MPG... What's the problem?

What effect does the stop/start have on the life of a starter motor and flywheel ring gear I wonder

Yes, i have read due to starter motors really copping it from this overuse,they obviously won't last as long as they should.

This is the 4th car we have had which has S&S.

I read on many forums and seen the engine bays, that these cars get beefed up components.

I have no reason to dispute that.

Time will tell of course.

I'm getting 38+ mpg on a mix of country & urban driving. I think the stop-start is great and certainly helps (a) economy and (b) peace and quiet.

Some people seem to think saving fuel is for wimps: I think it's about not being completely selfish with your emissions.

SD4 auto, 200 mile journey to Newcastle and back 40.5 MPG
Much better than the 29MPG round town.

I have been trying Shell Vpower Nitro in my SD4 for the last 5 or so fillups.
Taking into account that Vpower is 8p/l more expensive, here are my findings
Normal Shell Diesel 36mpg at a cost of 17.32 p/mile
Shell Vpower Nitro 38.5mpg at a cost of 17.14 p/mile
Therefore for me its marginally cheaper to use the better fuel and I also feel that the initial throttle response is a little sharper when setting off
A win win situation for me then

up to 23.1mpg Petrol combined

Driving like a pensioner got an average of 37.9 mpg for a round trip of 178 miles Sudbury to Peterborough today although its normally 33/34 mpg when using the accelerator. by the way no offence to pensioners, I am one

My last "long haul" from Watford to Newcastle, Average 46mpg, average speed of 68mph, although I do have close to 17k on the ODO.

Creature of habit that I am, I average 200 to 220 miles along the same routes every week. Typically I'll reset the trip counter with each fill up and my MPG is unsurprisingly consistent returning 41.5 to 42.5 by the end of the 200 miles.

Thats an SD4 manual BTW