacturers to fit such gadgets, nowadays it's more to do with emission regulations and reductions.

[Charon]

Cadillac had a cylinder deactivation system in 1981, called the V8-6-4. The engine was sound, but the electronics controlling it were not as capable as modern-day electronics and there were reliability problems. It, too, was brought about by attempts to meet CAFE standards.

From Wikipedia: For 1981 Cadillac introduced a new engine that would become notorious for its reliability problems (with the electronics, not the robust mechanical design), the V8-6-4 (L62). The L61 had not provided a significant improvement in the company's CAFE numbers, so Cadillac and Eaton Corporation devised a cylinder deactivation system called Modulated Displacement that would shut off two or four cylinders in low-load conditions such as highway cruising, then reactivate them when more power was needed. When deactivated, solenoids mounted to those cylinders' rocker-arm studs would disengage the fulcrums, allowing the rockers to "float" and leave the valves closed despite the continued action of the pushrods. These engines are easily identified by their rocker covers, which each have elevated sections over 2 cylinders with electrical connectors on top. With the valves closed the cylinders acted as air-springs, which both eliminated the feel of "missing" and kept the cylinders warm for instant combustion upon reactivation. Simultaneously, the engine control module would reduce the amount of fuel metered through the TBI unit. On the dashboard, an "MPG Sentinel" digital display could show the number of cylinders in operation, average or current fuel consumption (in miles per gallon), or estimated range based on the amount of fuel remaining in the tank and the average mileage since the last reset.[5]