Picanto News: Fuel For Thought!!
Readers regularly email us regarding the fuel economy on their Picanto's. Some are disappointed with the fuel return, others are extremely suprised how frugal their Picanto petrols can be.
One reader in particular points out that the latest Whatcar research into fuel economy, should be enough to convince Kia to sit up and produce a Diesel Picanto variant for UK shores. While we totally agree the Diesel Picanto should be available in RHD (Right Hand Drive) in the UK, we doubt it'll ever happen.
So is the Picanto petrol really that bad on fuel? Can a vehicle ever match it's official fuel economy claims? It depends on who you talk to, but a quick scan at the chart reveals the Picanto 1.1 is better than the Nissan Micra 1.2SE, Fiat Panda 1.2, Ford Fiesta LX, Renault Clio 1.4, Toyota Yaris 1.3, VW Polo 1.2, Vauxhall Agila, Vauxhall Corsa Easytronic and a smidgen off the Corsa 1.0. That's pretty much everything in it's class.
The report, carried out by Peter de Nayer, a former AA senior research engineer who invented the motoring organisation's own fuel economy tests in the 1980s, suggested that both the Kia Picanto 1.1 and it's bigger stablemate, the Rio 1.5 CRDi, struggled to match their manufacturers' claims and were both 11.6mpg less efficient than claimed. The Picanto only achieving 46.0 mpg.
The tests were carried out by inserting a special meter in the fuel line to measure the precise amount of fuel used over a series of pre-determined road routes used in identical conditions.
While were not doubting this methodology, one wonders how the Government produce their own set of 'official figures' and why such a differential. Answers on a postcard please!!
So it's all subjective really. What is important however, is the opinions of what the real drivers say, those who actually own the cars, as conditions vary from one destination to the other. What we can't take seriously is the Whatcar 'top tips' on how to achieve 'real world' fuel figures and save ourselves a fortune on fuel bills.
Quite clearly today's top motoring experts don't live in the 'real world', or venture out on to todays roads if they seriously suggest you:
One reader in particular points out that the latest Whatcar research into fuel economy, should be enough to convince Kia to sit up and produce a Diesel Picanto variant for UK shores. While we totally agree the Diesel Picanto should be available in RHD (Right Hand Drive) in the UK, we doubt it'll ever happen.
So is the Picanto petrol really that bad on fuel? Can a vehicle ever match it's official fuel economy claims? It depends on who you talk to, but a quick scan at the chart reveals the Picanto 1.1 is better than the Nissan Micra 1.2SE, Fiat Panda 1.2, Ford Fiesta LX, Renault Clio 1.4, Toyota Yaris 1.3, VW Polo 1.2, Vauxhall Agila, Vauxhall Corsa Easytronic and a smidgen off the Corsa 1.0. That's pretty much everything in it's class.The report, carried out by Peter de Nayer, a former AA senior research engineer who invented the motoring organisation's own fuel economy tests in the 1980s, suggested that both the Kia Picanto 1.1 and it's bigger stablemate, the Rio 1.5 CRDi, struggled to match their manufacturers' claims and were both 11.6mpg less efficient than claimed. The Picanto only achieving 46.0 mpg.
The tests were carried out by inserting a special meter in the fuel line to measure the precise amount of fuel used over a series of pre-determined road routes used in identical conditions.
While were not doubting this methodology, one wonders how the Government produce their own set of 'official figures' and why such a differential. Answers on a postcard please!!
So it's all subjective really. What is important however, is the opinions of what the real drivers say, those who actually own the cars, as conditions vary from one destination to the other. What we can't take seriously is the Whatcar 'top tips' on how to achieve 'real world' fuel figures and save ourselves a fortune on fuel bills.
Quite clearly today's top motoring experts don't live in the 'real world', or venture out on to todays roads if they seriously suggest you:
- travel off-peak, avoiding the busiest, most congested times and you'll use less fuel". What if you work?
- Switch off. If you're stuck in a traffic jam, turn the engine off so it's not using fuel needlessly. Are they being serious?
- Avoid small fill-ups. A small amount of petrol evaporates when the fuel cap is removed. Are we really reading this?
- Boycott greedy fuel stations for a while, pedal or walk to work if possible, causing panic amongst the government and fuel moguls, eventually forcing fuel prices down.
- Kia, build us a RHD Diesel Picanto so we can do 68.0 mpg or not!!
