MPG database challenges EC figures

20/05/2011

By Katrina McLachlan

Motoring expert Honest John (HJ) has set up a new database where drivers can record their cars fuel economy to compare it with the official EC figures.

The Real Life Fuel Economy Register launched by the website, designed by The Daily Telegraph, aims to provide car owners with the real-world average mpg of their model.

It helps disappointed motorists realise that manufacturers' claimed fuel consumption figures are generally unattainable and misleading.

The users have to login into the website and register the fuel economy they get against the make and model of car, its engine and type of transmission.

The website automatically collates the official EC figures with the uploaded figures of the user and gives the results of the comparison.

HJ claims that the EC figures published by vehicle manufacturers are overly optimistic because they do not reflect the 'real life motoring' of users.

Instead it results from laboratory tests carried out to simulate a mix of different types of driving, arriving at a "combined" CO2 emission and fuel consumption figure.