fuel economy

[gregozedobe]

Don't believe the fuel consumption figures the trip computer tells you. Mine can indicate it is using anything up to 20% lower than what it actually did use (calculated with distance travelled and amount of diesel put in the tank).

Generally I get an actual 7.2 to 7.8 litres/100Km (mostly highway cruising at 100 to 110 Kmh) from a 128Kw manual T5 van. I can get much better economy at 80 Kmh but besides taking forever to get anywhere you are in constant danger of being mown down from behind

[baldy]

you must get well over 1000k's to tank being an 80 lt tank

[gregozedobe]

you must get well over 1000k's to tank being an 80 lt tank

The MFD often tells me I could, but I don't like to run diesels down to too low a fuel level in the tank. Most of my trips are Canberra-Sydney return, so I fill up when I get home after 6-700Km. Of course the last two trips to Sydney it has come home on a flat-top truck with oil in the coolant, so great fuel economy for the distance covered, but significantly less owner happiness

[BobD]

Nearly every tank my 128kw Multivan Auto gets between 650 and 700 km and takes between 76 and 80l in the 80l tank. I have twice put in 84l and the computer was telling me I had 30km to go to empty both times.

As I have said before I am extremely disappointed with this fuel consumption, especially when the T4 TDI manual was getting 850km to 900km and 65 to 70l out of every tank in the same conditions. Most of the driving is ferrying kids around town but I don't find much improvement driving at 120kmh in the country either.

With this sort of fuel consumption you may as well get a petrol. I am wondering whether the particulate filter is what causes this large increase in fuel consumption, especially as it uses diesel to burn off the carbon if it doesn't get hot enough around town. The torque converter is locked in nearly every gear at any speed and I can't imagine a more efficient auto so the extra consumption over the T4 seems extremely high. I can't understand how anyone can even get close to the 8.9l/100km that they are supposed to get but many of you seem to report that sort of consumption out of your T5's.

As someone else mentioned the computer's reported consumption is way lower than what it is actually getting based on the fuel put in and the milage travelled.

[BobR]

Hi all
Lots of 2.0 litre and diesel figures on economy, but not much in regard to 2.5 petrol vans.
Can some of you 2.5 petrol owners list their economy figures for comparison?
Still looking for a decent t4, and leaning towards a 2.5 manual. I tried a few 2.0 litre vans and found them a bit underpowered.
Thanks
Bob

[DVR68U]

hey bobd , how much heavier are the t5 then the t4 ? and also when doing the long drive sitting on 100 is way better than 120, 80k's would be the best but when ppl are around they will tailgate lol. auto very rarely get the same fuel economy as manuals, yours isnt a 4wd aswell is it ?
cheers brenton

[soulspirit]

Can some of you 2.5 petrol owners list their economy figures for comparison?
Bob

I have a '97 2.5 Petrol Manual.

I can try to calculate some city figures if you like? I rarely drive on the highway, and I usually drive badly from a fuel economy perspective.

I would like to know whether LPG conversions are possible, and whether anyone ever does them? A cabbie was telling me stories the other day... his mate with the transporter etc.

Oh - and in terms of the 2.0 to 2.5 power difference - the 2.5 feels way more drivable than the 2.0 - I test drove about four 2.0 before I drove the 2.5, and there is a noticable difference. I would recommend the 2.5 especially if you do a lot of inner city driving. Maybe its different on the open road.

[Transporter]

Nearly every tank my 128kw Multivan Auto gets between 650 and 700 km and takes between 76 and 80l in the 80l tank. I have twice put in 84l and the computer was telling me I had 30km to go to empty both times.

As I have said before I am extremely disappointed with this fuel consumption, especially when the T4 TDI manual was getting 850km to 900km and 65 to 70l out of every tank in the same conditions. Most of the driving is ferrying kids around town but I don't find much improvement driving at 120kmh in the country either.

With this sort of fuel consumption you may as well get a petrol. I am wondering whether the particulate filter is what causes this large increase in fuel consumption, especially as it uses diesel to burn off the carbon if it doesn't get hot enough around town. The torque converter is locked in nearly every gear at any speed and I can't imagine a more efficient auto so the extra consumption over the T4 seems extremely high. I can't understand how anyone can even get close to the 8.9l/100km that they are supposed to get but many of you seem to report that sort of consumption out of your T5's.

As someone else mentioned the computer's reported consumption is way lower than what it is actually getting based on the fuel put in and the milage travelled.

DPF has some effect on fuel consumption, I'm getting 9.3L/100km - 10.0L/100km I'm pleased with that, since I do very short trips. I do take foot of the accelerator where ever I can, since until you touch the brakes you are not using any fuel if you're still moving. I have no DPF in my 2005 T5.

P.S Still if it's under 10L or around 10L/100km with automaic, it's very good fuel economy.

[Tornado T5]

hey bobd , how much heavier are the t5 then the t4 ? and also when doing the long drive sitting on 100 is way better than 120, 80k's would be the best but when ppl are around they will tailgate lol. auto very rarely get the same fuel economy as manuals, yours isnt a 4wd aswell is it ?
cheers brenton

True, my T5 is almost 300kg heavier than my old T4 and lets not forget it's a 128kw engine vs a 75kw engine, that's a 20% weight gain and a 70% power gain...so it's not that bad. I also concur that there is a noticable rise in consumption above 100km/hr, probably when the turbo starts to reach speed (I think it's around the 1900rpm+ mark although you would need to read the specs to confirm when the turbo starts adding appreciable boost)

[Tornado T5]

I have a '97 2.5 Petrol Manual.

I can try to calculate some city figures if you like? I rarely drive on the highway, and I usually drive badly from a fuel economy perspective.

I would like to know whether LPG conversions are possible, and whether anyone ever does them? A cabbie was telling me stories the other day... his mate with the transporter etc.

Oh - and in terms of the 2.0 to 2.5 power difference - the 2.5 feels way more drivable than the 2.0 - I test drove about four 2.0 before I drove the 2.5, and there is a noticable difference. I would recommend the 2.5 especially if you do a lot of inner city driving. Maybe its different on the open road.

My new T4 was a 1997 and modded to dual fuel at time of purchase through the dealer. Naturally it was the old mixer type and used the Ford "triple scuba tanks" under the floor mid point. Only trouble was a blown airbox when it backfired once otherwise Ii thought it probably ran better on LPG due to the tune optimised more towards LPG. A very good lpg technician was helpful as he owned his own T4 and knew them back to front even quoting part numbers from memory.

The 55L range was the only downside (310-350km) and when towing I got upto 21L/100km economy (270km). I'd assume with today's liquid injection technolgy such a setup would be fantastic although expensive. I changed the oil every 5000km and it was more wear and tear on components (non-LPG) that started to take effect on the T4 some 290,000km later, (85% was on LPG).