3.0 tdi fuel consumption

[pechius]

Hey guys.

It would be very interesting to hear some real world fuel consumption values. Audi states:

for 3.0tdi 150kW quattro Avant 41.5 / 55.4 / 48.7 mpg (urban/extra-urban/comb)

for 3.0 tdi 180kW quattro Avant 38.7 / 55.4 / 47.9 mpg (urban/extra-urban/comb)

Sound pretty unbelievable to me!

Please include your engine power in kW and where do you drive mostly (city/mitorway) not to cause confusion, thank you!

[Rsheen]

Firstly let's all agree to talk real mpg and let's forget the over optimistic computer
mine is 180kw 3.0 l tdi stronic avant mileage now just over 3,000 miles on clock.
The figures in the glossy brochure are pure fiction compared to actual
Most of my mileage is motorway (90%) and average about 40 mpg and that's driving at 65 to 75 ish
the car is really great and very lively. It will pass everything........ Except a filling station!
to be honest the poor mpg is the only bad part. Some say 40 mpg is great for a 3.0 l but my expectation was much higher as i foolishly believed the test figures in the sales brochure. I have also noticed that the car is a little more thirsty now the temperature has dropped

[johnsimcox]

Firstly let's all agree to talk real mpg and let's forget the over optimistic computer
mine is 180kw 3.0 l tdi stronic avant mileage now just over 3,000 miles on clock.
The figures in the glossy brochure are pure fiction compared to actual
Most of my mileage is motorway (90%) and average about 40 mpg and that's driving at 65 to 75 ish
the car is really great and very lively. It will pass everything........ Except a filling station!
to be honest the poor mpg is the only bad part. Some say 40 mpg is great for a 3.0 l but my expectation was much higher as i foolishly believed the test figures in the sales brochure. I have also noticed that the car is a little more thirsty now the temperature has dropped
As is common with many diesel cars Audi fits an auxiliary heater to help warm the cooling system (an oxymoron if ever there was one!) so that the interior of the car can warm up quickly on cold days. Diesel engines are far more thermally efficient than petrol engines so without the auxiliary heater it would take ages for the cars heater to work. The downside is that the auxiliary burns diesel to operate and this clearly impacts the fuel consumption of the car, especially if you are doing short journeys

[mikenott]

So are you saying there is a diesel powered heater sitting alongside the main engine which heats the cabin quickly? I must admit I did not realise that, but it makes sense. Do you know what form the auxiliary heater takes? Is it directly driven by diesel or by electricity from the main engine? Just interested in the technology...

My (ancient) practical experience of car heating systems (1965-1975) did not include auxiliary heaters. Mind you, you could climb into the engine compartment and fix anything yourself. The most computerised part of the car was the rotor arm or teh indicator switch! I feel old.

Michael.

[johnsimcox]

So are you saying there is a diesel powered heater sitting alongside the main engine which heats the cabin quickly? I must admit I did not realise that, but it makes sense. Do you know what form the auxiliary heater takes? Is it directly driven by diesel or by electricity from the main engine? Just interested in the technology...

My (ancient) practical experience of car heating systems (1965-1975) did not include auxiliary heaters. Mind you, you could climb into the engine compartment and fix anything yourself. The most computerised part of the car was the rotor arm or teh indicator switch! I feel old.

Michael.
It is diesel powered and can be switched off or set to Auto via MMI, part of the AC settings if I recall (too cold to go out and look in the car!!)

[thehorse]

I've got the 3.0TDI 2WD Avant with around 2500miles - best ever mpg on a 120 mile trip mostly motorway trying to be economical was 54.2mpg. The colder it is outside the lower the mpg - also in winter they put additives in the diesel which further reduces economy.

For general mixed shorter journeys not worrying about driving economically it averages around 40mpg at the moment. I expect this to improve in the summer when it is run in and it is a bit warmer. Still some way to go to beat my record in an E250 Eclass of 65.9mpg!

[adamss24]

You guys believe all that tosh they tell you in the glossy broschures ! How on earth you expecting a 2 tone machine with a v6 engine and all the toys do better economy than that ? The displacement and weight is what kills the fuel economy, add the extra load on the alternator to keep the battery charged and you get the idea. What you need to realize is there are many variables in the equation, tyre size, unsprung weight, and fuel quality just to name a few. Also the DPF is a burden on the engine, imagine running the marathon breathing trough one nostril !

[pechius]

As is common with many diesel cars Audi fits an auxiliary heater to help warm the cooling system (an oxymoron if ever there was one!) so that the interior of the car can warm up quickly on cold days. Diesel engines are far more thermally efficient than petrol engines so without the auxiliary heater it would take ages for the cars heater to work. The downside is that the auxiliary burns diesel to operate and this clearly impacts the fuel consumption of the car, especially if you are doing short journeys


I would guess that auxiliary system heats engine coolant and does not act like an auxiliary heater. And I think it only runs until the engine coolant reaches operating temperature.

[pechius]

You guys believe all that tosh they tell you in the glossy broschures ! How on earth you expecting a 2 tone machine with a v6 engine and all the toys do better economy than that ? The displacement and weight is what kills the fuel economy, add the extra load on the alternator to keep the battery charged and you get the idea. What you need to realize is there are many variables in the equation, tyre size, unsprung weight, and fuel quality just to name a few. Also the DPF is a burden on the engine, imagine running the marathon breathing trough one nostril !

Yeah, that's true, and looking at figures, I thought that Audi made miracle come true, if you compare C6 with C7 :D

[pechius]

I've got the 3.0TDI 2WD Avant with around 2500miles - best ever mpg on a 120 mile trip mostly motorway trying to be economical was 54.2mpg. The colder it is outside the lower the mpg - also in winter they put additives in the diesel which further reduces economy.

For general mixed shorter journeys not worrying about driving economically it averages around 40mpg at the moment. I expect this to improve in the summer when it is run in and it is a bit warmer. Still some way to go to beat my record in an E250 Eclass of 65.9mpg!

Do you have 150kW engine?

[thehorse]

Do you have 150kW engine?

Yes, with the multitronic gearbox

[jbanfie]

You should also take running in as a consideration, every modern new car I've owned is transformed as they pass 10,000 miles that's 2 lexus and a Mini Countryman, and I'm pretty sure there are two engine maps that switch at about that mileage - see Audi's reaction to all the complaints about the 2.0 and that they won't even look at it till they pass 10,000.

Our Mini is a different car now it's on 11,000 and getting about 4 to 5 mpg extra, which is 10%.

However, cold weather kills the mpg - not just because of heaters, but engine efficiency too, as modern diesels take forever to warm up.

The only way to really look at mpg at this time of year is to wait until the engine is fully warm, turn off all ancillary loads and then take measurements, drive around 56mph and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I might be convinced that a lot of re-mapping improvement is born out of switching the engine to full capacity before the ECU would do it anyway, ie having a remap performed before the 10,000, but that's another point of debate.

Your thoughts gentlemen.

[Rsheen]

It will be interesting to see if the 150kw has better consumption figures than the 180kw. I was given a 3.0l 150kw manual as a courtesy car and to be honest it couldn't pull the skin of a rice pudding. In fact it was so bad (though virtually new), i lifted the bonnet as i was sure it must have been only two litre. The other problem was it was only two wheel drive ( front) and you could not stop the wheels spinning. So even if the more powerful engine uses more fuel just go for it and be sure you buy a quattro that lets you use the power.

[belly buster]

You should also take running in as a consideration, every modern new car I've owned is transformed as they pass 10,000 miles that's 2 lexus and a Mini Countryman, and I'm pretty sure there are two engine maps that switch at about that mileage - see Audi's reaction to all the complaints about the 2.0 and that they won't even look at it till they pass 10,000.

Our Mini is a different car now it's on 11,000 and getting about 4 to 5 mpg extra, which is 10%.

However, cold weather kills the mpg - not just because of heaters, but engine efficiency too, as modern diesels take forever to warm up.

The only way to really look at mpg at this time of year is to wait until the engine is fully warm, turn off all ancillary loads and then take measurements, drive around 56mph and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I might be convinced that a lot of re-mapping improvement is born out of switching the engine to full capacity before the ECU would do it anyway, ie having a remap performed before the 10,000, but that's another point of debate.

Your thoughts gentlemen.

^
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This

Wait til you have done 10K miles and the weather warms up and then you'll get a more accurate consumption picture.

[pechius]

You should also take running in as a consideration, every modern new car I've owned is transformed as they pass 10,000 miles that's 2 lexus and a Mini Countryman, and I'm pretty sure there are two engine maps that switch at about that mileage - see Audi's reaction to all the complaints about the 2.0 and that they won't even look at it till they pass 10,000.

Our Mini is a different car now it's on 11,000 and getting about 4 to 5 mpg extra, which is 10%.

However, cold weather kills the mpg - not just because of heaters, but engine efficiency too, as modern diesels take forever to warm up.

The only way to really look at mpg at this time of year is to wait until the engine is fully warm, turn off all ancillary loads and then take measurements, drive around 56mph and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I might be convinced that a lot of re-mapping improvement is born out of switching the engine to full capacity before the ECU would do it anyway, ie having a remap performed before the 10,000, but that's another point of debate.

Your thoughts gentlemen.

This is really interesting. I haven't heard about different maps until you reach certain mileage, but that makes a lot of sense!

[Sheroo]

I'm getting around 40mpg from my 3tdi 4wd after 3.5k miles, considering I was getting around 45mpg from my A4 2tdi, it's not bad.

[pechius]

I'm getting around 40mpg from my 3tdi 4wd after 3.5k miles, considering I was getting around 45mpg from my A4 2tdi, it's not bad.

Are you driving in city or highway?

[Sheroo]

Mainly motorway, so far it's 80-20 in favour of mway

[fernar]

My 3.0TDi Avant (201PS) after 3000 miles is getting 41 MPG (last measurement taken yesterday) using top up to top up. I notice that it has got worse since it got colder - I was getting 45 MPG when it was warmer....

I guess at 3000 miles, the engine is still 'running in'.....

I do about 70 motorway and the remaining in town where the traffic is is mixture of not flowing but a lot of stop/start at traffic lights.

[ti rich]

all these figures appear to suggest that the 3.0 models are giving similar or better MPG than the 2.0 models. 17k miles now and 41 mpg average in the winter driving like a nun (65 on the motorway, 55 A roads) , shockingly bad............

Summer average about 45mpg.

23 months till I can get rid, can't wait!

[5678]

2.0 tdi CVT here, on a long mway run at the weekend I saw an average of 56mpg when sitting at 70mph (sleeping child so was in no rush!)

At my normal cruising speed of 85-95 I am seeing around 42mpg.

Car has now done 6400 miles and has been remapped.

[5678]

Just to add this was with BP Ultimate diesel, I've not used it before and was curious to try. They car felt very quick, but I don't drive it daily so not sure if it made a difference or was just placebo. It was hilariously expensive though as I filled up at the motorway services.... £1.57 a litre!

[ti rich]

2.0 tdi CVT here, on a long mway run at the weekend I saw an average of 56mpg when sitting at 70mph (sleeping child so was in no rush!)

At my normal cruising speed of 85-95 I am seeing around 42mpg.

Car has now done 6400 miles and has been remapped.

My figures are over the whole tank of fuel, not a run.

But on a long motorway run at 70 I can't get more than about 45 - 47mpg. It is a manual.

[5678]

My figures are over the whole tank of fuel, not a run.

But on a long motorway run at 70 I can't get more than about 45 - 47mpg. It is a manual.

That was over approx 100 miles with an average of 50-something mph.

Tank wise, we're seeing low 40s now. We do a mix of stop start short journeys and longer mway runs.

Generally, I share your thoughts thought. The 3.0 would have been a nicer one to own. But it's irrelevant as this will be my first and last diesel car. I just don't like them.

[ti rich]

That was over approx 100 miles with an average of 50-something mph.

Tank wise, we're seeing low 40s now. We do a mix of stop start short journeys and longer mway runs.

Generally, I share your thoughts thought. The 3.0 would have been a nicer one to own. But it's irrelevant as this will be my first and last diesel car. I just don't like them.

Very similar then!

This will be our first and last Audi, back to BMW where the mpg figures are far more achievable. Not got a problem with diesels, just this one!!!!!

[5678]

Very similar then!

This will be our first and last Audi, back to BMW where the mpg figures are far more achievable. Not got a problem with diesels, just this one!!!!!

It's not even the MPG that bothers me too much, I just don't really like it enough to keep it. I shouldn't have been a scrooge and put my hand in my pocket for the X5 that I really wanted!

[ti rich]

It's not even the MPG that bothers me too much, I just don't really like it enough to keep it. I shouldn't have been a scrooge and put my hand in my pocket for the X5 that I really wanted!

Same here, almost brought a 530GT but went for a cheaper option with the Audi. Big mistake..........

[5678]

Same here, almost brought a 530GT but went for a cheaper option with the Audi. Big mistake..........

The GT is a great car! I had one for a week loan from BMW in Manchester. Excellent build and spec. The blocker for us was the lack of boot space.
5 Touring was nice, but new at the time and very expensive.
X5 was the choice, but didn't have the dealer backing that it currently does. This made it very expensive overall.