1.9 TDI - help on mpg or I may return car!!

[joolsvern]

Friday I went to North of Newcastle, 130 miles and basically did (shall I say 90) all the way back except for a long stretch of the A1 which is 50mph, 10 mins of country roads to get on A1 and the A1 that runs around Newcastle and 3 miles of town traffic as soon as I left the A1. Journey took 1.59 mins, averaged 65mph and did 45mph in my pd140. On the way there it took 15 mins longer due to traffic and I did 47mpg.

I would be unhappy with the MPG figures and driving under 70 is a frickin joke, expecially if you are doing 17K a year, time is money, time driving is life wasted unless you enjoy it. That my thoughts, sorry.

 

[allh2k]

Shoulda got a ibiza 1.4 tdi if u want miracle mpg

Fill ur tyres to 40-44psi the fuller the less contact

Do a blue motion get some gaffer tap on all the holes between the body work

Dont run with a full tank i personally use 30L full ups

Take the rear seats out if they do like. Mk1s

Do u really need that spare wheel?

Or those pesky wing mirrors
Ha

Edit: would be good to see the mpg difference

Stereo/climate control uses some mpg

Are u using vpower or the like?

 

[Noel<>leoN]

Official MPG values are difficult to hit- not impossible but you really have to work for it.

Summer seems to make a massive difference- I guess it is just 'cos the engine starts 20C or so warmer = a lot less warming up. My drive to work is 7 miles and in winter I struggle to better 30 MPG, but in summer I can get 40. to be fair the roads are much clearer in the summer holidays, so less start stop, traffic jams etc.

I've got the older TFSI (200 vs 211 PS)

The best I ever got was 56.1.... but that was cheating really- it was a very short drive downhill

The highest proper reading (2hr+ journey) was 43.2. Lots of motorway 50 mph roadwork speedlimits with average speed cameras. The highest MPGs seem to be once you're in top gear and the engine is at about 1800-2000 rpm- which is about 40-50 mph for me.

I think your mpg will be a lot better in summer... but probably not the official values.

 

[coggie]

I got my MFD to read 77.1mpg on a 12 mile journey at 45mph with nothing in the boot, hardly any fuel in the tank on a warm dry sunny day. All the lights were on green and I didn't have to stop or slow down. Thats the chain of events you need to get high figures.

I doubt however that the car was doing anywhere near 77.1mpg as the MFD reads a little high IMO.

In 2 - 3 months you'll see better figures.

 

[Chan_P1_TDi_FR]

highest i've seen in my 230bhp Tdi FR is about 55mpg on a run. between 60-75mph. all depends on the driving. But as mentioned 4000 miles is nothing for a diesel, needs to be 10k and above for engine to really break in.

 

[wjohnson]

Friday I went to North of Newcastle, 130 miles and basically did (shall I say 90) all the way back except for a long stretch of the A1 which is 50mph, 10 mins of country roads to get on A1 and the A1 that runs around Newcastle and 3 miles of town traffic as soon as I left the A1. Journey took 1.59 mins, averaged 65mph and did 45mph in my pd140. On the way there it took 15 mins longer due to traffic and I did 47mpg.

I would be unhappy with the MPG figures and driving under 70 is a frickin joke, expecially if you are doing 17K a year, time is money, time driving is life wasted unless you enjoy it. That my thoughts, sorry.

You have to put things in perspective. If you had a 2.0l Petrol Turbo and you drive round at 90 everywhere your average mpg will prob be around 20mpg if not less! So your diesel is still getting double that at the same speed! You can't expect any diesel in the world to be able to travel at 90mph and return 60mpg! Remember air hitting a car at 90mph has real substance and therefore the engine has to work much MUCH harder to maintain that speed than at 50mph.

 

[GainfulShrimp]

... driving under 70 is a frickin joke, expecially if you are doing 17K a year, time is money, time driving is life wasted unless you enjoy it. That my thoughts, sorry.

I respectfully disagree. I used to think the same but realised one day that it can actually be a lot less stressful driving a bit slower. The difference between cruising at 65 and 75mph doesn't have much effect on journey times for all but the longest journeys yet it can mean you're staying in lane more often, overtaking less and just driving in a more relaxed manner. Driving at high speeds on the motorway takes a lot more concentration and also can be frustrating when you're constantly having to lose speed and recover it feels like other cars are "getting in the way".
For a very long journey, driving a bit slower not only means saving significant fuel/money but also means arriving feeling OK rather than feeling knackered, I find. I do ~30k miles a year btw.

 

[GainfulShrimp]

whoops - duplicate

 

[swatchways]

Take it for a remap somewhere? Since mine was done last year the mpg figures have been much better (and obviously the power ).

ETA - OP just noticed your comment about not modding yet... Oops, should read things properly, sorry!!

 

[Shadders]

Had a decent run yesterday from North Herts to Sheffield. Nearly all A1 with a little M18/M1. 145 miles each way. Driving at steady 70 & trying not to boot it although not always successful!!!

Journey there was cold and dry. Avg 51.5mpg
Journey home was wet & windy. Avg 48mpg

I have MK2 2.0 TDI with Superchips map but everything else standard.

 

[GainfulShrimp]

One thing I've noticed is that wet roads knock quite a lot off the mpg figures. I'm not sure if it's just my winter tyres (or if it's more pronounced with winters but summers are also less efficient in rain).

 

[Mike Green]

It is amazing this week how much the mpg has been changing. One day the computer said my trip was 45 mpg, another 53 mpg, but I travelled the same at about the same speed and minimal traffic.

The good news is as someone said here is that the trip computer although starting at just 535 when totally full, I am now at 370 miles having travelled 210 miles, so I look like i'll get about 580 miles out of the tank which is about 48 mpg. I can't drive much more carefully - i.e. mostly motorway, odd bit of traffic and 65-70 mph.

Hopefully this will improve over time. Still a shame you can't get close to the book values, very annoying.

In case no one has twigged, i am trying to reassure myself I was right in saving money and not buying the FR!!

 

[P0LKR]

Drive at 60mph and you will get better mpg than 65-70mph

 

[GainfulShrimp]

I can't drive much more carefully - i.e. mostly motorway, odd bit of traffic and 65-70 mph

You'll see much better figures if you keep the speed as steady as possible around 56-60mph. Try it for a journey or two and decide if the slight increase in journey time is worth it.

Google "hypermiling" and/or check out cleanmpg.com for lots of economy driving tips.

I know it's a different model and common rails are a bit more efficient but I filled up my Ecomotive 1.6CR tonight and it averaged 64mpg (actual/calculated) over the last tankful. Not near the official combined figure of 74mpg but still acceptable IMHO. It's done around 14k miles and I expect it to loosen up still further if it's anything like my FR TFSI, which saw quite an improvement in mpg at around 20k miles...
Your 1.9PD (almost identical power output to my 1.6CR) is capable of better figures, if you drive it for max efficiency and stick with it long enough to see your engine run-in over time. It's just that driving that way takes some practice and might seem boring if you're not into the concept of seeing just how high you can get the MFD reading. With diesel at £1.33 or thereabouts, I'm only slightly ashamed to admit that I actually find it quite fun trying to maximise my mpg figures.

 

[Dabbalz]

I agree, our lass has an 08 1.4 TDI Yaris and gets 72mpg on motorway but she does 60mph (the speed they normally measure Extra Urban is 56mph). I drive it and it don't see 50mpg normally.
I drove it very carefully one day and saw over 90mpg, but you really have to use your gears to slow down with instead of your brakes and go down hills in a low gear so you don't have to use your brakes as the engine will not use any more fuel in 5th at low revs than it would if it was in 3rd at higher revs as you use no fuel while off the accelerator due to the forward motion of the car keeping your engine turning over instead of combustion. A lot of people press there clutch down very early when slowing to traffic lights/roundabout on the slip road off the motorway. This is also wasted fuel as your engine has to use fuel to stop itself stalling.
-Gear down where possible instead of braking.
-Use low gears on hills instead of brakes
-If you have to brake also use your gears to slow down instead of just dipping the clutch.
-Plan ahead.

I rarely see 30mpg combined in my 07 Ibiza Cupra but with the right driving i have seen 43mpg Urban

 

[joolsvern]

I respectfully disagree. I used to think the same but realised one day that it can actually be a lot less stressful driving a bit slower. The difference between cruising at 65 and 75mph doesn't have much effect on journey times for all but the longest journeys yet it can mean you're staying in lane more often, overtaking less and just driving in a more relaxed manner. Driving at high speeds on the motorway takes a lot more concentration and also can be frustrating when you're constantly having to lose speed and recover it feels like other cars are "getting in the way".
For a very long journey, driving a bit slower not only means saving significant fuel/money but also means arriving feeling OK rather than feeling knackered, I find. I do ~30k miles a year btw.

I agree with you if the roads are busy mate, no point doing 90 for 30 seconds just to brake back down to 70, but if roads are clear and conditions permit I would rather stick my foot down and get home quicker, nipped over to Sheffield last night, its only a 30 minute journey and 15+mins of that is non motorway so took it nice and easy as I can only save 4 minutes by pegging it.

I'm not a speed merchant and definately not an aggresive "up your arse" driver, I just like to get to and from places asap, perhaps if I hadn't bought a **** car I would enjoy driving more.

One thing against your "relaxed style" is that you can fall asleep at the wheels, nearly kill somebody by drifting across the wrong side of the A1 (single lane bit) while coming back from Scotland and get a 6month ban.....or maybe thats just me thats done that.

 

[allh2k]

Haha

 

[Mike Green]

You'll see much better figures if you keep the speed as steady as possible around 56-60mph. Try it for a journey or two and decide if the slight increase in journey time is worth it.

Google "hypermiling" and/or check out cleanmpg.com for lots of economy driving tips.

I know it's a different model and common rails are a bit more efficient but I filled up my Ecomotive 1.6CR tonight and it averaged 64mpg (actual/calculated) over the last tankful. Not near the official combined figure of 74mpg but still acceptable IMHO. It's done around 14k miles and I expect it to loosen up still further if it's anything like my FR TFSI, which saw quite an improvement in mpg at around 20k miles...
Your 1.9PD (almost identical power output to my 1.6CR) is capable of better figures, if you drive it for max efficiency and stick with it long enough to see your engine run-in over time. It's just that driving that way takes some practice and might seem boring if you're not into the concept of seeing just how high you can get the MFD reading. With diesel at £1.33 or thereabouts, I'm only slightly ashamed to admit that I actually find it quite fun trying to maximise my mpg figures.

I had a look at the ecomotive and I think it was the 1.2 (could be wrong) that has book values of over 80 mpg - but the dealer said to me several people he knows have had them and they cannot get over late 60's in them. If I had a few more grand I would have gone for your 1.6 as the mpg is soooo much better yet there is basically no difference in the models.

But don't get me wrong any car that does 60+ mpg is amazing!!