Real World MPG - 6 speed Manual

eparker202

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2011
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Beetle Convertible 6MT TDI
4 and 5 have a .87 and .86 ratio respectively, but the final drops from 3.68 to 2.92 so it is a significant gear change. The tdi is already one of the lowest geared cars on the market (talking manual). I dont think it needs another gear unless you want one for 70 mph plus. Find another manual that only spins 1600 rpm at 60 mph.
 

eparker202

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2011
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Beetle Convertible 6MT TDI
according to VW.com the passat has different final drives than the jsw and golf, maybe you guys do need a 7th gear or the golf's final drive ratios (3.45 and 2.76) same gear ratios tho.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
4 and 5 have a .87 and .86 ratio respectively, but the final drops from 3.68 to 2.92 so it is a significant gear change. The tdi is already one of the lowest geared cars on the market (talking manual). I dont think it needs another gear unless you want one for 70 mph plus. Find another manual that only spins 1600 rpm at 60 mph.

*find one that's under 6.2L V8
 

gergg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Location
Georgia
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6M
I filled up today, 14.7 gallons @ 670 miles 45.58mpg...mfd read 45.5mpg. I tried to get as much fuel down the tube as possible, I believe I put approx .5 gallon more than my first attempt as I waited 15 seconds between backflow nozzle pops.(about 7 in total, people waiting so I quit) and noticed my gauge was right on the last tick. I still think I've only got 16.5 gallons in the tank right now as I was right down to the warning zone before filling up. Knowing that the mfd is accurate I can say that I've been getting 46-51 mpg on my daily commutes which is amazing considering I was averaging 39-43 mpg on the same route with the 2011 TDI DSG Golf. My commute includes city, stop and go, traffic lights(0-70 & 70-0 about 5 of these lights and each one I hit takes 1+mpg off the mfd) and highway, about 50 miles total each way, 50% highway, the rest mixed. Now you see why the commutes vary from 46-51mpg. This car gets great highway mileage, much better than the DSG Golf, it is also slower than the Golf, still a blast to drive, but the Golf is a sportier ride. I wouldn't trade cars that is for sure, I love the Passsat and the manual is fantastic, just a beautiful driving stick.
 

redheadshred

New member
Joined
Oct 31, 2011
Location
Palatine,IL
TDI
2012 Passat TDI MT
My first week with the vehicle. I'm averaging about 47MPG in mixed town / county highway driving. Best commute was 50MPG. Worst was 43 MPG driving like a lead foot on purpose adn peeling away from stop lights. I wanted to see how much babying the gas pedal pays off. It's pretty forgiving. I basically get 47MPG when I don't pay attention to "driving for fuel economy."
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
this is such great news, now lets see how the fuel system holds up!
 

gergg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Location
Georgia
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6M
2nd fill up today.....576 miles / 12.37 gal = 46.56 mpg......pretty darn good mileage considering the mixed driving involved. My wife took the car today for a 120 mile business trip, city with country roads(lots of 55-60mph) she averaged 51mpg. I don't baby the car but I do take advantage of opportunities to increase mpg.
 

skinnyb

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Location
Western, NC
TDI
2013 JSW TDI
I am happy as well with my mileage. Mine is a DSG granted but I started on a road trip from Asheville to Atlanta on Sunday evening and part way in I had my passenger snap this photo. I only had a few miles on the tank as you can see by the trip odo. On the open highway it is truly amazing.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

lojeff10

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 29, 2011
Location
NJ
TDI
2012 Passat - 6sp MT
anyone know the weight difference MT vs DSG? If there is a big enough difference, that could contribute to the higher MPG on Manual.
 

wolfsburg_de

Ross-Tech AssociateVendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 18, 2001
Location
Lansdale, PA USA
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6MT
anyone know the weight difference MT vs DSG? If there is a big enough difference, that could contribute to the higher MPG on Manual.
VW says the 6MT weighs 3360 lb while the DSG weighs 3396 lb. Remember that the DSG is bundled with the sunroof which adds a little weight as well. I think the difference in highway MPG is mostly due to the taller overall gearing in 6th with the manual.
 

oxford_guy

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2011
Location
Ohio
TDI
Golf '11
I am happy as well with my mileage. Mine is a DSG granted but I started on a road trip from Asheville to Atlanta on Sunday evening and part way in I had my passenger snap this photo. I only had a few miles on the tank as you can see by the trip odo. On the open highway it is truly amazing.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My friend's TDI SE DSG has hit a 52 mpg average twice now on trips that include stops and city driving.
 

fastalan

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Location
Richmond BC
TDI
2010 Golf TDI Wagon
you think doing 1600-1700rpms at 70mph would be better for the engine? I'm guessing VW picked the gearing to match a 65-70mph speed with optimum boost, EGR, and DPF emissions stuffs. If you go any much lower in engine speed I'd say they'd each take a hit in efficiency
A 7th gear is simply needed so you can travel faster at the current 6th gear cruising rpm. I am sure some one will need that extra gear very much.
 

tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
What a pity

And no station wagon planned for the foreseeable future (no Touran TDI planned either). How sad ...
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
A 7th gear is simply needed so you can travel faster at the current 6th gear cruising rpm. I am sure some one will need that extra gear very much.
Also the engine needs to be spinning in order to produce power, I can't drive around in 6th gear doing 30mph and expect to get 100MPG.

Placing a larger gear won't always equal better MPGs.

The only reason we're seeing 7 and 8 gear automatics is to keep the RPMS in in ideal range for that extra 1mpg. But sadly that also means the trany will "hunt around" and shift all over the place while driving, and doing this on hill get really old real quick.

Remember these are just small 2.0L engines that need to spin to get to 60MPH, not a 6.2L V8 that produces practically enough torque at idle to do 60MPH.
 

gergg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Location
Georgia
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6M
Topped off today for a long trip tomorrow(3rd fill up)......

372 miles/7.81 gallons= 47.63mpg .....

The fuel gauge was just below the 1/2 tank mark, I still don't think I can get 18 gallons in this tank.
 

ilovemytdi

Active member
Joined
Nov 26, 2000
Location
louisville, ky usa
TDI
Soon 2012 passat tdi manual
WOW!! 50.7 mpg hand calculated!!

Ok everyone...got my new passat a couple of weeks ago....MFD showed 52.6, but hand calculated to 50.7. When I filled it up at the start, I took my time and topped it off and did the same when I re-filled it.....should be very close to accurate. Mostly 65 mph avg back and forth to work, 25 miles one way with maybe 15% total city driving. Couldnt wait to get to empty so I had 477 miles on it. Had to see how accurate the MFD.

I am now on my 2nd tank and its avg is 54.6 right now, but I only have 200 miles on it so far, I am sure it will go down a bit if I have much city driving.

So far I love the car. I had a 2000 jetta tdi manual and a 2005.5 jetta tdi dsg. Like this car the best. Bigger car and better fuel economy than my dsg.

Hopefully the quality holds up.(main reason I got the manual, didnt want to take a chance on the dsg)

How do I add a picture from "my documents" When I click the "insert image" it asks for a URL

 
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gergg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Location
Georgia
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6M
Yeah, my wife just got back from a 353 mile trip today....MFD showed 53.3 mpg mostly 62-65mph casual country road travel with some stop and go/city. No cruise control but she did do some coasting when convenient. Now that is some super mpg's right there.
 

tryin

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 1, 2011
Location
West Virginia
TDI
2012 Passat 6MT
Yeah, my wife just got back from a 353 mile trip today....MFD showed 53.3 mpg mostly 62-65mph casual country road travel with some stop and go/city. No cruise control but she did do some coasting when convenient. Now that is some super mpg's right there.
Yes it is! Wish I could get my wife to drive in that manner. I can assure you, if my wife was driving, it would be more like 38 mpg.

So far on ours, averaging a very nice 38, rural route driving. She's taking it on a trip to Charlotte this weekend so we will see what it can do.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
and many members here are very very glad is itsn't!
 

tryin

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 1, 2011
Location
West Virginia
TDI
2012 Passat 6MT
Certainly not me, I would love to see a 6M TDI with 4-motion. Gladly pay the extra for AWD. I'm sure if they ever do offer, it will be automatic only.

Back on topic though, filled the car up last night. Another 38 MPG tank. On the way home had it over 64 mpg over about a ten mile stretch, just seeing what was possible. Then got behind a large truck on a rural road and by the time I got home, about 20 miles or so it had settled in at around 54 mpg. Loving the 6M more and more every drive, almost intoxicating!
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
You'd be getting 10-20% less MPG and the extra wear and tear for what? same performance you'd get with good snow tires?

/I'll drop the AWD hate now, everyone's entitled to what they want.
 

TDICT

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2008
Location
Cheshire, CT
TDI
2009 JSW...SOLD..2012 Passat TDI SEL Black on Black...Now Here
You'd be getting 10-20% less MPG and the extra wear and tear for what? same performance you'd get with good snow tires?

/I'll drop the AWD hate now, everyone's entitled to what they want.

I agree. The front wheel drive and the right tires will get you any where you want in the snow an AWD car will get you. Besides who would buy an Audi if the new Passat had an AWD option?
 

gergg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Location
Georgia
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6M
Filled up today.....732 miles/15.5gal = 47.22 mpg(MFD read 47.7mpg).....looks like I have a pretty good idea about this cars fuel economy, my average over approx 2500 miles is around 46.5 mpg, pretty darn good.

Distance to empty was 40 miles(maybe 1-1.5 gallon in tank) and I could only put 15.5 gallons in the tank. Either the fuel gauge is wrong or it is very difficult/impossible to get 18.5 gallons in this tank.
 

abctdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 31, 2004
Location
ABQ, NM, USA
TDI
2005 Passat GLS
Pretty impressive mpg, about 10 more than mine. It's a good thing too with the price difference between diesel and rug lately.
 

tdi90hp

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2002
Location
Canuckland
TDI
2011 Golf TDI 6 speed(gone but NEVER forgotten)
dont love the car...i think I have been clear on that...BUT man am I imressed by these MPGs....Holy Smokes....I am anxious to see what a real world driver who drives it fairly hard with city/hwy 50-50 and when well broken in gets real world....
 
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