Modelling of the fuel consumption for passenger cars regarding driving characteristics

Road transportation is a major consumer of fuel in China. This paper explores the influence of driving patterns on fuel consumption using a portable emissions measurement system on ten passenger cars. It shows that vehicle fuel consumption per unit distance is optimum at speeds between 50 and 70 km/h, fuel consumption increasing significantly with acceleration. A VSP-based model was developed to calculate vehicle fuel consumption in this study, and produced good results compared to the measured data. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.