Real World MPG - 6 speed Manual

Timbo1711 said:

Are you folks with 50+ for real? I'm quite happy with my 2013 M6 but since the beginning, I've been getting ~36 mpg no matter what I do, city or highway, unless I super-baby the throttle on a long highway trip, coasting down freeway hills, etc, in which case I get ~40-41. Is it my vehicle or are folks exaggerating here? (I assume not).....

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I'm for real, but I'll clarify that my best tanks have been in the low 50s and are more commonly in the mid-high 40s. My lifetime average (23k miles) is 46.7MPG based on fuel receipts, and that's with me driving ~74 highway miles every day. I usually do >50MPG on my long highway commute, but shorter trips result in MUCH lower mileage. If you check fuelly you'll see there are plenty of people with mileage like yours, so don't despair. Also, check that you're looking at the right average consumption--if you hit the OK button you'll toggle between average over past 9,999 miles or during the current drive. If you're only getting up to 40 MPG on a long highway drive, that may be the longer average (which actually varies a lot more on the MFI than is realistic if actually looking back over 10k miles).

Thanks for all the comments. The only fuel consumption indications I watch are the ODO and the gals at the fuel pump, then divide. In 21k miles I've calc'ed and recorded all but 2 tanks. Sweet spot 36-38. One thing that has bothered is some ignition miss in the first 10 minutes partic when moisture is high, and temp is cool. It's really subtle....can barely feel it, mainly at lower RPMs with no throttle pressure. It's made me wonder whether its impacting mileage. Dealer said it might be turbo warming up. Anyone felt that miss?

To throw in my .02, I have seen mileage numbers in the mid-upper 40s at speeds toward the 80ish range on several long distance trips. Best ever was 60mpg with considerable effort, but traveling around the speed limit it isn't uncommon to get around 50 mpg. I can't comment on city driving as I rarely do it, almost all of my driving is highway with light traffic.

With a little extra attention to conditions you can see better mpgs city than highway......

If you watch traffic conditions not to over accelerate just to have to slam on brakes.

If you get into the highest gear possible sooner than later, at speeds above 35-38 mph when terrain allows(~1,100 rpms or higher if no acceleration is required).

Light throttle, give time to accelerate to desired speed. Especially when the engine is cold which is when they use the most fuel. Skip gears not needed and get into high gear & stay there as much as conditions allow....

Don't push the thing up the hill, allow your speed to slow slightly while going up a grade.

Along with using N on down grades as much as conditions allow as fuel if you have terrain of a few hills you can see much higher mpgs city than during sustained higher highway speeds. Many times you can use a pulse of energy then let gravity get you up to the speed limit(up to your desired speed) saving fuel.



I have ~38 years of records in all kinds of gasoline and diesel powered offerings to prove that the above allows maximum mpgs to be seen on city/urban tanks......

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I had to get a full size chevy pickup a recently and using the above techniques I was able to push mpgs up to 17 to around 20 running around the urban area. Talking to the previous owner the way he drove it over the last decade or so it would have been 11-13 mpgs maximum if he clocked those miles the way he drove.......

Jimbo70 said:

Well, we WERE going to take our Passat for a nice, long road trip Friday morning. That was until my wife tangled with a deer tonight on her way home from work. Both she and our daughter are fine. The car? Not so much. Now we're taking my gas '14 Jetta on the trip. Oh well, maybe next year. What really sucks is we just got the car back from a month at the bodyshop two weeks ago, after it was backed into by an F-150 while sitting in a friend's driveway.

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A little less than a year and we were finally able to use our Passat for the reason it was purchased. We drove from Connecticut down the Winston-Salem, NC area. According to the computer we averaged 48 MPG. That was using the cruise as much as traffic permitted, but also hauling the mail whenever possible.

Timbo1711 said:

Thanks for all the comments. The only fuel consumption indications I watch are the ODO and the gals at the fuel pump, then divide. In 21k miles I've calc'ed and recorded all but 2 tanks. Sweet spot 36-38. One thing that has bothered is some ignition miss in the first 10 minutes partic when moisture is high, and temp is cool. It's really subtle....can barely feel it, mainly at lower RPMs with no throttle pressure. It's made me wonder whether its impacting mileage. Dealer said it might be turbo warming up. Anyone felt that miss?

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Tim,
My Mpg's are real as are I suspect the others reporting good numbers. I can get 50+ on some trips, but not a whole tank. This has been said before but I'll break it down as I see it.

Short hops of less than 20miles will make it hard to get great mileage numbers. The car needs to be warmed up good. And you need the really good numbers you get later in the drive to compensate for the low numbers when the engine, and bearings are cold. My commute is 55miles and I don't get up to the highest mpg numbers until the end of the trip.

High speed and hard acceleration obviously hurts. But a quick accel up to legal speeds are ok.

I warm up real gentle for first 5 miles. But I always hit high Revs at least once every drive.

I coast a lot. It's a game, I look ahead and know whether I can keep speed or need to coast because I have to slow down. Like not using the brakes as much as possible. It also is great for safety keeping yourself far out ahead of yourself. I'll also coast down any hill I see. This car coasts so well. I laugh cause I know suv's and other cars are using gas and I'm on their tail and I'm coasting in neutral. Look, I don't drive fast anymore so I use other games to keep me interested.

I run tires at 40psi. The work fine, stop fine, turn fine. It's not a sports car.

Know that cold weather kills the mpg. It just does as does the crappier winter fuel blend.

I skip shift all the time. Up thru 3rd and into 6th when getting on interstates. Try it.

I slow down a bit up steep long hills.

I'm not in a hurry anymore and I drive the speed limits to +5. It's not worth it anymore. I don't want a ticket and it costs more to drive fast.

Again, short trips hurt Mpg's. If I need to run errands in town, I do it after my commute when engine is still warm. I still get great mileage in town then because the car is a peak operating temps.


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Jbdesigns said:

Tim,
My Mpg's are real as are I suspect the others reporting good numbers. I can get 50+ on some trips, but not a whole tank. This has been said before but I'll break it down as I see it.

Short hops of less than 20miles will make it hard to get great mileage numbers. The car needs to be warmed up good. And you need the really good numbers you get later in the drive to compensate for the low numbers when the engine, and bearings are cold. My commute is 55miles and I don't get up to the highest mpg numbers until the end of the trip.

High speed and hard acceleration obviously hurts. But a quick accel up to legal speeds are ok.

I warm up real gentle for first 5 miles. But I always hit high Revs at least once every drive.

I coast a lot. It's a game, I look ahead and know whether I can keep speed or need to coast because I have to slow down. Like not using the brakes as much as possible. It also is great for safety keeping yourself far out ahead of yourself. I'll also coast down any hill I see. This car coasts so well. I laugh cause I know suv's and other cars are using gas and I'm on their tail and I'm coasting in neutral. Look, I don't drive fast anymore so I use other games to keep me interested.

I run tires at 40psi. The work fine, stop fine, turn fine. It's not a sports car.

Know that cold weather kills the mpg. It just does as does the crappier winter fuel blend.

I skip shift all the time. Up thru 3rd and into 6th when getting on interstates. Try it.

I slow down a bit up steep long hills.

I'm not in a hurry anymore and I drive the speed limits to +5. It's not worth it anymore. I don't want a ticket and it costs more to drive fast.

Again, short trips hurt Mpg's. If I need to run errands in town, I do it after my commute when engine is still warm. I still get great mileage in town then because the car is a peak operating temps.


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Nailed it!

Funny, I could have posted this, except for the skip shifting. This is a strategy I will employ in the future to see if it helps. Conversely, we had some weather that was very cold, 5* one morning and I ended up with my first tank UNDER 50 MPG in months.

Timbo1711 said:

Are you folks with 50+ for real? I'm quite happy with my 2013 M6 but since the beginning, I've been getting ~36 mpg no matter what I do, city or highway, unless I super-baby the throttle on a long highway trip, coasting down freeway hills, etc, in which case I get ~40-41. Is it my vehicle or are folks exaggerating here? (I assume not).....

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Just did western nc -> Outer banks, some city driving (~140 miles) -> somewhere back past Raleigh

Many drives in ~40F

Fill up came in at 46.5 MPG

Lots of 75MPH in there

czeetah said:

Just did western nc -> Outer banks, some city driving (~140 miles) -> somewhere back past Raleigh

Many drives in ~40F

Fill up came in at 46.5 MPG

Lots of 75MPH in there

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Make that trip usually twice a year. We live in WNC and vacay in OBX frequently. Fill the Passat before the trip, drove down and drive all week. Usually fill up coming off the island (most times 45 to 47 mpg) and use about 1/2 tank coming home. Those flat coastal roads at 50-55 mph work wonders on mpg.

Jbdesigns said:

Tim,
My Mpg's are real as are I suspect the others reporting good numbers. I can get 50+ on some trips, but not a whole tank. This has been said before but I'll break it down as I see it.

Short hops of less than 20miles will make it hard to get great mileage numbers. The car needs to be warmed up good. And you need the really good numbers you get later in the drive to compensate for the low numbers when the engine, and bearings arenu cold. My commute is 55miles and I don't get up to the highest mpg numbers until the end of the trip.

High speed and hard acceleration obviously hurts. But a quick accel up to legal speeds are ok.

I warm up real gentle for first 5 miles. But I always hit high Revs at least once every drive.

I coast a lot. It's a game, I look ahead and know whether I can keep speed or need to coast because I have to slow down. Like not using the brakes as much as possible. It also is great for safety keeping yourself far out ahead of yourself. I'll also coast down any hill I see. This car coasts so well. I laugh cause I know suv's and other cars are using gas and I'm on their tail and I'm coasting in neutral. Look, I don't drive fast anymore so I use other games to keep me interested.

I run tires at 40psi. The work fine, stop fine, turn fine. It's not a sports car.

Know that cold weather kills the mpg. It just does as does the crappier winter fuel blend.

I skip shift all the time. Up thru 3rd and into 6th when getting on interstates. Try it.

I slow down a bit up steep long hills.

I'm not in a hurry anymore and I drive the speed limits to +5. It's not worth it anymore. I don't want a ticket and it costs more to drive fast.

Again, short trips hurt Mpg's. If I need to run errands in town, I do it after my commute when engine is still warm. I still get great mileage in town then because the car is a peak operating temps.

Click to expand...

Pretty much sums up my strategy as well, though I will engine brake on downhills as long as I can keep up my speed. The engine is nothing more than an air pump at that point and helps cool the engine a bit, plus you aren't using any fuel at all.

Skip shifting is standard operating procedure in a manual. I do it all the time. 3rd gear up to 4k shift into 6th and your at 65mph. Perfect for merging onto the highway, engine warm of course.

skinnyb said:

Make that trip usually twice a year. We live in WNC and vacay in OBX frequently. Fill the Passat before the trip, drove down and drive all week. Usually fill up coming off the island (most times 45 to 47 mpg) and use about 1/2 tank coming home. Those flat coastal roads at 50-55 mph work wonders on mpg.

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Tell me!

My GPS kept screaming at me to get on the main road going between Kitty Hawk & KDH and I kept ignoring it. Too much traffic & stop lights. Speed limit might be 45/50 but you lose it with a couple red lights.

Took Dare each time (the one by the beach) 35MPH flat and almost no stopping. Fifth gear cruise control.

Was getting 56MPG on those trips by the lie-o-meter on the dash.

56,718 current miles on a 2013 Passat TDI, 6 spd manual, total mileage = 44.99
This includes 95% highway at 65 to 70, some above 70, not much.

21,000 Miles

While I understand that in some cases personal pride tends to inflate economy numbers, allow me to detail some facts and figures...

The car... 2014 TDI MT with 21k miles. Hankook directional snows on all four corners. Tires at 42 psi. Winter Front installed.

Weather conditions variable. Some considerable headwinds. Temps from the teens to upper 40's. No snow or slush. Winter blend fuel. Very little city driving but a good portion on secondary roads mixed with 70+ mph Interstate yesterday.

Trip(s)...

72 mile round trip eastbound and return from Elmira/Corning, NY Mostly flat terrain.

250 mile round trip westward on Rt. 17 over some rather steep terrain. 2200' at the highest point.

Yesterday to Orbisonia, PA via State College, Tyrone, and Huntingdon. Then return via cross country to Lewisburg and north on Rt. 15. If you know the areas described, or if you look at the map, you'll soon discover that the roads traveled are not conducive to stellar fuel economy. Further, I wasted no time.

From initial fill to the refuel last evening the car returned a calculated 51.9 mpg. I realize that there could be some variance in top-off but even a half gallon difference over the miles driven wouldn't make all that much difference. This car just loves to stretch its legs whether on an Interstate or on a narrow twisting mountain road.

I believe it fair to say that the Winter Front has a positive influence on performance. Full operating temp comes much sooner and the engine generally seems a bit happier overall. Normally I expect about a 10% hit with winter fuel and it would seem that allowing things under the hood to remain a bit warmer may help negate the impact of thinner fuel.

For those wishing to squeeze a bit better economy out of the TDI I would suggest "smooth" as the order of the day. Don't be afraid to move quickly or maintain Interstate speeds. Don't bother to do anything special, except to make every attempt to make your shifts seamless. As much as possible try for shifts at about 2000 rpm or just a bit more. Try not to retain the habits learned in back of a gasoline engine. Drive the TDI as a diesel should be driven and I believe a number of you will be greatly rewarded.

Been a while for updates from me so I will include both fills from January.

1/5/15 786 miles/16.6 gallons = 47.4 MPG

1/20/2015 854 miles/17.3 gallons equal 49.4 MPG

I've had my 2014 MT for a year now and have tracked every tank. Over 12 months and 29,000 miles, my average is 42.5 MPG.

90+% of those miles are my commute, which is about half freeway and half 2-lane farm roads with a ~1700 foot elevation change. I drive smoothly and not particularly fast, but don't make any special accommodations beyond that to maximize fuel economy.

I've also kept track of the MFI readings for each tank. Over the course of the year the MFI average was 45.1 MPG, about 6% optimistic.

Plenty of people do better, but I'm quite happy with those results.

coasting in neutral uses nonzero fuel.
you will get better mpg coasting in gear due to using zero fuel in that case.

eli said:

coasting in neutral uses nonzero fuel.
you will get better mpg coasting in gear due to using zero fuel in that case.

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non·ze·ro

adjective

having a positive or negative value; not equal to zero.

846 miles/17.1 Gal=49.5 MPG

Not sure it it's the moderate temps or the addition of the winter fronts that have helped my MPG this winter, or the engine loosening up. enjoying my MPG!

Just passed 10,000 miles since my used purchase (with 24K miles) last April and my overall MPG is 49.66.

I'm tickled pink!

pedorro said:

Just passed 10,000 miles since my used purchase (with 24K miles) last April and my overall MPG is 49.66.
I'm tickled pink!

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Nice numbers, I had to look at your Fuelly Acct. 57+ MPG in October, too bad it was a short fill.

psd1 said:

Nice numbers, I had to look at your Fuelly Acct. 57+ MPG in October, too bad it was a short fill.

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Guilty as charged. Had a nice 300+ mile day trip to San Diego with light traffic and couldn't resist the temptation to top off.

I need to work a bit to up into your mileage range...impressive!

pedorro said:

Guilty as charged. Had a nice 300+ mile day trip to San Diego with light traffic and couldn't resist the temptation to top off.

I need to work a bit to up into your mileage range...impressive!

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I'll guess by October your Mileage will equal, or exceed mine. The dang cold weather here has been keeping me in the 50.5-50.7 range.

Feb numbers

2/4 846 miles/17.1 Gals 49.47 MPG

2/19 810 miles /15.3 Gals 52.94 MPG

Had a 490 mile weekend that returned an indicated 55.2 MPG on the MFI, we will see in another week what that looks like. We are having extremely warm weather and my MPG is showing it.

I am getting 35+ (city) ... 53+ (highway) averaging 48 mpg... love TDI

I have been following this thread for a couple years now. And I have come to that point where my next car purchase will have to be this year. I have a '06 Honda Civic Hybrid that I learn to constantly get 50 mpg through driving techniques. Before that I had a '01 Ford Excursion 7.3L diesel.

I point those vehicles out to show I have owned both and understand the plus and minuses of each. Diesels can be more costly to maintain and Hybrids tend to be so stripped down that they are noisy and don't have many comfort features.

So my question is:

Can you address the maintenance cost of owning a Passat out to and past the warranty? I have read about the fuel pump issues and some lemons out there. I understand VW's are expensive to have worked on. Example I'm not interested in a $600 timing belt adjustment every 15k miles. My driving habits are 25% city 75% hwy.

Thank you to anyone that takes a moment to answer my question!

First off, there's no timing belt adjustment. I believe the current replacement mileage is about 120,000 miles. Might be a little less. If you stick with the manual, there's no DSG service every 40,000.

The fuel pump issue has decreased tremendously. It is still sensitive to bad fuel (or gasoline), but with normal pump diesel (which usually has 2-5% BioD) it seems fine.

The Passat has suffered from a few issues, mainly turbo failure and heater core plugging. VW seems to be taking care of the turbo failures, but I haven't heard of them taking care of the heater cores out of warranty. Some people have had problems with the urea tank heaters.

Remember one thing: you are more likely to hear about the problems on a forum like this. Many more people drive them without issues, but you don't hear that much here. I bought mine knowing there were potential issues. I just like the VW brand so much, and I have a great dealer. Yeah, you don't hear that much!

843 miles/15.3 gals = 55.1 MPG, tank brimmed as usual. Winter fronts on and average tank speed was 45 MPH. 500 miles was on a very flat stretch of interstate with the cruise set at 65 (limit). Much warmer weather than usual for Feb.

I always snicker when I see the Passat commercials on TV touting 44 MPG and the 814 Mile range...

psd1 said:

843 miles/15.3 gals = 55.1 MPG, tank brimmed as usual. Winter fronts on and average tank speed was 45 MPH. 500 miles was on a very flat stretch of interstate with the cruise set at 65 (limit). Much warmer weather than usual for Feb.

I always snicker when I see the Passat commercials on TV touting 44 MPG and the 814 Mile range...

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psd1 - This is what has me ready to make the jump to a TDI 6MT. I have been driving in flat Indiana in a '06 Honda Civic Hybrid with a new replaced battery for 3 years almost never driving over 65 mph. And I have only once seen 55.0 mpg or better in that time frame. Hell I haven't used cruise control for 5 years because it KILLS a hybrids average! I drive 85% highway miles no cruise and throw every trick there is to bumping the mpg and rarely see better the 52 mpg.

To be able to ride in a quality midsize car with the cruise on going 65 mph and get 50+ mpg or better would be a dream! It is only the fear of repair and maintenance cost of a VW that has held me back.

radtech83 said:

psd1 - This is what has me ready to make the jump to a TDI 6MT. I have been driving in flat Indiana in a '06 Honda Civic Hybrid with a new replaced battery for 3 years almost never driving over 65 mph. And I have only once seen 55.0 mpg or better in that time frame. Hell I haven't used cruise control for 5 years because it KILLS a hybrids average! I drive 85% highway miles no cruise and throw every trick there is to bumping the mpg and rarely see better the 52 mpg.
To be able to ride in a quality midsize car with the cruise on going 65 mph and get 50+ mpg or better would be a dream! It is only the fear of repair and maintenance cost of a VW that has held me back.

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I was tempted to fill at the 500 mile mark, just to check but I like to keep my miles per tank average up. My MFI was showing 55+ at the end of that 500 miles, so it was probably in the 57-58 MPG range as my MFI always reads low.

This is our third TDI and it is a great car. It isn't fancy and the wife wishes it had a sunroof, but it does everything spectacularly. I am in need of new tires and am holding off as long as I can because I know my MPG will suffer. After 44K miles the car has been stellar, the maintenance is easy and of course there is the Tq factor. From the sounds of your commute the Passat TDI would be a great choice.