What Car? launches True MPG

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DO YOU EVER get close to your car’s official fuel economy figures? No? Then you’re not alone.

It’s not necessarily because you’re a lead-foot, or even that the car manufacturers are telling porkies. The problem lies with the test procedures, which are based around low-speed driving and very light acceleration. The economy figures are accurate, but they’re not representative of real-world driving.

Our colleagues at What Car? have just launched True MPG, which promises more realistic economy figures.

“With rising fuel prices, the miles-per-gallon issue is high on every motorist’s agenda. Countless car buyers are frustrated that they don’t match the official government fuel figures. True MPG will allow motorists to select a car personalised to their driving needs and budget. We hope that it will become invaluable in the complex and emotional car-buying process,” says What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett.

What Car? tests vehicles using a portable emissions-measurement system. The car is driven by two experienced engineers over a variety of roads including motorway, A- and B-roads, and through towns and villages. The data from the testing considers driving style, changes in altitude, ambient temperature and humidity and engine temperature. Some fiendishly clever number-crunching goes on to be sure the results are consistent and repeatable.

Having visited the True MPG website, what I find especially useful is the way you can adjust the results to match the kind of driving you do.

There’s no towing economy figure, although it is something which Practical Caravan and What Car? have discussed. Watch this space.

For now, here are the headline figures from the first round of testing.

What Car? True MPG

Combined average miles per gallon test figures