THE BA is a nice, smooth-driving car, but the Ford engines are renowned for being thirstier than those of its main rival. My testing has shown that the Ford engines -- sixes and V8s -- use 10 to 20 per cent more fuel than the equivalent Holden engines. Ford's official fuel consumption figures for the BA with the Barra 182 six-cylinder engine are 12.0 litres/100km city and 7.4 litres/100km on the highway, but those are test figures, best used to compare between makes and models. Real-life numbers are generally higher than test ones, so I would expect fuel consumption more in line with that you quote. It's difficult to suggest anything that will make a dramatic difference, other than to suggest you keep your tyre pressures up to the mark, and drive conservatively, maintaining a steady throttle as much as possible.