Why does my new Toyota RAV4 return such poor fuel economy?

I read with interest your comment about fuel economy and that no car will match the published figures. I bought a RAV4 (our third) in December 2011 from new. One of the reasons I purchased another RAV4 was because of the excellent mpg on our previous model, which always averaged 45 to 47 mpg, excluding town driving, which I do little of.

However, I am appalled by the mpg on the current model (which is supposed to have better mpg than the previous model) and cannot get mpg above 40mpg in driving conditions the same as previous model. I have challenged the dealer who had the vehicle in and reset the vehicle to the factory settings, but with no improvement. As you would guess I am currently being fobbed off by Toyota itself. They say cold weather and lack of mileage (it's currently completed 3000 miles) will account for mpg return and it will improve when the vehicle has done 5000 miles and the weather warms up. Is this your view?

If I had purchased another item e.g. washing machine and it did not do what it said it should do I would have taken it back and had my money returned. Do I have any rights under the consumer protection law to insist on my money back when a vehicle does not do what the marketing blurb says it should do?

Asked on 6 September 2012 by RG, Whimple, Devon

Answered by Honest John
Manufacturers do not guarantee that their cars will meet the EC test figures, but these are the only figures the manufacturers are allowed by EC law to publish. And naturally all manufacturers optimise their engines to get the best figures in the EC tests. That's why we publish www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg - to give people an idea of what they can really expect to get. This confirms that currently, the real average for a RAV4 2.2 D-4D T180 is 34.5mpg, yet for the 2.2 D-4D it is 45.4mpg.
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