Hello Everyone,

This is my first posting, and I'm hoping to tap into all the knowledge that's no doubt lurking out there. :)

I'm not very technical when it comes to cars, but hopefully you'll understand what I'm trying to find out....

I had an 08 plate (petrol) MINI Cooper, which I replaced with an 11 plate (petrol) MINI Cooper in April 2011. The only difference in spec is that the new car has 16" wheels. In the old vehicle, I used to get 400 miles out of a tank of petrol easily. With the new one, I think I'd be lucky to get 330-340 miles. I'm basing this on the very rudimentary calculation of looking at the mileage I've done (since last fill-up) when the fuel warning appears, and adding that to the range I'm being told that I have left.

On a 40 litre tank (10.57 gallons), that means I'm getting 32-ish mpg.

Since starting a new job in Sept, I do less "urban cycle" driving than I did on the old vehicle too - I drive 80-ish miles a day from Cambridge to Stansted & back, mainly on the M11, but I'm not even coming close to ANY of MINI's published mpg figures (40.9 Urban / 52.3 Combined / 61.4 Extra-Urban).

So what conclusions should I take from this ?

1. My vehicle has a problem : I've taken it to two separate dealerships and neither could find a problem. Leaks, misfires, tyre pressures etc. have all been ruled out.

2. The 2011 model is less economical than the 2008 model ?? : has anybody else noted this ?

3. The fuel warning is appearing too early, and there's more fuel left than it's reporting ?? : clearly I don't want to test this one out !

4. I was just lucky on the 08 car ?

So, MINI Community, is there anyone out there that's seeing the same issue, or can give me any advice on what to do next ??

Many thanks in advance

The only thing I could think is that the engine still needs running in. How many miles had your 08 Cooper done and how many miles has your 11 plate Cooper done? It's not unusual for cars to do lower mpg when they are running in. 32mpg sounds a little low though I would be expecting more than that, do you have a mpg readout on your trip computer? It would be interesting to see what the car 'thinks' it's doing to the gallon. Also what speed are you cruising at on the motorway?

Check your tire pressure. I run at about 38 vs 33 (recommended) and recently got around 40mpg (49.1, the other day) at highway speeds (70mph on 17" wheels w/215/45-17 Conti DWS tires).

Cheers...

Thanks Poprin

The 08 Mini had done about 40k by the time I gave it back. The current one has about 18k on it. Unfortunately neither vehicle had the trip computer - I assume that can't be retrofitted ? I probably average 75-80 on the m'way.

Michael - thanks, I'll maybe try that

The figures that BMW give are not to be taken seriously. I have an 02 MINI cooper and when driving like a granny can get just shy of 40 mpg but putting my foot down it drops to 30 mpg or less. It all depends how you drive.

I think you need to measure the consumption accurately if you're that concerned - what you're doing now seems an educated guess.

Always fill the tank until the nozzle cuts out, keep the receipt from the garage showing the litres you've bought and record the mileage at each fill up.

Then mpg = 4.546 x miles driven / litres bought

Do that at least ten times, take an average and you've got a good number.

But 32mpg from a Cooper is extreme - that's what I get in my Cooper when half that tankful was spent driving like a loon over deserted Pennine roads seeing how much tyre wear I can get - doing that on ordinary roads would mean losing my license.

I may have got this wrong (as no one else has mentioned it) but I think the two engines are different. Mini modified the engine in 2010. I traded a 2008 car for a 2010 car and noticed a big improvement in engine performance AND in mpg but that could be because of the way I drive. Honest John has reliable mpg figures posted by owners not car manufacturers and these suggested 36-38mpg average last time I looked. My car goes into the red at about 320 miles and has averaged 34mpg since new oh and it's an 'S' (anal - I check every time I fill up) Your previous car did mostly town driving and therefore you were slow. Now you are on the motorway and driving fast.

PS not using Supermarket fuel I hope.

Andy, I consistently get the fuel warning at around 270 miles. My driving style hasn't changed between the two cars - that's the bit I don't understand. My fuel is usually from a Jet garage in my village, or a BP place near work.

Thanks Angib - I'll start a spreadsheet.

Does anyone think this is worth raising with MINI centrally ? My other consideration is that the car is leased. I'm thinking I should report it to the lease company to cover my back.

Yes. Report it. 27mpg is definatly too low. A friend of mine has two Minis and reports 36-40mpg, never dropped below 32 even when hammering it. Sorry it so long to get back to you but yes, I think you have a problem.

Health and wellness

40 litres is 8.8 UK gallons so 330 miles is 37.5 mpg and not 32!

Fill your tank. Reset the mileage drive until you need gas. Divide the number of miles by the number of gallons you replaced. Don't add it to what is left in the tank because you didn't use it. example; 13.2 gallons filled. Drive say 300 miles. Refill the tank. How ever much gas you pumped (10 gallons) will be divided into the number of miles driven. 300 miles divided by 10 gallons = 30 miles to the gallon.

I have UK 07 cooper petrol.

it originally had 17" wheels, which returned about 42mpg. couldn't stand the ridiculously poor ride so i changed the wheels to 15", I am now getting 49-50mpg.

My consumption varies on driving conditions and how playful I'm feeling on my S.

Normal in town traffic to work and back I average 9l/100km, due to sheer number of traffic lights I encounter.

On the open road and sticking to the speed limit, consumption drops to 6.4l/ 100km.

The fuel warning light comes on at usually 80km left on the tank. The second red light goes out at 50km.

Are you sure both didnt have a trip computer? I thought they are standard?

I'm getting 21mpg all urban driving (I drive spirited or in a traffic jam), 2011 MCS auto. Seems very low to me. Currently on 17" run flat tyres for the summer at 2.6bar, might try upping them to 2.8bar (which is the recommended fully laden pressure). I've done just over 2,200km so engine should be run in by now.

I managed to get a reading of 43.6mpg in my MCS driving country lanes the other day with a very light foot. As soon as the sport went down along with my right foot (as it should on a country road) the figure soon dropped to 25ish!

Still possible to get fairly decent economy in an MCS though.

Ry

I have a 09 plate MC petrol and I'm getting a combined 44mpg, running on 17'' runflats.

:eek:

Just bought a R56 MC 2008 non-turbo petrol with 16" runflats - getting 44mpg combined with a mix of 25 miles of A and B road driving plus 5 miles urban each way each day. That is 7mpg better than the R50 MC 2005 non-turbo petrol I used to have - I suspect that it is mostly due to the 6 speed gearbox in the R56.

Happy days...:D

I'm now getting anywhere between 7.3km/l (17mpg) to 9.4km/l (22mpg) MINI Cooper S (auto) depending on whether hooning it or driving like a grandma! Just slightly off the official figures :aargh: :angry: :

Imperial Urban (cold) 31.7
Imperial Extra Urban 56.5
Imperial Combined 44.1

Something has to be amiss, surely the figures aren't allowed to be that inaccurate?! :confused:

Tyres are inflated to 40psi (2.8 bar).

EDIT: above figures are US mpg.

You sure thats right? Mine Mpg has the tendency to freeze on the same reading and require regular resets by using the button on the indicator stalk. Mine was sat on 26.5 when I bought it but needs a reset for most journeys. Have had 44.2 mpg driving with an extremely light foot on country lanes but dropped that to 21mpg by driving like you should on country lanes! Give it a whiz next time and you might get a more accurate reading.

Ry


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I have the overall Trip on the OBC and central computer (sat nav, mini connected etc.) and a separate journey computer, the second of which I reset regularly. 9.4km/l is the absolute best I got on one 45 minute drive (sport off) and way back 9.3km/l (sport on).

I'd get that checked out. Is everything standard? I'm running a standard 07 MCS on 215/35/18 tyres using super unleaded I average around the 30-35 mark with bits of sport button but generally having a heavy ish right foot.


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Yea, all standard 2011 MCS auto, 17" 205/45, 3,200km on the clock now, heavy right foot, usually lots of traffic which obviously doesn't help, but the 9.3 journey i referred to above was with no traffic, town and country driving, light foot.

Possibly being stupid but what difference does wheel size do to MPG? Can only imagine a smaller wheel needs more fuel to do more rotations?

I'm getting c.38 mpg at the moment vs my old 54 plate mini which got 29mpg on tthe same journey!

Width certainly plays a part due to more of surface area. Note that Eco cars have thin little tyres.


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Believe it or not, it's the width of the tyre that has a big effect on aerodynamic drag. The amount of tyre in the airflow may look small, but the effect is significant.

So wheel size is just a shorthand description as 15" wheels are generally 175 width, 16" 195/205 and 17/18" 205/215.

2002 R50 Mini One , CVT , 280Miles from a full tank very easy driving mainly city , is it normal?

Believe it or not, it's the width of the tyre that has a big effect on aerodynamic drag. The amount of tyre in the airflow may look small, but the effect is significant.

So wheel size is just a shorthand description as 15" wheels are generally 175 width, 16" 195/205 and 17/18" 205/215.

Nice thanks didn't even think about that having an effect