Not sure whether this is a fault of the car or whether it is a characteristic, but dependent on how the car - 16v - is driven from cold seems to affect the throttle response and the fuel consumption thereafter.
The basic observations are
If I plant the throttle a bit, more or less straight from cold, and take it to above 3500 rpm reasonably quickly, - but not thrash it, as I'm not that dumb - I seem to obtain about 4 mpg better and a better throttle respose, as if the car is runnning on the correct mixture ratio somehow, than I do if I start from cold and take it gently until the car is warmed up. These improvements last for the whole journey. The improvement never materializes if I do not start the car from cold in this manner.
I'm wondering whether this is a function of the auto choke - some cars you needed to preset the choke by pressing the gas pedal once before starting - or whether it is just a trait of fuel injected cars.
Any clues?
Thanks as always
