1.6 TDI Bluemotion Fuel Economy

[plusowner]

I have recently acquired a new Golf Plus 1.6 TDI Bluemotion, it is a nice car but I must admit that I'm disappointed at the fuel economy. After two complete tankfuls I'm getting 48-49 mpg. I would say that the sort of driving I do is pretty average, not much start/stop and my drive to work is 12 miles on reasonably clear roads.

Obviously I wouldn't expect to match the quoted 65 mpg, but is it normal for it to be that much difference? I'd be interested in other people's experiences.

[DRU2C]

Hi Plusowner, I have the same vehicle which is now 6-months old. If I reset (i.e. zero) the average mpg on the computer before I start a trip on the motorway I can record in the region of 69 mpg @ 65 mph or 65 mph at 70mph. When this then includes travelling around town the average mpg sits at about 45 – 50 mpg; although I do live in an area best described as the “roundabout” capital of the world with an awful lot of stop-starting.

[SC03OTT]

The car is new, and only two tanks used that's what, 1200 miles on the clock? Everything is still tight and running in. You won't ever get the manufacturers claims from a brand new car. As the car gets older and the miles pile on, you will notice your average getting higher and higher.

[plusowner]

Thank you both for the replies. Yes, 1200 miles pretty much on the button. I'll give it a few more tankfuls and hopefully it'll improve - it's got some way to go yet as I'm getting low 40's at 70mph.

[plusowner]

Update: with the third tankful I got 543 miles at a paltry (for this model) 46 mpg. I'm getting more convinced that there's something wrong with the car, I'll see what VW says.

[SC03OTT]

Is this your first diesel? We really need more detail with regards to your driving. Yes you say a 12 mile commute (which isn't really enough time for a car to properly warm up btw), but what's the terrain like? Hillly? Constant speed changes? I'd put money on there being nothing wrong with the car, and it being the type of driving you're doing that is not allowing you to get the most from the car. Also, when I said more miles on the clock earlier, I meant a little more than 500. I was really thinking tens of thousands.

[plusowner]

Put it like this, the car I replaced (a 2.2 L Diesel Toyota Verso) was doing the same journeys at an average of just under 44 mpg - compared to the manufacturer's "combined" figure of just under 45mpg. This figure varied little over time (obviously it did between tankfuls) -though admittedly it already had around 4,000 mile on the clock when I got it - but over the four-year period I had it the average consumption hardly changed.

It's actually my fourth diesel - the car before that was a 2.0 litre Citroen (from new) - that did improve by 1 or 2 mpg over the period I had it (around 3 years/42,000 miles from around 39 mpg to 41 mpg). I'm a very sad person, I actually record this stuff.

As for my journey to work (not the only driving I do) it consists of about 5 miles of driving on more-or-less free flowing town roads and 7 miles of motorway, again usually free-flowing (between 55-70 mph), and it is not hilly. Even at constand speed, the MFD displays unimpressive mpg. As I say, it is the same driving (actually more-free flowing, as I've only had the Golf this summer) as I did in the Verso.

I'm not after your money but I do feel this isn't right :-)

[cornwallman]

Yes I would agree, something not right, especially as you got to within a whisker of the official figs on your previous car.
That rules out driving style and terrain/uneconomical speeds and conditions.

Mine isn't a plus, just a plain Bluemotion non SE and have a 6 mile uncongested drive on main roads and 2 miles on side roads but hilly. Combined official figs are 74mpg, and I'm getting 55mpg over a tankfull.
If the journeys get any longer than about 12 miles on main roads, it zooms well into 60s and close to 70. The most economical it has been has been M25 and north circular stop start close to rush hour at around 70mpg.

Good luck

[plusowner]

Hi Cornwallman, thanks for your reply. As a matter of interest, how many miles has your car done? I did take it up with VW, they couldn't find anything obviously wrong with the car (I think they ran the basic diagnostics rather than any specific tests for performance/economy) but they also repeated SC03OTT's advice that it will improve with increased mileage, but were a bit cagey about the expected size of improvement.

[cornwallman]

It's done 7000 miles.

[Nets]

i have golf 1.6 TDI 105 highline i think the engine is the same but not sure...
well till now about fual economy i see none.. i have around 4000km already, and it consume the same as my old VW Polo 1.4 TDI from 2000 year..
or maybe more a bit.
performance i guess is pretty cool... pretty quick 0 -100 and good max speed.

but at fuel. well a full tank gives me around 750-800 km maybe more if i keep the speed on limits :P.

[daclyn]

Have you checked:-

Tyre Pressures?
Are Front Tyres Scrubbing?
Is Hand brake Completely Off? Can you move car easily on the flat?
Quality of Diesel?
Do you Run with A/C all of the time?
Windows open? (more drag)

Regards

(Golf MK5 1.9tdi 105bhp approx 55/60mpg)
Previous Car Passat 1.9tdi 130bhp very good mpg.
Something be said about Power to Weight Ratio. !.9 just about right)

[plusowner]

Thanks for the reply Daclyn. Yes, I have checked those - the tyre pressure's fine and they look OK. I do run with A/C on for part of most journeys, but on a low setting and just till the moisture clears. The diesel supplier does make 1-3 mpg difference. Basically I've decided to take the advice of SC03OTT and others, and wait till I've done a few thousand more miles and then re-visit the issue with VW then (or hopefully not, if it improves).

Regards,
Colin

[Radiccio]

I have just bought a 2005 Golf Plus 2.0 TDi DSG and I'm averaging around 55 mpg with over 60 when driven gently, so yours does sound low. Driving style does affect it a lot - I use cruise control, turn off the AC except for demisting and the DSG generally keeps it in 6th all the time.

[plusowner]

Thanks for the reply Radiccio. I'm still getting low mileage, so I'll take it up again with VW in the new year.

Happy Christmas to all

[Bob_S]

I bought a used 2010 1.6TDI SE Bluemotion last month, which had 7200 miles on the clock. The fuel tank was 7/8 full on delivery so I have only just been able to fill it up and put some miles on it before re-filling the tank and then working out the consumption. Over 408 miles of mixed driving it averaged 47.3MPG. The computer was showing an average of 48.4. This is nowhere near the official figures and only an improvement of 3-4 mpg over my old Meriva 1.7CDTi, so I am a bit underwhelmed at the moment.

The tyre pressures are correct, I haven't used the A/C and I am a smooth driver who reads the road well. The last tankful was on Shell diesel. I will be keeping an eye on the consumption to see if there is an improvement in the future, and I hope there is.

[plusowner]

That's pretty much exactly my experience too, Bob_S. I've got over 9,000 miles on the clock now: the overall average is 48.2 mpg and I've only twice got 600 miles out of a full tank, and getting 50mpg is a rarity. "Underwhelmed" describes my thoughts perfectly. It's nearly due for a service, I'll bring it up with Shell again when I take it in.

Let us know how it goes.

[Radiccio]

Now that I've been using my Golf Plus 2.0 TDi for more short trips in and around London, the average has dropped to 48 m.p.g. although I still see more than 50 on a long trip.

[Bob_S]

Radiccio,

Are you getting your figures from the trip computer or are they based on the old fashioned way of mileage divided by gallons put in the tank when filling to the brim?

[Bob_S]

That's pretty much exactly my experience too, Bob_S. I've got over 9,000 miles on the clock now: the overall average is 48.2 mpg and I've only twice got 600 miles out of a full tank, and getting 50mpg is a rarity. "Underwhelmed" describes my thoughts perfectly. It's nearly due for a service, I'll bring it up with Shell again when I take it in.

Let us know how it goes.


I am 400 miles into my current tank of fuel and so far I am gettling slightly better mileage than the previous tank. The computer is showing 49.2 mpg overall and on a 150 mile round trip to Ipswich at the weekend the car averaged 52 mpg on the outward journey and 54 mpg on the return leg (according to the computer). It also managed an extra 30 miles before showing half full on the fuel gauge compared to the first tankful (350 miles versus 320).

I will see how it goes when I fill it up, which won't be very long.:)

[Radiccio]

Radiccio,

Are you getting your figures from the trip computer or are they based on the old fashioned way of mileage divided by gallons put in the tank when filling to the brim?
I'm relying on the trip computer. The last few months have been a lot of very short trips around London and I'm still very impressed at how quickly the average mpg figure rises.

[Bob_S]

Ok, I filled up today and here are the fiigures:-

Mileage = 588.7
Litres = 52.01 (gallons = 11.44)

MPG = 51.46

The trip computer showed 50.3mpg as the average for this tankful.

So an improvement of 4.16mpg over the earlier tankful.

Fuel was from Tesco.

[cornwallman]

Hi,
Up to 15,000 miles now and over the winter the economy seems to have come down to 50-53.
Still same 8 mile open road drive to work plus some longer motorway driving at 80mph.

Nice car, but feel a bit unhappy as on 5 other VW TDis we have had (and on current Touran) we have always managed within 10% of the combined figure (ie should be able to manage mid 60s).

[Bob_S]

Another fill up for me:-

586.0 miles
54.33 litres 11.95 gallons

MFD2 = 50.1mpg
Measured = 49.04mpg

[plusowner]

I took it in for its 10,000 mile service today, and mentioned the poor performance togther with a spreadsheet showing the mpg's from my tank fillups (all within the 46 to 51 range, averaging 48) - not that I'm obsessive about this, or anything :D. I am getting very very simlar figures to you, Bob_S.

They ran some test (the electronic tests) and confirmed that there weren't any reported problems, and that the software was up to date etc. Corrected the tyre pressures (it is a little while since I checked myself, to be honest, but when I did last check they were OK).

They did say that they would take a more in-depth look if the performance contnues to be poor, so let's see what happens.

[Bob_S]

I agree Plusowner. The official figures are a long way from what I am achieving in real conditions. I don't expect to match them, but I expect to get within a reasonable distance of them. The only saving grace is that the Golf is much more economical than my old Meriva 1,7CDTi and I am getting very close to the 600 mile tank range in winter when the Meriva would only get 450-470.

I willwait and see how it does between now and the next service (at 17000 miles) and see if it does loosen up and get closer to the figures. With summer looming (in theory;)) it should improve.

[Bob_S]

An update!

The current tank I thought I had it nailed. Filled up on the 4th June and put about 310 miles on the clock over the next few weeks. Mixed running including a cross country journey of 150 miles return to visit my parents. MFD2 was showing 57.0mpg and the range was coming in at 720 miles! The wife has driven the last 180 miles for over a variety of journeys and getting in the car today I noticed MFD2 was now down to 52.6mpg and the range was down to 620 miles!!!

She has used aircon and swears she has been sticking to speed limits and not thrashing the car! But how has she trashed the economy of the first 310 miles in a mere 180 miles???

[plusowner]

Hi Bob_S!

I always find the MFD predictions rather optimistic - after about half a tankful mine always overestimates how far it will go. So don't blame your wife too much :D

But ... is my engine actually "loosening up" as they would have it? I've noticed a definite improvement recently, and I am regularly getting (just) over 600 miles from a full tank, and getting full-to-empty mpg's of around 52 mpg. I don't think it's just down the the warm weather either - this time last year I was getting around 47 mpg (I know, I need to get out more). And it generally "feels" as if it's improving.

If so, it's good news - even if it has taken nearly 14,000 miles to do it - and I'm hopeful the trend will continue. It's still got a long way to go though ...

Cheers,
plusowner

[Bob_S]

Hi Bob_S!

I always find the MFD predictions rather optimistic - after about half a tankful mine always overestimates how far it will go. So don't blame your wife too much :D

You didn't see the MFD1 for the last 60 miles she did, it showed an average of 43.8!!!


But ... is my engine actually "loosening up" as they would have it? I've noticed a definite improvement recently, and I am regularly getting (just) over 600 miles from a full tank, and getting full-to-empty mpg's of around 52 mpg. I don't think it's just down the the warm weather either - this time last year I was getting around 47 mpg (I know, I need to get out more). And it generally "feels" as if it's improving.

Mine has just passed the 12000 mile mark and I have had a number of tanks where I have got close to the magic 600. I thought I had cracked it good and proper with this latest tank. I must remember to remove the lead from the wife's shoes.


If so, it's good news - even if it has taken nearly 14,000 miles to do it - and I'm hopeful the trend will continue. It's still got a long way to go though ...

Cheers,
plusowner


I hope it is the case, just needed some miles to loosen up. The Golf is using 14% less fuel than my old 1.7CDTi Meriva though, so it is an improvement in that respect.

[Bob_S]

OK, the latest fill up, and the best return since I got the car

581.6 miles
50.04 litres 11.01 gallons
52.8mpg


MFD 2 was showing 52.6 for the tankful.

So it would have cracked the 600 mile tank easily, with 5 litres left in the tank and a consumption of 11.6 miles per litre, giving a potential to empty of 640 miles.

It is a long way from what some of the guys in the mk 6 Golf section are getting though. It must be the price paid for a less aerodynamic car which is also heavier than a mk 6.

[Bob_S]

SWMBO has driven the first 111 miles on this tankful and MFD 2 was showing an average of 47.9mpg. I took the car for a 90 mile return cross country trip this afternoon which took in a good mix of roads, with 50% being dual carriageway, some town work and the rest 40's and national speed limit single carriage ways. I was sticking to speed limits (or thereabouts) and holding 72mph on the cruise on the dual carriageways.

MFD 1 showed an average of 58.9 and MFD 2 was up to 52.7 at the end of my journey.

I think the moral of the story is to not let SWMBO anywhere near the driving seat!! :D

[Bob_S]

The car has just passed the 14000 mile mark now and it is starting to loosen up. I filled up today and this is what I got:-

645.0 miles
54.05 litres/11.89 gallons
54.3mpg (MFD2 showing 55.1)

Average over 6400 miles is 50.9.

It is very close to what I see as a realistic consumption when compared to the official combined figure. I always take that and subtract 10mpg to get what I think is achievable and the latest tank is very close to that.

[neverbuybluemot]

Fuel consumption and Bluemotion is a Hot topic since the 1st ones came out Due to VW advertising very over the top claims that no owners could ever match, However the 1.6 TDi.appears to be one of the worst for thirst, ours is no exception being the Bluemotion, which the way it is marketed you would think it would be somewhere close to the figures VW publish... but isin fact nowhere near, I keep reading road tests of "its normal and very fuel efficient? " Ours isnt normal to drive it is a B"stard to drive smoothly, you have to rev the nuts off it to pull away even on the straight whilst in traffic jams you cant just chug along in gear It will simply stall, once this happens it feels like a few minutes before it will fire back into life, Do the press get "FIXED" cars to try which will prove to be close to normal? (echos of Jaguar and Aston Martin back in the 1960s with their E type and DB5 claiming 150 mph...? they struggled to do 140 mph) whilst the mere mortals who were drawn into beleving the hype are left with a product that doesnt deliver .
The distinct lack of Torque means you have to by nature work the engine harder which means using more fuel and a furious drive with what feels like over 300 gearchanges just to keep up with traffic, even the change up light thinks it has more Torque This isnt a car to be used in the Urban, it doesnt like stopping and pulling away as it can put the soot light on which means an even longer journey just to solve a problem, However it is very nice on Motorways (70 mph = 2100 rpm) Saying that you cant just flex your right foot and expect to overtake anything there is nothing there, whilst fuel consumption on a good motorway blast produces an average of 41 mpg (38 or less in the urban)
Dealers cant find anything wrong with our example even after 3 Diss reports one of which was from an equally usimpathetic Dealer, it has had an ECU upgrade from VW technical support (courtesy of Whatcar Magazine) as you wont get anywhere using the VW Helpline who cannot help you in anywayand if you mention Bluemotion and fuel consumption they get a bit snotty... VW Technical support (via Whatcar) also advised never to use the stop start (we never do as it is dangerous, it cuts out exactly as you are about to pull away, you cant bump start the car either even if the car is rolling it must be on the key), Using S/Start will clog the DPF filter, so why do they insist on fitting them?.
And dont get me started on the build quality, within a year it has had 2 new alloy wheels due to corrosion, Dealer said there has been huge warranty work on mk6's (VW Penny Pinching?) and various trim bits that have fallen off not to mention plagued with rattles.
So we have a car that is not fit for purpose, An ornament for the Drive and we are not the only ones complaining about "Bluemotion" the 1.6 TDi or VW group itself.

[Bob_S]

I don't know if we will see onepostwonder again, but I would be interested in hearing what speeds he drives at to only achieve 41mpg on a motorway run. I have just got back from a run to Galway in Ireland and the majority of the journey was motorway/dual carrieageways. I cruise at 70mph and the MFD was showing an average for the full journey of 57.5mpg. My brim to brim tank figures are very close in accuracy to what the MFD shows. The last tankful of 499 miles showed an average of 54.9, it taking 41.33 litres to fill up.

The consumption has been improving with mileage, the car having 15000 miles on the clock now (8000 covered since I bought the car). My overall average since getting the car is 51.3mpg, but the last 6 tankfuls have not dipped below 52.2 with a high of 54.9.

You say the stop/start is dangerous. It only activates when you put the car into neutral so perhaps it is your timing that is causing the issue? If you keep the car in gear the stop/start won't activate.

I have not heard of the stop/start causing the DPF to clog, but I have yet to see the DPF warning light come on during my ownership of the car.

I personally do not believe the fuel figures that are claimed and I have always considered that a reasonable average that should be attainable is 10mpg less than the claimed figure. This is something I am getting very close to and I believe it will be attained with more miles on the clock.

[neverbuybluemot]

2nd post wonder... Our car now has 14k we bought it new (59) and is apparently one of the early cars...? (have VW put wrong to right?) The speeds we drive at vary but usually do the same mileage each week which is a mixture of mostly urban but odd blasts of motorway, We also have a 10 year old mk4 Golf (90) TDi which l am not making this up delivers at least 20 mpg more than this supposed highly efficient offering.



Which is why we use the old Golf instead of the new also it is nicer to drive in the urban whilst we keep the mk6 for long journeys due to the cost, as for the MFD as mentioned it now displays higher figures (49, very rarely over 50) due to the last ECU update but the fuel consumption is still the same... 41.



Our old mk4 with a light foot has displayed over 70mpg and a trip to the shops is usually 58mpg which is believable as the fuel gauge rarely moves, The Bluemotion gauge moves in alarming increments.



We have 3 half yrs to go on finance but cant see us keeping this dreadful car that long.

[Bob_S]

2nd post wonder... Our car now has 14k we bought it new (59) and is apparently one of the early cars...? (have VW put wrong to right?) The speeds we drive at vary but usually do the same mileage each week which is a mixture of mostly urban but odd blasts of motorway, We also have a 10 year old mk4 Golf (90) TDi which l am not making this up delivers at least 20 mpg more than this supposed highly efficient offering.

Your car isn't much older than ours, which was first registered on 1st September 2010. Are you saying your older Golf averages 70mpg?




Which is why we use the old Golf instead of the new also it is nicer to drive in the urban whilst we keep the mk6 for long journeys due to the cost, as for the MFD as mentioned it now displays higher figures (49, very rarely over 50) due to the last ECU update but the fuel consumption is still the same... 41.

You still haven't mentioned the speeds you drive at on motorways. That would be useful to know. Is your fuel consumption measured by brimming the tank and working it out the old fashioned way?




Our old mk4 with a light foot has displayed over 70mpg and a trip to the shops is usually 58mpg which is believable as the fuel gauge rarely moves, The Bluemotion gauge moves in alarming increments.

On our trip to Ireland last week we did a 60 mile journey on N roads just keeping up with the flow of traffic and the MFD showed 69mpg at the end of the journey. I have also seen mid 50's on the MFD on the trip to the shops. The car has done 410 miles on the curent tank of fuel and is just above the halfway mark on the gauge.




We have 3 half yrs to go on finance but cant see us keeping this dreadful car that long.

Maybe if the car is disliked as much as you say it is then the right thing to do is to sell it now?

[neverbuybluemot]

=Bob_S;666831]Your car isn't much older than ours, which was first registered on 1st September 2010. Are you saying your older Golf averages 70mpg?]


Yes it can manage this, for instance a recent trip to Wales was near this figure which included a good blast along the twisty B roads, despite it belching out black soot.



[You still haven't mentioned the speeds you drive at on motorways. That would be useful to know. Is your fuel consumption measured by brimming the tank and working it out the old fashioned way?]

Are you a VW car salesman? I drive to the speed limits, sometimes a bit higher, but dont thrash the mk6 due to how much fuel it uses, In the early days we tried many different ways because we thought could it actually be us not the car...However nothing much changes,keeping the revs low makes the car bunny hop something reminiscent of an Austin Metro we had many years ago, we have learned to keep the revs above 1800 rpm and below 2500 which somehow makes the consumption better... but 1800 rpm is exactly its last flat spot.



I have noticed our mk4 rarely goes over 2000 rpm, unless on motorways simply because we dont need to push it any higher, we let the torque do the work.



We used to work out the consumption using http://www.mpg-calculator.co.uk/ using a full tank, which I did keep a record of to show VW Dealers just how much money it was costing us, I cant be bothered now but have kept every receipt and reset the mileage.



[On our trip to Ireland last week we did a 60 mile journey on N roads just keeping up with the flow of traffic and the MFD showed 69mpg at the end of the journey. I have also seen mid 50's on the MFD on the trip to the shops. The car has done 410 miles on the current tank of fuel and is just above the halfway mark on the gauge.]



We have just got back from North Yorkshire, we didnt fill to the brim but we achieved nearly 400 mile on £50.00, A trip to the shop can show as low as 29mpg.





[Maybe if the car is disliked as much as you say it is then the right thing to do is to sell it now?



We have tried to reject the car at 2k but because we struggled to get 30 mpg, (it didnt jump around either) But the Selling Dealer advised us to wait until 5k then everything should be nicely loosened up? It did get better to the sum of 41 ish But Because we took the Dealers advice and waited for more miles It was even harder to reject the car Hence the Whatcar route which didnt really do much either.



We did get an updated ECU (believed to be the program from Audi A1,?) which calmed the DPF regeneration down but still rears its ugly head but has not improved the mpg one bit, Technical Support phoned me(who advised about Stop Start, incidentally ours cuts out when dipping the clutch sometimes whilst it has a mind of its own when it shuts down, We always switch it off, unless we forget) but couldnt help me anymore and was under the impression they would take the car in for further investigation?? Then I got email from VW UK saying We cannot help you any further,Quite Disgusting really.



Trading it in.... 1st was against a used 2.0Tdi (the one we should have bought in the 1st place) However we noticed Dealers have huge stocks of 1.6TDi's but only a handful of the nicer 2.0Tdi, which command a Handsome premium, whilst our Bluemotion despite having a few extras was offered a pitiful amount which didnt make economic sense,



2nd time was against another 1.6 but the basic 90 bhp, he didnt offer a price but the salesman embarrassed himself when it failed to get near our mpg (using the MFD)



We are going to wait until next year when the new Golf is out (or the mk5 c version some say it will be the Seat Leon with new headlights?) which to be fair am not happy at all with Vw products, we tend to run cars till they drop but will have to fork out again, failing that probably move onto Kia or Hyundai?

[Bob_S]

No, I'm not a VW salesman, just the owner of a Golf Plus 1.6TDi Bluemotion. You say your old Golf can manage 70mpg but the question I asked is if it averages 70mpg overall.

If you managed 400 miles on £50 of fuel, then assuming you paid £1.38 per litre that would come in at 7.96 gallons and would equate to just over 50 mpg

[vince70]

I saw a test a few years ago on top gear on some such program where they put two identical golfs next to each other, one with 20,000 on the clock and another with 75,000 on the clock.
The one with 75,000 on the clock was running a lot quicker as it really took that long to run in properly, I Imagine the petrol consumption on your car will get better with age and mileage.
Theres a thread on here somewhere where people are getting over 450000 miles out of there cars, and a lot of those are petrol engines. so going by that I would say that your diesel engine has got to do a few more miles.
Also if the car is driven to slowly all it will do is coke up, sometimes a bit of thrash to clear the cobwebs out does them the world of good.

[neverbuybluemot]

No, I'm not a VW salesman, just the owner of a Golf Plus 1.6TDi Bluemotion. You say your old Golf can manage 70mpg but the question I asked is if it averages 70mpg overall.

If you managed 400 miles on £50 of fuel, then assuming you paid £1.38 per litre that would come in at 7.96 gallons and would equate to just over 50 mpg


It was 385 miles and well into the fuel light, When we originally filled up it already had some diesel in but not much (the light wasnt on! but was close to the red) at a guess it probably returned about 45mpg? an improvement non the less....

As for keeping it until the miles pile up.. We dont have the money to try this theory out, not that we have the money to replace either but it is the way it drives that makes keeping it so unappealing, A few Bluemotion owners on tinternet have also commented on this problem as have GTD 170 2.0TDi owners However I havent found any complaints from the newer Common Rail 140 bhp 2.0 TDi wheather Bluemotion or not?

Incidentally our old mk4 has been pretty consistant thoughout its life... though is getting smokey!

[vc-10]

If you're getting the MPGs you're claiming, there's something wrong with the car. I've had a 1.6 TDI Golf and an Octavia as rentals, both were getting 55-60 MPG, and neither had stop-start. I've heard the 1.6 TDI isn't as efficient as some are lead to believe, but not getting 45mpg. My 1.2 Polo, which has a 45l tank, will get 400 miles per tank if I'm careful, so a Golf diesel should be getting much better. When I had my mum's Golf 5 1.9 TDI last summer, I was getting 500 miles out of a tank on the motorway at 80mph in France.

[neverbuybluemot]

Hi Yes this is the Argument I have had all along, It is broken with a capital F, yet dealers have no answer for why it should drink so much fuel and VW UK have washed their hands of the matter.

If we had the money then it would have gone by now, But at the moment we are in no mans land...

[Bob_S]

It is not performing as it should, that much is clear, especially compared to the returns I have been getting in my own Golf. How far up the food chain have you taken it with VW?

[neverbuybluemot]

Hi Bob_S
The selling Dealer originally passed the Buck by telling me to ring the Top Secret VW Helpline 0800 0833 920 which was quite pleasant until I mentioned Bluemotion and lack of fuel consumption, when it all went a bit sour! as the Girl said "Bluemotion fuel consumption.... Sorry nothing we can do" I asked could I speak with a manager ? Yes was the reply However am still waiting...



I booked it into a Local VWDealer who gave me the usual 3rd degree

"Well how are you driving it?

"These Bluemotion cars are very fuel efficient So it must be something YOU are doing.."

"What mpg were you expecting exactly?"

" Ohh it must be the rear electronic brake hill hold... we have had a few problems with them" (By the Service Manager, the other questions were by the Receptionist who actually got a brochure over to show me the mpg figures, she got a shock what VW printed... )



The Dealer did do a DISS report, but found nothing, He later admitted he lacked much knowledge of Bluemotion but did say "it takes at least 60 miles before BM works..) I am not making this up! and I should take the fuel figures with a pinch of salt



I took it to another VW Dealer, I know one of their MOT testers who booked it in for me so I didnt have to go through the 1st degree again, Another DISS report aand an explanation as to why It has flat spots and bunny hops, All to do with optimising Torque which it has little of, However again nothing found but I must drive further and longer... We drove down to stoke and back from the N/E along with the many fuel receipts but The Service Manager could not explain why it didnt show any improvements.





Next I contacted Whatcar Magazine and emailed all the fuel receipts, after a while I got "Jenny Boyd" from VW UK, who sounded all very plesent at first and said we will conduct another DISS report, The same Dealer was a little hostile? not sure what had been said by VW UK? but it wasnt a comfortable or pleasant morning as the receptionist snatched the keys...However This time an update was given to the ECU which calmed the "Regeneration" down but still revs to 1200rpm on occasions whether you have driven on motorways or not! again they couldnt find any problems with the car, I took it for a drive but still the bunny hops and abrupt throttle were present but no signs of any improvement in fuel consumption despite the MFD reading higher mpg.



I took the car back to the Dealer and explained the update hasnt worked... The Service Manager a bit p"ssed off actually drove my car up the road quite convinced It was me and not the car... He drove ever so gentle but could not get the MFD above 45mpg no matter how He tried... and the fuel gauge still disappearing to the empty, His conclusion was "Err just keep an eye on it..." which is what I have been doing all along !



After filling up and again watching the fuel disappear the Soot Filter light came on! So a long journey right out my way on the A1 until it cleared when VW Technical support contacted me, I mentioned the DPF light, the hiccups, and the mpg... his reply was Dont use the Stop Start as it clogs it up, I mentioned a neighbour has the 2,0TDi and gets high 60s sometimes 70mpg but could not answer why mine is so thirsty... But another reply of "Keep an eye on it"



A month passed as I kept an eye on this and emailed Jenny Boyd but no reply, Whatcar contacted me saying VW (Jenny) has contacted you saying your car is now sorted? NO was the reply until she eventually contacted me (see Below) She does not acknowledge emails anymore neither does the selling Dealer. This is as far as I got !



I would make a note of the phone no and email address ! in case you have a problem with your VW... Incidentally if you bought your VW through VW Finance (we got private loan) you have much more say should you have problems.








Dear Sir.



Firstly, I would like to apologise for not responding to your previous emails but I was under the impression that you were going to test the car a little longer and get back to me if you didn’t see an improvement in fuel consumption since the software update.



I understand you are unhappy with the fuel consumption that your vehicle is achieving in comparison with your 9 year old Volkswagen Golf but as explained by Peter Bell, one of our Customer Technical Support Specialists, the two vehicle’s are different models with a number of emission factors, for example engine size, Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF), injection system, and weight.



The advertised fuel consumption figures are comparison figures that all vehicle manufactures have to provide by law. The comparison test is carried out under laboratory conditions and does not reflect real world driving conditions.



Factors that may influence or increase Fuel Consumption

<li style="color: black;" class="MsoNormal">Driving style <li style="color: black;" class="MsoNormal">Road condition <li style="color: black;" class="MsoNormal">Vehicle load <li style="color: black;" class="MsoNormal">Stop start traffic
Vehicle condition

The official website www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk (http://www.vcarfueldata.org.uk/) can provide further information you may require to answer any queries you may have regarding the fuel consumption on your Golf Bluemotion.

If you are still unhappy with your vehicle and feel that the fuel consumption is not what you expected, I would suggest you contact your selling retailer Capitol Volkswagen on 0168 535 0077 and discuss option’s available to you as your contact of sale lies with them and not Volkswagen UK.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to speak with me. However, as I am unable to expand further, any further correspondence received will be attached to your file but may not be responded.



Jenny Boyd
Customer Relations Manager
Executive Office

Direct line: 0800 0833 914 Ext: 63309
Fax: 0844 844 0514
E-mail: Jenny.Boyd@volkswagen.co.uk
Internet: www.volkswagen.co.uk (http://www.volkswagen.co.uk)

[Bob_S]

As the car is on finance then that gives you more options. It might be worth going to the Consumer Action Group website to get some advice in their motoring section as to how you can progress the matter.

My car does not exhibit the bunny hopping or other traits that you describe. It is not as torquey as my 1.7 Meriva but much of this is down to the high gearing. I now find myself one gear lower in any given situation when compared to the Meriva, which I find works very well without the need to rev it to get it to go anywhere. But the fuel consumption is 15% better on my Golf.

[CJJE]

The Honest John website collects real life fuel consumtion figures from car owners, and publishes them for many vehicles.

For the Golf Plus 1.6TDI Bluemotion, it is showing an average consumption of 60.3 mpg (with a range from 57.0 to 62.4).

The Golf VI 1.6TDI Bluemotion is 61.6 (with a range of 58.0 to 65.8) so there doesn't seem to be too much of a hit from the Golf Plus' larger size.

Details at http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/Results?manufacturer=volkswagen

Chris

[Bob_S]

The problem I can see with Honest John's data is that it doesn't mention the sample size he is basing his data on. He also asks to submit figures based either on a brim to brim or taken from the on board computer. I would prefer to rely on sites such as Fuelly or Spirit Monitor De as the figures there seem to be based on brim to brim tanks. Both these sites also have details of the numbers of contributors too.

[CJJE]

I quite agree that sample sizes would help! But at least the figures are based on UK roads and conditions.

Chris

[cornwallman]

Hi, I've now had my 1.6 BM for 17 months, and reading some of the posts below strikes a chord.
Avg mpg is now down to about 48-49, and I have had the DPF light on once.

Had come to the conclusion it doesn't like my short drives to work without longer motorway drives (15 mins, 9 miles), but now not even that makes sense as before the mpg would rapidly improve after a longer drive on a motorway and then the return to main roads would yield 55-60 on the "1" setting on the mfd.

[plusowner]

Well, I've done around 20,000 miles now, and the figures continue to be consistently unimpressive. They have improved a little over time, at the beginning I was getting 47-48mpg from a tankful and now it's hovering around 51, but it's obviously never going to get near 60mpg (in fact, I don't think I've had a single journey that has exceeded this figure). For the record, my past few tankfuls gave me 50.9, 52.8, 52.1,50.5 and 48.3 (I assume the onset of cold weather was responsible for that!), and that included quite a variety of driving.

The Honest John site was interesting - it did show that some were getting good mileage, but it equally shows that some are only getting what I am, I'm not entirely sure if the site reports the same model either (mine was new in 2010). Oh well, back to VW in the New Year!

Colin

[vc-10]

If you're driving it normally then there's definitely something wrong. No idea what, but would the Sale of Goods Act help at all? Something to do with it not being up to spec?

Unless you really thrash it or only drive it around town then I can't see why you're getting less than 50mpg.

I do wonder about some people though- I was behind a newish Golf BMT the other day which was being held on the clutch at every set of lights, slowly going backwards and forwards while waiting for the lights to change (in Bristol everything's on a hill...). I can't see the point of paying £800 for BMT and then not using the Stop-Start!

[Bob_S]

Well, I've done around 20,000 miles now, and the figures continue to be consistently unimpressive. They have improved a little over time, at the beginning I was getting 47-48mpg from a tankful and now it's hovering around 51, but it's obviously never going to get near 60mpg (in fact, I don't think I've had a single journey that has exceeded this figure). For the record, my past few tankfuls gave me 50.9, 52.8, 52.1,50.5 and 48.3 (I assume the onset of cold weather was responsible for that!), and that included quite a variety of driving.

The Honest John site was interesting - it did show that some were getting good mileage, but it equally shows that some are only getting what I am, I'm not entirely sure if the site reports the same model either (mine was new in 2010). Oh well, back to VW in the New Year!

Colin

Hello Colin,

If you want a comparison here are the last 10 tankfuls for my Golf Plus BMT

52.2, 54.3, 53.1, 54.9, 57.5, 55.2, 53.5, 48.8, 53.3, 49.6.

All are full tanks running down to close to empty.

If you want a bit more detail take a look at my Fuelly profile which should be in my signature.

[Barney75]

Hi there, I hope this post is still active.

Thought that I would add my tuppence worth. I have just bought a 1.6 BMT on 65k mileage. I drove from Salisbury to Perth... And then some work commuting between Perth and Stirling. I wimped out to the pump at 786 miles. Trip 1 read 63mpg, and trip 2 read 61 mpg. Calculation at the pump was in fact 64 mpg. Happy I was... However, now on just the work commute, trip 1 struggles to get anywhere near 60, usually 55 is good.

i drive at 60mph and free wheel as much as I can. So even at this level I would expect more from this car.

incidentally, it replaces a 10 year old mk4 that stated 70mpg on the same journey... Although at the pump it was more like 57 at best. So I think that the mk4 computer was optimistic, whilst this new one is a bit pecimistic!

Just today though, I am experiencing erratic rough idle until the engine is fully warmed up... Has anyone got any ideas on this?? I am reading about injector issues :|

Regards,



barney








Hello Colin,

If you want a comparison here are the last 10 tankfuls for my Golf Plus BMT

52.2, 54.3, 53.1, 54.9, 57.5, 55.2, 53.5, 48.8, 53.3, 49.6.

All are full tanks running down to close to empty.

If you want a bit more detail take a look at my Fuelly profile which should be in my signature.

[Bob_S]

A quick revisit of this thread. After 25000 miles my overall average is 52.5mpg, with a best tank of 57.9 over 660 miles. I have had a number of tanks where I have managed over 600 miles.

[discobarry]

Out of interest what tyres are you guys running on?

[Bob_S]

Out of interest what tyres are you guys running on?

Mine has 16 inch rims with Continental Conti Premium Contact 2E tyres. The size is 205/55 16 91H.

For winter I have Continental TS830's in 195/65 15.

[Bob_S]

Just a quick update on the economy achieved in my car. The last six tankful's have shown a low of 55.7 and a high of 57.9 with an average of 56.9mpg over 3939 miles. It is certainly getting better with more miles on the clock.

[andrei]

hi is this post still active? I have a golf mkVI 1.6 tdi CAYC engine dsg 7 speed from 2012 . and a seat toledo 2013 same 1.6 tdi CAYC engine golf does 37mpg and toledo 48mpg both in town about 90% up until last year august the gof was doing better with 50+mpg does anybody have any ideas what happen ?