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I know what the official figures are but what should my average mpg be? I'm getting about 42mpg when I drive carefully and 38mpg the rest of the time. I can't remember the engine code but it's a late 01 130 TDi with 55K (well looked after). I had a 99 115 PD TDi Sport saloon which normally did 50mpg and more - why is this newer one so bad - is it drag? Thanks
I have the same car. My average is in the lower 40's. I can get mid-50's on the motorway at 70mph.
I don't drive fast or slow, but I am always learning new tricks to improve the MPG.
The reason you are getting lower MPG than expected could be many things.
1. The PD engine that you have uses a little more fuel than the VE engine in your old car. MPG shouldn't be that much lower though, so...
2. You are driving a little harder?
3. You have a MAF that is starting to fail?
4. The intake manifold is getting clogged?
5. You are driving on different roads/with more traffic?
6. The tyres are at the wrong pressure (underinflated)?
7. The Trip computer is reading low (they're not known for accuracy!)
8. Several other reasons.
The first thing to do would be to watch the instant MPG readout as you drive and learn to adapt your driving to the car and the situations. I've been able to improve MPG by up to 10 by learning to drive the car better.
If that dones't make a bigish change, then you should start to explore the other possibilities. Try calculating your actual MPG with each fill-up so that you can see how accurate the computer is.
Good luck, and welcome to the forums!
There are some good suggestions there, thankyou. I will work through them and see if I can improve things. I just fitted a K&N filter - was that a waste of time? Saves having to chnage it though.
In answer to your question "Is it drag?" it could well be.
The Passat Saloon has one of the lowest coefficients of drag
One would presume the Estate version has a higher Cd.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
Reports are that oil from the K&N can damage the MAF, and they are poor filters anyway, and a diesel will not benefit from this kind of "upgrade" anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by randall977
So as regards the K&N filter - a bad move - should I take it out?
The concensus of opinion on the various forums is that they are a liability and unnecessary. The regular paper one costs £6 or so and lasts two years.Quote:
Originally Posted by randall977
Having had my 130 for almost a week now and driving to work and back and a little in town, I am averaging 48mpg overall. On the work run which is in heavy traffic on the M3, M25 and M4, I have seen anywhere from as low as 49mpg to today as high as 58mpg. I have been driving very economically to see what I could get. From memory, not as good as my Bora TDi, but great after my 323i auto.
Meant to also add that from what I read about the way diesels and petrol engines work and their intricacies, that a diesel is only more economical on smaller throttle openings. Apparently, they can be just as heavy on fuel as a petrol car when using higher throttle loadings. (I will probably be corrected by more educated souls, but this I read in a 'respected' technical journal many years ago)
Cheers
Luis
My TDI 130 Sport estate does between 48 and 49 MPG on long motorway runs which i thought would be about right for a car of this type.
So on the K&N thing - should I take out the new £42 filter or is it okay to leave it (even if it makes no difference performance wise)? I've had a K&N filter in my last 4 cars - all of which were either PD TDi's or VW Turbo petrol engines and never had a problem. I thought K&N were reputable - the sticker looks good on the engine!