Gas mileage for new vehicles?

Post by **202marcellus** » June 12, 2007, 2:35 am

Given the steady increase in the price of a barrel of oil and all the talk about the effects of greenhouse gases I am now wondering about the fuel efficiency of new vehicles sold in Thailand. As I will need to purchase a new vehicle soon after my arrival I am wondering about the gas mileage of diesel pickups vs small cars like the Jazz, Vios or Corolla. I have never seen gas mileage ratings for new vehicles in Thailand such as you find here in the US. How many miles to the gallon or more properly km per liter do the above type vehicles get?

laphanphon · Post by **laphanphon** » June 12, 2007, 7:06 am

the vios gets from 14-17 kms per liter, depending how driving, 14 is a good mix a highway/city, 17 at premium highway, about 90 kms an hour. if going the usually 100-115, drops back down to 14-15.

fuel effeiciency was a major decision when buying car, as usa, guessing same, most trucks seemed to get half that. this based on consumer reports magazine info. most cars and trucks are the same here, some with different names.

just upgraded to a newer version of vios, this one w/automatic, so may lose a kms per liter. luckily, i don't really need a truck, most place deliver.

Post by **BKKSTAN** » June 12, 2007, 7:45 am

My Nissan sentra,8 years old gets about 11-12 Km per liter.I do have a heavy foot though!

laphanphon · Post by **laphanphon** » June 12, 2007, 8:21 am

same here, that little vios is working hard. takes some abuse rather will. another well made toyota, although made here, and junk in comparison to it's japanese cousins. newer one seems to be made more solid, but they still didn't invest any extra on the floor or suspension, as road noise at higher speeds is annoying, luckily just twice a year to bkk and phuket for school break.

Post by **jetdoc** » June 12, 2007, 9:02 am

My wife's Nissan 4 door pickup gets 12-13, we usually cruise under 100 klicks per.

laphanphon · Post by **laphanphon** » June 12, 2007, 10:22 am

that's good to know, a little better than i would expect. when i was looking for vehicle in 2003, i was thinking small truck, entry level, along with cars, again, all entry level, 1.5 engines. check consumer reports for car/truck comparison for gas consumption, and found most usa trucks a bit larger, and compared models i knew and engines sizes and the trucks seem to be 15+ miles per gallon and cars 30+ per gal. so with no great need for a truck, and as mentioned, most things are delivered free or nominal fee. i went with the car. another factor was, unless a 4 door, i personally don't consider that thing behind the front seat, useful, safe for anything other than a cooler for beer or small suitcase, storage of junk. not for passenger use, so with the little one, that was out, and i'm too khee neeo to spend much more for them trucks. wanted a camry, until i saw the prices here, even the corolla is a bit much for my purposes. i'm still in the thinking it's nothing but a machine to get me from point a to point b. although i have had my cadillac and firebirds, both comfy and sporty to play with, along with few fast and cruising scooters, i fall back into practical and what i use it for and how long i'm actually in it. except for vacations, it's mininal. although, if i had an extra million baht that wasn't needed or being kept in reserve for emergency, i would probably get a camry, still can't justify a truck, although would be convenient at times, maybe a old used one for back up vehicle.

another reason, a very important one for me not getting a truck at the time. if i wanted to go somewhere, i didn't have to worry about the whole village wanting to come with me, or everyone wanting to borrow and give them a ride to pick something up. maybe selfish, but the local village folk can get pretty demanding at times. of course most not saying thank you, and if I want or need something, well, that will be so much baht. thank you. right, expect me to provide everything for free, but charge me for everything. ok, starting to drift here.

good luck with you search and purchase. the toyota dealer here is very good for customer service and follow up maintance. most impressive. i think the honda city is decent car, pretty much the same as vios, but much quieter on highway, but i get a very bad impression of their customer service and service dept, so i stayed with the vios, which they did make some nice improvements on.

Post by **jetdoc** » June 12, 2007, 12:58 pm

LA, Keep in mind we are comparing diesel to gas engines (apples and oranges) and diesel engines are considerably more efficient, but at the expense of sound and vibration. The other consideration for truck rather than car was bigger tires and more robust under carriage. We make lots of trips to Surin and the road conditions at any given time are the luck of the draw. I think I would be on the front end rack 3 or 4 times a year if I had a car.

Post by **202marcellus** » June 12, 2007, 10:04 pm

Great point Jetdoc, I thought I remember reading that diesel engines are 30% more efficient than comparable gas engines. Thats why I was wondering if a 4 door diesel pickup would be worth purchasing as they are more flexible in what you can use them for. I don't have enough need for a pickup to make it worth it to buy one with a gas engine.

I like the new Camry too LA but they seem to be considerably more expensive in Thailand than they are in the US. It would be difficult to justify spending so much more for one in Thailand.

Post by **Fred the Farmer** » June 13, 2007, 9:19 am

If you are looking for econmics you whould be looking at cost per / km as diesil is about 20% chepare than petrol.

In the diesil pick ups, if you drive with a heavy foot 110-120 km/hr it will be more economical to have a 3 liter engine, if you drive 80-100 km/hr in a 2.5 liter engine you will get slightly better economy, but go over that in a 2.5 liter and they start sucking harder than a 3 liter.

Post by **treehugger** » June 13, 2007, 8:38 pm

For comparison with any other vehicle, over the last ten days I have completed just over 2,500 Klm in my Toyota D4D 3.0 litre Pick-up (4x4) Model 2004 and it has returned 10.85 klm per litre (about 30 mpg UK).

Post by **Aardvark** » June 14, 2007, 8:42 am

You'll also get twice the life from a Deisel engine, so it depends on how long you keep it before upgrading. They all run on Euro 3 fuel in Thailand so they are very clean burning compared to the older ones.