Comments on: Steel prices may bump up Nano’s cost

By: Jimbo

Jimbo — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:22:55 +0000

LOL………well done you managed to find two low volume small cars with poor fuel economy (one a sports hatch and one a cross over 4WD) and paired them against two “Medium” sized cars that have excellent fuel economy.

And the new 308/207 1.6L Turbo has great fuel economy, so does the 1.4L Turbo Fiat Ritmo. But in most cases you are right though. However the turbos on small cars are designed to maximise performance not economy because the basic engine already does that for you.

By: Duck

Duck — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:54:06 +0000

Jimbo my fact is not wrong, here’s another one…………………a Mazda 6 can use 8.4L of petrol for 100km and a Suzuki SX4 Sedan can use 8.4L of petrol for 100km. So size is not all the time better. Will also depend what drivetrain it is to and the weight of the vehicle. Also if the smaller car has a turbo on it for example, it decreases fuel economy and the larger car can be moe fuel efficient.

By: Duck

Duck — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:44:29 +0000

A Ford Fiesta XR4 does
100km using 9.3L of petrol, when a Mazda 6 Limited can do 100km using 8.3L and a Toyota Camry Altise using 8.9L for 100km. The Mazda and the Toyota are both classified as large cars and get better fuel economy (but in this case they both are heavier) and the Ford Fiesta XR4 is a small car and gets worse fuel economy then the two, mainly because the Ford Fiesta XR4 has a turbo on it which increases kW’s but decreases fuel economy.

By: Jimbo

Jimbo — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:57:56 +0000

Alec, good work. The furthest I have got out of the 207 is 800km. That was 6.25L/100km.
This is exactly my point though. Yes your XR6 comes into its own on the Hume and is great on fuel. Even then it doesn’t quite reach my 207s figure.(6.25L/100km was done Melbourne to Mount Gambier and back. That’s allot of stop start and slowing down in towns).
What happens when you get to Sydney and you are in city traffic? Plus If my 207 had the extra 18L capacity that your XR6 does that would push it up to a 1088km range.
I know they are totally different cars this is an exercise that points out the flaws in Duck’s and people of the same mind stand point on fuel economy when it come to car and engine size.
This is just petrol cars, imagine the huge gap in economy between say your XR6 and a Golf 1.9L Diesel, or a 1.6L Diesel 308.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:54:50 +0000

Oh – Now I cant afford one. :)

By: alec

alec — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:19:15 +0000

Jimbo,
I have a 2001 5 speed xr6 that can get 970km to a tank when on the freeway travelling at 110km. I have driven to sydney on one tank a few times.
The tank holds 68litres. That equals 7l/100km. I have got it down to 6.8 before an could probably do better if I drove a bit slower.

By: Minnow

Minnow — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:48:31 +0000

Jimbo, look at the XJ6 Jaguar with its 2.7L diesel, but thats like extreme comparing an awesome vehicle to mere consumer product small cars.

Yes in the city small cars will use less fuel because they are lighter make less power, but out on the open road the difference between a Corrola and a Falcon would be minimal.

By: Jimbo

Jimbo — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:58:24 +0000

If only my car had a 70L fuel tank. The 207 could go 1100km+ an a single tank of petrol on an average run. Could any large car do that? People who think like you do totally p**s me off.

By: Jimbo

Jimbo — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:43:33 +0000

Duck, “A small car does not mean better fuel economy results as a larger car sometimes. “?????

I’m confused as to what you mean by this? Are you saying a Corolla, a Mazda 2 and a Falcon have the same fuel economy? What about a Fiat 500 Diesel?
Perhaps CA should put these cars to the test on the normal one person in the car commute to work over the period of a week.
No wait they won’t because your theory is idiotic. The Falcon or any other large car does not compete in fuel economy in any circumstances even on a long flat strait highway. Yes on the freeway they may go a little further but people like you seem to forget that the larger cars are carrying 20, 30, 35 etc more litres of fuel.

By: Stav

Stav — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:34:14 +0000

One word…

RUBBISH!!

By: Loud1

Loud1 — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:50:51 +0000

@ Quiet 1,

So tata steel manufactures steel.

But the increase in the cost of steel is due to the increase in the price of inputs:

Iron Ore pricing: + 85%
Coking Coal: + 200%

Costs must be passed onto the end product.

By: TDi

TDi — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:47:59 +0000

Massive fuel saving = Massive life saving ????
It’s not worth…

By: quiet1

quiet1 — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:24:39 +0000

Won’t affect the pricing of Nano..since Tata themselves have one of the largest steel manufacturing plants in India..

By: Milar

Milar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:09:00 +0000

10 times more energy goes into moving the car than moving the driver. A smaller car is usually lighter and therefore uses less energy to move it. So yes, usually a small car is more economical, except say a long straight, flat road. It’s getting off the mark that hurts the bigger cars.

I won’t be rushing out to buy one yet, but the nano is all I “need” to get to the office – so it’s great innovation.

By: realcars

realcars — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:02:08 +0000

Cheaper than a decent ride on lawn mower!

By: Duck

Duck — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:49:19 +0000

“Lightbulb,
well what is the fuel economy of this thing?

dont be too fooled into thinking small car = massive fuel savings.”

Andrew M, I totally agree with you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

I get heaps of people saying “Go buy a small car, to help save fuel costs rising” and that totally p1sses me off!
A small car does not mean better fuel economy results as a larger car sometimes.

By: Minnow

Minnow — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:27:04 +0000

Well they could save money by leaving the motor out and selling it as BYO donkey.

By: Spitfire

Spitfire — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:09:25 +0000

If this is the future I don’t want any part of it. Stop the world I want to get off.

By: George

George — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:43:06 +0000

Lightbulb can see into the future, check out the latest news article!

By: Andrew M

Andrew M — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:41:49 +0000

Lightbulb,
well what is the fuel economy of this thing?

dont be too fooled into thinking small car = massive fuel savings.