Car efficiency figures'misleading'

Car efficiency figures'misleading'

Motorists are being misled by official car fuel consumption figures and could end up paying much more to run their car than they expect, it was revealed today.

Some statistics saying how many miles a vehicle does to the gallon are as much as 20% too high, according to checks made by Auto Express magazine.

And some owners who were told their car could do 40 miles to the gallon are finding it will only do 30 miles.

The magazine said it had checked consumption figures produced by car manufacturers, based on a government-approved test covering a mix of driving in town, country and on motorways.

These figures appear in new car sales brochures and handbooks.

"The official test is carried out on a mechanical rolling road and bears no comparison to real-life driving on UK roads," said David Johns, editor of Auto Express.

"Our test team discovered that on average cars are around 17-20% less economical than the official claims. This discrepancy could end up costing drivers hundreds of pounds more than they'd bargained for."

He said that official figures showed the UK's best-selling car - the Ford Focus - would do 55.4 miles per gallon (mpg) on the open road, but that the magazine had discovered the actual figure was 23.3% lower at 42.5mpg.

Mr Johns added: "For someone covering 20,000 miles each year this represents an extra £240 on fuel.

"Fiat's popular Panda, which is supposed to return 76.3mpg out of town,.....continued below

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really only manages 58mpg. That's a difference of 24% or £268 a year.

"Our report proves that current economy figures are at best misleading. The tests aren't representative of how the average person drives."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Transport (DFT) said the tests were carried out according to standards that were common across the EU and were designed only to give guidance to drivers.

"It's a way of comparing the fuel consumption of similar types of cars, but we don't ever claim that they're exact," she said.

She added that the DFT had produced tips for drivers who were keen to cut down on fuel consumption and the cost of running their cars. These can be found on its website

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