MPG auto/stick "newbie asks"

BMWRich58

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 19, 2003
Location
Chicago \
TDI
none yet but I do have a 2003 gasser
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

I'ved posted a few times months ago but nothing very important,at least I thought wasn't of any value.
Anywho,I'm that much closer to attaining my goal of purchasing a <font color="red">T </font> <font color="green">D </font> <font color="blue">I </font>. Some of the "bills" seem to be disappearing
and money again appears to be somewhat plentyful. #1 son is off to college next week so the food bill should have a nice recovery!!!
I'm actually talking to salesmen. I thought about going the used route but, new isn't that much different in monthly payments,taking into consideration the interest rates of loans.
I have a Golf gasser and kinda like the looks of the Jetta wagon. I would like to buy a kayak and be able to carry it on top. Don't get me wrong,I still love my motorcycles,but bringing momma,camping gear and a boat, well,...you get the idea.:p
I love stick shift,but momma prefers automatic,(she can't shift). So the TDI auto is a much more rare find than a TDI itself.
Is the mileage really that much different between stick and auto??
What a long post ( <font color="blue"> drinkin'Cap'n n Coke </font> )for such a short question
 

RSTX

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2004
Location
TX
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

If the TDI is going to be her car, get what she wants. If it will by your car, and she might (emphasis on might) drive it twice a year, get what you want. I've read that the difference can be as much as 5 mpg, but I have no personal experience. Good luck.
 

TDICa

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2003
Location
Sacramento, Ca
TDI
02 Jetta GLS Black
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

02 Jetta automatic: I'm averaging 38 mpg; not disappointed - but definately NOT what was on the sticker! 50-50 city/highway mix, 20 miles each way to work. Expect lower mileage on shorter hops, and cold weather. My high is 42 mpg on mostly highway trips down to LA. Hope this helps..
 

blitzoid

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2003
Location
NYC
TDI
Blue '02 Golf GLS TDI
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

For what it's worth - the TDI is a superb vehicle to learn to drive a stick on. I let my 55 year old father take a spin, and he picked it up with relative ease.

Due to the very low torque peak, and ample torque at said peak, it's very hard to stall the car.
 

wpeets

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
Chateaugay NY 12920
TDI
2014 TDI Wagen Hers
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

Reading many posts on fuel milage I would guess 7 to 10 miles better on a stick. I switched from a gasser to a TDI for fuel savings. Maintaining a TDI could be more costly than a gasser at lease in my experiance. I drive a stick and have never gotten below 42 mpg and that is in the dead of winter with temps as low as -30 f. Normal milage 9 months of the year ranges between 48 & 53. Both my wife and I share the TDI. We prefer the stick. We have an automatic in our diesel truck but don't use it that much.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
Virginia
TDI
New Beetle, 2003, Orange
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

I would rather base my decision on the type of traffic you have to do -- if it's city or surburban with alot of traffic and stop & go or bumber to bumber -- get the automatic. If that doesn't apply to you, then get the stick.

I recently changed jobs and have to fight more traffic and wish I had an automatic. Also, I would agree with the poster that said that the TDI is the easiest type of vehicle to learn "stick" on. Not only does the high amount of torque make it harder to stall, it has the most forgiving and softest clutch I've ever experienced.
 

bjmarler

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2004
Location
Tullahoma, TN
TDI
Jetta GLS, 2004, White
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

My 2004 5-speed TDI is getting around 45 - 47 and it's not fully broken in yet.
 

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

Is the mileage really that much different between stick and auto??
Based on some on-running polls in the Fuel Economy forum, the difference between manual and automatic transmissions in the 2003-and-earlier A4's is about 5 mpg.

The sample sizes for the 2004 PDs polls are much smaller, but the advantage to the manual transmission is still at least 4 mpg.

I agree with RSTX: "If the TDI is going to be her car, get what she wants. If it will be your car, and she might (emphasis on might) drive it twice a year, get what you want." But there is no easier car with which to learn how to drive a stick than a TDI. So, convince your wife that the manual transmission is the better choice (you figure out how).
 

oriley

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2003
Location
Jamestown, PA
TDI
'02 black Golf
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

I have an '02 auto, I only drive 8 miles to work....my mileage suffers cuz of this...average of 30 when it's strictly to and fro work...highway I get mid 40's...that'd be my .02
 

TDiPtbo

Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2004
Location
Peterborough, Ontario
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 Black on Black
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

I have a 2003 TDI wagon with the 4 speed auto and with venting I average about 900km's a tank. A buddy of mine has a 2002 sedan with a stick and he is getting about 1100km's a tank of fuel. We both drive long (>60miles) one way to work and our crusing speeds are simular about 120km/h. The best I have ever achieved is ~51mpg (imperial). My car has about 23000km and his about 70000km. Hope this helps

Neil
 

737tdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2003
Location
Scurry TX
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI, Tornado Red (faded), 238,000 miles!
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

If you are buying for gas mileage the 5 speed is the only choice. My lifetime avg. is 51.8 mpg, with 37,600 miles on the odo. now.

Also, I think you will find the manual much funner to drive. Good Luck.
 

Frankenwagen

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2002
Location
NH
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

I have a stick and an automatic, 2003 and 1999 respectively. I find that there is about a 5 mpg average difference between the two. These two cars are the previous generation VE distributor pump type TDI system and the automatic is the 01M 4-speed type.

The newer unit injector PD type TDI's in the '04 and now '05 cars with a 5-speed automatic closes the gap between the 5-speed stick shift models even more than previous models. Both transmission options have lower highway and city EPA mileage figures than the previous ones and the difference in city/highway mileage of the two types is less.

Personally, I find both transmission options have their favorable qualities. In the end, I stand in the middle as far as choice if money isn't a concern. The comfort level of the automatic is without a doubt higher with the automatic, but you have to pay for it in initial cost and mileage. If you look at the mileage loss compared to the gas model, you are getting more than you could if you drove the stick with that model. In this respect, you are still making out cost wise, just not as much as the TDI stick.
 

RichC

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2002
Location
Cincinnati, OH
TDI
Others: 82 MB 300D Turbodiesel & 2010 BMW X5 35D
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

there is about a 5 mpg average difference between the two.
It is interesting to view this from a gas guzzler perspective. Five miles per gallon is a big deal when you are driving a 10-15 mpg SUV or truck ... yet 5 mpg probably doesn't seem like such a big deal when your driving a 40-50 mpg TDI!
 

golffrog

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Location
Varennes, Québec
TDI
Golf GLS TDI, 2002, Bleu Indigo
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

Dunno lifetime average but 4.9 & 4.7 l/100 km on the last two tanks. Which is about 57-60 m/imp gal That is doing anywhere between 110-120 km/h (68-74 mph) on the highway, and most of the time shifting at around 3100 rpm, sometimes a little over 4000. The car is a stock 2002 Golf Gls TDI, running 15 inch tires. Motor oil is Motul 5w-40.
 

JettaJake

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2002
Location
CT TDI Corral
TDI
'03 GLS 5spd
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

My TDI, Jake (an '03 5spd) has gotten right around 47mpg lifetime and is nearing 40K miles. I could tell you to the 1/10 of a mpg but don't have my spreadsheet handy
.

Anyway, here's an interesting way (perhaps) to look at mileage numbers....over this ~40K mile span Jake has combusted about 800 (US) gallons of fuel. At this point (pre-adolescence?), every add'l AVERAGE MPG up or down equates to about a tank of fuel. So, if the data showed Jake was getting 48mpg (an extra 1 mpg), it means I would have visited the fuel station one less time in the ~2 years I've owned this sweet ride.

Now if Jake was an automatic (god forbid!), I would have had to stop to fuel him up an extra 5 or 6 more times during this span....YMMV


(psst, get the 5spd, not necessarily for mileage reasons, but just because it's a better, more alive, more connected way to drive....be one w/ your diesel, feel to torque....Luuuke.....
)
 

pghPAtdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2003
Location
Nova Scotia to Pittsburgh and back
TDI
Jetta GLS, 2001, White, Leather
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

Just got back from Shenandoah park in Virgina. 750 miles and still 1/8 tank left. Can't beat that.
Well, you can but you know what I mean. It just makes trips more fun. I would think 5spd or auto... it's still a cool car to have.

Dave
 

david_594

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 28, 2004
Location
Cheshire, CT
TDI
2000 Jetta GLS Silver
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

I have a 2000 Jetta 5 speed. Bought it used 3.5 months ago with 56809 miles on it. I have since put 7,342 miles on it and consumed 156.163 gallons which works out to 47.01 MPG.

Fuel costs work out to 3.91 cents per mile having paid an average price of $1.839/ gallon.
 

mazot

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2003
Location
MA, USA
TDI
Jetta Wagon, 2003, Indigo Blue
MPG auto/stick \"newbie asks\"

2003 Jetta Wagon, Auto, 4-speed. Average mileage 39 city/highway driving. Best mileage 43 during a long trip. Worst mileage 35, mostly city driving. I noticed traffic jams and stop and go driving lowers the mileage considerably in automatic TDIs. As far as I remember from oher threads some members also had similar experience, mileages were down to low 30s if you drive in stop&go city traffic all the time.

Still, I love my wagon and the convenience of the automatic drive. This one is my first automatic car after owning and driving manual-shift cars for more than 25 years.
 
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