[gearedup]

Thanks Ashis, NPV and Longhorn,

I do have Tiago in mind, but even a 4 year warranty will not help my fear perception of Tata A.S.S (no issues with Tata brand)

My daily usage of 38 kms covered in 100 minutes is detailed below:
4 kms - crawling traffic/idling - 30 mins
24 Kms - highway - 45 mins (Speed 40-60)
10 Kms - slow traffic 25 mins (speed 20-30)

50% AC.

I was hoping to get atleast 15 Km/litre from this. I know it is difficult to calculate, but my entire costing will go for a toss otherwise And it is unacceptable for me to to buy a new car and get the same or lesser FE as that of a 17 year old carb car Please help.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by gearedup

Thanks Ashis, NPV and Longhorn,

I do have Tiago in mind, but even a 4 year warranty will not help my fear perception of Tata A.S.S (no issues with Tata brand)

My daily usage of 38 kms covered in 100 minutes is detailed below:
4 kms - crawling traffic/idling - 30 mins
24 Kms - highway - 45 mins (Speed 40-60)
10 Kms - slow traffic 25 mins (speed 20-30)

50% AC.

I was hoping to get atleast 15 Km/litre from this. I know it is difficult to calculate, but my entire costing will go for a toss otherwise And it is unacceptable for me to to buy a new car and get the same or lesser FE as that of a 17 year old carb car Please help.

Almost 60% of your route is highway. The 24 kms of highway drive daily should easily bring the average FE above 15.

My typical tankful lasts 400-430 kms in the city. If this includes 1 or 2 Outer ring road runs (@90-110 kmph), my FE ranges between 15-16.5 kmpl. These runs are about 20-40% of the overall 400 kms. You will have an even higher share of highway drive daily and would also be maintaining lower speeds. This, I feel, should result in still better FE.

Regards,
Ashis

[NPV]

Originally Posted by gearedup

I was hoping to get atleast 15 Km/litre from this. I know it is difficult to calculate, but my entire costing will go for a toss otherwise And it is unacceptable for me to to buy a new car and get the same or lesser FE as that of a 17 year old carb car Please help.

Don't just focus on the Fuel Efficiency part and instead try to strike a balance with other factors like driving comfort, space in the car to meet your needs, quality of ride and handling as well as the budget. You may need to compromise slightly on one or more of them based on your priorities.

Since your drive does include a major portion on the highway, it should help improve overall FE numbers even if it's the WagonR but the exact number being > 15 I'm not sure given our experience so far in Bangalore (the vehicle is also quite new so I'm unable to say for sure).

My suggestion to approach your decision making process is to first identify the cars that fall within your budget, Test drive each one of them, look for long-term reviews of those cars to see what kind of FE you can expect in the longer term and then make a decision.

[longhorn]

Originally Posted by gearedup

My daily usage of 38 kms covered in 100 minutes is detailed below:
4 kms - crawling traffic/idling - 30 mins
24 Kms - highway - 45 mins (Speed 40-60)
10 Kms - slow traffic 25 mins (speed 20-30)

50% AC.

I was hoping to get atleast 15 Km/litre from this. I know it is difficult to calculate, but my entire costing will go for a toss otherwise

I repeat. If FE is the top most priority, please look elsewhere. The Celerio would be a better buy for you in this scenario. Haven't TD'd the Tiago hence can't comment on it. Can't say for sure but I guess you would end up around the 13 kmpl mark for the scenario you have posted. I feel bad too because cars like Ciaz with a 1.4 litre engine gives similar or better figures.

Originally Posted by gearedup

And it is unacceptable for me to to buy a new car and get the same or lesser FE as that of a 17 year old carb car Please help.

This might not be a fair comparison. The Zen with its jelly bean design is aerodynamic. The WagonR with its breadbox design, is anything but that.

P.S. Do take a look at the Kwid too.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by gearedup

Swift Vxi would definitely be out of my budget, but then for the 1.2 lakhs odd, I don't see much value add other than the 200 cc extra since my requirement isn't a super mini.

I had a wagonr earlier. The one with the F10D engine. As much as I loved the engine the FE in city was just about 11-13kmpl. On the other hand my Corolla manages to give me 12-14kmpl in similar traffic conditions with 100% AC on. It has oodles of low end torque which makes city driving effortless. In the 5th gear @40kmph I can easily cruise at 900-1000RPM.

So please don't discard the swift just because it's a 1.2. The extra 200cc in the swift makes a lot of difference because of the i4 layout and the vvt. Low end torque from the k12 is terrific which will enhance drivability and fuel economy. Please do consider a used Swift or Ritz petrol(k12).

Asit

[longhorn]

Tanked up the vehicle on 8th Oct 2016. Petrol retailing at 64.26 then.
Usage Pattern - 100% city driving
Aircon usage - 95 %
Kms covered - 252.4
Litres consumed - 22.28
Bars before refill - 4
FE - 11.33 kmpl

Bumper to bumper traffic zaps the vehicle of FE. Not at all pleased with the average. I guess its better to go for the Celerio or plonk in some more cash and go for the Swift/Ritz petrol.Atleast you get decent power during highway runs with almost similar FE figures.

[longhorn]

Tanked up the vehicle on last weekend. Petrol retailing at 65.39 then.
Usage Pattern - 100% city driving
Aircon usage - 95 %
Kms covered - 339.1
Litres consumed - 26.00
Bars before refill - 3
FE - 13.04 kmpl

This time around, I covered around 40 kms outside of the usual slow moving traffic. which probably explains the relatively better FE.

[longhorn]

Tanked up the vehicle today. Petrol retailing at 74.37 .
Usage Pattern - 100% city driving
Aircon usage - 80 %
Kms covered - 384
Litres consumed - 26.28
Bars before refill - 3
FE - 14.61 kmpl

Missed out on updating the last two refills. One gave an FE of 13.3 kmpl and another around 11.xx kmpl. Got a bump up of 1.5 kmpl by keeping the aircon off for about 80 kms out of the total of 380 odd kms done before this refill. The car has covered 90xx kms as of today.

[longhorn]

Tanked up the vehicle today. Petrol retailing at 69.17.
Usage Pattern - 100% city driving
Aircon usage - 100 %
Kms covered - 164
Litres consumed - 13.00
Bars before refill - 7
FE - 12.51 kmpl

Pleasantly surprised by ~5 rupee drop in petrol price. Initially believed that the state govt rolled back the recent hike in VAT due to the ongoing truckers strike. Came to know later that this was in fact a pan India drop in prices. Looks like a light bulb has finally lit up somewhere in the finance ministry. The car has covered about 9265 kms as of today.

[drsingh]

Thanks for the detailed notes on engine characteristics and fuel efficiency.Exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I am considering a Wagon R add my next purchase. The only criteria is to fit 4 tall people , including senior citizens in the car. This is the only car with the right ergonomics for my need. I wish Maruti would plonk the k12 engine in this car. The only reason I can think of for not doing so is that this car is made under Japanese kei standards which limit engine power to 64 bhp. That shouldn't stop Suzuki from meeting the car more robust for Indian conditions. Here it is used in the city as well as on the highways.

[longhorn]

Tanked up the vehicle on 03/04/2017 and again on 09/04/2017. Petrol retailing at 69.66 then.

Usage Pattern - 95/5 highway/city
Aircon usage - 100 %
Kms covered - 716.5
Litres consumed - 41.48
FE - 17.27 kmpl
Odo - 10044 Kms

Did a round trip to Salem. The WagonR was hitting the highway after a long time. The onward journey took 4 hours. Started early morning at 04:30 AM. Reached Salem by 8:30 AM. It was a continuous drive with no stoppage at all except for the toll booths. The road condition upto Ulundurpet is pretty good. After the turnoff towards Salem, there is a certain amount of roughness to the road. There are no potholes to worry about, but it lacked the smoothness it had when I last did this route in December 2010.

The return journey was initiated at 4:00 PM from Salem. Reached back home at 8:45 PM. The return took 45 minutes more. Traffic was pretty much a mess from Ulundurpet to Chennai, basically because of the local sand lorries hogging both the lanes. Did face a few small blocks at Urapakkam and Vandalur which added to the journey time. Traffic has increased a lot on this route and its hgh time the government thought about six laning this route.

Tolls paid (2 way)
1. Paranur - 85
2. Athur - 75
3. Vikravandi - 110
4. Sengurichi - 70
5. Veeracholapuram - 70
6. Nathakkarai - 70
7. Mettupatti - 70

The round trip came to about 680 kms and I covered a few kms in the city both before and after this trip prior to refuelling. Got an FE of 17.6 kmpl for the onward journey when i checked after tanking up at Salem. Overall FE dipped during return due to the extra time taken and the nature of traffic.

[longhorn]

Tanked up the vehicle today. Petrol retailing at 67.49.
Usage Pattern - 100% city driving
Aircon usage - 95 %
Kms covered - 197
Litres consumed - 16.07
Bars before refill - 6
FE - 12.25 kmpl

The vehicle has covered 102xx kms so far.

[longhorn]

Tanked up the vehicle on 24/06/2017. Petrol retailing at 67.26 (Salem) and 66.59 (Chennai).

Usage Pattern - 95/5 % highway/city driving
Aircon usage - 95 %
Kms covered - 690
Litres consumed - 40.11
FE - 17.20 kmpl

Did a day trip to Salem. Faced a 1.5 km long queue at the Athur toll plaza during the onward journey. Initially I thought there was an incident ahead. Realized later that it was actually a sea of vehicles waiting to cross the toll booth. Spend around 20 minutes to cross this booth even after slipping past multiple heavy vehicles through the left most side/ border of the road. The bozos manning the toll booth were still collecting toll from everyone except from govt buses which were allowed to pass through. The onward trip took 4 hours and 45 minutes non stop. There was a medium drizzle/ light rain till about 80 kms out of Chennai. The road surface upto the Ulundurpet turn off to Salem is very well maintained. Its the sea of lorries hogging both lanes that get on your nerves.

Pretty happy with the FE as it was difficult to maintain a steady speed mainly due to the nature of traffic and also the rains. Had to drop down to 3rd gear multiple times during the onward journey. The italian tune up really helped as the vehicle was moving effortlessly between 3000 and 3600 rpm in 5th gear during the return leg. The vehicle has covered 109xx kms so far

[longhorn]

Did a day trip to Salem on 10/07/2017. The onward journey took 4 hours. Started from home at 04:30 AM and reached Salem by 8:30 AM. It was a continuous drive with no stoppage except at the toll booths. Fortunately didn't face any traffic blocks at any of the tolls. There was a mild drizzle till about 100 kms out of Chennai. Filled fuel at the KPN BP bunk, Salem for Rs 1250 @ Rs. 66.92/ litre (18.68 litres). The return journey took about 5.5 hours including a late lunch break at A2b Ulundurpet at about 2:45 PM. Haven't tanked up on returning, hence will post the FE after that.

The engine has really opened up with the last two highway runs. Even at 100 kmph, the vehicle is very responsive to even minute inputs to the A pedal. This new found urge was a pleasant surprise, given the lethargic low end torque found in city driving. The 100 - 110 kmph bracket is the maximum recommended for this vehicle for divided 4 laned highways, given the vehicle dynamics and braking abilities. This is for a highway with sparse traffic and not traffic infested ones. Otherwise would recommended sticking to 90 kmph. At 20% above the ton mark, the steering starts becoming twitchy even though the engine is game for more. Such speeds are best avoided for this class of vehicle.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by longhorn

The engine has really opened up with the last two highway runs. Even at 100 kmph, the vehicle is very responsive to even minute inputs to the A pedal. This new found urge was a pleasant surprise, given the lethargic low end torque found in city driving. The 100 - 110 kmph bracket is the maximum recommended for this vehicle for divided 4 laned highways, given the vehicle dynamics and braking abilities. This is for a highway with sparse traffic and not traffic infested ones. Otherwise would recommended sticking to 90 kmph. At 20% above the ton mark, the steering starts becoming twitchy even though the engine is game for more. Such speeds are best avoided for this class of vehicle.

Completely agree on the observations. The free revving engine pulls very well even when the car is near the ton mark. It is the low end that is bothersome. Highway behavior will improve slightly if you upgrade your tyres. The car will be fairly composed if the roads are completely smooth and there are no cross-winds. This is my experience on Hyderabad<->Bangalore trips.

Last month, I covered 38xx kms including two 11xx long trips. My top speed throughout all trips was 110 kmph but I would commend the car that I was able to maintain an avg. speed of ~80 kmph.
Another thing to note is that the FE takes a serious beating as the speed rises, due to lack of aerodynamics.