There Are No Such Things As Accurate MPG Figures

Friday, 6. February 2015

Drivers have been complaining for years that the MPG figures provided by car manufacturers are inaccurate and don’t reflect every day driving. Correct, the figures are calculated by applying very strict conditions within a controlled environment to best reflect the conditions, known as Urban, Extra Urban and Combined.

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The fact is that every car is subjected to exactly the same tests so if nothing else the resultant figures provide a fairly accurate way of comparing the results of different models. It can’t be done any other way. If you were to drive the same Ford Fiesta round the same route in the middle of Bath on three separate days I guarantee you will achieve three different results.

Add to that changing weather conditions along with different driving styles and the results become meaningless and can vary massively. So let’s stop whinging on about the manufacturers’ fuel consumption figures and simply use them as a guide as to which cars use more fuel than others. In America the situation is different.

There have been a string of high profile cases involving Kia, Hyundai and Ford after they all admitted leading customers astray over fuel consumption figures. The cases resulted in hefty fines and compensation being paid to car buyers.

But before you start opening Word in order to start your claims process the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) say it is unlikely that any similar claim in the UK would succeed as the EU testing regime does not claim to represent real world driving conditions. Sorry ladies and gentlemen but simply drop the suggested MPG by 15 to 20, that should give you a more accurate figure. By Graham Hill

Growing Support For Alternative Car Manufacturers

Friday, 23. September 2011

Years ago stand up comedians like Bernard Manning could fill a complete stand up slot with jokes about Ladas and Skodas, you didn’t measure their speed in miles per hour but feet per week etc. Nissan was called Datsun and called cars after flowers and birds, like Primrose and Bluebird. In those days they simply didn’t get it in the same way as our Read more »

What Extras Add Value To Your Car When You Sell It?

Monday, 16. May 2011

When choosing a new car there are a few things you should take into account when deciding upon the spec. of the car. As What Car ran a feature this month on this subject I thought I’d give my own twist on this hairy subject. Obviously if you are going to own the car it becomes more critical because if you choose badly it can be an expensive mistake albeit Read more »

Graham Hill Names The Top Ten Selling Cars Of 2010

Tuesday, 8. February 2011

Nissan Qashqai Facelift

Image via Wikipedia

Who wants to know the best selling cars of 2010? No-one? Well tough I’m going to tell you anyway! The Fiesta tops the chart for the second year but the Nissan Qashqai has popped into the top ten as a result of Nissan’s car sales hike from 77,924 in 2009 to 87,396 in 2010, a jump of 15%. This made Nissan the most popular Japanese car maker in the UK overtaking Toyota who suffered badly with its massive recall dropping sales by 15%. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) who Read more »

Graham Hill’s Famous Car Review Spotlights New Land Rover

Saturday, 17. July 2010

Now to Graham Hill’s famous car review. This week the new, yet to be launched, Range Rover baby get’s put under the spotlight. The car, called the Evoque, will come with a tiny 2.0 diesel or petrol engine and has a bit of a Nissan Qashqai look about it. It has little slit windows but the car I’ve seen has a panoramic glass sunroof so maybe if that becomes standard it won’t seem quite as dark and dingy as it looks. Do I Read more »