MPG When Towing

All fuel economy figures depend, of course, on the speed of progress. Some will hustle along more than others with a commensurate drop in economy

Unless all the figures being claimed are measured brim to brim or similar, and using the same fuel, driver, route, weather etc they are otherwise fairly meaningless. Computer read out fugures are also not accurate. There are simply too many variables, tyre
rolling resistance, fuel quality, engjne and transmission oil viscosity, weather conditions, use of ancillaries etc etc etc. I get an average of 44mpg solo with my passat alltrack dsg which includes some town commuting. Towing a 1600kg t/a van so far on our
Austrian trip has given brim to brim figures of between 28 and 25mpg.     

 ..... Computer read out fugures are also not accurate.  .....     

They might not be especially accurate, but they give a good comparison of various journies, and as long as it's always inaccurate by the same amount, you're laughing.  I
did a few tanks of brim to brim mpg vs the trip on my R Class when I first got it, and they were similar enough for me to use the trip as a general guide. My Smarts don't have a trip, but know that a tank will do around 300 miles which is high 40s mpg

With my 180bhp Mondeo I get an average of about 48mpg solo on all types of roads and between 27 and 31 towing 1300kg, depending very much on road type and weather conditions, particularly the wind direction. The mpg is as indicated by the car's computer
which, as we all know, always show on the high side. This, I guess, is because the speedo will always show a faster speed than is actual and all this type of information is interlinked so mpg's and average speeds etc will always be out by the same percentage
as the speed.

After 20K miles my Kuga has averaged out at a whisker over 40mpg on mixed solo/towing.

I get about 50mpg on a long run in my Seat Exeo, and it drops to about 28mpg when towing a 1400kg 4 berth.

It was worse, in both respects, before it was remapped from 142 to 192Bhp

Does the mpg matter? I'd have thought that the ability to safely tow your caravan was more important than a few more miles to a tank.

How do you rate that All Track you have. Did you need a special tow bar to cope with the higher ride height over the standard model?

Cheers.

We visited North York Moors site, Whitby a couple of weeks ago - going took 1/4 of a tank of diesel but the return journey was straight into the wind - journey only took an extra 10 mins but around 1/3 of the tank had disappeared. I never bother to check
mpg. Choose to tow 1450kg and there are consequences.

I do like much about the Alltrack however the towbar was already fitted - factory spec removable. It tows well and flies up the hills with 1.6 tonnes of van behind it however i still miss the Audi quality, driving dynamics and sound of the Bose and V6! Its
functional but an enthusiastic drivers car it aint.  It is unlikely to be a keeper - i am changing jobs soon and the new job gives me access to a new Merc every 12 months at very advantagous finance rates so will probably be selling it in a few months.

Recently on a trip to the Dordogne we averaged 32 in our Hyundai Tucson 2.0 diesel (Over 1000 miles). Normally I average 45 when not towing.

It is indeed a similar price.

Just looking at some alternatives to the Disco Sport. If they kept the priceof the DS the same but stuck the 3 lit motor in it I wouldn't even be looking elsewhere as I have a Freelander now and have been delighted with it. The price of the DS is making me look at alternatives. Even the Porsche Macan is in similar price territory as the DS!

Not ready to change yet but just beginning to do a bit of research.

Thanks for your help.