In February 2009 I bought a Volvo because it was advertised as an eco-friendly car doing 62.8 miles per gallon. I bought it to help the environment and to save money on fuel; and to check what I was getting I purchased the onboard computer. After several months it was clear it was not getting more than 50mpg. Volvo has checked the car and it passed all its tests. In our discussions Volvo has argued that the car has been tested by the Vehicle Certification Agency on a static test bed, and as such do not predict real driving conditions. My Volvo is costing me £240 a year in extra fuel costs, and is producing 20% more CO2 than claimed. Do I have a case for claiming against the manufacturer? CL, Brighton
You are not the first reader to complain about this. You are right to say that many car manufacturers' advertised fuel-consumption figures often bear no relation to those achieved. You are also right that it is a deception of sorts, and one that needs to be challenged.
In recent years the car firms have become expert in producing cars for test that, through a series of technical tweaks and changes, will post much better fuel-consumption figures than those leaving the showrooms. Diesel cars seem prone to more exaggerated claims than petrol cars. A look on the real life mpg page of the car website Honestjohn.co.uk, shows that other users of Volvo cars with the same engine as yours also report getting an average of 52.7mpg in real life – someway off the claimed 62.8mpg figure.
The problem is that we are unaware of anyone who has successfully rejected a car or received compensation because their fuel consumption failed to live up to the advertised figure. If anyone knows differently do contact us. You could try to be the first, but we feel it would be an expensive process with no guarantee of success.
In the meantime, if you are thinking of buying a car and want to know what the true figure will be, take a look at the above site and you'll get a much better idea than you would if you read the manufacturer's brochure …
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Bachelor & Brignall, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number
