[amit]

Waiting for the interior pictures. Hopefully the Stanley leather interiors are now done. Also, update us with the mileage you are getting.

[hariharanea]

Congrats dude!! Pls post some snaps of your car and interiors! how about the mileage?

[FastLove]

Fuel Economy in last 2 fillings was 11.9 km/l & 11.6 km/l respectively in city 100 % AC On as per the MyCar Console. However, my manual calculation showed appox 0.3 km/l less than the above both times. So the console is fairly accurate. I keep the "Instant Consumption" reading on & try to improve my FE while driving. My present Filling (150 km on ODO trip so far) is already showing 12.1 km/l this time around.

Interior Spruce up is on hold Pal, some family stuff requiring my attention. Will happen soon !

[geeash]

Have you have any data on what speed to go on what gear for better mileage?. What speed do you generally travel at what gear?. I have read the manual fully. It does not give any information on speed and gear change relation. My all other car ( santro/verna) had this info.

[CBlazer]

I'm seeing the number of Lineas increasing by the day. The car looks simply great. Linea along with GP can give other manufacturers some sleepless nights - I only hope the Fiat A.S.S. is as good as their cars.

[VahanPujari]

Originally Posted by FastLove

Fuel Economy in last 2 fillings was 11.9 km/l & 11.6 km/l respectively in city 100 % AC On as per the MyCar Console. However, my manual calculation showed appox 0.3 km/l less than the above both times. So the console is fairly accurate. I keep the "Instant Consumption" reading on & try to improve my FE while driving. My present Filling (150 km on ODO trip so far) is already showing 12.1 km/l this time around.

Interior Spruce up is on hold Pal, some family stuff requiring my attention. Will happen soon !

That's a very very good FE, FastLove.
I'm not getting more than 9.xx kmpl. but then my avg speed displayed on MID is only 20 kmpl due to B2B traffic

[FastLove]

Hi VahanPujari (nice nikname btw) , my drive is more between Kharghar & Nariman Point via BPT road. I occassionaly drive the WE hw & JVLR (Powai se)
.
Geeash - this is what i hav learnt so far (rather learning)
1. Dont Push the accelerator(A). go soft as much as possible on the A on any gear.
2. Avoid frequent gear changes.
3. The gears going upward i go 2nd -@5-10, 3rd @ 10-15,4th@20-25, 5th @40+ . I try to Stay on 4th gear even if i slow to 20kmph and keep it tht way without being hard on the A. & then speed up again ..
4. While cruising @60kpl to 80kph on 5th Gear & again keeping the A light i see 30+ FE on Ic (Instant Consumptl on) on MyCar Console. This can be achieved at higher speeds too again with light Acceleration.
5. I switch off at Signals if its more than 50seconds long.

I m sure u guys r guru in knowledge on above observations yourself & i m just sharing my observation & experience. I wil be going on a highway trip soon & from what i hav seen 19+ will be

Let me know how this helps u

[geeash]

Geeash - this is what i hav learnt so far (rather learning)
1. Dont Push the accelerator(A). go soft as much as possible on the A on any gear.
2. Avoid frequent gear changes.
3. The gears going upward i go 2nd -@5-10, 3rd @ 10-15,4th@20-25, 5th @40+ . I try to Stay on 4th gear even if i slow to 20kmph and keep it tht way without being hard on the A. & then speed up again ..
4. While cruising @60kpl to 80kph on 5th Gear & again keeping the A light i see 30+ FE on Ic (Instant Consumptl on) on MyCar Console. This can be achieved at higher speeds too again with light Acceleration.
5. I switch off at Signals if its more than 50seconds long

Sounds quite weird. Doesnt your engine knock, i mean how come you can drive the car in 4th gear at 25kmph. i am just enquiring?. Isnt it a protocol that 4th gear should be used for a speeds above 50kmph and 3rd between 30-50kmph and 5th above 60+. Thats what i had been doing ever since i have driven a car for the past 15 years. Does Linea support higher gear shifts at slower speeds ( its almost half the speed when compared to other cars in india)?. I am pretty confused. Are you sure that your speedo reads in km and not in miles ?.

[FastLove]

Hey geeash, 15yrs is a long time but u r never late to learn. btw mine is Linea Petrol & very comfy when i do what i stated i do. i m on 4th gear @ 25 most of the time (almost always ) .
lnfact my previos car was Petrol Marina & i used to change gears up easily at a little over these speeds. Thats what i m used to now. All i can tell u is - u hav the car - Just try

[amit]

You drive from Kharghar to Nariman Point everyday?!

Why did you buy the petrol? Diesel would have been a better option would'nt it?

[VahanPujari]

Originally Posted by geeash

Does Linea support higher gear shifts at slower speeds ( its almost half the speed when compared to other cars in india)?.

Yes, Linea Gears are short. I had mentioned this in my thread in my very initial review that I'm able to drive Linea in 4th & 5th Gear much much more than I was able to drive my Ford Ikon in 4th/ 5th Gear. I do not generally go by speeds to change the gear, I go by instincts (which may be based on combination of rpm, revving, speed etc). I generally reach 2nd gear at 10-15 kmpl, 3rd gear @ 20-25, 4th @ 30 & 5th @ 35-40 kmpl in Linea.
But then I felt I do not like engine lugging at higher gear & am coming to conclusion to extend gear change slightly on higher speed. FE is not a major concern to me (though academically always love to see my car gives higher FE).

[FastLove]

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

Yes, Linea Gears are short. I had mentioned this in my thread in my very initial review that I'm able to drive Linea in 4th & 5th Gear much much more than I was able to drive my Ford Ikon in 4th/ 5th Gear. I do not generally go by speeds to change the gear, I go by instincts (which may be based on combination of rpm, revving, speed etc). I generally reach 2nd gear at 10-15 kmpl, 3rd gear @ 20-25, 4th @ 30 & 5th @ 35-40 kmpl in Linea.
But then I felt I do not like engine lugging at higher gear & am coming to conclusion to extend gear change slightly on higher speed. FE is not a major concern to me (though academically always love to see my car gives higher FE).

Sure VP ! Yes, it is always instinct tht we use to change gears like you rightly said. My idea of giving the figures was also to endorse the fact that for good FE the thumb rule is - "Higher Gear at Lower Speed" & for me this has become my driving habit (good or bad is debatable). Incidentaly i also checked my 4 year old Indigo Marina again today & closely read the small sticker on the Front Windscreen which shows the ideal Gear Change speed. Its like this - 2nd- 20kph , 3rd -30kph , 4th - 40kph & 5th - 50kph.

Also Second Rule is avoid changing gears more often. For example,(and this is what is a habit with me) once i move to 4th gear at say 30-35 kph & i dont move down even if the Roads /Traffic force me to go to 20kph (i still maintain 4th gear effortlessly) . In this range 20 to 45kph you can maintain 4th gear effortlessly. So this way i think you follow the rule of not changing gears in the Average City Range of 20 to 50kph. Except maybe a speed-breaker will force you to 3rd or 2nd gear. Now, these are ,mind you my way of driving and i would love to know if i am going wrong anywhere. But obviously dont want to be told that what i am doing is 'wierd' and not possible. I think 11.9 in city is not bad for Linea Petrol

Amit - Why Petrol? Good question. Actually tired to write anymore now. will answer it very shortly. Thanx!

[VahanPujari]

Originally Posted by FastLove

Sure VP ! Yes, it is always instinct tht we use to change gears like you rightly said. My idea of giving the figures was also to endorse the fact that for good FE the thumb rule is - "Higher Gear at Lower Speed" & for me this has become my driving habit (good or bad is debatable). Incidentaly i also checked my 4 year old Indigo Marina again today & closely read the small sticker on the Front Windscreen which shows the ideal Gear Change speed. Its like this - 2nd- 20kph , 3rd -30kph , 4th - 40kph & 5th - 50kph.

Also Second Rule is avoid changing gears more often. For example,(and this is what is a habit with me) once i move to 4th gear at say 30-35 kph & i dont move down even if the Roads /Traffic force me to go to 20kph (i still maintain 4th gear effortlessly) . In this range 20 to 45kph you can maintain 4th gear effortlessly. So this way i think you follow the rule of not changing gears in the Average City Range of 20 to 50kph. Except maybe a speed-breaker will force you to 3rd or 2nd gear. Now, these are ,mind you my way of driving and i would love to know if i am going wrong anywhere. But obviously dont want to be told that what i am doing is 'wierd' and not possible. I think 11.9 in city is not bad for Linea Petrol

Amit - Why Petrol? Good question. Actually tired to write anymore now. will answer it very shortly. Thanx!

FastLove - I'm not an Auto- expert but my suggestion is not to use Higher Gear at Lower Speed atleast for initial 1500-2000 kms.
I don't know much technicalities but as an engineering common sense I feel Higher Gear at Lower Speed may not be good for the engine, may be it increases the load on engine I don't know but I get that feeling when engine very very hard to pick up momentum at Lower Speed with Higher Gear & when one has to press the clutch also alongwith accelerator to pick up the momentum.

FEwise, you're absolutely right. I generally do not like to stretch the car at Lower Speed with Higher Gear & generally shift to Lower Gear (mostly 2nd) when speed goes lower. When I Used to drive my Ford Ikon, I used to get FE of 9 kmpl (100% AC, 100% Mumbai B2B traffic). When my driver used to drive it, he generally used to get FE 10 kmpl & above

[FastLove]

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

FastLove - I'm not an Auto- expert but my suggestion is not to use Higher Gear at Lower Speed atleast for initial 1500-2000 kms.
I don't know much technicalities but as an engineering common sense I feel Higher Gear at Lower Speed may not be good for the engine, may be it increases the load on engine I don't know but I get that feeling when engine very very hard to pick up momentum at Lower Speed with Higher Gear & when one has to press the clutch also alongwith accelerator to pick up the momentum.

FEwise, you're absolutely right. I generally do not like to stretch the car at Lower Speed with Higher Gear & generally shift to Lower Gear (mostly 2nd) when speed goes lower. When I Used to drive my Ford Ikon, I used to get FE of 9 kmpl (100% AC, 100% Mumbai B2B traffic). When my driver used to drive it, he generally used to get FE 10 kmpl & above

Perfect VP ! btw I am no Auto Expert either

The whole topic here however was what is the best way to increase the FE . NOw , in the process of achieving something like a good FE what perils you have advised against is right (and thank you for reminding me and all about that). And also, i m sure every one who drives a car will surely know himself/ herself when to go up on a gear or down from a gear. that is purely instinct like you earlier stated. I have just stated the best way to save fuel if someone wants to do it and if that is a top priority.

I wouldnt gag my engine by forcing it to a higher gear at lower speed if i can feel the lugging. Absolute No No !

Now , to make a long story short , let me illustrate an example :

Take a stretch of road ( say in your locality which is relatively empty ) You are driving at 40kph and are comfortably on 4th gear . Next , you have to take a comfortable 90degree left turn and the road on the left is sloping very slightly downwards (so no accelration reqd). What do you do ??? Obviosly as you are taking a left turn you slow down ! Your Speed starts dropping from 40 kph to say 25 then 20kph . What gear will you be driving in at this point ???

P.S. : Assume that you have to drive on the road that you have just turned for another few kilometres (and its a empty road) .

I will wait for the answer to make my point. Also, you can do this and actualy check what does your instinct make you do ? Drive wise and also FE per se too !

Cheers ! and again thanks VP for some fine Inputs ! Let us all try to make the best in between path to Good Driving and increased FE.

[omaragra]

One question ?

How do you like your Blue&Me ?

I love mine in my 500, the only thing is that I had to get used to the lady in the system. Sometimes it doesnt recognises the name (Maybe due to the Indian names), but I love her !!

Enjoy.

Omar