When looking for a car with affordable running costs, you will always start by looking at what is called ‘fuel economy’. This figure tells you how many miles the car will likely be able to drive per every gallon of fuel – popularly referred to as the Miles Per Gallon (mpg) figure for short.
But it’s never that simple I’m afraid. Each model typically comes accompanied with three mpg figures: Urban, Extra Urban and Combined (or a slight variation of these three).
Urban, Extra Urban, Combined
These three figures are tailored to account for different types of driving in order to give you a more accurate mpg readout. These mpg readouts for these three driving styles may look like this:
Urban (city/housing areas) – 67.3mpg
Extra Urban (motorways/country lanes) – 74.3mpg
Combined (a combination of the above) – 72.4mpg
Let’s put it to the test
A massive factor you need to take into account however is that these figures are acquired in perfect test conditions, with wind tunnels and rolling roads. So what it says on the spec sheet isn’t necessarily what you will get. This isn’t the manufacturer trying to dupe you, this difference can’t really be helped. The tests they carry out are industry standard tests.
The three mpg readouts above are actually the claimed fuel economy figures for our Honda Civic Tourer 1.6-litre i-DTEC long termer – and during a recent weekend away, we thought we would conduct a little experiment. How accurate are these figures? Are they really achievable?
Well, by recording our mpg on everything from long motorway stints to quick 10 minute trips to the local shops, we have put together an mpg diary that should hopefully give those who are looking at a Civic Tourer a better idea of what mpg they can expect. So what mpg are you likely to get in a Honda Civic Tourer 118bhp 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel?
*Our Honda Civic Tourer was in Eco mode for all the below journeys to ensure greater efficiency*
Urban mpg (city/housing areas)
The majority of our journeys on urban/city roads were short. In fact, from the 10 urban/city journeys we recorded, our average journey time was 10 minutes and average distance travelled was four miles. Some think that high mpg figures can only be achieved when cruising on the motorway, but if you drive sensibly at lower speeds – preferably in higher gears – you can achieve surprisingly high mpg.
Our average mpg figures over these journeys came out at 67.5mpg – surpassing Honda’s claimed average of 67.3mpg by 0.3mpg.
Claimed Urban mpg - 67.3mpg
Our average Urban mpg – 67.5mpg
Extra Urban (motorways/country lanes)
Travelling north towards Carlisle, flitting between country lanes and stretches of motorway, we recorded a fair few Extra Urban journeys, 15 to be exact.
Our average journey time was 40 minutes over an average distance of 35 miles per trip. Our average mpg came out at 60.4mpg, a whole 14mpg less than the claimed Extra Urban figure of 74.3mpg.
The reason for such a difference is mainly due to the unpredictable nature of motorway roads, and the sometimes up-and-down rollercoaster-like layout of country roads, both of which require constant stopping, starting and over-revving. To put it in perspective, of the journeys we recorded, our least efficient was 53.3mpg, with the highest coming out at 68.3mpg – proving just how these figures can shift.
Claimed Extra Urban mpg - 74.3mpg
Our average Extra Urban mpg - 60.4mpg
Combined (a combination of the above)
Combining the mpg figures from the Outer Urban and Extra Urban tests, our overall average came out at 64mpg, which is around 8.4mpg off the claimed 72.4mpg figure.
In the grand scheme of things, 64mpg is actually very impressive, even if it does miss Honda’s claimed mpg figure. If you have ever tried to achieve a manufacturer’s claimed average mpg figure however, more often than not you will fail to come anywhere near it. So, 8.4mpg off isn’t too bad at all.
Claimed combined mpg – 72.4mpg
Our average combined mpg – 64mpg
So what mpg will I get in a Honda Civic Tourer 1.6-litre i-DTEC?
The answer to this question is that it can fluctuate massively. For example, our highest and lowest mpg figures were 83mpg and 45.9mpg respectively, with the likes of 50mph roadwork zones, hilly side streets and rush hour traffic all coming into play.
The 1.6-litre i-DTEC Civic Tourer is great for efficiency, especially when driven ‘sensibly’ around city and urban areas. If you live in the city and regularly venture onto the motorway for moderate stints, then the Civic Tourer won’t hurt the bank too much.