I know not everyone here agrees but I have nothing but praise for our X1 (apart from the lack of map lights) now 30 months old. I had to make two long trips yesterday and today – about 350 miles in all. There was no hurry and it was mostly motorway and dual carriageway cruising at about 63 to 65 mph indicated to keep ahead of the lorries, which means about 1600 to 1700 rpm. The computer showed 50.6 mpg overall which I find staggeringly good for a heavy SUV with a 195bhp twin spool turbo engine. Even driving locally around town, it seems to average around 40 or better. It’s due to go in the summer but we are considering keeping it longer. Are there any other similar petrol cars that are as economical?
My driving style is cross between Ms. Daisy and nutcase (90%/10%) and I always use ECO mode to maximise fuel efficiency. With that in mind, for localised driving (town, stop/start, low speed, constant braking), I’m currently achieving 43mpg after working the maths out for myself (my trip computer underestimated the true MPG). On the motorway (steady 56 – 62mph speed, cruise control active, air-con on, high speed), I’m achieving around 47mpg in my FWD, 2.0L X2 automatic petrol.
Thats very good economy. I notice that your motorway speeds are quite low compared to most drivers. Can I just ask, when you are in ‘nutcase’ mode, do you notice a big difference in economy?
The reason I ask is that my normal motorway cruising speed is around 80mph and with our Tiguan the mpg really drops when speed gets above 70 mph, whereas with all the BMW’s I have had over the years it only really starts to fall at speeds over 80mph and my 520d Auto was 10mpg better at 80 mph than the Tiguan. I have found all cars to be extremely economical at the motorway speeds you travel at, as that seems to be the optimum speed for mpg, but I’ve been disappointed at how the Tiguan mpg plummets as speeds rise.
The reason I ask is that my normal motorway cruising speed is around 80mph and with our Tiguan the mpg really drops when speed gets above 70 mph, whereas with all the BMW’s I have had over the years it only really starts to fall at speeds over 80mph and my 520d Auto was 10mpg better at 80 mph than the Tiguan. I have found all cars to be extremely economical at the motorway speeds you travel at, as that seems to be the optimum speed for mpg, but I’ve been disappointed at how the Tiguan mpg plummets as speeds rise.Occasionally, when I go above my limit and hit 85mph, I find the MPG drops by 0.5mpg increments every 2 minutes or so. But yes, as Wigwam said, SUVs and crossovers typically require more fuel to push through the air due to their huge frontal areas.
Motability cars:
2015 RR Evoque AWD 2.0 TD4 SE Tech - written off
2017 Toyota CH-R 1.2T Dynamic CVT AWD - written off
2019 BMW X2 2.0L Sport
2023 Nissan Qashqai e-Power N-Connecta