2.0 GT Tdi DSG - 8000 mile update

[maisbitt]

Well i'm nowhere near the mileages of some of you's at only 2700 miles, but my GTD consistently does 46mpg on my 12 mile commute when it isn't regenning and 41/42mpg when it is. It seems to be regenning about 15% of the time, dragging my overall mpg down to about 44mpg. I had about a week of an additional commute to 16 miles each way - seeing my mpg get to 50mpg. The main thing I noticed is that my GTD runs about 4C colder (oil temp) than my Scirocco 170TDI when not under heavy load/acceleration and takes about 8 miles to get warm vs 6 miles in the Scirocco.

It seems then that my poor mpg is most likely caused by the proportion of my commute where the engine isn't up to temp. On the Scirocco, it had 6 miles of warm engine in the 12 mile commute, now it is more like 4 miles. With the longer commute (16 miles), 8 miles with warm engine seems to be enough to burn off the soot passively and give me a decent mpg.

I have learnt to live with my crappy mpg seeing as trying to drive like a nun in Eco mode seems to be no better for my mpg on my commute than being in Sport and putting your foot down to get the car warmed a little quicker (poorer initial mpg balanced out my more mpg later in the journey and the car being warmer for a larger proportion of the journey).

The other day, after a 40 mile stretch of regenning, I did a 70 mile round trip, with 90% of it being on dual carriageway. The car did 47mpg going dowm, maintaining 80mph, and on the way back a few hours later, same journey yielded 53mpg, again maintaining 80mph.

The car has loosened up a little, which encourages me to drive it a little harder. Since ditching the V-power, i'd say my power and economy are up at least 10%, building on abysmal beginnings on both counts.

DPF seems to be the mpg killer for the MK7 and it's more active than ever before, requiring ever longer journeys for "normal" operation vs MK5/MK6/Scirocco.

Ive had my front suspension mount bearings replaced, had transport pucks left in the front suspension struts and had a dodgy handbrake/autohold function repaired under warranty (sensor and switch replacement).

[maisbitt]

Forgot to say that my dad has done 8200 miles now in his GTD DSG. His is not apprciably less thirsty than when he got it, still getting a consistent 47mpg average and his commute is longer than mine (18 miles), all on nice clutter-free dual carriageway and motorway. He'll be due his first service in around 4 weeks time - we'll see it it has a noticeable step up in fuel economy following that.