Car mileage

Hi Winone,

Sounds like you are tending towards a pickup truck, in which case the milage will depend very much on the sort of driving you are doing, conditions of the road, traffic, and mostly how you drive.

Manufacturer claims, like Nissan saying that the Navara can go 26 km per litre can be ignored! These results are based on driving at a constant 60 km/h in perfect conditions, on perfect roads. I talked to a Nissan dealer about the Navara and asked about the fuel consumption claims, and was told that it was very good, and could do 10 km per litre in town, and 11 or 12 km per litre on the expressway.

Even large cars like the Nissan Teana can claim 16 km/l when it's based on cruising along at a steady 80 km/h.

People can offer all sorts of advice on fuel consumption, but it basically comes down to two factors being the most important:

1 Weight of the vehicle
2 Driving style

Of course other factors such as engine efficiency, fuel (diesel, petrol) do come into play, but if you are looking for better fuel economy you need to go for a lighter car.

Best efficiency is probably going to be from Honda Jazz and Toyota Yaris, which can both return around 12 km/l around town, and 15 km/l if you're away from the traffic.

I know two guys who each own Chevrolet Colorado trucks. They have the same engine, but one is manual transmission and the other is an auto box. The guy with the auto claims that he gets 14 km/l while the guy with the manual transmission gets 6 km/l! The point here is not that the auto is more efficient, but that clearly you can't really trust the figures that come from owners.

So, if you are concerned about getting the best economy then you should pay attention to the weight of the vehicle. If you are specifically thinking about a truck, I believe that Isuzu, Chevrolet, Mazda, and Ford are all more economical than the Nissan Navara.

But YMMV (your milage may vary).

Good luck,

Peter