Hi there,
Stumbled across this thread when severely disappointed with our MPG figures (800 miles).
I have done all the things you read about - driven smoothly, no hard accelerating, and almost zero braking (planning ahead), maintaining fixed speed etc. - all added up to 47mpg! We're seeing our dealer to see what else we can do to improve things, but at the moment it's a bit of a joke.
One very revealing thing (and the main reason I'm posting) is that the EPA (USA equivalent of our EU testing) rates the car at 42mpg. Does that kind of number sound familiar? I thought so... seems like they know how to test a bit more realistically! Given the octane difference between the US and UK, plus my obsessive driving style, 47mpg seems ok now.
So.. buyer beware... I know I'll be checking the EPA figures before buying my next car!
Raj