120i poor fuel consumption

[BarryS]

I'm getting 26mpg from my new 120i convertible and the dealer checked and says everythings OK with the engine.

Any thoughts? This can't be correct mpg can it?

Thanks/Barry

 

[Zafiro]

I have a 3-door 120i. I have no idea how much 26mpg is in l/100km but my car drink around 8.0 l/100 km. Maybe its my agressive driving style but don't expect your car do drink as much as BMW claim.

 

[BarryS]

I have a 3-door 120i. I have no idea how much 26mpg is in l/100km but my car drink around 8.0 l/100 km. Maybe its my agressive driving style but don't expect your car do drink as much as BMW claim.

Thanks, I'm talking of UK sized gallons which I think equates to over 10l/100km

 

[VroomVroom]

Have you gone past the running in miles yet?

 

[Nikos120i]

Thanks, I'm talking of UK sized gallons which I think equates to over 10l/100km

You're fine!!

I had 11.4lt/100km on my 120i due to aggressive driving, constant A/C on at Auto and LOTS of traffic here in Athens, Greece.

So, don't worry about it...you're fine, it's natural and it's actually not a lot...

 

[BarryS]

Thanks for the comments - could be the running-in, I've done about 2k miles I think and my driving does involve a fair bit of traffic plus spirited driving. Surprised you think this is OK though, still seems heavy consumption for a small 4-cylinder. But maybe thats the way it is.

 

[bmwownage]

preFL 120i, very in city driving, very rare highways is getting something like 10.8L/100km. Not bad for such in-city driving i'd say. Comparable to a Honda Civic 2.0, the 120i seems to consume even less even though the Civic is lighter and lauded for its good consumption.

 

[Nikos120i]

Thanks for the comments - could be the running-in, I've done about 2k miles I think and my driving does involve a fair bit of traffic plus spirited driving. Surprised you think this is OK though, still seems heavy consumption for a small 4-cylinder. But maybe thats the way it is.

It is in fact still early since you are running it in...also did you reset the BC? Perhaps the BC reading is different from the actual.

If you are used to driving a diesel, then petrol consumption does seem a lot. A consumption around 11-12lt/100km is common for a 2lt engine. In the case of the 120i, due to Efficient Dynamics, it's around 10-11lt/100km. If you have over 13-14lt/100km then you should worry of a probable issue.

If it's any consolation...on my new BMW 320si (the one I replaced the 120i with) I have 14.4lt/100km

 

[Zafiro]

My suggestion, stay away from citydriving and your car will drink less fuel
My car didn't drink less fuel after running-in, pretty much the same. If its consolation I had a Mazda with 116 hp and it was just as thirsty as my 170 hp 120i.

 

[cawimmer430]

I'm currently driving an '07 BMW 118i 6-Speed Automatic and the fuel economy has been less than stellar. I've gotten nowhere near what BMW claims despite trying different driving styles and different driving environments.

Even at a leisurely traveling pace on country roads the car still is quite thirsty. I'm getting an average of 7.8 L / 100 km - a far cry from the BMW claims of 6.1 / 6.6 L / 100 km. Some 118i and 120i owners I know have also complained about their gas mileage results leading me to think that Efficient Dynamics might not be as efficient in the 1-Series as claimed to be. Some magazines here have also reported similar findings regarding the 1-Series.

Still, an awesome machine and it is very much fun to drive.

 

[Zafiro]

I'm currently driving an '07 BMW 118i 6-Speed Automatic and the fuel economy has been less than stellar. I've gotten nowhere near what BMW claims despite trying different driving styles and different driving environments.

Even at a leisurely traveling pace on country roads the car still is quite thirsty. I'm getting an average of 7.8 L / 100 km - a far cry from the BMW claims of 6.1 / 6.6 L / 100 km. Some 118i and 120i owners I know have also complained about their gas mileage results leading me to think that Efficient Dynamics might not be as efficient in the 1-Series as claimed to be. Some magazines here have also reported similar findings regarding the 1-Series.

Still, an awesome machine and it is very much fun to drive.

In BMW defence. My 120i with 170 hp use as much fuel as my mothers 118i with 129 hp. I'm also impressed with my fathers 325i with 218hp, it almost use as much fuel as my car. I believe BMW 6-cylinders engines are better than their 4-cylinders.
It might not be as low as BMW claim but BMW engines in general use less fuel than the competition so its going forward and not backwards. The case with your 118i, I would say the bad fuel consumption is because of the small engine combined with an old automatic gearbox. Also when you choose automatic gearbox you don't get Stop/Go function.


Here is a comparison test based on fuel consumption between 320i and competition. 320i is doing well despite the stronger engine.

 

[cawimmer430]

Yep, the downside of the A/T in the 1-Series was the lack of the Start/Stop function. However, I still find it strange that BMW claims the 118i with A/T will use 6.6 L / 100 km - and yet I've never achieved this.

Our 118i is now at 50,000 km and the fuel economy has improved - but it still is not below 7 liters / 100 km. When I do city driving I don't expect the gas mileage to be great, but often travel between Munich and Mühldorf with the car (79 km distance) and the fuel economy results are still nothing to write home about. And I drive in a very relaxed and attentive manor, avoiding kickdowns and extreme sporty driving (I am on a fuel budget after all).

Anyway, since I don't use the car much I have no real reason to complain about fuel economy since it is essentially not an issue for me.

 

[FC123]

730i from 88 did 15L-20L/100, megasquirted it then 10-13L/100.

Now it's gotten colder I'm back to 14-15L/100. So have recalibrated the MegaSquirt today. Hope for an improvement.

My dad's E90 325i (3.0L) does 8.5-6.5L/100km, amazing engine. It reads 5L/100km at a steady 120 km/h. I do realise, that is too optimistic.

 

[Zafiro]

Anyway, since I don't use the car much I have no real reason to complain about fuel economy since it is essentially not an issue for me.

You should have chosen a diesel I have friends with 120d with 177hk with average of 5.5l/100km and 118d even better fuel consumption.
Forza diesel

BTW Fuel consumption in my car have been pretty much the same from the beginning to 45,000 km.

 

[BMW///MPower]

Yep indeed the diesel engines are great my 318d touring has a fuel consumption of 5,5l/100 km not the figure BMW says (4,8) but that of course doesn't account for traffic (and I mean normal traffic), how often do you drive 130 km/h on the highway continously. A jackass pulls in front of you at 100 so you brake then you have to reaccelerate an so on... . Also depends on how short your drives are. I could easily do 20+l/100 km in a 95 523 over 10km ... and 10 over 100 km so that also counts (was the car of my mother in law). At least I m happy with the FC of my 318d, 1000km with one filling, great isn't it?

 

[cawimmer430]

You should have chosen a diesel I have friends with 120d with 177hk with average of 5.5l/100km and 118d even better fuel consumption.
Forza diesel

BTW Fuel consumption in my car have been pretty much the same from the beginning to 45,000 km.

Definitely. I would have loved to have a 118d with a manual transmission but it was my sisters choice. She also bought the car with her money (has a well-paid job).

But since I don't drive much a diesel doesn't make sense for me. I've found that the 118i on the Autobahn gets the best fuel economy between either 120-130 km/h cruising speed. Either way, I am not too happy with the average fuel economy, but since I don't drive much it doesn't really matter. My fuel bills per month are less than 50 Euros on average.

 

[Nikos120i]

Spot-on Just_me. The 118i's power-to-weight ratio is worse than the 120i's so it uses more fuel in order to "move" it an acceptable pace. Add the automatic gearbox on that, which means no Auto Start-Stop...and you got it!

However...

I'm currently driving an '07 BMW 118i 6-Speed Automatic and the fuel economy has been less than stellar. I've gotten nowhere near what BMW claims despite trying different driving styles and different driving environments.

Even at a leisurely traveling pace on country roads the car still is quite thirsty. I'm getting an average of 7.8 L / 100 km - a far cry from the BMW claims of 6.1 / 6.6 L / 100 km. Some 118i and 120i owners I know have also complained about their gas mileage results leading me to think that Efficient Dynamics might not be as efficient in the 1-Series as claimed to be. Some magazines here have also reported similar findings regarding the 1-Series.

Still, an awesome machine and it is very much fun to drive.

~8lt/100km for a 2lt is a GREAT figure I think. Such a figure you see only on small 1.4lt cars, when even 1.6ltrs are around ~10lt/100km.

My 320si is quite thirsty...but I don't mind ...because I LOVE drivin' her

 

[cawimmer430]

~8lt/100km for a 2lt is a GREAT figure I think. Such a figure you see only on small 1.4lt cars, when even 1.6ltrs are around ~10lt/100km.

It's not a bad figure but even in this day and age cars the size of the 1-Series and a similar motorization should be getting numbers in the 6.5 L / 100 km region or lower. BMW also claims 6.6 L / 100 km for the A/T model - which I have never gotten.

Anyway, since I don't drive her much, it's not a real issue. If I was using the car on a daily basis then it would be a problem. The 1-Series also has a small fuel tank and short range because of this.

 

[FC123]

Definitely. I would have loved to have a 118d with a manual transmission but it was my sisters choice. She also bought the car with her money (has a well-paid job).

But since I don't drive much a diesel doesn't make sense for me. I've found that the 118i on the Autobahn gets the best fuel economy between either 120-130 km/h cruising speed. Either way, I am not too happy with the average fuel economy, but since I don't drive much it doesn't really matter. My fuel bills per month are less than 50 Euros on average.

Wow, I spend 350-400 Euro per month...

 

[cawimmer430]

wow, i spend 350-400 euro per month...

The W123?