mpg question

[lotus]

hi ppl

i used to have a p reg s-class on 20"s and loved it but it was our "shopping" car and
as the climate have changed recently it had to go, and to not go to the audi stable
(nnoooo), i have thought about a A-Class as the spare run around car for myself
and misses.

so the question is i have seen a 1.9 avantgarde on autotrader, in the REAL world how good
are they on MPG, as the tech specs say 36-37mpg combined, this would be fine as the S was 21mpg. and our other 2 cars are around the 17-21mpg mark also.

would prefer a 1.7cdi but it seems you can just throw a grand on the price for one of those and i need a semi-auto or automatic.

my dad has a rover 75 and the tech spec on that said 36 but his only returns 28mpg so this is what has started me thinking

thanx in advance

[lofty]

If you work on the percentage your dads car was out, and apply that to the 'A' class I reckon you would be about right .
The conditions for the tests are tops, but when it comes down to real world, traffic hold ups and all the other problems of modern road conditions it's little wonder the figures are out.

I think this is born out by the new A class which shuts the engine off when you stop
great idea saves fuel !
But i can see this car having even more starter problems than the present models

When you consider the cost of having the engine lowered to replace the starter and the fuel saving any benefits will in my opinion be spent on starter motors and after only a few years of stop start, ring gear as well and that's an engine out job from which, parts plus fitting you will be lucky if you get change from £1600-£1900 dependent on who does the job and where your located.

That doesn't make the 'A'Clas any different to other cars they are all returning less than forcast by the salesmens speil, and printed information.