ECONOMY CHAMPS and CHUMPS
“That'll be R800 sir,” repeated the smiling petrol attendant, this time a little louder. It was by no means the first time I’ve had to fill up a car for that much, but it nevertheless caused a double take. After all, I was filling up a normal, everyday, run-of-the-mill family car, not a Lamborghini. Then again, every run to the petrol station these days serves as a stark reminder of just how impossibly expensive motoring has become in South Africa. Spending just shy of R1 000 a tank is fairly commonplace and puts enormous pressure on household budgets. Of course, fuel is but one of the many motoring expenses, but it is also the one over which you ultimately can exercise some control.
A new-car dealer recently told me that, even in the space of the first six months of this year, buyer behaviour at his dealership had changed dramatically. “The first thing they now ask,” he explained, “is how economical the car is. I’ve never before seen such an emphasis on fuel economy.” The dealer in question then went on to describe his resultant dilemma – the cars he sells aren’t particularly frugal and buyers come forearmed with printed-out specification sheets containing claimed fuel-consumption figures.
But we need to caution car buyers about which fuel-consumption figures they use for comparison, and how much value they place on them. Most car companies quote the EU cycle figure, in either urban, highway or combined conditions, but these results are obtained in a laboratory and differ markedly from what is achievable in real-world conditions. You can use the figures for comparative purposes, but keep in mind that they’ll bare little resemblance to what you’ll achieve in day-to-day driving.
In CAR’s road tests, we give you as much fuel-consumption data as possible. Not only do we quote the manufacturer’s combined-cycle consumption figure, but also our calculated fuel-index figure, which is likely to be far closer to what you’ll achieve on the road. Finally, each test car also undergoes a run on our 156 km fuel-test route. It is our advice to take note of these three figures to avoid disappointment.
Swopping your current wheels for a new car could very well result in savings at the pump. If you’re in the market for a new car, be sure to read our feature on 13 of the most economical cars on sale in South Africa, in each of the major car categories, as defined by our annual Top 12 Best Buys awards programme – see page 108. To add interest, we’ve also calculated how far R500 will get you in each of these vehicles. You’ll be amazed at how some cars can stretch those bucks!
But, even so, remember that driving style is one of the biggest factors in determining fuel consumption. Want to save money? Change your driving style first. According to some reports, you can save as much as 20 per cent simply by being gentler on the throttle pedal.