Surprisingly low fuel efficiency

[shruikanshad]

Hi there, I bought a used 107 'urban move' from a Peugeot dealer in january. Its a 58 plate, so only a few years old, and yet in calculating my fuel efficiency i find that im averaging just below 40 mpg (imperial gallons). This is about 33% lower than the quoted mpg of about 63 mpg, and im wondering if there may be some mechanical issue causing this. What kind of fuel efficiency do you all tend to average when city-driving a 107?

In terms of my driving, I've made every attempt to be as fuel efficient as possible, keeping revs between 2-3 thousand wherever possible. Very occasionally ill rev it higher than this for a bit of fun while accelerating from standstill, but i would have thought this would have a neglegible effect as long as i only did it very infrequently?

[bettyswollocks]

Service history?

[shruikanshad]

Embarrassingly i cant appear to find it, but i don't recall there being anything significant to do with the engine, its a rather new car after all, with a relatively low mileage. Certainly the dealer didn't mention any particular past issues.

[chopper1192]

OK, a couple of points.

1st off, the 'combined cycle' is not an actual tested figure that a typical driver should realistically expect as a target. It is simply the mathematical average of the Urban and Extra Urban figures, which are actual tested figuers (albeit simulated on a dyno in a lab, not on real tarmac).

So, with that out the way...

The average driver should get into the low 50's in a 107 in genuine mixed motoring. A careful driver (like moi) can get into the mid 60's overall. In some 107/C1 circles there is a hardcore of hypermilers who all nudge the 80MPG mark. That said, if you're almost all city driving then 50MPG is going to be hard to get. And yeah, even occasionally gassing it makes a difference when you get the calculator out - peak torque is at 3600 RPM, so taking it beyond just makes a load of noise and guzzles a load of juice, while actually accelerating slower.

Back off the throttle a bit and don't spin it up so hard before changes, say 2000RPM to change up when trafic conditions permit, accelerate gently, and you'll easily get into the 50's. If it's not broken, and is otherwise running properly, no smoking etc, then it's down to you to educate your right foot. To be fair though, I'm currently on my 3rd so I've had a bit of practice.

Make sure the tyres are at their max 34PSI - some people find the handling a little loose at this pressure (I don't) but it makes a noticeable difference. Also make sure you run it on 5w/30 oil next service, as that also gives you another MPG or two.

[daffyduck]

I never used to worry about my tyre pressure on my 307 but now I check it every week and keep them at 35 psi. Im only guessing this is the correct psi, my tyres are 20550r17. Rear driver side tyre is always low, gets to around 17psi whereas the rest only drop to 33-34 after a week.