Real World MPG - 6 speed Manual

eatpasta

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2011
Location
Santa Barbara, Ca
TDI
2012 Passat
we are about half way done with tank #2 in our Passat and it lookin much more like 36 for traffic....

my wife drives it all the time so i have no idea how she is driving. Probably normal which means IVE NEVER HAD A TURBO BEFORE - SPOOL THAT $%^!!

:rolleyes:
 

gergg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Location
Georgia
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6M
we are about half way done with tank #2 in our Passat and it lookin much more like 36 for traffic....

my wife drives it all the time so i have no idea how she is driving
Much more difficult to get 40+ in the city, I have to be really careful to do so. If it is traffic light to traffic light with little time to get the mpg's up in between then mid 30mpg's is going to happen.
 

TomB

Veteran Member
Joined
May 1, 2003
Location
Cle Elum, Washington/Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2015 Audi TDI Prestige Sport
The stupid EPA mileage calculations is really makes it hard for the consumer to know WHAT REALLY the car will get. I firmly believe that diesels, once warmed up fully, will always beat the pants of the EPA estimates. My 05 passat TDI does all the time. I usually get 41-41.5 easy on a trip. Drive it hard? Get 40 mpg. Trust me it is a lot of fun to drive mine for hours at a clip at 75-80. :)
Those EPA ranges tell you the worst and best numbers seen. I have gotten cars that do achieve the low end of the numbers. There are others that have gotten the high end.

It is important to pay attention to the range because you WILL get something in that range.

As for my 2005 Passats. Lowest 28 and highest 42 with the 17" rims. Real world driving.
 

Niner

duplicate account, banned
Joined
Jun 3, 2011
Anyone have any MPG readings doing a flat 70 mph indicated on flat level ground, for, oh, say 300-350 miles, the paper and pencil type of MPG, not the one indicated on the dash?
 

gergg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Location
Georgia
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6M
Anyone have any MPG readings doing a flat 70 mph indicated on flat level ground, for, oh, say 300-350 miles, the paper and pencil type of MPG, not the one indicated on the dash?
Not exactly to your specs but here is an example......Drove 250 miles today, lots of "flat" terrain(nothing totally flat in North Georgia) 235 miles highway, mostly 60-75mph(traffic determined speed), 15 miles city, stop and go, traffic lights etc... Averaged 50.6 mpg's......that is outstanding mpg's, this car does really well on the highway.
 

Niner

duplicate account, banned
Joined
Jun 3, 2011
Not exactly to your specs but here is an example......Drove 250 miles today, lots of "flat" terrain(nothing totally flat in North Georgia) 235 miles highway, mostly 60-75mph(traffic determined speed), 15 miles city, stop and go, traffic lights etc... Averaged 50.6 mpg's......that is outstanding mpg's, this car does really well on the highway.
That's pencil and paper calculations, not the MFA, correct? You drove 250 miles, and bought just under 5 gallons when you topped off?
 

gergg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Location
Georgia
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6M
That's pencil and paper calculations, not the MFA, correct? You drove 250 miles, and bought just under 5 gallons when you topped off?
Yeah, my wife topped off with fuel...4.9 gallons....FYI, the computer was dead on, always has been very close.
 

Niner

duplicate account, banned
Joined
Jun 3, 2011
Yeah, my wife topped off with fuel...4.9 gallons....FYI, the computer was dead on, always has been very close.

Do you know if she filled it to the brim this last time, and fills consistently to the same level? Get back to me when she's burned at least a 15 gallon tanks worth of fuel and then fills up... 4.9 gallons introduces too much variability in the level of the fill up, and consistency in filling up from tank to tank.

More here: Monthly mileage thread http://forums.tdiclub.com/forumdisplay.php?f=24

Folks are going to the 1/1000th of a gallon for measurement on their fillups, as an example.
 
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gergg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Location
Georgia
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6M
Do you know if she filled it to the brim this last time, and fills consistently to the same level? Get back to me when she's burned at least a 15 gallon tanks worth of fuel and then fills up... 4.9 gallons introduces too much variability in the level of the fill up, and consistency in filling up from tank to tank.
You're funny....I'm just trying to help you with the question at hand, I've filled this car to the brim many times already..5500 miles...I've been averaging approx 45-47mpg per tankfull with mixed driving. By the way, filling this tank to the brim is an adventure in itself, so 1/1000 of a gallon is not going to happen with the Passat.
 
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tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
True...with the filling difficulties, averaging several tanks will be the only accurate method...
 

tdiot

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2002
Location
dallas/fortworth
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI 350000mi, Mercedes E320 CDI, 96 Dodge 2500 Cummins, 96 Serro Scotty Cummins RV, 93 Toyota Hilux 4x4 3.0 TD.
'12 Passat TDI SEL, Black, Cornsilk Beige leather Purchased December 5, 2012
They should be available by then.......maybe.

Great choice BTW....I got that colour combo....looks great.
 
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gergg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Location
Georgia
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6M
OK someone had to have filled up by now. Need more data!
My last fill up resulted in approx 46.5mpg's. I will be filling up again tomorrow, right now I'm at 45.6mpg's on the MFD for this tank.....I did have something happen(regen?) during this tank, over a few consecutive shorter trips, that reduced the mpg's substantially on the MFD(15-20% less) then back to normal.
 

under2x

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2011
Location
Colorado USA
TDI
2012 Passat TDI SE manual
I'm getting significantly less, but most of my miles are from driving up to the mountains here in colorado to go snowboarding, (with a ski rack too).
 

Dismayed

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2011
Location
Boston
TDI
2012 Passat SEL-Premium TDI
True...with the filling difficulties, averaging several tanks will be the only accurate method...
How accurate do you really need? This is all a bit silly. Computers are every bit as accurate as pen and paper, and far less prone to error (once a program has been debugged).
 

radtech83

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 27, 2011
Location
Indiana
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SE 6MT White
Does anyone with a 2012 Passat have numbers of MPG with mostly highway miles? I'm looking to get a '12 and I drive 120 miles a day so my driving on a tank is like 10% city 90% highway.

What speed are you mostly driving? Or is there a thread or article I should read that will tell me more of what to expect?
 
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tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
How accurate do you really need? This is all a bit silly. Computers are every bit as accurate as pen and paper, and far less prone to error (once a program has been debugged).
This is not silly at all. There are those here that are very serious about getting accurate information.

With the tricky filler set-up with these cars, there's no way that even 2 fill-ups can be considered accurate, hence my comment about several tanks.

Having spent 3 years on this forum, and reading most of what is written, it's clear to me that the computers in these cars are not as accurate as paper and pencil, averaged over several tanks.
 

gergg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Location
Georgia
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6M
Does anyone with a 2012 Passat have numbers of MPG with mostly highway miles? I'm looking to get a '12 and I drive 120 miles a day so my driving on a tank is like 10% city 90% highway.

What speed are you mostly driving? Or is there a thread or article I should read that will tell me more of what to expect?
OK, I'll give it a shot.....6MT Passat.....When I drive 70mph or less on the highway with the cruise on, 47-50mpg is a reasonable expectation, I also add some aggressive driving in my routine so this isn't granny's car data.....I just found out via GPS that my speedo reads 2-3mph low and my cruise is another 1mph low, so when I thought I was cruising at 70mph I was actually going 74ish and I've been averaging 45-46mpg over 6000 miles to date with mixed driving. Many days I average 48-52mpg on my commute which is a mixed bag of driving conditions, the pure city stretches drag the overall tank average's down into the mid 40's. On more pure highway adventures we have averaged 50+mpg's on several 250 + mile trips.....our last trip averaged 50.6 mpg's driving through Atlanta, we did fight traffic along the way, speed was 60-75 mph. I will also note that colder weather(40 or below) does negatively affect your mileage by approx 10%. One another note, I will coast on certain stretches which can bring mpg averages up by 2-3mpg's over a daily 100 mile commute. I hope this was helpful, but there are so many variables that your results may vary.
 

radtech83

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 27, 2011
Location
Indiana
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SE 6MT White
OK, I'll give it a shot.....6MT Passat.....When I drive 70mph or less on the highway with the cruise on, 47-50mpg is a reasonable expectation, I also add some aggressive driving in my routine so this isn't granny's car data.....I just found out via GPS that my speedo reads 2-3mph low and my cruise is another 1mph low, so when I thought I was cruising at 70mph I was actually going 74ish and I've been averaging 45-46mpg over 6000 miles to date with mixed driving. Many days I average 48-52mpg on my commute which is a mixed bag of driving conditions, the pure city stretches drag the overall tank average's down into the mid 40's. On more pure highway adventures we have averaged 50+mpg's on several 250 + mile trips.....our last trip averaged 50.6 mpg's driving through Atlanta, we did fight traffic along the way, speed was 60-75 mph. I will also note that colder weather(40 or below) does negatively affect your mileage by approx 10%. One another note, I will coast on certain stretches which can bring mpg averages up by 2-3mpg's over a daily 100 mile commute. I hope this was helpful, but there are so many variables that your results may vary.

Thank you this is just the kind of info I'm looking for! I have a '06 Honda Civic Hybrid that I have to throw every hypermiling trick at it and drive 55-60 to get average of 50+ mpg...

With the Passat I would have a much nice ride and be able to drive with the flow of traffic and still get 50+!!!!

I wonder what the Passat 6MT can get with all the hypermiling tricks I would guess close to 70 mpg??
 

silvrmax04

Active member
Joined
Dec 18, 2011
Location
MD
TDI
2012, 2015 Passat TDI SE
I am on my 3rd tank and averaging 45mpg. Hand calculating seems to be right on. And filling the tank, my guage does go past the full mark. Seemed to be a problem with some.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
How accurate do you really need? This is all a bit silly. Computers are every bit as accurate as pen and paper, and far less prone to error (once a program has been debugged).
Computer programs are only as acturate as they are programed to be!

On my 2010, when coasting in gear the MPG's displayed on the computer max out at 200mpg, yet I know the it's injecting nearly zero fuel. So I'm betteing thats why my hand calculations beat the MFD very slightly. That or my heavy hand pouring in 4-8oz of additive really messes everything up!
 

Niner

duplicate account, banned
Joined
Jun 3, 2011
OK, I'll give it a shot.....6MT Passat.....When I drive 70mph or less on the highway with the cruise on, 47-50mpg is a reasonable expectation, I also add some aggressive driving in my routine so this isn't granny's car data.....I just found out via GPS that my speedo reads 2-3mph low and my cruise is another 1mph low, so when I thought I was cruising at 70mph I was actually going 74ish and I've been averaging 45-46mpg over 6000 miles to date with mixed driving. Many days I average 48-52mpg on my commute which is a mixed bag of driving conditions, the pure city stretches drag the overall tank average's down into the mid 40's. On more pure highway adventures we have averaged 50+mpg's on several 250 + mile trips.....our last trip averaged 50.6 mpg's driving through Atlanta, we did fight traffic along the way, speed was 60-75 mph. I will also note that colder weather(40 or below) does negatively affect your mileage by approx 10%. One another note, I will coast on certain stretches which can bring mpg averages up by 2-3mpg's over a daily 100 mile commute. I hope this was helpful, but there are so many variables that your results may vary.
Thanks, that is very useful information, the type I am looking for. So really, when you say you are doing 70 or less, based on speedometer readings, you are really doing 74 mph or less?

I guess what I am hoping to get some feedback on is a pure, set it and forget it, actual 70 mph (speedo shows 66 to 67 mph on your car) round trip run with just the cruise control on on the interstate tankful, say at least 600 miles on the tank. A legal speed limit burned tank of fuel and the MPG. Rare to find birds in these vehicles that aren't approaching 80 mph everywhere they go. 47 to 50 mpg is going to make all those Common Rail Jetta and Sportwagen TDI's with 42 mpg not look very appealing to those that pile on the miles per year.
 
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gergg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Location
Georgia
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6M
Thank you this is just the kind of info I'm looking for! I have a '06 Honda Civic Hybrid that I have to throw every hypermiling trick at it and drive 55-60 to get average of 50+ mpg...

With the Passat I would have a much nice ride and be able to drive with the flow of traffic and still get 50+!!!!

I wonder what the Passat 6MT can get with all the hypermiling tricks I would guess close to 70 mpg??
I went on a 150 mile round-trip drive this morning, I was in no hurry so I did a little experiment. No coasting or hypermiling, just cruise control and normal traffic adjustments, all mpg's are based on MFD not hand calculations. Terrain: rolling hills/6 traffic lights, didn't have to stop at all of them.... notes below. Oh yeah, cruise control speeds noted below were accurate based on GPS verification.( I had to set the cruise at 62 to go 65mph....and 67/68 to go 70-71,72mph)

**First 75 mile leg from my driveway to the exit on the highway. Cold engine(37 degrees when I left to 48 at destination) first 15 miles has some traffic lights on the highway, I hit two this time(reduces mpg's by 2-3mpg's) cruise set at 70-72mph....average at exit 50.6mpg's via the MFD which has always been within 1mpg of hand calculations.
**Return 75 mile leg from exit on highway to my driveway which included a stop for fuel and hitting 3 traffic lights, air temp 48 degrees. This time I reduced my speed to 65mph(slowest I have ever gone with this car on a long highway stretch :p) the difference in mpg's was noticeable, I was very surprised, by the time I hit the first traffic light(3 total), the MFD read 58.2mpg's, pulled into the driveway MFD read 54.4 mpg's...... Whoa, looks like this car could get 60+mpg's with a little coasting/hypermiling and a reduction of speed to 60-62 mph......I don't think I have the patience to do 60mph, but 65mph was not too bad, I only got honked at once:D

I don't think 70mpg's are in the cards, but what do I know I'm not a hypermiling kind of guy, heck I was shocked to see what a reduction in speed to 65mph did to the fuel economy. If you are really going to drive 65-68mph then I'd say 50+mpg's is a reasonable expectation based on my drive this morning. As always.... your mileage may vary.
 
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radtech83

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 27, 2011
Location
Indiana
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SE 6MT White
I went on a 150 mile round-trip drive this morning, I was in no hurry so I did a little experiment. No coasting or hypermiling, just cruise control and normal traffic adjustments, all mpg's are based on MFD not hand calculations. Terrain: rolling hills/6 traffic lights, didn't have to stop at all of them.... notes below. Oh yeah, cruise control speeds noted below were accurate based on GPS verification.( I had to set the cruise at 62 to go 65mph....and 67/68 to go 70-71,72mph)

**First 75 mile leg from my driveway to the exit on the highway. Cold engine(37 degrees when I left to 48 at destination) first 15 miles has some traffic lights on the highway, I hit two this time(reduces mpg's by 2-3mpg's) cruise set at 70-72mph....average at exit 50.6mpg's via the MFD which has always been within 1mpg of hand calculations.
**Return 75 mile leg from exit on highway to my driveway which included a stop for fuel and hitting 3 traffic lights, air temp 48 degrees. This time I reduced my speed to 65mph(slowest I have ever gone with this car on a long highway stretch :p) the difference in mpg's was noticeable, I was very surprised, by the time I hit the first traffic light(3 total), the MFD read 58.2mpg's, pulled into the driveway MFD read 54.4 mpg's...... Whoa, looks like this car could get 60+mpg's with a little coasting/hypermiling and a reduction of speed to 60-62 mph......I don't think I have the patience to do 60mph, but 65mph was not too bad, I only got honked at once:D

I don't think 70mpg's are in the cards, but what do I know I'm not a hypermiling kind of guy, heck I was shocked to see what a reduction in speed to 65mph did to the fuel economy. If you are really going to drive 65-68mph then I'd say 50+mpg's is a reasonable expectation based on my drive this morning. As always.... your mileage may vary.

THANKS gergg for take the time to do that test!! I'm sure I'm not the only one that will use this info!!!!!!!!!!!
 

radtech83

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 27, 2011
Location
Indiana
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SE 6MT White
I am on my 3rd tank and averaging 45mpg. Hand calculating seems to be right on. And filling the tank, my guage does go past the full mark. Seemed to be a problem with some.

I see your sig. and I thought coming to this forum I wouldn't find another with a Powerstroke.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
I have a 2003 PSD... Love it. I also want a Passat.
 
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