Ford Scorpio Ultima Estate 24V - 1995

Because of a number of questions raised by members in the Mailing List, on a recent journey to Northumberland from London I decided to check the actual fuel consumption and compare it with the trip computer reading. Because the Scorpio was well overdue for an injector cleaner, I added a bottle of Redex on the fill up.

It was a surprisingly good journey. Roads were busy to begin with then traffic eased quickly and we were able to make good progress. The route - M25 - M11-A1 is almost entirely motorway and dual carriageway and though there were road works en route we were not delayed except by observing temporary speed limits.

During the entire journey the amber cold warning showed on the instrument panel, indicating that the ambient temperature was between 1 and 4 degrees C. There was only a light breeze. Although it was misty in places, visibility was not affected.

Although I knew I was going to read the fuel consumption, I was not driving in a different style: indeed, the average speed of the journey was 69mph which showed that we made good progress where we could, (ahem)

Vehicle: Ford Scorpio 24V Estate. Laden with 2 adults, luggage, dog cage and Spaniel.

Tyres: Michelin Pilot MXV, 225 Z16R.
Pressures checked, 31 psi front, 28 psi rear.

Weather: Very cold - ambient temperatures between 1 and 4 degrees C. Dry. Light westerly winds. 

Roads: Mainly dual carriageways and motorways. Traffic moderate. Three sets of roadworks, no delays.

Date: Thursday 4/1/02 between 1715hrs and 2145hrs. 

Method: Filled up to the brim and second click on petrol pump in Orpington, Kent. 350ml bottle Redex Fuel Injection Cleaner added to tank. Zeroed trip mileage counter. Filled up again two days later, to the brim and second click on pump. 

Trip Meter: Distance: 312.1 miles: Fuel Consumption 54.47 Litres. Average speed over journey: 69mph.

Our fuel consumption worked out at exactly 26mpg, which I feel is satisfactory considering that we were driving laden and not at all carefully. The trip computer shows an average consumption based on about the last ten minutes of driving, and showed 25.2 mpg. 

This confirms what I suspected: the software update has had a slight but real improvement in fuel consumption, even allowing for the fact that the air temperature would have turned off the climate control compressor. The vehicle now cruises at lower rpm than it did before, and gear changes have been slightly re-scheduled. On previous journeys without the climate control turned on I would have expected the tank to be almost on the red line in Northumberland, where here it was still showing a quarter tank.

Any main dealer can update the Scorpio EEC-V with the latest calibration software but haggle on the price - unless you ask for the full diagnostic checks the update should not take more than 30 minutes - £25-£30. 

A recent straw poll of members also extracted the following general guidelines for a gently driven Scorpio (heavy acceleration will kill these figures !)

2.0 Engines - 32 - 35mpg

2.3 Engines - 30 - 32mpg

2.9 24V Engines - 25 - 28mpg

Coming Next: Urban cycle.