Cars guzzle far more petrol than makers say

CARS are guzzling up to twothirds more petrol than manufacturers’ official figures claim, according to a shocking new study.

Citroen has admitted that previously published fuel efficiency claims were wide of the mark, and will now be selling cars using far more accurate figures. The move is set to prompt questions over why other manufacturers are still misleading the public.

Consumers have long been effectively cheated by the now discredited New European Driving Cycle statistics, which could only be produced in laboratory conditions and bore no relation to the real world.

Last week, Peugeot-Citroen released more credible figures for 60 types of vehicles, which showed they were on average 44% less efficient than the old numbers suggested.

Motoring writer Quentin Willson said: ‘Other manufacturers will have to follow suit… People in the industry have known the huge gap between the real world and the theoretical figures.’