Range...

[CitroJim]

On a trip form here to Minehead, dreadful road all 40 and 50 mph

Those roads Peter, are very similar to the roads between Welshpool and Aberystwyth. Possibly just as scenic too...

Stepto, I just use what the odometer says and how many litres goes in... However you look at it it's still bloody excellent economy for what you get.

Granted you could get the same from some wretched little puddle-jumper but I'd much rather have my frugality from a Xantia...

[DickieG]

Guys, can I just ask, how are you working out your mpg figures?

My speedo and odometer in my Xantia HDI 110 over read by 10%, as do most cars.

This means when you think you're doing 7Omph, you're not. You're doing about 63mph.

And when your trip counter says you've done 800miles, you haven't. You've done 720miles.

That's quite a wide variation in recorded speed and distance and right at the boundaries of being legal as 10% is the widest acceptable margin.

Don't assume all cars of the same make/model speedo's record the same way, for instance I know the speedo in my VSX is exactly spot on at most speeds with a slight variation along the way of 1-2 mph whereas other S1 Xantia's I've had were always slightly over. S2 Xantia's generally record a bit faster/further but I've never seen it by as much as you're suggesting, my present HDi is no more than 5 mph out at any speed.

If you want to see highly optimistic speedo's, drive a Vauxhall

[Stepto1]

Very true, my old mk3 Fiesta was the most optimistic machine in the world! It claimed to do nearly 100mph when in fact it struggled to do 70mph.

My series 1 Xantia used to over read too but when I fitted Exclusive alloys it sorted that right out!

Does anyone know what Citroen claimed the Xantia could do to the gallon?

My girlfriend's Seat Leon only managed 35mpg on a long run. Mind you, it's the FR and for a two litre diesel it goes like a stuck pig so probably my fault!

I've never got anywhere near the figures claimed by the makers.

[DickieG]

Does anyone know what Citroën claimed the Xantia could do to the gallon?

What version?

[Stepto1]

Well any really.

I could get 30-35mpg out of my 1.8 16V and I think 40-50mpg is achievable out of an HDI. So far low 40's but I've not done an economy run yet.

[Peter.N.]

Depends on the speed you drive at, I normally sit in the nearside lane with the lorries on a long journey - you can do that when you are old, at that sort of speed the 406 will do just over 60 mpg, the 1.9 td is far less efficient, less even than the 2.1 which comes somewhere between the two. I used to drive a lot of miles when I was working and found it much less stressful and tiring to go with the flow, I would do 600 miles some days and not arrive home exhausted - but then I did work for myself and there was much less traffic.

Peter

[Sulla]

I ended up topping the tank back up for my journey down as I needed to get back for another appointment fairly quickly and didn't have time to crawl home. For the run up to Newcastle via Studley (Warks) and Huddersfield plus a couple of short side trips I used 28.8 litres for the 429 miles covered (checked on Google maps to confirm milage).

This worked out at a rather tasty 67mpg, for a 1999 diesel, and echoes what Peter was saying that it could acheive over 1000 if driven well on motorway routes. Just goes to show how good the HDi engine is.

[Citroenmad]

Speedos do seem to vary quite a bit on XMs and Xantias, 2.1 XMs are out by a fair way. Our 2.1TD manual Xm does a a true 70mph when the speedo is reading 76. My Xantia is almost spot on, only 1-2mph out and my C5 is bang on.

Most mordern cars know their true distance fairly accurately but display a slightly higher mph figure as a safety barrier. I have tested this with a few Seats and Citroens (C5 & C1) and it seems the case. So it is not clocking up more mile than it has actually done. Though this wont be the case with Xantias and XMs.

Granted you could get the same from some wretched little puddle-jumper but I'd much rather have my frugality from a Xantia...

An excellent term Jim

Certainly right, You would have to of been trying hard to get similar MPG from the Nissan Pixi!

[Stepto1]

I just can't see how these figures can be right.

A brand new VW 2.0 Passat Bluemotion can do 60.1 mpg and that's what VW claim it CAN do.

Are we really saying that a car screwed together about 15 years ago is 10% more efficient then a modern saloon that's been designed with mpg on mind??

I really hope my HDI could do 67mpg. But I don't believe it can.

[Citroenmad]

Cars are so much heavier than they ever have been, which might explain some part of it. Also the HDi is a very efficient engine. And also you try and get 60 MPG from a Passat under normal use, I doubt it will happen

The closest I have ever got to the stated combined MPG figure with any car is with my current C5. That does almost without fail 47-48MPG with my average weekly driving. On a good run and at sensible speeds it will easily do 54-55. Even at 90mph for a couple of hours it manages just short of 50mpg.

I have to say, I don't find the 2.0 8v C5s very economical, perhaps its my heavy footed driving, but they need working harder for my use and so return less mpg than my 16v 2.0hdi. Which will retrun 800 miles on a tank without trying too hard, its speedo is spot on too, so I can fully believe its mpg is correct, or as close as possible.

As Jim says, why bother with smaller cars!

[Sulla]

All I can tell you is that I checked the route mileage on the internet and I put 28.8 liters in the car this morning, to the brim (several clicks on the fuel hose) just as I did on Saturday morning before I set off.

28.8 litres = 6.33 gals

429 / 6.33 = 67.77 mpg

I didn't think the old girl was capable of it. I even checked I was using UK gallons and not US ones!

[Stepto1]

A Xantia is a heavy car and weighs nearly 1500kg, the same as a diesel Passat.....

[Stepto1]

P.s. The world record for a passenger car is 74.8mpg.

[Peter.N.]

Its all down to how, where and when you drive. For about 15 years I have regularly got between 50 and 55 mpg from an XM 2.1 td estate between Tesco's at Axminster where I fill up and Tesco's in Inverness where I top up, even allowing for error thats got to come out at over 50 mpg.

I nearly always drive in the slow lane with the lorries which sometimes is below 60 mph, I travel at a time when the traffic is as light as it gets so I am doing a steady speed, 50 mph road works improve the economy even more. Last year in the 406Hdi we averaged 60.1mpg according to the display for the Scottish trip, and the average shown for the last 6,000 miles was 54.4mpg.

Most people don't get anything like these figures because they are continually passing me in the fast lane but just try driving at a steady 60mph, set your mpg display and watch, you will be amazed, no rapid acceleration or braking though that will ruin it.

I used to drive 30,000 miles a year when I was working that's when I learnt that it is a lot less stressfull to just amble along, you get there nearly as quickly but a lot more relaxed.

Peter

[Citroenmad]

A Xantia is a heavy car and weighs nearly 1500kg, the same as a diesel Passat.....

Im pretty sure a diesel Xantia weighs around 1300, its not heavier than a C5!