2011 did excellent on trip - 41.2 MPG down 37.1 on return.

[03GolfTDI]

Took a quick weekend trip in the '11 SW TDI to meet the folks in Savannah. Atlanta->Tybee Island->Savannah->Atlanta.

I reset wrong MFI on way down so it reset after sitting at Tybee overnight. Kept the cruise between 78-79 the entire way and ended up with a 74 MPH average and 41.2 MPG. Didn't bother doing the readings from Tybee Island to Savannah as it was such a short trip and I frankly didn't care. Return we kicked it up a notch and had the cruise planted at 81-83 depending on the fastest flow of traffic with a few jaunts to 85-90 for passing - 37.1 MPG was the final reading returning home.

Not too shabby but diesel was crazy expensive the further from Atlanta you got, I kinda wish I had slown down and made it there and back in 1 tank as it was 3.89/gallon pretty much everywhere outside of Atlanta vs the $3.45/gallon we paid here on the way out. Thinking 70-75 MPH would have got us there and back on 1 tank but we all know how it goes when you are driving home from vacation and you just want to be home and push it a little faster.

 

[oilhammer]

Pretty close to what my BHW will return, maybe a bit better. No ALH...

But to make you feel better (and make me feel worse) we went on a trip over the weekend and due to space availability elected to take my 4Mo B5 wagon, with the AWM 1.8t engine. And it gobbled up premium at a rate of 23 MPGs. I was doing 80+ most of the time, and we were pretty loaded going down (2 adults, 2 teenagers, and the back was PACKED full including about 100 pounds of firewood). And this was in the hilly Ozarks.

To put that in perspective, that is about 2-3 MPG WORSE than my Sprinter could manage. LOL... silly gassers... Luckily we don't drive the wagon a whole lot, but we do avail ourselves of its cavernous space much more now that the Sprinter is gone.

 

[ksing44]

I still love driving my 2010 Golf TDI and I may keep it for most of my driving no matter what happens next, but I'm considering getting a new gasser MKVIII GTI or an R. I'd like a 4x4 R and I also prefer some things about the appearance of the R, but I'm having a hard time about the mpg. It gets 6 mpg less on the highway than the GTI and it also needs premium fuel. It's not about the cost. I can pay, but I'm concerned about miles on a tank of fuel. They reduced the size of the fuel tank in the newer cars to 13.2 gallons and with the lower mpg I think it could get exhausting stopping for fuel. I'd be getting a 6-speed manual, which is even worse for the mpg numbers.

2022 VW GTI 6-Speed Manual​

City: 24 MPG​

Hwy: 34 MPG​

​

2022 VW Golf R 6-Speed Manual​

City: 20 MPG​

Hwy: 28 MPG​

I'm already disappointed with my TDI after the fix for miles on a tank of fuel, but I think it might be painful with the R. With a GTI it could be 6 mpg more for 13.2 gallons of fuel, so maybe 79 more miles on a tank. On a highway trip in a GTI, I think I could be happy if I got close to 34 mpg and over 400 miles on a tank of fuel. Honestly, it seems my TDI isn't doing much better than that at the moment. My new tires may be making it worse and of course shorter trips during the pandemic is causing issues, but in general it seems I'm losing ground on mpg over time in my TDI.

 

[oilhammer]

The R, and to a lesser extend the GTI, don't really make good daily drivers in my opinion. They don't ride as nice, the seats can be punishing on all but the smoothest roads, and they eat [expensive] tires relative to the "regular" Golf.

Keep the R in the garage for nice sunny dry days, and drive the Golf TDI for the daily grind. I love the GTI, and I have owned the A1, A2, A3, and A4 versions.... with each successive generation they nod further to performance and away from practicality that currently they are too much of a compromise to me and the R even more so.

 

[borninabus]

your MPGs are pretty much right in line with what i see (MFI, i can't be bothered to hand calculate for +/- a couple) on my bi-weekly 300+ mile trips--which includes about 3000ft of gain on the way up and then back down. it's refreshing to know some other "real world" numbers that actually make sense.

i might be seeing just a smidge more with the malone tune than you are, but i'm not here to gloat. this is by far the most fun "driving" car i have ever owned.

i road trips!

 

[DrGERTol]

We managed 41.7 mpg average on a 600+ mi trip eastbound from OH to the Catskill region in September with a car full of musical instruments. Only a little off on the return trip a week later (40.1). Plus some fun MT driving in the hills around Woodstock while we were there. --g

 

[Art van Law]

Departed 8:20am, returned 0:15am next day
total r/t: 820 miles
going: 7h 35min (5 rest stops)
returning 7h 5min (2 rest stops- pee bottle 2x in car)
Fuel used 18.6 gal (44.1mpg)
Fuel cost $68. (d2 at $3.60/gal)
Tolls: $14
Cruise control set at 63mph 85% of the time
Best license plate seen: U4 REA