PSA Peugeot Citroen has published its first ‘real world’ fuel consumption figures, as part of the carmaker’s display at the Geneva Motor Show.
Following a combination of the Volkswagen emissions scandal and growing scepticism at ‘laboratory’ fuel figures, Peugeot and Citroen made the call last year to add a ‘real world’ method.
The carmaker says it has now begun to fulfil that promise, and the new figures are available for three diesel-powered models: a Peugeot 308, Citroen Grand C4 Picasso and DS 3.
All models are powered by the same 1.6 litre diesel engine, which is not available in Australian variants.
Testing incorporated a road loop in Paris agreed to by France’s Transport And Environment, and France Nature Environment non-governmental bodies.
The loop included 31.1km of motorway driving, 39.7km of extra-urban driving and 25.5km of urban driving. Test conditions included passengers and cargo, along with the use of air-conditioning.
Furthermore, the test results were compared with claims made by customers for average fuel economy to assess any major discrepancies.
The 308 scored 5.0 l/100km during the test, with customers claiming up to 5.1 l/100km.
For the Grand Picasso, the results showed 5.6 during the test and up to 5.7 for customers, while the DS 3 used 4.9 l/100km on test and up to 5.3 l/100km for customers.
For comparison, under official testing the 308 hatch with 2.0 litre diesel engine in Australia is rated at 4.1 l/100km, the 2.0 litre diesel Grand C4 Picasso is rated at 4.5 l/100km, and the petrol-powered DS 3’s figure is 5.6 l/100km.
"As announced in late 2015, after working with Transport And Environment, France Nature Environment and Bureau Veritas, the procedure has now been validated and the initial results are consistent with customer-reported consumption data,” PSA’s Gilles Le Borgne said.
PSA says it will release the real-world figures for at least another 27 models before the European summer.
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