In search of Gas

Having now completed 8000 miles in the Outlander i'm in a good position to comment on some of the more mundane aspects of running the car.
The little things that bug me.
Firstly, there's the whereabouts of the LPG filling stations. I dont use Sat Nav but even if I did i'd struggle. Simply finding up to date information of stations on the web us almost impossible. I can't put my finger on it but there are a number of websites that 'claim' to have maps and postcode look ups of station locations but non of them are anything like accurate or up to date.
Take last weekend. I was in Nantwich visiting family. The previous day had been frantic and I hadn't had time to pre plan my fuel stops, Needless to say I reached the magic 209 miles just down the road from them. A quick borrow of the internet and i'd got the two most local providors and a map. One of them was a used car lot clearly based on a now disused petrol station. the other was a Countrywide store about the size of your local Spa and clearly NOT one of their LPG stations.
So i'd wasted 10 miles worth of Petrol on a wild goose chase and had to then divert to Morrisons at Crewe, about 5 miles out of my way, on the way home to brim the tanks. This isn't an isolated incident.
The second thing that has annoyed me is my own studpidity. The filler cap on the LPG 'was' attached by a plastic strap but at one of my refuelling stops I trapped it and broke it. Subsequently over the next week or two I left the cap at a number of stations until I got clever and left it on the roof. whereby it's rolled off and gone somewhere.
I think i've got so used to my filler caps being attached to the car or having somewhere to hang them that i dont think about it these days. Anyway, a quick google and i'd found lpg-kits.org.uk and order myself 3 for less than 4 quid each. Bargain and the delivery was prompt too.
So now I have some spares for the next time i'm a numpty.

In previous blogs i've commented on the lower than expected mpg figures. This has also been coupled with a noticeable lack of power. Manifesting it as an unwillingness to rev to the red line in 2nd gear at Wide Open Throttle. (Remember, this is an auto gearbox). I've rasied this with ThinkGreenCars and await their response.

Since my last post the car has also been through it's first main dealer service. No suprises but confirmation that the front brake pads are worn, as are the rear anti-rollbar bushes. Both jobs i'll get done during my next holiday. Worse though was the estimate of the next major service. I'd been assured that the MIVEC engine was chain driven cam but Mitsubishi say no, it's a belt and it needs changing along with the tensioner pulley at the 54k service. First estimate was a service cost of around £700. GULP! They've since offered me a deal to bring it under £400 and still retain the dealer service stamp. Still, this adds to the running costs more than expected.

Running totals thus far:
Best MPG: 23.29
Worst MPG: 19.05
Average over 7422 miles: 20.69MPG
Average cost per mile: 10.8 pence per mile
Most expensive fill up: £0.58 per litre (BP Doncaster M18)