Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Morgan doing a VW with its emissions tests

I can't believe it really but based on my experience to date, having covered 9,000km of mixed driving, I am convinced that Morgan cheated on its emission tests.

We are all aware how the lab provides an artificial environment and that manufacturers spend a huge amount of time ensuring their cars are best able to record good test scores - certain wheels, particular gear ratios etc etc.

I'd have thought a small company like Morgan was above such games and would have been happy to simply have a car run long enough to complete the tests. But sadly I was mistaken.

I will now be writing a strongly worded letter to the management of the Morgan Motor Company highlighting my disgust at their actions. It is ridiculous that a car with an official EU mixed figure of 12.3k/100km should be returning 10.6l/100km over 9,000km

A strongly worded letter is needed Sir. But I expect you should push harder on the right pedal to achieve the target.

It is so sad when an icon is found to be wanting.

But I can confirm your observation that MMC has overstated their data. This has serious financial consequences in the UK where annual car tax is based on CO2 emissions. I pay £505 per year based on the CO2 output of 282g/km.

Based on your evidence, which I can largely confirm, the figures are overstated by 15%. Reducing the CO2 emissions by 15% would cut my annual tax by £!5.00!!!!

dodgyken:
I have to defend MMC!
A) Swiss road regulations with their rediculous speed limits do have a negative influence on the petrol consumption rate of cars.
B) Furthermore the frequent appearance of mountains in your country provide a significant number of downhill roads where the car needs rather good brakes than a strong engine and therefore burns nearly no petrol. You only need the engine to run uphill but no engine to run downhill...
Keeping the physical parameters of free downhill run in mind the low petrol consumption can not be held against MCC. 50% of your milage in Switzerland must be downhill, otherwise you would end up higher in the mountains every time you drive. Very logic - isn't it?
C) Based on the very logic of the free downhill driving (you have to deduct the downhill milage from your calculation to have a fair calculation comparing to countries with flat areas and no free downhill rolling) in Switzerland the actual petrol consumption of cars is double the rate that appears.

For reference I mainly drive in manual mode (auto-box); regularly use the full range of throttle openings; do a full mix of urban, motorway and fun driving - including sprints over the numerous alpine passes.

One point worth mentioning is that our "out of town" limit is 80kmh and being caught much above 100kmh is a very expensive experience. Therefore it is wise to temper ones enthusiasm and keep no more than 110kmh on the Morgan dial - which equates to 100kmh on the GPS and therefore 94kmh after deductions. What this means is that you can often "lift and coast" on fun drives - nailing it out of a corner, rapidly building speed, then coasting (and maybe braking) into the next corner. This is not only easier on the wallet but seems to play into the cars natural handling traits.

Based on the average cost of fuel, the distance covered and the L/100km saved I reckon I have "saved" 265chf in the last 18 months.

I'm off wine tasting tomorrow - I think I should negate the saving

Worth mentioning that anyone caught speeding who does not have a Swiss licence must pay cash on the spot, or presumably at the nearest automatic teller. I have not had the "pleasure" but I know several people who have.

Trouble is that the Swiss roads are so good by comparison to Italian roads it is a great temptation to go quickly. I have to say that many Swiss drivers, particularly those with Ticino plates, go a bit crazy when they hit the Italian Autostrada: it is not unusual to be passed by an Audi, BMW or Porsche on Swiss plates doing well over 160 kmh (100 mph).

In theory there is an accord between Switzerland and Italy for the collection of speed camera fines etc. but judging by the way some people drive I suspect the infractions in Italy are often ignored but I understand that fines from Switzerland for Italian vehicles arrive in 100% of the cases.

If dodgyken is returning 10.6 l/100km rather than the "official" 12.3 l/100km he is using significantly less fuel. Surely this is the opposite to the VW issue where the quantity of CO2 (and hence fuel used) was understated in the official tests.

Maybe I misunderstood Ken's complaint !!!

You can't beat Swiss Precision.....

What's even odder is that my 1.2 ton 4.4 litre Morgan is more economical under almost all conditions than my 0.6 ton 2 litre Morgan.

How have they managed that?

They all do that, Sir!