Moneyweb DRIVE: From the Editor
Fuel Testing and
Expectations
the mark, so optimistic, that even
the most careful of real-world
driving styles never sees one get
close to the claimed figures.
The VW emissions scandal is lamentable, but one of the side-effects of the cover-up is that it
highlights the total inadequacy
of accepting fuel consumption
figures that manufacturers publish for the cars they sell. Most
figures quoted for consumption
and emissions comply with government regulations pertaining to
the car companies’ place of origin. The tests are very theoretical,
rather than reality-based. And
some of these figures are so far off
The endless striving to reduce
fuel consumption and emissions
is a result of government intervention that began in the 1970s
and nowadays motor companies have to comply with minimum levels of fuel consumption
that are becoming more and
more stringent. Hence the move
to hybrid-electric cars and diesels, although the diesel bubble
has burst somewhat, for while
they are good at emitting low
CO2 levels, they are not so hot
at nitrous oxide emissions and
other harmful waste properties,
as Volkswagen – and others –
have discovered!
Whilst there is no doubt that the
air that we breath in cities today
is of far better quality than it was a
few decades ago, the regulations
in key markets keep on getting
more and more difficult to meet.
The up-side of this on a simple level is that cars have become vastly
more fuel-efficient and we benefit
every time we visit the fuel pumps.
On the other hand, even before
the scandal broke, I heard talk in
Europe that a serious revision of
the way cars are currently tested
is underway, to be much more
in line with real-life driving experience. Ironically, this discussion
arose with a representative of a
high-performance brand, who
agreed with me that tiny one-litre turbocharged engines are
great for realising test-bed-testing targets, but not so hot when
wrung out hard daily to keep up
with more powerful traffic.
As far as consumption figures are
concerned, a good solution is
to have a powerful but efficient
engine in a light body, and drive
it on a small throttle opening.
In other words, sports cars with
great aerodynamics are very efficient low-consumption tools, if
you drive them responsibly.
Stuart Johnston
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