Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors has admitted that it has falsified test data. About 625,000 vehicles are affected, including 467,000 cars the company produced for Nissan. The issue came to light after Nissan tested the cars and discovered the discrepancy between their results and the fuel consumption figures published by Mitsubishi. So far the scandal only extended to three models of 'micro-car', sold only in Japan.
The revelations that car manufacturer Volkswagen – and now Audi and Porsche – had attempted to rig the results of air pollutant emission tests on some of their diesel vehicles has sent shockwaves through the auto industry. The companies’ brazen cheating has shone a light on the outdated methods used to test new cars.
A new investigation by our UK counterpart has shown the extent to which lenient test procedures are producing fuel economy figures that are almost impossible to replicate outside of a lab. Relying on these figures for estimating your own fuel costs will most likely leave you short-changed at the bowser.