9L/100Km is this normal for Auto 1.6L Petrol?

[drotsap]

Hi everyone,

I've had my 2005 Mk5 for about a month now. Avg fuel consumption is 9L/100Km. Is this about normal for Auto 1.6L Petrol? I drive normally (hardly revving the car at all), combination of freeway + stop and go. I use regular unleaded.

Related question:
- would changing to higher octane fuel make a difference?
- would fuel additives make a difference?
- what about one of them resistor mod they sell on eBay?

Thanks a lot in advance.

[balkanac]

- would changing to higher octane fuel make a difference?
- would fuel additives make a difference?
- what about one of them resistor mod they sell on eBay?

IMO BPs ultimate 98 is the best fuel. I use it on my car and consumption is less than if i put 91. I tried it once
Additives are for older cars and i'd never use them on a car like yours
resistors off ebay are a joke IMO

[GTom]

Check your tyre pressures...... when one of my tyres were going flat the fuel consumption went up by about 1-1.5L /100

[Transporter]

Driver will effect fuel economy easily by 30%.
I would ask you what did you drive before and what fuel economy figures you were getting? How long are your trips, how many people and how much luggage is in the car?
otherwise 9l/100km from 1.6 auto engine in mixed driving condition is not that bad.
Try different petrolstation and different brand of fuel.
I wouldn't modify the engine managment your car is optimaly tuned from the factory.
Just a couple of things that affect the fuel economy:
Use of air conditioner
Tyre pressure
Outside temperature
Driving up the hill

[Russ59]

Just a couple of things that affect the fuel economy in your new car:
Use of air conditioner
Tyre pressure
Outside temperature
Driving up the hill

And don't forget

Too much lead in right foot

Seriously though, a lot will depend on how many k's it has travelled and the servicing history as well. Drive.com.au has the fuel specs for city driving at around 8.2 L / 100 km so depending on other things which have been mentioned already (tyre pressures, driving style, type of fuel used ...etc) and the conditions that you're driving in as well (ie hot, cold, windy...) all these things can and will have an affect on fuel consumption. Considering it is only a relatively small engine with 75kw power outlet and the size and weight of the Golf itself, IMO the fuel figure of 9L / 100km is probably not too bad.

Russ

[Golf Loon]

Use 98 Octane Petrol as specified by the manufacturer.

[Greg Roles]

Resistors off e-bay CAN indeed make a difference, but it's a rough "overall" effect. In an ex's PT cruiser, a simple e-bay resistor made it a whole lot peppier to drive, but at the expense of economy. For once I'd agree with the others and avoid such "rough" fixes.

The best thing you can do is experiment with driving styles, ensure you aren't carrying around a ton of stuff you don't need to, and try to avoid heavy acceleration, coast up to the lights etc, adopt more relaxed driving styles. Tyre pressures is a good tip Tom!

Probably wouldn't hurt to run a bottle of injector cleaner through it, as dirty injectors etc will cause the car to use more fuel than it should. When was the air cleaner last replaced, as it's a simple and inexpensive job, and if it's a bit blocked will waste a lot of fuel as well.

[WEDEL.1]

I would be dissappointed with 9L/100km, but then again, I certainly wouldn't be using 91 RON. I'd be sure that the minimum requirement by VW would be 95 RON (Preminum).

Try a few tankfulls of 95 RON and see if you get better economy. Repeat with 98 RON (Recommended by most here) and compare the results.

As for fuel additives, 98 RON will do more than fuel additives, and cheaper.

Maris

[brad]

As the others have stated - what is the minimum fuel requirement as stated on the decal inside the fuel filler flap - i thought all the non-turbo engines were 98ron.

Also - the 1.6 is a true auto isn't it? (not DSG), so possibly somewhat inefficient.

Tyre pressures? I'm thinking 34F/32R would be a good place to start.

Air con? The AC uses an extra 1L/100km on my car.

Traffic conditions? On the highway i get <6.5L/100. Driving into the city in peak hour it's more like 10L/100km. Also you don't say where you live. Sydney-siders usually get worse economy due to the high traffic density & crap road systems.

The 1.6 Auto can be an economical car when if driven correctly. I achieved 4.4L/100km a few years back in a MkV 1.6 Auto using Shell 91ron as part of the Shell Fuel Economy Trial. It was a mixture of suburban & country driving but only about 250km distance and we drove all the other road users insane.

[WEDEL.1]

PS; A Mk IV Manual of friend Keiths was down to 6L/100. Given the difference in cars/transmission, it's still a big difference.

Maris

[Mischa]

for starters why arent you using premium?

[Russ59]

As I said in my first post, what's the service history like, has it been properly maintained ( air, fuel filter changes etc...) depending on the k's travelled maybe an injector service might be in order, it's worth consideration anyway. Some more details of the vehicle in question would be helpful in determining if the car is using excessive fuel or not (driving style, city / hwy ? how many k's has it travelled, Auto or DSG, brief service history) It came out with DSG as well as normal auto transmission or at least it did according to the Drive.com.au specs

http://www.drive.com.au/used/search/detail.aspx?id=10483497&lid=10483497&pg=1&pp=1&d=0&nv=1&sg=-1019045111&pt=1&mode=Specs

Russ

[Maverick]

It came out with DSG as well as normal auto transmission or at least it did according to the Drive.com.au specs

They only came out with the auto, DSG was only an option on the GTI and GT Sport petrol and on the Diesels.

[gregozedobe]

Firstly, how did you calculate your economy ? The MFD is usually a bit optimistic (tells you you used less fuel than actual). The best way is to fill up completely, record the Km, drive until at least 1/2 a tank has been used, fill up completely again, then divide the litres you put in by how many 100Kms you did between the two fills. This method gets more accurate if you do it over at least 3 fills, as that adjusts for any under/over fills.

If (and that is a very big IF) you normally drive gently, anticipate stops and move away from stopped pretty slowly then I would expect you should be getting better economy than that.

As everyone has said, put at least 95 octane petrol into it. Driving style is the biggest factor affecting fuel economy, then traffic conditions and journey type (short is bad, as your engine uses extra fuel to warm up). Next is air con, tyre pressure and carrying around heavy stuff all the time.

There is lots of info around the web on how to improve your fuel economy, but please don't go all drastic hyper-miler, some of their techniques they suggest are downright dangerous, and others are very inconsiderate towards other traffic.

It is possible that your car has a minor tuning problem, so it might be worth getting it checked out, especially if it runs a bit rough at times or doesn't respond to the accelerator as you'd expect (but don't look for miracles, the 1.6 engine is no powerhouse, and it is pushing a heavy car around). I had a loaner auto 1.6 golf a while back, I thought the engine and auto combo didn't seem to work very well together.

Please let us know how you get on, as it adds to the collective wisdom so we can offer better advice to the next person who has the same issue.

[Russ59]

They only came out with the auto, DSG was only an option on the GTI and GT Sport petrol and on the Diesels.

So what's in the one that I posted the link for then ? It says it's a 1.6 petrol and states in the specs a DSG and in the pic it shows what looks like a DSG transmission


Russ