Why is the NEDC out of date?

The NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) was introduced in 1992. Since that time, cars, roads and driving behaviour have changed quite a bit. It's an artificial laboratory test that helps compare vehicles, without reflecting day-to-day driving and fuel consumption.

Actual consumption today is often very different from the NEDC information. The main reasons include:

• The theoretical driving profiles NEDC uses don’t match real user profiles
• Insufficient acceleration
• Too many stop-and-go phases
• NEDC doesn’t incorporate higher speeds, which sets the average speed too low
• Gear shifting points are broadly defined by transmission type, so they're the same for all cars with manual transmission
• Optional equipment isn't taken into account