Fuel consumption

[barrykensett]

I have just traded my 2005 model for a low mileage 2010 one, I knew from the chattering classes that fuel consumtion would not be as good but I didn't think it would be this bad. With the 05 I typically got 50 mpg, with this one I struggle to get 40. This is diesel geartronic and UK gallons.
I thought cars generally were getting more economical. The engine is the same but higher power output. the power of the old one was adequate. Has it just been chipped and I wonder if I can chip it back to tune for economy rather than power.
Anyone any thoughts?
Barry

[XCovlov70]

I mentioned 'chipping' to our Dealer last Friday when our XC70 went in for the 3 Month 'QA Inspection' and it seems that you can get the engine chipped over this side of the 'Pond' via the Dealer.

I would suggest talking to your Dealer as I have tried the guys that advertise on the web and the answers received back so far is that they are not up to speed with chipping the 185bhp D5 engine as there are 'software' issues that cannot be resolved.

There was a Topic on here about it and the member had his engine chipped which took him I think from 185hp to 226hp with a noticeable difference.

If it's any consolation I just get 40mpg from our XC70 with a 205bhp D5 Engine, but it is slightly better than the 185bhp that we had in the previous XC70.

[rovermark]

The car may be much heavier than the P2. Most newer cars are shedding weight, but the XC70 gained weight.

Also, are your 2005 and new one both AWD for valid comparison?

[greyanglia]

Hi Barry,

I agree with you about the fuel consumption and it is the only negative to what is a great car. I bought my 2009 XC70 VOR D5 Geartronic last June and I have now covered about 12k mls in it.

I think basically the D5 is just an old lump that has been left behind by the competition. It was a great shame Ford did not give Volvo the 3 litre diesel now in the Jag XF/Land Rover as that is some engine along with the similar BMW unit which I had in my last car (530d).

I had the RICA upgrade from my local Volvo dealer, mentioned by XCovlov70, to take the D5 from 185bhp to 226bhp which has virtually eliminated the 'lag' when pulling away from junctions, given me more pulling power and improved fuel consumption although not by the amount you are probably looking for.

I know any thread on engine remaps usually starts a bit of a war on comparisons and my dealer offers the Polestar 185 to 205bhp as well as being an agent for RICA. I chose the RICA 226bhp upgrade as it seemed a good compromise and I have no complaints and coming from a Volvo dealer I knew it would not effect the warranty. There are one or two others out there who I am sure are just as good (maybe better).

I think you are just going to have to accept that the XC70 with AWD is a big heavy car with an 'oldish' engine which is why Volvo have launched the newer D3 2WD to try and lower emissions and increase fuel consumption.

Enjoy the new car and try not to wince too much now we have reached £1.40for a litre of diesel!

[XCovlov70]

Hi Barry,

I agree with you about the fuel consumption and it is the only negative to what is a great car. I bought my 2009 XC70 VOR D5 Geartronic last June and I have now covered about 12k mls in it.

I think basically the D5 is just an old lump that has been left behind by the competition. It was a great shame Ford did not give Volvo the 3 litre diesel now in the Jag XF/Land Rover as that is some engine along with the similar BMW unit which I had in my last car (530d).

I had the RICA upgrade from my local Volvo dealer, mentioned by XCovlov70, to take the D5 from 185bhp to 226bhp which has virtually eliminated the 'lag' when pulling away from junctions, given me more pulling power and improved fuel consumption although not by the amount you are probably looking for.

I know any thread on engine remaps usually starts a bit of a war on comparisons and my dealer offers the Polestar 185 to 205bhp as well as being an agent for RICA. I chose the RICA 226bhp upgrade as it seemed a good compromise and I have no complaints and coming from a Volvo dealer I knew it would not effect the warranty. There are one or two others out there who I am sure are just as good (maybe better).

I think you are just going to have to accept that the XC70 with AWD is a big heavy car with an 'oldish' engine which is why Volvo have launched the newer D3 2WD to try and lower emissions and increase fuel consumption.

Enjoy the new car and try not to wince too much now we have reached £1.40for a litre of diesel!

Just out of curiosity I found the RICA website, from which I could see that the piece of kit to re-map the D5 Engine will set you back £701.99 :eek:

Whilst nearly falling off the chair when I saw the price I don't think moving from a 205bhp to 226bhp would make that much of a difference even when towing our 'Tin Tent' that currently adds another 1600Kg to the total load.

On current fuel prices I could buy a further 501 Ltrs for the outlay but would need to see an improvement of around 10% over something like 12 years at current mileage to re-coup the outlay, but would probably have a different motor by then anyway in which case I would lose out. :(

I also understand that the D3 2WD is only a 2Ltr 'Lump' primarily brought in for the 'Sales Rep' market, and is considerably lighter, so has a better power to weight ratio.

[barrykensett]

I think I may have been misunderstood about the chipping, my new car is 205 PS whereas my old one was 163. I was wondering whether I can rechip it down in power as the previous car was plenty powerful enough to pull my shed around the alps and had a remarkably good fuel consumption. Yes the weight has gone up by 100kg so that must contribute to the worsening. Regarding the sluggish pull away I notice it with the new one but not the old one. The engine may be an old lump but it was the same basic engine in the old car.
Overall things seem to have got much worse and out of proportion to the weight increase. However if re-chipping cost around £700 I'll pay the price of the fuel!
I sold the old car because it was getting a bit old for me but if there had been the option I would have had a new 05 rather than a 2010 spec. Anyway that's life and this car will do the job and my wife likes the colour so that's good news.
Thanks for the interesting contribution to the debate.
Barry

[XCovlov70]

Our 'Old' V70 was a 163 Bhp that I chipped with a Van Aaken Plug In Box and that certainly did make a difference to the MPG as I repeatedly got over 50 MPG Solo and with the 'Tin Tent' on the back it was around 35 MPG.

But for some reason it would not reverse up a slight incline with the 'Tin Tent' on the back!

Our 2009 XC 70 was the 185 Bhp and that averaged around 28Mpg with the 'Tin Tent' hooked up but LESS than 40 MPG Solo.

I don't know what this 2011 XC70 D5 (Manual) with the 205 Bhp 'lump' will give me towing the 'Tin Tent' but it's not long before we will find out as we are shortly off for a 5,000 mile trip across & around Europe.
At the last count it was something like 12 Countries, and 'Yes' the fuel is still cheaper there than it is here, otherwise the trip would be cancelled trust me!

Having said that I found with the 2009 XC70 that leaving it in Cruise Control seriously affected the consumption, especially when going Uphill!

At one point in Spain not long after we got the car I noticed I was down to 9MPG on the 'Instant MPG' Reading until I changed down and it shot back up to 28mpg! :eek:
So now I change down every time for any hills, and that certainly improves the consumption, even when Solo! [thumbup]