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MPG on your Countryman

77K views 166 replies 76 participants last post by  Tabintab 
#1 ·
Hi all,
What's everyone getting for average mpg? I've done just over 300 miles in my Cooper auto and average mpg is showing as 26.5 mpg which is pretty poor I think! I have had the air con on automatic at 21 degrees but have now put it on the lowest setting at 23 degrees. I'm not the most economical driver in the world but I don't drive like a lunatic either, so it's quite strange it's so low. I used to get around 34 mpg on average on my Cooper Sidewalk convertible auto...
 
#28 ·
Mileage varies

Got my All4 (paddle shift) a week ago today. On 3rd tank of gas after the courtesy tank with purchase.

First tank ave 24.26 mpg, second 23.58 and third was 22.09. Third tank was driving pretty hard plus ave 75 mph on 90 mile round trip commute.

On current tank (4th), being more civilized and keeping it at 70 mph or less; getting 30 mpg for the first 100 miles of this tank (943 miles in a week!)... Will finish up this tank tomorrow and see how it goes.

I'd be happy to average 30 mpg...
 
#30 ·
Have 990 miles on my Countryman S and I'm getting 32.1 mixed driving MPG.

One thing I learned early on is to set the trip computer on the tach to show you instant mpg readings. I find that tiny little adjustments in my accelerator foot can bring it up 4-9mpg with little or no change in how the ride feels.
In other words, I can adjust my foot a bit and find a "sweet spot" that gets the best MPG without my passengers even noticing a difference.
 
#32 ·
I Drive for a living, fuel economy is the new "it word", for reaching the impossible government CO2 targets for industry, so I know a fair bit about how to drive the most economical way whilst making progress. The SD will be better than the cooper D on fuel, or I'll eat my hat. More torque, less throttle, faster progress, I'm expecting HIGH 40's/low 50's from my ALL4 SD. (got 72mpg from a BMW 320 coupe on a 420 mile trip once and that was driving at between 55 -70 mph and was keeping up with the flow of the traffic, the coupe is very good on aero, unlike the Countryman).

SD should = fun and economy if you understand how to drive properly, you don't have to drive slowly at a pedestrian pace, good observation and get off the throttle when you don't need it, don't brake when all you need is to lift off early, check your tyre pressures are correct and check every week. I bet I could get most of you up by atleast 5mpg if I spent an hour with you :eek:). At first you'll find it quite difficult to concentrate on you driving (most people don't really think that much about their driving, just do it like a robot, on autopilot) it takes alot of skill and concentration to drive for hour after hour driving properly.

It is very difficult to get what the factories specify the car is capable of, unrealistic for most, but not impossible. The fuel test is done on a rolling road, no wind resistance, for a very short distance in a manner that is completely devoid of reality. The only useful info it provides is, that every car is tested the same way, so good for comparison. Also, remember it will get better as the engine, gearbox and drivetrain bed in. The most important factor in fuel consumption is, the Driver. You should realise an average, of the Urban figure, except on decent length runs when it should be alot higher. Please don't take this as an insult, I don't mean to offend anyone, hope you all have fun in your new cars, life is all about having fun and learning something new every day :eek:) .

P.S. I don't work for , or in the motor trade.
P.P.S. my CM is on its way :whblack::D
 
#33 ·
Mpg

I have had my cooper countryman 1.6 petrol on 17 inch alloys and covered 1450 miles 90% town driving ave. Has been 31 although on a run mpg is 47. I think the mpg will get better as my wife has a cooper convertible and she does 100% town driving and over the last 14 months has averaged 36.3 mpg, I know the countryman is heavier so I think around town mpg will probably get to 34-35.

BMW stats appear to be fairly accurate

Hope this helps
 
#34 ·
I've done just shy of 8k since I got mine in October. All 4 S Auto. Average is about 29-30 with trundles to work. Include some motorway and its goes ot about 32-33 - best I have had motorway only is about 38 - woefully short of the claimed 47. Generally about 275 to a tank. Think they got the washer and petrol tanks mixed up as that lasts forever! But, I didn't buy it for economy I guess... :)
 
#35 ·
To my fellow Colonists:

Please be reminded that the volume of a US gallon is less than the volume of an Imperial gallon. This means that comparing US Countyman fuel economy with figures posted by folks from countries that use Imperial gallons (e.g.; UK) necessitates a conversion step. THIS site has a quick and easy converter (US-MPG <> I-MPG).

Some selected conversions:

20 US-MPG = 24 I-MPG
25 US-MPG = 30 I-MPG
30 US-MPG = 36 I-MPG
35 US-MPG = 42 I-MPG

HTH
 
#38 ·
Update on MPG

Just a little update on the MPG on my SD ALL4, its now got just over 1400 miles on the clock, I've just got back from a 407 mile return trip from Oxfordshire to North Devon. About half the journey was on A and B roads and the rest was on motorway, sticking to the posted speed limits, with the occasional brisk overtake and blast up to 75-80 on motorway.

The car was loaded up with lots of kit and 2 people. Brimmed the tank before leaving and filled up at the same pump/garage on return. I zeroed the computer before leaving and the computer showed 51.9 mpg for the journey, my fill up mpg was 50.88. So the cars computer is pretty accurate. I'm pretty happy with that and can see this going up atleast another 4-5 mpg with a few more miles on the car. For a car capable of 4 wheel drive and an aerodynamic profile of a brick with rounded edges, that's pretty good.
 
#40 ·
cooper D with 19inch wheels

Mine has done over 17,000 miles and i get 44mpg no matter how i drive. I can drive 200 miles on the motorway at 75 and still achieve 44mpg or drive around time and still get the same. I'm a little shocked by this and worried something may be wrong

I know the book states 60ish and i'm not going to achieve that but my other car is an octavia with the 2L 140bhp diesel and i can easily get 58mpg on that. Seems strange that that figure is more than the combined cycle quoted in the book for the skoda but the mini is far lower.
 
#41 ·
Mine has done over 17,000 miles and i get 44mpg no matter how i drive. I can drive 200 miles on the motorway at 75 and still achieve 44mpg or drive around time and still get the same. I'm a little shocked by this and worried something may be wrong

I know the book states 60ish and i'm not going to achieve that but my other car is an octavia with the 2L 140bhp diesel and i can easily get 58mpg on that. Seems strange that that figure is more than the combined cycle quoted in the book for the skoda but the mini is far lower.
I'm extremely disappointed with the mpg on our Countryman Cooper D. It started at 48 mpg, but got progressively worse rather than better as we put miles on the clock. Eventually took it to the dealer when it was down to near 40mpg. They said there was a problem with the diesel particulate setting but their fix this made no difference whatsoever. Took it back, they had it for three days, and said they eventually found an issue with the exhaust back pressure sensor, which they replaced. A few weeks later and it's still only managing 44mpg with nearly 15,000 miles on the clock. This is ridiculous - I don't expect to get the brochure mpg (64 mpg combined) but there ought to be some comeback against Mini for such a huge difference from reality. It's effectively costing me around £500 a year in extra fuel:(.
 
#45 ·
Same here on the Cooper D. Very poor performance on MPG. Did 45 MPG on a 200 mile journey the other day at 70 miles on cruise control with aircon off etc. sounds like I need to take it back to the dealer.

I also don't expect the claims of the brochure, but I did buy this car for it low consumption.
 
#47 ·
Yep 100%, I've even taken mine back to be told it was running OK and was nothing wrong with the figures - this was also backed up by BMW customer service. Well if there's nothing wrong why don't they at least come within 15% of the published figure that would be acceptable, but I'm / was (see other thread in Cooper D section) getting 38.9 mpg which is more like 30% out:aargh:

I've also had the recall done which is the complete replacement of the fuel lines fitted to the underside of the car and guess what I'm now the proud owner of a dented Countryman, it's been repaired but it's not the point, it should not have been done in the first place - it's not a car park dent this is in the rear hatch next to the opener - I'm still trying to work out how they managed it.:angry:

Mines a Cooper D All4 just for reference - I do believe the transmission loses are a lot higher than they Mini realise, which is part of the problem.

Rob.
 
#49 ·
Hi all,
I have a 2011 Countryman 2W automatic and I'm getting about 17mpg combined (mostly city). I bought it brand new last June and reset the computer each time I fill the tank. I don't drive aggressively and in fact am consciously trying to get the best MPG possible.

I had a 2008 Clubman 2W Automatic prior to this and was getting about 4mpg less than sticker (I thought this was acceptable). My Countryman is getting about 10mpg less than sticker.

I spoke with Countryman All4 stick owner and he was getting 23mpg and admitted to driving aggressively. How is it that an All4 is getting much better MPG than I am?!

I've taken it to the dealer with concern over the poor mileage. They claim it is consistent with the averages. I'm not satisfied with their answer - which is why I'm reaching out to the community. I'm savvy enough to know about the typical MPG-killers: sport mode, air conditioning, sudden acceleration, hills, frequent start/stop, etc. My driving pattern and habits have not changed since driving my Clubman. Other than the poor mileage I love my Countryman.

Any thoughts?
 
#50 ·
Hi all,
ce driving my Clubman. Other than the poor mileage I love my Countryman.

Any thoughts?
As a group we make a claim to Mini that we have been missold our cars on the basis of misleading fuel consumption figures.

Basically it needs to get out in public that Mini's figures are so far from reality that they are selling cars under false pretences, and they need to be forced to modify their brochures to give more realistic figures.

I have contacted Which about this but have received no response so far.

I think the Countryman is great to drive, but the fuel consumption is taking the p**s (and I've had reliability issues but that's another story).
 
#54 ·
Hi. I'm new around here. Have had my Cooper D manual 2WD for a few weeks now, which I bought as an ex-demo with 4500 on the clock. It has now done approaching 6000, and I'm averaging around 49 mpg. I had expected much better. My previous was a Golf mk6 2.0 TDi, and I was averaging somewhere north of 65 mpg (depending largely on time of year), even better than the published stats (and yes, I'm confident that my figures are accurate).

I'm really disappointed with the consumption on the Countryman. I do around 25000 miles per year, and so economy is very important to me. I had hoped to get somewhere reasonably close to the claimed 64 mpg. I reckon the 1.6 engine is having to work too hard at motorway speeds, or on on the slightest uphill gradients. Cruising at 70 on a flat motorway, my Countryman will be doing around 45 mpg at best, whereas the 2.0 Golf would have been doing high 60s in the same conditions i.e. not having to work nearly as hard as the Mini's engine.

Anyway, other that the consumption, I'm happy with most other aspects of the car. But I just hope the MPG improves further as I put more miles on the engine, otherwise I may well have to sell the car on.
 
#57 ·
I wonder if octane makes a difference with mileage
Does anyone know ?
yes higher octane can help, however it depends on whether the engine will use it. Modern ecu's will adjust however, you might need 3 or 4 tanks before ecu notices. Although 91 isn't available over here (to my knowledge) as we have 95 as standard 98/99 premium and 102 in certain BP filling stations :D
But if it won't change automatically - a plug in can always advance the timings for you.

Shame I'm diesel these days...
 
#58 ·
just found this site as this is my first 'NEW' mini , well i have a UK Mini Cooper D and so far after 650 miles i'm getting 44.1 MPG and happy with this as it takes an engine a good 8k to 'Run In' , but a good 'BURN' now and again is good to decoke an engine thats done city mileage 20k+, so far very happy with my MINI :)
oh and loving the ambient auto light changing :)
 
#59 ·
30 miles from me is a station that sells 93 R+M/2 without ethanol

i get 6mpg better mpg with this than 93 R+M/2 with ethanol

blame your government for the bad mileage, not the car

my overall mpg is over 28 for the first 2k miles, and i have been driving very agressively during the breakin period, full throttle to 4500 rpm for first 1200miles and then full throttle progressively building to redline over the next 600 miles

i see 34-36 mpg at 65-70 without ethanol and 28-30 with ethanol

scott
 
#60 ·
Our MY2012 Cooper SD All4 manual now has 4k on it and we're getting 44.6mpg. Well below the advertised.

Some may have seen recent comments in the UK motoring press that the EU & US, along with other interested parties, have just started work on a new more 'representative' method of working out the economy figures which it is intended, will come into force from 2015. Of course it will also show that emissions are higher than the current test implies. Lots of political embarrassment , and I suspect large amounts of 'spin' coming our way.:angry:

The UK Department for Transport has even said that the current system should be used for 'comparative purposes' rather than as examples of actual real world figures! Well gee, that's nice of them!! Why didn't they actually design a proper test in the first place!
 
#61 ·
The UK Department for Transport has even said that the current system should be used for 'comparative purposes' rather than as examples of actual real world figures! Well gee, that's nice of them!! Why didn't they actually design a proper test in the first place!
those that can, do ....
those that can't, work for the government

pencil pushers designed the test, not engineers, so why are you surprised that the results are meaningless?

scott
 
#62 ·
Don't get me wrong chaps, but I find it surprising when I read topics along the lines of "oh Jesus, I am not getting the mpg's I was promised". I appreciate that people buying cars want them to be economical (better still, emit money instead of co2) and they reasonably expect to get what is said on the tin. But we are all adults here and lets face it, most of the time we buy something we know there may be a certain catch somewhere. Are folks really that naive to believe the mpg figures they saw in some brochure? Of course those figures exaggerate, they always do. There are plenty of forums about other cars and guess what, you will always find people saying they can't get the advertised mileage. So the smart thing to do is to check out what other people say about their experience and take anything the car manufacturer tells you with a pinch of salt before you spend your hard earned money. Otherwise listening people complaining or threatening to sue sounds like a lame PR compaign paid for by competitors.
 
#63 ·
Greenlanddock, you're absolutely right. There are many different factors that influence the consumption and real life has got a part to play. We'll never be able to get to the figures quoted.

The reason I am upset about the figures I am achieving is that on a long extra urban run I struggle to be at 45mpg, where 67.3 is advertised. My consumption therefore should be more than 50% better than it is. That difference is too big and I do feel there is something wrong with my car.
 
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