@1:12 “I’m not going to be unsafe, I’m not going to tailgate people, and I’m not going to drive dangerously slowly.” I tell myself that every time I get in the car.

I still think the fact you can get almost 59mpg from a 2 litre sports car is staggering! Take a similar car from 20-30 years ago and you’d struggle to get half of that. Goes to show how far we have come with technology

The fact your 2L MX5 is just as, if not slightly more fuel efficient than my 1.4 Fiesta is crazy to me

So many driving KZfaq creators could learn from watching your videos. Thank you for not once looking at the camera while the car was in motion on a public road. Also, thanks for the US gallon numbers.

The reason that accelerating slowly is more economical is in the most part because of the air/fuel ratio. If you accelerate slowly, the ECU injects the fuel at the most economical ratio, that is around 16-17:1, depending on the engine. At that ratio you can extract the most energy from the fuel. But if you accelerate heavily, the best air/fuel ratio for performance and safety of the engine (excess fuel can lower the temperatures inside the cylinder, which is good to prevent engine knock) could be as low as 10 or 11:1. At that ratio, there is quite a bit of unburnt fuel so you don't extract any energy from it. It's true that at partial loads, the throttle body can create a restriction and consume a bit more fuel, but that is compensated by the better air/fuel ratio

I agree, whilst its great fun to go with the 'Smiles Per Gallon" on the odd occasion, it also equally fun (if not more so) to try to be as economical as possible, like in the video. Adds that element of challenge, and can make boring drives less so as you'll have something to keep your mind busy during the drive. Thanks again for the videos! Shame about the parking tickets..

You really had me o the edge of my seat throughout this, who knew that watching a number teeter on the edge of 60 could be this engaging? Great video as always! I’d love a sequel of this but Im not sure how you’d make the next video. The only thing I could think of is how to get the worst fuel economy, whilst being safe, in the same car. It would certainly be a fun watch.

thanks for constantly showing the conversion of mileage and speed in km/l and km/h, that was very useful!

Passed my test today first time with just one driving fault. Your videos were a great help in cementing the lessons I was getting from my instructor, so thank you very much for providing your videos to the community. Grade-A legend!

I passed my test yesterday first time with 4 driving faults and I just wanted to say your videos helped so much! I think you're a great driving instructor and it's safe to say I likely wouldn't have passed without your videos so thank you :)

During my usual commute, the difference in fuel economy is massive depending on traffic. 41mpg (6.9L/100km) in heavy traffic, 52mpg (5.4L/100km) with clear roads.

That Mazda is bloody beautiful

Just wanted to let you know I've been watching your videos, and they helped me quite a bit. Passed my exam first try in Romania with 3 faults (2 signaling, 1 not following directions). Thanks a lot!

Hey man, not related to the video at all but just wanted to thank you for your content. I passed my test first time a few days ago with only three silly minor faults that I recognized and rectified immediately. Your recent videos gave me a lot of confidence and provided me with the best piece of information that really helped me pass, that being the knowledge that the examiner is looking for SAFE driving, not *perfect* driving, and this proved to be very true with my test! I'm going to continue watching this content though to improve myself when I get on the road with my new car next week!

At night when there is no traffic you should be able to hit the glorious 60.

Most of it goes over my head!! I enjoyed the video though thanks Richard. Bang on with Delia and The Canaries!! Don't get me started on the Co Op, we've had a full on battle with ours! I think tickets for 6 minutes is disgusting when they've got signs up saying 2 hours max stay.

"THERS A LORRY IN FRONT!" is the only time ive heard this said with joy! Beaut car Richard but the bigger problem is "how can you drive a car like that at slow boring speeds" Had a couple of TypeR EP3 civics and its absolutely impossible to drive these wee cars slowly! Smiles per Gallon is the more important gauge! love your videos mate!

thank you for converting all the units. It really helps people who are not from the UK or US

Very impressive numbers. My 1.5L Yaris T Sport would be just a few MPG short of that on a similar journey driven with a feather light right foot. The last couple of miles were very familiar as you came within 1/4 mile of my partner's flat on Rouen Road.

Watched a bunch of your videos the night before my test and it really helped calm me and i passed today. Thank you for your help

This was like watching an old school Top Gear challenge. Banging video.

In metric system you did remarkably well. With 5 liter plastic jug drove 100km - awesome.

That's it. I see myself justifying the MX-5 as a more economical car than the 1L Ford my wife just got. The "gaming laptop for school" of a grown adult.

This Man will do anything to make a fuss about something lol. I won't walk to school, as statistically there is more chance ill be ran over by a car, and therefore should sit in a dark room forever. Good video again tho!

thanks for your manual series video, helped me a lot, greetings from italy

Great results for 2.0 liter gasoline engine! I was expecting much worse results.

I've had my mx-5 (ND-1) 2.0L similar to yours for 5 years and that's exactly the best fuel economy I have ever gotten! 4.8L/100km. It will regularly do 5.4L/100km on my commute to work which was far better than my wife's old Mazda 2

Thank you for your videos, I’ve now decided to start a new career as a driving instructor ! Based in Basildon.

Your videos where you go on a drive to do things like this are great, and your reviews on the other channel. Keep up the good work, I always keep an eye out for your school car in town (yeah town not city) 😅

Excellent understandable video for US and UK viewers thank you!!!

12:35 stunning M3 😍

I regularly drive part of this route, from the Pulham roundabout to the Tesco roundabout just outside of Norwich, it is infuriatingly slow sometimes and I usually average about 40/45mpg in my 1.4 Alfa, but this video has enlightened me, I think I will try turning it into an mpg challenge on boring days, and take the backroads when I want to have fun!

My neck of the woods. Knew those hills going towards Norwich would spoil the challenge!

Haha, this video is great. I used to live in colchester and commute up to Norwich uni (UEA).. i've done the 60 mile trip many times in different cars.. the A140 is boring but a trip computer makes it interesting :P.. some nice views from the country roads. My record is 72mpg in my 2.0tdi Audi A3.. but that was hard work + ac off etc 51.3mpg in a 3.0tdi A5 4dr (1.8ton automatic car) 66mpg in a 2007 honda jazz (first car) Once you've done the trip a few times you know exactly when to come off the throttle to roll through the speed limit change signs at the correct speed with no/minimal braking 19:00 that Aston Martin would be known quite simply as an Aston Martin V8, probably leaving Long Stratton Motor Company after a service (with the driver's wallet likely being a lot lighter)

i parked at the most rural car park have ever seen in Derbyshire on a Sunday , the machine only took cash, which i dont carry so figured all in all id be alright, left the car for 30 mins came back to a parking ticket was amazed

Considering it’s a sports car, that economy is impressive. A lot depends on traffic and hills. I go up hills within a few min of a cold start, then up another even bigger hill. Because of this my average is 52-53mpg average in summer….from a petrol Honda jazz.

Ive managed 73mpg from my 2021 1.5L Sports venture edition, but that was in a very controlled regulated speed limit of 40mph on the A55 Anglesey expressway., where you were restricted to 40mph for several miles. Ive still managed 62.8mpg in normal careful driving, so 60mpg is possible, if your prepared to drive carefully, and in a sensible manner, and with everything turned off, A/C heated seats, they all take power from the engine, hitting your economy Switch off the A/C and you would have easily topped 60mpg.

Great vid love these vids

this is actually fun to watch very cool

Haha, I'm a bit of an mpg wonk. OCD much? I've just made a 1,383 return trip to Denver, CO. The trip up the computer average was 43mpg US gallon; but the high head wind on the return journey reduced the average to 41.5 when I park up at home. Oh, the car? 2.5 litre Mazda 3 2020 manual which now has just over 40,000 miles on the clock. My take on acceleration is to crisply row up the gears to speed - then relax and let the speeders catch up and pass. Like the videos.

Mate you did fantastically! I struggle to get 60mpg in my bluemotion golf even though it is quoted to easily do it, of course I could probably drive a lot more economically 😂😂😂 cheers for the video!

Awesome video, love the effort you put in with the constant updates with conversations to metric. Could you try this again with the top down and all accessories off?

The fact that this 2.0l 181hp petrol car is more economical than a 1.2l Renault Clio is hugely impressive. Honestly, that's the economy figure of a diesel. Of course, you don't need to work quite so hard to get such economy in a diesel, but the point still stands, that is seriously impressive economy for a car where economy wasn't a main design factor.

Cruise control uses more fuel as it isn’t sympathetic with the throttle when going uphill. If you let the car gather speed down the hill using momentum and then let it slow a little going up the hills then you will get better mpg. Great video, so wanted you to do it 😅

I can consistently get over 40 MPG US in an AWD Honda HR-V just by keeping its Econ meter in the green. The EPA and companies in general tend to underrate their cars these days.

I believe Mazdas skyactiv series is underrated, my cx5 can get 34-36 mpg on a 50 mile trip if I do similar methods to what you were using and pay extremely close attention to my driving style with less care I’m probably closer to the 31 mile per gallon range but to me that’s quite impressive. The worst I’ve ever got through the mountains of West Virginia where the mountain grades are about 7% and it requires 4000 RPM to maintain 50/55 mph with probably 40% throttle load in 1000 pounds of cargo on board I was still getting 16 to 17 miles a gallon

On my 2016 mk4 Mx5 i got late 40s per gallon driving around Scotland a few years back and no i wasn't driving it like a granny. It didn't seem to care about being thrashed to the redline, MPG was comfortably in the late 40s and early 50s most of the way and with the roof down. Even now with all the mods i have (as its now nearly 7 years old) it still puts out close to 50Mpg on open roads while being driven like it was meant to be - A lot of that is down to the low weight, 2 ton cars use a lot more fuel than 1 ton ones.

I wish my A35 could get even slightly close to this 😅 I just about break 40 when driving super passively on a long drive. Can get it in the teens when driving an AMG as intended!

I often show a recorded 60mpg with a Mazda3 2.0 litre Skyactiv X on a 100 mile plus motorway run when there is little traffic.

4.8 l/100km. Not a bad outcome! Better than the average in my car (5.5l/100km). Yes, I am from the UK and I DETEST imperial units! Gallons, no. Miles, no. Yards, no! Britain is officially a metric country!

Lower revs increases fuel consumption Rev it just before max torque and change gears,use engine breaking whenever possible and keep the gears close to mid to max torque.

This video will be a cracker

It's got a compression ratio high enough to fuse carbon and it weighs barely a ton, of course it's fuel efficient.

Another great video - was really rooting for you! Just recently returned to driving after a very long break and your videos helped me get back up to speed and confidently road safe pretty quickly - thank you! Could I ask you to consider a vid on how to/when to use cruise control/adaptive cc/speed limiters? Thanks!

Nice I love Mx-5 videos

Oooh! A fellow 100th Anniversary mx5 owner! I would love to know how many of them were made.

1:33 mk5 supra nice

59 MPG in that car is insane. My little 2 liter hyundai would probably be able to do this too if everyone here didn't constantly drive 15kmh over the speed limit and punch the gas after every red light. I'd be constantly getting rude gestures and honked at if I drove like this so alas I average closer to 6L/100km or 40 ish mpg(US) or 48ish MPG (UK)

Watching his makes me want to try a similar challenge in my Vauxhall Corsa. I think I typically accelerate quite hard, and tend to be quick on the motorways etc. I typically see 36 mpg across an average tank of fuel. The best I've had was around 43.8mpg (with an average speed of 41.8mph) from a 682 mile trip from Glasgow to Thurso and back. I wonder if I can achieve 50 MPG if I try to drive similar to how you were in this video, which admittedly is more like how I should be driving

Usually this is how i drive when we go to the coast. With good econemy i can usually do a 166 mile round trip for about a 3rd of a tank. It's not bad for a 1 ltr engine. I've never really recorded the MPG but i might this year when we go, see what i get.

the reason for pump inaccuracies is because they priorities speed and volume, the standards do state that they have to be between -.5 to +1.0% accurate but if you're filling less than the minimum amount stated on the pump (usually 2-5 litres) you technically could be out of tolerance form the standards set by the trading standards

refueling only a gallon a time can be dangerous as well, becuase with some cars unless you fill up with at lleast 1/4 of a tank, then the computer won't change the fuel gauge reading, so what I do is go by the trip computer for miles driven if I top up too early. stop/start feature uses fuel more than just sitting at the lights for 10 seconds with the engine running. as for use of cruise control, then depending how it is set, can use a lot more fuel than just feathering the acceleator, and more abruptly on, and off the accelerator than feathering it. and regardless of how hard the air-con was having to work, it still is connected to the engine, which adds extra resistance on the engine running performance, as connected to the timing chain/belt. so could have possibly seen 61 mpg without air-con.

1. You're a very patient man to hypermile an MX-5. Every time I try it in my car, the temptation to deploy the full torque of a straight six diesel on a straight empty road overwhelms me and I mess up my average! 2. The stop-start system also kicks the engine back on more quickly if you've got the AC on. The manual often lists the conditions where it won't stop the engine or start it back up more quickly. On a cold winter day it might never stop the engine. 3. You _really_ should have challenged those parking tickets! The law requires a minimum grace period of 10 minutes to give drivers the ability to read the terms and conditions, decide whether they want to enter into a contract, and find a suitable space, or leave if none are available. Sounds like quite an open and shut case in your favour if they're trying to penalise you for six minutes. Check out the parking ticket section of the Money Saving Expert forums, thanks to them I'm now 3-0 up against scummy parking operators!

If you switch the instrument cluster to show consumption in litres/100 km, the display should be able to display zero consumption during engine braking.

My wife and I really enjoy your videos, especially the ones involving your ND2 . My wife has a 2022 MX5 and drives exclusively for fuel economy...i swear her tach has hit 4k only a couple times mostly by accident 😅. Not many small roadsters in our particular Canadian prairie city..and we have been nearly side swiped by fellow drivers not driving cautiously. We have been considering changing our exhaust to something more sporty ...either the Tomei or Goodwin Racing. Have you considered changing your exhaust?

20:20 it actually got exiting here lol

should cut the corners, and look in rear view mirror if no one is behind or not effecting anyone not a problem.

Anything below 5L/100km on a 2 liter petrol.. you almost need a custom map. and good fuel.

A challenge with the same ratio would be interesting (4l 30mpg) or somthing like that

What are your thoughts on Jaguars? I recently treated myself to a 2019 XE R-Sport for my first car and I love it! Plus it can do up to 70mpg

Theres some lorries that definitely do more than 60mph. I had a lorry the other day hitting close to 70mph. Though this was on a slight decline

I also have a 2 litre and I can barely get it over 40 MPG on the motorway, I do average around 25 MPG in the city when driving economically though. How you managed close to 60 MPG is beyond me. How much horsepower does your MX5 have? My car has around 220 BHP, though it could do with basic service to improve the fuel economy. (Air filter, oil filter, spark plugs, etc.)

Do a challenge to get the worst mpg

god foot👍 i can''t do 60mpg with my car, maybe my foot isn't gentle enough

With regard to the cold start, do they sell engine block heaters in the UK? That would save you from the cold start; just plug into a regular outlet for a couple of hours before a journey. Of course these are primarily used with REALLY cold starts. The sub -15C nights you quite often get during winter in parts of the US that are too close to Canada for winter comfort, for example. To say nothing of Canada itself....and they've kind of died out a little as cars have become better at starting in the cold.

Nice car 😊 passed my test last year and when choosing a car it was a choice between the MX5 or the Mercedes SLC 180. I ended up with the SLC. It has an official return of 48mpg (no idea if it’s imperial or not). I average about 34-36mpg on my daily commute to work on a mix of city roads, a 60mph dual carriageway and country roads. I like testing how efficient I can make the drive to work and home. The best I did was today at 38mpg, but I was running very low on fuel and drove economically to make sure I got to a petrol station. The best I’ve had so far was roughly 45mpg on a motorway journey (can’t remember the exact number), the traffic on the motorway wasn’t the best. I have a question about E5 and E10 fuel, is E5 better to use in terms of how many miles you get from it compared to E10? Had an MOT and was told E5 was better to use but from what I’ve read there isn’t much difference……other than the cost 😂

I passed my driving test🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 4 minors. Its was 3rd attempt

Opinions about coasting down hill. Generally speaking and from a fuel economy perspective? And doing this on old cars (20 y/o) VS new cars.

I see the AC light was on...

I passed my test first time on my birthday 🎉!!!!!!!

If you didn't turn on the AC, instead opened the windows, you probably would have achieved 60 mpg. However, it would be too noisy to record.

Hi Richard. Great video on economical driving to save fuel using cruise control. I often drive from Norwich to London and unfortunately my car doesn’t have cruise control. What driving technique would you recommend to drive more economically? Cheers

Old Skoda octavia can do 70mpg average on highway.

But using the cruise control is less efficient

Don’t worry am having a 2L petrol and am getting 40-45 maximum

Oh Richard 😂 only you could be so excited about driving economically. Does your partner turn things into a challenge at home to get you to do the chores.... 'Richard, I challenge you to do the hoovering in under 5 minutes' Richard be like.... yay CHALLANGE.🎉

Make a video teaching about how to drive in like france where they drive on the right please

Cool video idea why dont you get your cars and run them 0 to 60

I average 27mpg on motorway runs without hypermiling so I'm going to have to try something like this to get 30mpg

what tyres and brakes are you running? may have an effect

May I ask why a lot of chauffeur drivers and you seem to like holding down the indicator stalk rather than pushing it beyond the pressure point? It seems to be a sort of habit on a lot of professional drivers, does it help anything?

Would you be able to do a video on choosing lanes at roundabouts that are unmarked? My instructor told me that if the exit I’m taking is past 12 o’clock, I have to indicate right and use the right hand lane but I did this the other day and noticed cars in the left hand lane taking the same exit as me and making it a dangerous situation. I asked someone I know yesterday and they said, that only applies if it’s the 3rd or last exist, if it’s the second exit/straight over but pointing past 12 o’clock I should still use the left hand lane. I also failed my test first time around for choosing a left hand lane for a second exit as it looked like it was straight over on the map and I was told I had to use the right as it was facing past 12 o’clock and on the right. Any clarification on this would really help as I’m worrying about the potential consequences this could have. Thankyou

Why put A/C on and heated seats if your roofs up? If trying get more miles surely turn certain things off?

I know it's less efficient to own a electric car but why don't u own one?

Hi, have you covered parking . Can one park 50/50 on the pavement and road.

Is there a reason you turn off your traction/stability control on public roads? Please tell me you're not one of "those" people.

Off topic here, but I've had a bit of a frustrating lesson today and wondered if you had advice? I have a habit of forgetting what I'm doing my mind goes completely blank sometimes. (Forgot which way I was going because of focusing on lights after indicating) it's really frustrating me, I can't seem to beat it, it's happened a few times now and it's getting me down.

Skyactiv-g engine?

Hi I have a question please. If I am changing lanes on a major road near a T-junction (it was not possible to do this earlier than the junction due to the road layout) should I always signal? I did so today and a car exiting the junction (minor onto major road) must have assumed that I was turning into his junction and pulled out in front of me. Thank you in advance, it has been a few months since I have passed my test - I cannot remember this situation and I do not want to cause a danger with my actions.

Which fuel did you use? Standard or premium?