Pyree :
Ok, 1999 Mazda 121 (Demio) Metro is suppose to have fuel economy of like 7L/100km from manufacturer. But I am getting something like 13L/100km. The car has about 90000km on it. Is this normal? I don't think it is and what could possibly be causing this? Is it my driving behaviour or do you think there is something wrong with it mechanically and how can I tell?
Also it would be interesting to know what is the actual fuel economy of your car (not the one reported by the manufacturer). Tips on how to save fuel are welcome.
Good simple ways to increase fuel economy:
Accelerate slower...instead of nailing the gas once the light turns green, take it easy, let your car roll and once it gets moving well, then start you start giving it gas.
Don't gas it on hills. If you see you are about to get onto a hill, give it lots of gas before you enter the hill.
Don't carry loads of crap in your trunk. It won't save much, but penny's do count.
A huge one is keeping your tires properly inflated, don't neglect that.
Here are some BIG NO-NO's
-If you drive a manual, don't shift up your gears to keep your engine at low rpm's. You think this saves you gas, but it doesn't. Infact, the engine has far more load on it which kills it eventually and you have to give it more gas to keep accelerating. For your and your engine's best interests, keep the rpm's higher rather then lower when in doubt.
-Do not shut your engine down when stopped. When you shut-down and and turn it back on, your entire array of electronics, starter, cooling system and such must all stop and restart...they have a very limited amount of times that they can be used. It may save you insignificant amounts of gas, but you'll have to replace all of those parts sooner which costs thousands.