The average mpg of our Ampera has taken a bit of a hammering in recent weeks, as we’ve been putting the car through its paces in petrol mode – where a 1.4-litre engine provides the impetus rather than the electrical reserves.
It’s been a combination of deliberate experiment to see what the car can do – given that its key advantage over pure-electric models is the ability to cover higher miles without needing a charge – and coincidence because work commitments have recently taken the Vauxhall across the country.
That 1000-mile experiment returned a respectable 45.1mpg. I say respectable knowing a BMW 320d would achieve over 50mpg in the same conditions, but the Ampera’s not supposed to be used like this all the time, hence the realistic 94.0mpg figure over the 4500 miles the car has so far covered in our care.
That’s dropped from an average of 125.5mpg, but I’m expecting it to rise again now we’re back to the more usual battery-dominated driving.
Keep the car within the window of 40-mile journeys between charges and it can achieve remarkable economy figures. Our high so far is 548 miles for just 2.5 gallons of fuel – 216.6mpg.
