What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: “We launched What Car? True MPG last April as a direct answer to the countless readers who had contacted us to say how disappointed they were with their car’s economy figure. Expecting high fuel economy and getting the opposite can double a household’s fuel expense. What Car? True MPG is a solution to this problem – the online tool gives Britain’s car buyers the most realistic fuel economy information possible – and it’s free to use.”
The What Car? True MPG testing programme has revealed that 95.5% of cars do not match the economy figures produced in the laboratory-based government fuel economy tests. The average miles per gallon shortfall across all cars tested is 17%.
Chas Hallett said: “It is vitally important for consumers to buy the right car for their life. For example, there is a general misconception that smaller cars automatically give better fuel economy. That’s not the case: if you use a small-engined car for long motorway runs every day, it will not be that economical. A larger-engined car would be much better suited to this lifestyle.”
What Car? True MPG, in association with Tesco Petrol Filling Stations, tests cars on real roads in the conditions that every motorist faces each day. What Car? has now tested more than 500 new cars, with the data from these tests being used by the True MPG web tool to produce personalised, realistic miles per gallon details for consumers, says Haymarket.
Before What Car? True MPG, the only information that’s been available is the car makers’ own figures, which are determined under EU law and are conducted in laboratory conditions on rolling roads. But now car buyers can simply log on to www.whatcar.com/truempg and work out the fuel economy they can expect to get from their next new car using the True MPG tools.
