CC TDI - Fuel economy

[hadrami]

Can I get some real world figures from those who have a TDI and from what type of driving conditions.

This is particularly important to me as we currently have a 2008 Aurion Touring, and while it drives quite nice, it is a V6 with 200kW and we can only get around 420kms between fills.

[brad]

"420km between fills" means kind-of nothing as most here wouldn't have a clue what size fuel tank an Aurion has & whether you drive down to empty, half a tank or you religiously fill up every 420km.

When my wife had Aurions, she was getting about 11L/100km out of the v6 & 8L/100km out of the Hybrid.

You will find the driving in the 125TDI somewhat different than the Aurion. (the whole ownership experience actually - possibly for the worse except the Passat is a nicer car)

You might also want to look in the basic Passat area (and Skoda Superb) as economy will be similar.

[Guest001]

I took mine from Brisbane to Coffs Harbour at the limit most of the way 2 people a couple of suitcases.

Was fine and not windy going down wet coming home.

Got an average of 5 .53L per 100km

Used adaptive cruise most of the way.

Only way to judge consumption is fill it to the top Preferably till you can see level.

Then after trip fill it at the same pump to the same level.

We did 1014km and it didnt need filled in between.

I could get the same distance out of my Landcruiser but the tank was over twice the capacity of the Passat hence the reply about "distance on a tank full"

[hadrami]

Hey Brad,

I'm pretty sure the Aurions don't come in a Hybrid, the Camry however does.

The Aurion has a 70 litre tank but only takes around 60 litres when filling up even though the 'range to empty' has been less than 10kms on a few occasions. My wife averages around 12.5 litre per 100kms which is the main concern, the idea of bringing that down to around 7.5l/100 in a CC with all the features it comes with is enticing. She is the one that drives the family car, taking the kids to school and back so she doesn't need a v6 with 200kW.

We test drove the standard Passat in a TDI which she enjoyed, but by the time we add some of the options on such as keyless entry (don't even know if that's an option on standard Passat) electric memory seats, xenons (I want those) it comes to around the price of a CC, which looks much classier in my opinion.


Oh and we did test drive the new Mazda 6 GT diesel, I was very impressed with the list of features it comes with, but wasn't as smooth a drive as the CC and the cabin of the CC is more refined, and around $51k driveawayy I can't justify paying that much for a Mazda. VW over Mazda anyday.

[hadrami]

Hillbilly, that's impressive on the long drive. What do you average with daily driving, how many litres per 100km?

[brad]

If you are just bopping around the suburbs on short trips then don't expect anything wonderful as the engine won't get hot enough to achieve efficiency.

I haven't a diesel but I know that if I'm just doing the school / shops run around home I get about 10L/100km. If I'm in suburban traffic that is stop/start but for 10km+ distances it might drop to 9L/100; flowing suburban for 10+km might give me 7.5L/100; motorway trips of 20+km will get me down less than 6.5 (as low as 5.5). You need a light right foot to do it & read the traffic. My wife usually gets about 2L/100 worse than me because she doesn't look beyond the car in front of her. YMMV.

[hadrami]

If you are just bopping around the suburbs on short trips then don't expect anything wonderful as the engine won't get hot enough to achieve efficiency.

I haven't a diesel but I know that if I'm just doing the school / shops run around home I get about 10L/100km. If I'm in suburban traffic that is stop/start but for 10km+ distances it might drop to 9L/100; flowing suburban for 10+km might give me 7.5L/100; motorway trips of 20+km will get me down less than 6.5 (as low as 5.5). You need a light right foot to do it & read the traffic. My wife usually gets about 2L/100 worse than me because she doesn't look beyond the car in front of her. YMMV.

What car do you have?

[brad]

What car do you have?

1.8L 118kw/250Nm Skoda Octavia with a bluefin remap to 135kw/320Nm. Like for like road conditions a passat diesel will get about the same economy because the passat is a bit fatter. Beyond 100kmh the Passat diesel is much better on fuel.

[Guest001]

Hillbilly, that's impressive on the long drive. What do you average with daily driving, how many litres per 100km?

Dont use it much on short drives Just use the POLO which comes to the next point for the OP.

A diesel is not really a good choice for mucking around town on short trips all the time

They require a long hot running trip at reasonable intervals for it to do a DPF regen or you could end up with a dash full of lights and a bill of $600 or so to get a forced regen done.

I think they come with Kessy now and whilst I have electric memory seats they are a costly waste of money.

Only the drivers one has the 3 sets of memory and had the car not had them I would not have ordered them.

If your wife does more than 75% of the driving you are throwing money away as the seats are still electric but without the memories. Save $2000.

Xenons are good if in the driver assist package as they swivel etc.

I found that at my age the seats in the CC were nice to sit in but too low to get out of easily and whilst my Passat was about the same price I bought it for comfort.

[hadrami]

Dont use it much on short drives Just use the POLO which comes to the next point for the OP.

A diesel is not really a good choice for mucking around town on short trips all the time

They require a long hot running trip at reasonable intervals for it to do a DPF regen or you could end up with a dash full of lights and a bill of $600 or so to get a forced regen done.

I think they come with Kessy now and whilst I have electric memory seats they are a costly waste of money.

Only the drivers one has the 3 sets of memory and had the car not had them I would not have ordered them.

If your wife does more than 75% of the driving you are throwing money away as they the seats are still electric but without the memories. Save $2000.

Xenons are good if in the driver assist package as they swivel etc.

I found that at my age the seats in the CC were nice to sit in but too low to get out of easily and whilst my Passat was about the same price I bought it for comfort.

My wife averages around 400kms a week, the trip from home to school itself is around 18kms each way, plus driving to uni from there is another 20kms or so. Although she won't be reaching speeds of 80kmh+ most of the time, is diesel not a better option than petrol?

[Guest001]

The ideal way to run a diesel is get it hot and keep it hot. Whilst 400k a week is ok, if you do it in 10 40km runs its not.

I used to drive buses and they were run 16 hours a day and even at 5am the water was still warm after sitting for about 7 hours.

We had two Mercs that had done 800,000 and never had any major parts replaced One hadnt even had injectors.

I only use my Passat where it will get up to temp and stay there for at least an hour and get up to 100km for part of the way.

[Buzy_Robot]

I have a B7 125TDI Passat sedan which has done over 17,000ks in predominantly inner city driving over the course of 1.5 years of ownership. My daily commute clocks up 30ks and I have never had a problem with regens or lights flashing etc. Once every couple of months I'll go on an extended freeway run with it, but that's it. Occasionally I can hear it doing it's regen when I'm stuck in traffic and it does it without any fuss. In purely inner city driving I can obtain around 850 - 900ks out of a full tank. Even better on the open road where it can notch up approximately 1,000 - 1,100ks out of a tank. I'm sure Hillbilly's advice is most valid, but I really don't think of driving and owning a diesel in those terms. I just drive it like I would any car. The only difference is the fuel economy and performance better any petrol car I've owned in the past.

[brad]

My wife averages around 400kms a week, the trip from home to school itself is around 18kms each way, plus driving to uni from there is another 20kms or so. Although she won't be reaching speeds of 80kmh+ most of the time, is diesel not a better option than petrol?

For that run diesel will be great!

[hadrami]

I have a B7 125TDI Passat sedan which has done over 17, 000 ks in predominantly inner city driving over the course 1.5 years of ownership. My daily commute clocks up 30ks and I have never had a problem with regens or lights flashing etc. Once every couple of months I'll go on an extended freeway run with it, but that's it. Occasionally I can hear it doing it's regen when I'm stuck in traffic and it does it without any fuss. In purely inner city driving I can obtain around 850 - 900 ks out of a full tank. Even better on the open road where it can notch up approximately 1,000 - 1,100 ks out of a tank. I'm sure Hillbilly's advice is most valid, but I really don't think of driving and owning a diesel in those terms. I just drive it like I would any car. The only difference is the fuel economy and performance better any petrol car I've owned in the past.

Thanks Buzy_Robot, that's more what I was after.

Now the question is whether to go for a Passat or CC...

[Buzy_Robot]

Good question, Hadrami! The CC makes for a very striking presence on the road, but when I sat in it, I didn't like the reduced headroom and the relatively poor rear view. Otherwise, I really like the package. Having said that, there's really not that much difference mechanically between the CC and the Passat. Personally, I would go for the Passat and option it with the Sport Pack. Bigger wheels, sharper alloys and CC type sports seats.

Interesting you took a look at the new Mazda6. I used to own one before my current Passat and naturally I'm intrigued by the new one. Totally agree that the pricing of the GT and Atenza variants is absurd and too much of a leap from the Sports and Touring variants. Nevertheless, I do have fond memories of both my incredibly reliable and fun to drive Mazda6 and the exemplary customer service from the Mazda dealer and Mazda HQ.

I'll be trading in my current Passat mid-2013 and who knows what my next car will be ...... decisions, decisions!!