New Delhi : Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that ordinary car owners cannot accurately measure their vehicle’s fuel efficiency on their own and should rely on tests carried out by authorised dealers. Gadkari responded to a journalist who said her car’s mileage had dropped sharply after she started using E20 petrol, which the government has made available across the country.
“I checked it in my car, just like everyone does,” she replied, referring to the mileage shown on the vehicle’s dashboard. Gadkari, who has strongly backed the ethanol-blending programme, said dashboard readings are not enough to accurately measure fuel efficiency. You and I cannot check the mileage. A car’s mileage can only be tested properly using equipment at a company-authorised dealer, he said. His comments come just days after the Centre admitted that E20 petrol can reduce fuel economy by 3-5% in some vehicles, while defending the ethanol-blending policy.
The ministry said that while some vehicles may see a 3-5% drop in mileage, fuel efficiency is only one factor and should not be the only way to judge the fuel. The government made E20 petrol available nationwide from April 1 to increase ethanol blending, reduce crude oil imports and lower emissions. The move has drawn criticism from many motorists. Several car owners say they are getting lower mileage after switching to E20 petrol, while some vehicle manufacturers have also expressed concerns about its performance in older vehicles.
Not perfectly, but they can get a fairly accurate estimate. Modern cars calculate fuel economy using data such as the amount of fuel injected into the engine, the distance travelled and information from the engine control unit (ECU). Dashboard readings are estimates, but they are usually within 2-5% of the actual mileage. Many automobile experts consider the “full-tank method” the best way to measure real-world fuel efficiency. A dealer’s diagnostic machine does more than check fuel economy.
Even a dealer’s machine cannot directly measure real-world mileage under every driving condition. Fuel efficiency also depends on traffic, city or highway driving, air-conditioner use, tyre pressure, driving habits and the weight carried by the vehicle. In daily use, the dashboard gives a useful estimate of fuel economy, while the full-tank method provides a reliable real-world calculation.
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