Why so bad fuel consumption...?

[timbob]

Bit of an odd question, but here goes:

I'm running my 1.1 Fiesta (H reg, so mk3), with a busted petrol gague (sender is knackered, need to take the tank out to fix, might spring a leak, so haven't).

Usually, I can run about 300 miles to a tank, so I reset the trip meter at each fill up. In the cold though, I realise it's gonna be less, but I ran out the other week, engine stopped randomly, in traffic (!) at 277 miles. Managed to roll to the petrol station just down the hill OK, but, with a 42 litre tank (just short of 10 gallons), 277 miles is about 27mpg.

It's only a little 1.1, and although I drive it quite hard, I don't rev the nuts off it (never over 4000 really)...just 27mpg is less than dad gets in his 2 litre subaru legacy estate, which can't be right?!

Any suggestions as to what it could be?

[Mr2Mike]

The only way a drive a Mk3 1.1 Fiesta is flat out, you won't get anywhere otherwise! Having said that 27mpg is certainly not great.

Does it have the horrible ford VV carb, and does it have an automatic choke? If so this would be my prime suspect.

[timbob]

No - it's a manual choke, which never, ever needs to be more than 50% out, even in freezing weather, and it's usually back home within 5 minutes.