Low MPG for Leon Ecomotive 1.9TDI

[garymscott]

Hi all,

A few months ago I purchased a leon ecomotive 1.9TDI. It doesn't have an MPG readout on the screen so have been tracking the mpg via an iphone app. The results are:

First full tank = 51.73 MPG (driving up to 70mph)
Second full tank = 58.67 MPG (driving up to 65mph)

I'm on my third tank and driving up to 60mph and seem to be getting less mileage out of it than the previous 2 tanks.

I have a 20 mile trip into work each day which is 90% single and dual carriage way driving on fairly clear roads.

These figures are some way off the advertised figures and I was wondering what other ecomotive owners were getting in terms of mpg?

My car is due a service so maybe that will improve the mpg? Also I've just checked the tyres and there are 4 different brands on there!! (Dunlop, Bridgestone, Autogrip & Turanza) I guess this could make a difference on the mpg performance?

Any advice would be welcomed!

Cheers,
Gary

 

[GainfulShrimp]

Getting a service may well improve economy a bit. Certainly if your oil is too low (or too high for that matter), it will be costing you MPG - check your oil level is correct whether or not you're due a service.

There are loads of factors that affect fuel economy. As well as tyre brand, the individual model of tyre can make a difference and tyre pressure can make a bigger difference still than either brand or model (all other things being equal). I would recommend increasing your tyre pressures as a simple thing to try. In theory you are safe to use anything up to the maximum pressure stated on the tyre sidewall, but that will probably make the ride too harsh and lose a bit too much grip... so it's best to use a value in between what the filler cap guidance says and the sidewall maximum value. Adjust the pressure by a few PSI and leave it for a week or two to check that you're happy with the resulting change in the comfort/rolling compromise and the car isn't too skittish around corners with a higher pressure. I'm currently using 44psi all round, which is between the recommended 39/41psi and the sidewall max of 51psi (for my tyres). I guess it's harder to judge the effect of changing pressures for you, as you have different tyres all round though...

I have the facelift version of the Ecomotive (1.6CR) and got 57.44 MPG from my last tankful, which I was somewhat disappointed with. That was my first full tank since I swapped over my winter steel wheels and tyres for my alloys and OE tyres (Pirelli P7). I noticed a big drop in coasting distances when I put the alloys+P7s back on, so I actually got them swapped for 4 x Michelin Energy Saver earlier this week. So far, I'm seeing better figures on the trip computer and subjectively the trip is showing a bigger distance for the position of the fuel needle, but tbh it's too early to tell how much better the Energy Savers are for MPG yet.

According to the Road Trip app on my iPhone, my long term average is 60.85 MPG. My worst full tank average was 57.00 and best was 66.86 MPG. With the Michelins now installed and some further hypermiling practice, I'm hoping to reach the 'official combined' figure of 74.3mpg, eventually.

The common rail (1.6) engine will be somewhat more efficient that its pumpe duse (1.9) equivalent, because of the CR's ability to use multiple fuel injections per cycle. The CR version uses some aero tweaks too: closed grille, wind deflectors for the wheels and some under-body panels/spoilers. I would guess there have also been ECU tweaks to improve economy on the CR version, although I'm not 100% sure.

If you'd like some tips from hypermiling experts, check out the forums at either cleanmpg.com or ecomodder.com. There are some simple changes to driving style which can make significant improvements to MPG.

 

[FR_Flavoured]

I'm surprised your Ecomotive doesnt give you an MPG reading?
Do you see the little single line display, probably telling you the time or something, or temperature, near your Dials?

You should be able to toggle through a handful of parameters, by pressing the toggle button on the end of the right (windscreen wiper) stalk. Press in at the top or bottom, to go back/forward through the display options... These will include: Time, outside temperature, mpg of trip, last trip mpg, mile counter, fuel miles remaining, etc etc.

My wifes car is a Mk2 Leon Stylance, it doesn't have Bluetooth or the large MFD display - just the little display in the Dash.
But you can still toggle the switch, and each parameter is output, on the single line display. Thinking back, my old SEAT Mk4 Ibiza did this too.

Sometimes if you are not aware of the feature, you wont know its there (if you see what I mean) Give it a go.

 

[garymscott]

Thanks for both of your replies. It sounds likely that I would see an MPG performance increase from a service and increasing the tyre pressure then. At the moment they're about 33psi so will increase to about 40psi. Oh yeah, will also check the oil level as suggested. Thanks also for the hypermiling sites - will have a look and see what it's all about!

FR_Flavoured: I wish I did have the MPG readout but I think I have the 'no frills' model. The windscreen wiper stalk is devoid of any buttons (was going to add a picture but the site won't let me until I've made 15 posts or more).

 

[AndrewJB]

Wot you have also got to remember is them book figures where produced in the perfect enviroment under controlled circumstances

You never get Book Figures

 

[GainfulShrimp]

You never get Book Figures

I agree somewhat, although with most cars you can reach the urban figure pretty easily with some careful non-urban driving over a good distance. Long term, I'm averaging just over the official urban figure of 60.1mpg (that's with non-urban driving of course!).

I've had low 70s mpg average for the occasional journey but haven't yet managed >74mpg average for a journey.

 

[carpboy]

i must be still enjoying driving mine then as at the mo im only seeing 44.5mpgi do have a heavy right foot tho!
i put in £65 a couple of weeks ago and that didnt fill her up altho it wasnt far off,im down to nearly half a tank and done just over 200 miles i think!

60 plate 1.6cr se eco!

 

[GainfulShrimp]

I managed to get 400 miles per tank out of my FR TFSI on a few occasions...

 

[P0LKR]

My record was 340 miles in my cupra. I averaged 300 miles in that. I now get on average 500 miles in my 2.0L tdi SE DSG. Its a PD engine though.

I do a mix of driving.

 

[coggie]

Alot is down to your driving style, The most I've had from my non-eco 1.9 PD is 685 miles. Least is probably 500 miles.

I would say that the best advice I have read is to avoid using your brakes, plan slightly further ahead along the road. Presume people will stop and turn, presume lights will turn red, presume that a bus may pull out etc. By simply letting the car run in gear you will slow down and you'll hardly use any fuel.

Obviously there's more to getting good economy figures but it's one thing that helped me.