i10 mileage

[avinfine 0]

Hi Guys,

 

I bought my i10 in jan 08. This is my first car and this the only car i have been driving in my entirely life.

 

I am happy with i10, good looks, nice interiors, very comfortable, spacious etc etc. One thing i am worried is about mileage.

 

I noticed that my car gives 10 - 11 kmpl in city (with ac on most of the times). I stay in bangalore. I travel around 30km everyday.

 

Is this the expected mileage ??

Can some one guide me how can i increase the mileage?

 

Thanks

Avinash

[anjan_c2007 1]

Which gears do you use? In Bangalore, the overdrive (5th gear) may be rendered non-functional due to the burgeoning and sluggish traffic.Make sure that you do not ride on the clutch. After all the i10 should at least deliver 13-14kmpl in the city.Also do check the car's mechanicals at the dealership.

[Durango Dude 2]

Wait for atlest 2500 kms if the mileage doesn't improve.. then get it checked...with the Bangalore traffic it's a terrific mileage; I guess...

[sgiitk 0]

@DurangoDube is right. An engine takes at least 2500-5000km to run in. My own Accent which gives 10+ in town in summer started out at under 8.5kpl!

You should expect about 13kpl. This is based on my experience of a Santro Automatic which is just under 10 in town with AC. Add about 20% for the manual transmission, and a further 10+ for the improvements in 2-1/2 years and that the i10 is not a tall boy.

One thing you must remember is that the Santro engine is a long stroke engine. Long stroke engines normally have a torque band extending lower than squarer engines. So you can shift up at lower speeds.

Also there is evidence to suggest that the town fuel consumption is more of a function of time than distance. So if you spend a lot of time in slow traffic, stuck in jams, and at lights then forget about a meaningful figure for the economy. Our old Zen which gave around 12 in Kanpur used to give only 9 in Manipal and Gwalior!

[rohit 0]

my santro which have clocked 400 kms has given me 15 km/l in city with mixed use of a.c...i have heard i 10 is having more avg. than santro...

@sgiitk - you are absolutely right about santro engine....secret  is get into top gear as soon as possible instead of pulling hard in lower gears...it really pulls of well in 4th gear @ 30km/hr.10-11km/hr is bit lower even if you use it in heavy traffic conditions provided your car is moving and not idling for long time at signals and in traffic

[sgiitk 0]

@rohit. I have had a fair experience of cars in India and abroad. Earlier we had Esteem & Zen (both auto and manual). Maruti engines tend to be square or even over square (Zen). This is again typical since the Esteem & Zen shared the same block. So the Zeb had to be over-square.

When I got my Accent I found that I can be in 5th from as low as 800rpm (~32kph). As long as I was gentle with the gas it would not complain. I found that many of my friends having lived with M800's (and having forgotten the good old Ambys & Fiats) had to be reminded of this. The flip side is that long stroke (under-square) will not spin like a top and be rough at higher rpm.

I may add that it is possible to engineer this out of the system to a degree - the City Mk.II I hear is pretty smooth even at high rpm.

sgiitk2008-03-27 04:53:43

[rohit 0]

@rohit. I have had a fair experience of cars in India and abroad. Earlier we had Esteem & Zen (both auto and manual). Maruti engines tend to be square or even over square (Zen). This is again typical since the Esteem & Zen shared the same block. So the Zeb had to be over-square.

When I got my Accent I found that I can be in 5th from as low as 800rpm (~32kph). As long as I was gentle with the gas it would not complain. I found that many of my friends having lived with M800's (and having forgotten the good old Ambys & Fiats) had to be reminded of this. The flip side is that long stroke (under-square) will not spin like a top and be rough at higher rpm.

I may add that it is possible to engineer this out of the system to a degree - the City Mk.II I hear is pretty smooth even at high rpm.

well put together...and thanks for sharing information....but i guess these engines are meant for city use only where main concern is about how engine takes from lower rpm with minimal gear changes....and these cars are serving the purpose quite beautifully.....for roughing up at higher rpms we have vvti's, vtecs from toyotas and hondas which we all can enjoy by paying bit more. 

[sgiitk 0]

I think more than city v. highway it is the design philosophy. Every design is a compromise. Hyundai prefers under-square while Maruti prefers nearer to (over-) square. One historic reason why under-squares became popular is the old RAC formula for taxable HP which favoured them. In general one can expect a higher bhp (and top rpm) from over-square designs.

The extreme of a normal passenger car with over-square design was the FIAT 128 from the 1970's which revved to 8300 rpm. Not at all common in normal stuff.

sgiitk2008-03-27 06:28:17

[avinfine 0]

Thanks a lot guys. My  car has run nearly 3000km now. I make sure that i dont use clutch too much. I use normal unleadedd petrol instead of speed or power. Using speed or power, will it make a diffference in mileage?

 

I consulted an engineer over phone, he asked me to shift to 4th gear when I cross 30kmph speed. What do u suggest ?

I dont find any prob in shifting to 4th gear at 30kmph, my car runs smooth.

[sgiitk 0]

High end petrol will help in two ways:

1. If it has a higher octane then the knock sensor will allow for more advanced timing. Now Petrol is 89ON (Euro II), 91ON (Euro III), 93ON (Xtra Premium). Other Premium petrols are presumably 91ON. Advancing timing improves both the output as well as economy.

2. Additives keep the injectors cleaner. Smoother and better running.

A friend did a 1-2 test on his Baleno (Hyderabad and Chandigarh) and found premium giving him a 5% improvement in consumption.

I have used Premium only for the past 6+ years.

[avinfine 0]

Most of the times its 3rd gear or 2nd gear. Now I have started using 4th gear. Will have to wait n see if thr is any improvement.

 

And I used AC most of the times. Is it because of that the mileage has reduced? I have planned to turn off AC completely and test this time.

[rugs_tachy 0]

Yes, do these things to check mileage.

 

Tank up ur car fully and then test the mileage of the car using A/C all the time. Reset your trip meter to 0.

 

After the petrol gets empty and u go back again for tanking up record the Kms it has clogged in the trip meter.

 

Tank up the petrol again and see how many litres it takes. Then simply take the Kms in the trip meter and divide it by the number of litres it has take.

 

After arriving at the mileage. Reset your trip meter to 0 and run the car without A/C for the full period and see the mileage.

[sgiitk 0]

@rugs. I have noticed over the years that a 'full' talk may differ by up to 1-2litres, due to air pockets, etc. I have kept track from 'full' to 'full' for over 25 years and my experience is that one exceptional reading for the consumption is invariably followed by another in the opposite direction (unless there is a car malfunction, of course), so this filling variation is for real.

Remember ACI puts their cars on ramps and takes a long time to fill to the brim. 

[rugs_tachy 0]

@sgiitk.... Yes agree with you. I have seen some variation as you mentioned... But alteast it gives us a pretty fair idea of the mileage. Given to understand that we as normal road users do not have equipments to test mileage. So therefore under these circumstances a tank full to full method gives a decent idea of the mileage (Roughly as we as say)....

 

But i could not understand the last line of urs...

[rssh 59]

i10 should give 13-14 in city traffic .well stated sgiitk I got more information of the square engine philosopy also I upshift to 4th in 40kmph and am getting some what better .(love to shift gears fast ).

[sudeepd 0]

1.Keep Air Filter clean (or replace according to the condition of the filter).

2.Replace the Engine Oil at less than manufacturer's

recommendation if the vehicle is used for frequent shorter distance

traveling <5-10kms or frequent idling.

3.Check whether the brakes are dragging, Check the wheel bearings.

4.Also switch to another fuel station (Fill petrol from another reputed fuel station).

5.Don't ride clutch. Instead shift to lower gear.

6.Don't drive in lower gear for too long .

7.Don't shift (up shift or down shift) every now and then

8.Judge the traffic ahead and instead of banging on brakes at signals, just ease on acceleration,

9.Check tyre pressure every week and especially only when the tyres are cold. Keep 2-3 psi more than manufacturer's recommendation.

[bsrind 0]

Sorry to deviate from the original topic but reading about i 10, couldn't help.

I recently test drove 3 different cars[i10s] and having driven santro for more than 4 years I found that the gears even in the new car are a bit hard and also the position of the cluth pedal is at such an angle that the leg gets painful even after a very short drive.

Since you have been driving one, any comments on these ?

[thermalpaste 0]

@rohit. I have had a fair experience of cars in India and abroad. Earlier we had Esteem & Zen (both auto and manual). Maruti engines tend to be square or even over square (Zen). This is again typical since the Esteem & Zen shared the same block. So the Zeb had to be over-square.

When I got my Accent I found that I can be in 5th from as low as 800rpm (~32kph). As long as I was gentle with the gas it would not complain. I found that many of my friends having lived with M800's (and having forgotten the good old Ambys & Fiats) had to be reminded of this. The flip side is that long stroke (under-square) will not spin like a top and be rough at higher rpm.

I may add that it is possible to engineer this out of the system to a degree - the City Mk.II I hear is pretty smooth even at high rpm.

The engine that does duty in the present accent traces it's roots to a first generation Mitsubishi Lancer. The G13B Suzis redlined somewhere around 8000rpm for the swift GTis. The B16A from Honda (used in the older city), which is again not long stroke is pretty similiar to the G series characterwise. I completely agree with you.

[avinfine 0]

@bsrind

since i dont have experience driving other cars, i dont know abt how smooth are gears. The position of clutch pedal is fine. I dont have any problem with leg pain.

[aditya08 0]

even i am also very worried about the i10 sales in India.......although

its a very good Car and like a gift for Indian Car market !!!!

[Rajeevraj 0]

@avinfine: Which part of Bangalore do you drive... I personaly feel milage while driving in bangalore city will be less than elsewhere due to the huge congestion and the fact that u need to keep shifing gears frequently.

[avinfine 0]

I travel from Vijaynagar to MG Road and back to Vijaynagar.

I usually pass through lot of traffic.

 

I am still not satisfied with my car's mileage. I have considered all the tips and follow them, even then the mileage is not picking up.

 

Service center guys tell that there is nothing to be configured in car to get better mileage. Is that true?

[sgiitk 0]

According to 325i the i10 will have the new Kappa engine very-very soon. So all this discussion may become academic.

[zayed112 0]

i10 mileage is 13.2kpl in city and 16.1kpl in highway...