Economy, Falcon /Holden, versus 2.2 camry

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reggienz, Jun 6, 4:07am
I have a 2.2 litre 2001 camry which I love for everything except economy. I had a maxima once that was more economical. I wouldnt mind a 2.5 or 3 litre v6 version but also considering falcon or holden. Any one have reliable figures for economy of any of these! At present Im getting around 10.5 litres /100 K's, which seems to be normal with others of the same model. Thanks in advance.

3tomany, Jun 6, 4:09am
if buying late model fg falcon is the most economical and the best drive overall

reggienz, Jun 6, 4:20am
Thanks 3tomany but Im looking at around 3 to $4000.Even so I'd love an FG

gunhand, Jun 6, 4:27am
I dont think you can really get truly accurate figures as each trip is different each driver is different. Some may claim 7 or 8ltr per 100km just cause it flashed up once on there economy meter thingy but in the real world it would be more like 10 or 11 (maybe 9) per100km if driven sainly and mainly on straights. I can say however that considering there size etc for what they are they are quite cheap to run if drivin in sensable fashion.I have an AU XR6 and it is cheaper to run than the 2ltr V6 cefiro I had and way cheaper than our 2ltr people mover.Floor it all the time and you will pay though.

easygoer, Jun 6, 4:59am
2005 BF Fairmont Ghia 6 speed auto, 8.2L/100K open road, 11.5L/100K around town, always driven steadily and to the speed limits

murph2068594, Jun 6, 3:44pm
I do 9.8 around town and 10.1 per 100km on the State Highway Goat Track 1.

omega12, Jun 6, 3:49pm
I bought a 1996 Holden 3.8 for a runabout ($2,200) and it is quite good on gas but don't have the figures. Compared to my other cars that is.

reggienz, Jun 6, 4:43pm
What other cars are you comparing it to!

omega12, Jun 6, 4:53pm
a couple of chryslers with larger engines (6litre and 4litre) and a 1962 holden.

richardmayes, Jun 6, 8:49pm
If you put the boot in hard, a lot, when you are driving, the 4 litre engine makes it possible to burn petrol a lot faster than the 2.2 litre engine. (Simply because your burner is 80% bigger.)

However - if you drive sensibly like a normal grown-up, those big Aussie 6-cylinders can be surprisingly light on gas though!

reggienz, Jun 7, 2:42pm
Oh yes, Im way past that lead foot syndrome. Im a real nana driver these days,lol. I'm very economy conscious now days.

martin11, Jun 7, 2:47pm
Had a 2.2 Camry with 4 adults and luggage in aus mid last year and we averaged on a 4000 km trip just over 8.1 ltr per 100km .

whqqsh, Jun 7, 3:06pm
these Camry figures seem quite high, especially as most of it sounds open road (& Aus), my AU coon gets down to Welly from Aucks on a tank (just) & thats loaded & not hanging about, gets between 9-10 litres /100 kms. Im sure if I did an economy run it'll do much better. Around town it can chew hard depending on driving style though.

a.woodrow, Jun 7, 5:01pm
Rather than look at replacing the camry, have you thought about investing in a tuneup! There's probably a reason why it's chewing the gas

reggienz, Jun 7, 7:02pm
Had a tune up, mechanic at toyota said shop car is also greedy for a 2.2

smac, Jun 7, 7:15pm
The issue with those is a big car and a motor with only average performance and a crappy 4 speed auto (I'm guessing). The result is people tend to flog them to get anywhere.

smac, Jun 7, 8:07pm
You sure! Should he be getting better than 10.5 in a 2001 2.2!

thejazzpianoma, Jun 8, 12:13am
Both cars are really terrible choices in terms of Economy. The Camry as you have discovered is incredibly inefficient and the Falcon is another one of similar ilk. Both of these cars are particularly bad for general "running around" which is what most people do.

You will get a lot of people quoting their "trip" figures which are always incredibly flattering and don't in any way represent what average running will be over a tank of fuel.

Its always amazing as people often tout the Camry as "economical" however in my experience these people either never actually do the math or only compare it to other incredibly inefficient vehicles.

Its always tricky on a budget and looking at larger cars.

If you just want something with reasonable safety, thats comfortable, roomy and reliable a Diesel Multipla might be a thought. Sure they look funny but they are lovely to drive, have plenty of go and will literally cost you about half what you would pay to run a Falcon or Camry.

Fiat Marea wagon's with the 1.6 litre petrol engine are also good on gas, go O.K and are surprisingly roomy. Diesel Peugeot's and Citroens can be very good but you MUST buy manual ones of these as many have transmissions that just don't last.

There are some very good options out there that will actually give you some proper savings. BUT to get something good on that price range you need to think outside the square and be prepared to do proper research as most of the reliability and other myths you hear about these cars are just complete nonsense. However. some (like the Peugeot transmission problems) are true so you need to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Best of luck.

thejazzpianoma, Jun 8, 12:14am
Not if they are doing a fair bit of town running. In pure urban commute conditions they can even get up towards 14l/100km.

craig04, Jun 8, 12:43am
Really! Our old 96 3.0v6 used to do 13l/100km round town. Only motorway driving was Auckland rush hour - stop/start. Can't see a 2.2 doing 14.

audi_s_ate, Jun 8, 3:12am
Agreed I do 700km a week and average under 7.5l/100km in our corona - auto. These definately were made in the era of the 'last forever toyota reputation'. Boring to drive though.

thejazzpianoma, Jun 8, 3:41am
They will get up there, I think officially they do something like 12.5l/100km on an urban cycle but in real stop start stuff they will actually get into the mid high 13's. In fairness though, we are talking the likes of a rush hour commute, cold engine for much of the run and continual stop start.

The engine isn't overly efficient but the real killer is the transmission, in that sort of running 30% of your economy is lost straight away to the torque converter as it never locks up. Add in the less than efficient engine, lack of electric power steering or any other economy equpement and it gets up there.

Again though, to be fair not many Camry owners will get that as most are doing at least some sort of mixed running or at least a commute thats long enough to have the engine warm for most of it.

thejazzpianoma, Jun 8, 3:44am
OP, another option for your list.
Honda Accord, especially the wagon. These can be quite good value and in practice tend to do better than the Camry. That said, you are not talking a 50% reduction in running costs like you might see with a European common rail diesel such as the Multipla etc.

richardmayes, Jun 8, 5:53am
Dude. the standard of your euro fanboy posting is getting worse and worse.

If Citroens don't need an apostrophe, why do Peugeot's have one!

carclan, Jun 8, 6:41am
I have an 05 BA Farmont 5.4 litre V8, I get 12l/100 km around town and 10l/100km on a trip - but then I do drive like I'm 70