Fuel Consumption 125kW TDI

[passatpout]

Has anyone noticed a step change in economy after their cars have gone certain distance? Mine's done about 22,000km now.

Reason I ask is because last Sunday, I did a round trip from Sunbury to Bendigo in the morning, then from Sunbury to Altona in the afternoon. Normally the consumption going from Sunbury to Altona (by the MFD #1 display) is about 5.5/100km, and the return about 6.1l/100km. On Sunday afternoon it showed 4.9l/100km for the southbound trip, and 5.9 for the return, and I've noticed that the instantaneous reading has improved as well - sections where it would normally be 4.5-5.0 are now 4.0-4.5, regularly staying under 10 even on decent hills, etc.

The only thing I could think of was lower mass in the car as the tank emptied, but then I've had quite a few variations of load (ranging from single person and empty tank to 4 adults, luggage, 3 dogs, AC, hot day, full tank) over the same trip and never had as great a variation, plus I refuelled last night and it still showed 5.9 for the return trip.

And while the MFD is optimistic, it's still backed up by the distance per tank and the true economy - the prior 3 or 4 tanks have been around 6.4l/100km with about a 60/40 country/town split and about 940-960km/tank, last night's fill was 6.17l/100km with about 65/35 country/town and 1008km from the tank (MFD said 6.0 exactly).

The only times I've had better than that have been for long flat country driving, Melbourne-Newcastle, Melbourne-Shepparton, that sort of thing, getting around 5.7l/100km for a tank.

I'm not complaining, just wondering what's happened to suddenly improve the consumption.

[richdave]

I have done 23K now and have not noticed any change in fuel economy... it is rock solid at an average of 7.41 lt/100km mixed usage city/hwy over the past 12 months

I'll review the numbers to see if there has been a change since the 22K transition...

[gregozedobe]

Has yours had the DPF campaign (sensor, ECU reflash) done recently ? I did notice my Transporter did improve a bit around 25,000Km (but only about 0.2 - 0.3 l/100km).

[drbass]

Hi all,

There seems to be a slight "downward trend" over the life of my tractor but definitely no sudden 0.5l/100km improvement.

Sitting pretty just under 7l/100km with mixed driving over just about 29,000 km in 14 months. Not terribly careful but not really lead-footed. Best was somewhere around 5.7/100, worst tank around 8.5.

Seeya,
Michael

[tryingavw]

Hi all,

There seems to be a slight "downward trend" over the life of my tractor but definitely no sudden 0.5l/100km improvement.

Sitting pretty just under 7l/100km with mixed driving over just about 29,000 km in 14 months. Not terribly careful but not really lead-footed. Best was somewhere around 5.7/100, worst tank around 8.5.

Seeya,
Michael

are you taking fuel /klm readings or relying on the mfd readout for this?

i reckon for real world conditions this is fantastic: most similar sized petrol cars will be well over 10 which is 40%+ higher.

our bmw 528i 2000 used to get 12-13 ( 70-85%) worse with the same driving patterns and very similar performance. we seem to be getting about 7 in measured ( 2 so far) + mfg readouts.

even better now diesel is cheaper than petrol. it was higher in the lead up to getting the car so thats a welcome change.

[passatpout]

Right, from my last 8 tanks (real figures, servo fuel entered, all in l/100km):

5.94, 5.76, 7.29, 7.10, 6.72, 6.53, 6.71, 6.17

Generally fairly similar sorts of driving, with the exception of the first two relating to trips between Melbourne, Newcastle and the Blue Mountain, and the two over 7 including about 250km each of towing a dinghy between Melbourne and Echuca.

Cumulative average since purchase: 6.41l/100km, travelling an average of 924km per tank, and taking 59.44l to refill.

Still seems strange that it's improved without any changes to usage patterns, driving style, or anything like that. It's also nothing with what the dealership has done, since the drop seemed to kick in between trips on one day.

Probably just one for the X-Files.

[passatpout]

Has yours had the DPF campaign (sensor, ECU reflash) done recently ? I did notice my Transporter did improve a bit around 25,000Km (but only about 0.2 - 0.3 l/100km).

Nope, the only things recent have been 2 attempts by the dealership to solve the gearbox jerking. Last service (only one) was in January.

[drbass]

Hi tryingavw,

Since getting the tractor I've morphed into a fuel nerd ! SpreadsheetsRus sort-of-nerdy ... .

All figures are actual l/100km. I take great care to fill up until the fuel is right at the edge of spilling over.

MFD is generally around 5-10% optimistic. More towards 10 when I'm doing many short trips, and more accurate when doing long trips.

passatpout's figures are even more impressive but I'm not complaining. There really isn't a penalty for the performance available (if so inclined). Not so much of the line but roll-on acceleration has surprised many Falcadore drivers.

And yes, with the prices as they are, I'm easily in the $A0.08/km range - cheap thrills!

We currently have an EOS on order (delivery early May) with the 103 kW commonrail - supposed to be even more miserly (of course there's less performance) and apparently hardly any Diesel noises at al. Mind you, I don't mind the sound of the PD at all, it's got a nice mechanical harshness.

Seeya,
Michael

[passatpout]

Hi tryingavw,

Since getting the tractor I've morphed into a fuel nerd ! SpreadsheetsRus sort-of-nerdy ... .

All figures are actual l/100km. I take great care to fill up until the fuel is right at the edge of spilling over.

MFD is generally around 5-10% optimistic. More towards 10 when I'm doing many short trips, and more accurate when doing long trips.

I'm tracking mine for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I just want to ensure that my novated lease company is honest with their fuel/usage reports. Secondly my brother has a 307 HDI wagon, and there's some friendly competition about efficiency. So far he's winning - his average over 25,000km in that is 5.0...

I usually only fill to the first click, unless I'm know I'm going on a reasonably long trip straightaway, in which case I could float a boat in the tank. I haven't been studious enough to compare the MFD readings from long/short trips to compare the difference, although I do recall thinking after refuelling on the Newcastle trip that it was pretty close.

passatpout's figures are even more impressive but I'm not complaining. There really isn't a penalty for the performance available (if so inclined). Not so much of the line but roll-on acceleration has surprised many Falcadore drivers.

I'm not that much of a lightfoot, there's definitely more lead in them -tarsil bones on the right hand side than feathers, although I do try to be careful rather than miserly.

We currently have an EOS on order (delivery early May) with the 103 kW commonrail - supposed to be even more miserly (of course there's less performance) and apparently hardly any Diesel noises at al. Mind you, I don't mind the sound of the PD at all, it's got a nice mechanical harshness.

Seeya,
Michael

I'm thinking about getting an Eos for my wife later this year.. ah, wishful thinking and a winning lotto ticket...

[richdave]

my brother has a 307 HDI wagon, and there's some friendly competition about efficiency. So far he's winning - his average over 25,000km in that is 5.0...

Not sure that it is an altogether fair comparison on many levels

Is the 307 an XS 1.6lt (200kg lighter) or XSE 2.0lt (100kg lighter)? manual or Auto..

BTW the 2lt 307 auto puts out more C02 than the 125kw Passat DSG

[passatpout]

Not sure that it is an altogether fair comparison on many levels

Is the 307 an XS 1.6lt (200kg lighter) or XSE 2.0lt (100kg lighter)? manual or Auto..

BTW the 2lt 307 auto puts out more C02 than the 125kw Passat DSG

It's a 2.0l XSE manual. Can't keep up with me leaving the lights though..

We looked at them as well, but thought that the Passat was a much better overall package for our needs (even if it was $15K more exxy).

Anyhow, just did a trip, 40km, Altona to Sunbury, normal consumption by MFD around 6.2-6.3, tonight with a full car 5.9 (was on 5.7 until the hill near Calder Park). Had a 2.0lt 103kW Golf as a loaner today on the same road, and it wasn't any better.

[richdave]

It's a 2.0l XSE manual. Can't keep up with me leaving the lights though...

that's about 150kg lighter that the Passat.. and the stated fuel consumption for the 307 HDI XSE manual is

City cycle (litres/100km) 7.3
Highway cycle (litres/100km) 4.7
Combined cycle (litres/100km) 5.6
CO2 emissions (g / km) 148

Passat 125kW TDI DSG

City cycle (litres/100km) 8.4
Highway cycle (litres/100km) 5.6
Combined cycle (litres/100km) 6.6
CO2 emissions (g / km) 175

It's no surprise that the fuel economy is better... Not a fair line up to be sure... You'll have to switch off and roll down a few hills

[passatpout]

that's about 150kg lighter that the Passat.. and the stated fuel consumption for the 307 HDI XSE manual is

City cycle (litres/100km) 7.3
Highway cycle (litres/100km) 4.7
Combined cycle (litres/100km) 5.6
CO2 emissions (g / km) 148

Passat 125kW TDI DSG

City cycle (litres/100km) 8.4
Highway cycle (litres/100km) 5.6
Combined cycle (litres/100km) 6.6
CO2 emissions (g / km) 175

It's no surprise that the fuel economy is better... Not a fair line up to be sure... You'll have to switch off and roll down a few hills

Well, after leaving his place near Springwood in the Blue Mountains, and driving to the Hume via the Northern Road, when I turned from Narellan Road to the Hume the MFD was showing an average of 4.8l/100km over about 80km. The only thing that sent it upwards was climbing into the Southern Highlands.

My real figure average so far is better than the claimed, by about 0.2-0.3l/100km - the first car I've had that's been better than the stated figures.

Oh, and we both have a pop at our old man occasionally too - he reckons his VE Calais "is pretty economical, it averages about 11-11.5"..

[nting]

Oh, and we both have a pop at our old man occasionally too - he reckons his VE Calais "is pretty economical, it averages about 11-11.5"..

Haha, yes it's crazy what some people consider acceptable fuel economy. I think the following diagram explains it all.

Passat TDI =
VE Calais =

[passatpout]

Well, I did 2 round trips yesterday, all of which had stops over 2 hours so the MFD reset.

The first was Sunbury to Donvale via Calder/Western Ring/Watsonia/Eastern/Springvale Road. Average 5.1l/100km on arrival (was on 4.5l/100km when exiting the Western Ring Road). The return trip, same route, 5.7l/100km.

Next was Sunbury to Woodend - 6.5 for the trip up, 5.4l/100km for the return.

The tank average is sitting on 5.9l/100km according to the MFD, having varied from 6.0 to 6.2 during the day.

Have done about 450km from the tank, with an estimated range of 680km to go. That also includes a peak hour escape from Melbourne over the West Gate on Friday, and another couple of trips into the city.

Today there's another 200km coming up...