[Floyd de Souza]

I am not sure whether this has been specifically been discussed in another thread...in any case can those who own/drive a NHC idsi enlighten me as to what FE they are getting. You could also provide a comparison with your previous car to make the discussion more meaningful.

[tsk1979]

No. NHC is capable of delivering good efficiency. Lets take an optra 1.6 and a NHC. Drive both in 5th gear at 80kmph. NHC will give you 20+. The problem comes when people dont really know how to wring out efficiency out of cars, or they are so addicted to the power.

For example when i am in 5th gear at 50kmph. Now to go to 70kmph i can floor it. My indica's highly fuel efficient engine guzzles diesel then. I can go to 70 by gently pressing the accelerator a little more too. Lack of torque at those rpms ensures that both ways I get the same time figures for the 20kmph speed increase.

Infact if I say that I get 16kmpl on highway runs and 16kmpl on city runs, it would be correct. I can also say I get 20kmpl on highway runs. Thats also true, as I have gotten both. There are times when my aim on highway is not to let the needly go below 115-120. Now at 100kmph with my accelerator fully depressed, I am consuming as much fuel as at 135kmph, But going only at 100. Frequent interruptions in form of trucks. buffalos, homo sapiens ensure that I am going at 100-110 most of the time consuming 135kmph levels of fuel. Which means lower mileage.

However when I am in mood to do 80-100kmph, which is the optimum speed for NA indica, I get 20+. Infact with 110-120 speed targets for indigo I get 18-20, because the car is comfortable at that speed and I dont need to floor all the time. Just a jab on the accelerator will get me to desired speeds.

This is called driving style. Now most people I know have horrible driving styles. There are people who want to drive at 80kmph. They will shift to 5th gear at 50 and then floor it to 80. On a busy highway it means lots of fuel wastage, because they are spending fuel at 100kmph levels but going at an avg of 60. Infact if they had taken the third gear route to 80kmph and then shifted to 5th they would have gotten more efficiency.

This is the driving style problem due to which people feel cheated. GTO gets 10kmpl on highway runs on his immaculately kept OHC VTEC, but most people get 15. Why because for him high revving is fun, so the best gear is third-fourth. He doesn't complain about FE because he knows that with this kind of driving he will get this FE and its perfectly acceptable.However many people shift to 5th gear at 50 thinking they will get more efficieny, as they floor the accelerator all way to 80, wasting fuel.

[goldie_malhotra]

Hi Floyd,

The following figures are based on people in my office and a couple of close friends who drive an NHC iDSI.

They are getting a typical mileage of
15-16 kmpl in city w/o AC &
13-14 kmpl in city with AC (most of driving during rush hours)
16-20 kmpl on highways (some even have got upto 22 w/o AC)

On my own NHC VTEC, I am getting 12-13 kmpl in city w/o AC during rush hours and this is even before the first servicing - it may increase after that, but cant claim any figures as of now.

The above figures are about the same (or a little higher) than what I got on my Santro Xing.

As you can see, these are actual figures from people who have owned the NHC for a couple of years and not from any magazine or dealership.

[goldie_malhotra]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

This is the driving style problem due to which people feel cheated. GTO gets 10kmpl on highway runs on his immaculately kept OHC VTEC, but most people get 15. Why because for him high revving is fun, so the best gear is third-fourth. He doesn't complain about FE because he knows that with this kind of driving he will get this FE and its perfectly acceptable.However many people shift to 5th gear at 50 thinking they will get more efficieny, as they floor the accelerator all way to 80, wasting fuel.

Very well put, tsk1979.

[cnu]

I consistently get 12 (+ or - 0.5) kmpl on the horrible roads of Bangalore with AC ON all the time. And 70% of the distance I travel daily is in stop and go traffic that crawls at 5/10 kmph.

On highways, I get between 15 and 16 kmpl with speeds in the range of 80-100 kmph and with some heavy foot on the pedal. AC is ON all the time.

With a light foot and no revving you can easily manage 13-14 in the city and 18-20 on highways.

[Shan2nu]

The problem comes when people dont really know how to wring out efficiency out of cars, or they are so addicted to the power.

Yup, thats the core of the problem. On my Vtec i usually get 16-17kmpl (highway) with the speedo hovering between 100 and 120kmph.

Once, i decided to drive between 80 and 100kmph over 420kms. I ended up getting 18.9kmpl with 5 people in the car, luggage and the A/C switched on throughout the journey (Mind you, i also had to tackle the western ghats on this drive).

Not that i'm unhappy with 16kmpl but, i just wanted to see what the car was capable of, might come handy someday.

I've heard of people getting 15-16 kmpl in Bangalore (on the NHC).

Shan2nu

[GTO]

Is FE the only way to judge whether a car is overhyped or not?

GTO

[RX135]

Originally Posted by GTO

Is FE the only way to judge whether a car is overhyped or not?

Was your question generic one? Because I guess, Floyd is asking if NHC FE is overhyped and not NHC, as a car, is overhyped .

[BuRnT RuBbEr]

Originally Posted by GTO

Is FE the only way to judge whether a car is overhyped or not?

GTO

that is what is the trouble down here in india......once the buyer has set a budget...he will run for FE........
seems to be changing a little bit, i hope things open up soon

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by BuRnT RuBbEr

that is what is the trouble down here in india......once the buyer has set a budget...he will run for FE........
seems to be changing a little bit, i hope things open up soon

Well that is a debatable topic. While FE may not be everything it also depends on the reference point you are taking. Say, in US they use those gas guzzlers they call SUVs. Now, of late there have been concerns but still the fact remains they can afford to have such vehicles. Why? Bcoz the price of fuel there compared to the avg salary a person earns is dirt cheap. On the other hand at Rs50 a liter of petrol Indians find that the costs of running a vehicle works out very high for them as compared to their earnings. Blame it on the tax structure and levies out here that the fuel which actually costs some 19 odd rupees ultimately sells at 2.5x that price.

About that obsession with FE "changing a little bit" it is because ppl with huge earnings are increasingly becoming common now a days. If you earn some 50000+ per month (not even counting your spouses salary ) obviously Petrol at Rs.50 won't sound so stiffly priced.

[tsk1979]

Bang on target Zappo. There is another factor also. A person who buys a six or seven lakh car, is taking a loan equivalent to his yearly salary. So a car is a luxury, and most families can affort 1-2 cars per 3 years. In the US, an equivalent car costs 15000$ which is like 1/4th of the yearly salary of a person at that level. So they indulge more in luxury performance etc.,

whos to blame? The govt. Cars are taxed as luxury items, like booze etc., Our Fin Min has promised that this will change in january, so I am keeping my fingers crossed for drops in excise duty etc., which will shave of 10-20% of prices of mid size and small cars.

Until the new auto policy comes out, I am putting off my purchases

[RX135]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

whos to blame? The govt. Cars are taxed as luxury items, like booze etc.,

Whether I like it or not, cars are luxury items indeed in a nation where sizable part of the population can't get 2 meals every day. I am not a communist, but I wouldn't blame government for this.

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by RX135

Whether I like it or not, cars are luxury items indeed in a nation where sizable part of the population can't get 2 meals every day. I am not a communist, but I wouldn't blame government for this.

Haa haa haaa. Well sed RX135. However what you sed is again open to the way you decide to look at it. Yes, you have a valid point and that does not make you a communist.

If someone leaves in a metropolis and travels 70-80 kms each day it may not be a luxury for him to own a car but sheer necessity. Couple that with the poor state of infrastructure and pathetic state of public transport and the picture becomes even more grim.

The problem here is that of dual identity that India seems to have. On one hand we are a global economic powerhouse of sorts where billions of dollar move in and out in a couple of days, huge sectors that do billions of dollars worth of business in the world markets, the one with its huge skyscrapers and gigantic population on the move. For them the requirements are very different. And yet there exists a part of the country that still is reeling under poverty, malnutrition and hunger. For this part of the country obviously requirements and definitions of luxury are entirely different from the first set.

Maybe we do need two different sets of parameters for this country.

[Floyd de Souza]

Hey guys...lets stick to cars. Once we get into discussions/debates on issues of national importance, the forum name may just get changed to Team-crusaders for a better India.

[k36]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Until the new auto policy comes out, I am putting off my purchases

Wow! There's some here who thinks exactly like me