EA288 TDI engine review, real life MPG

[JASONP]

But wouldn't the lower price of fuel be part of the difference? Hopefully the price is lower where you are!

About the same as last year within a few cents per liter

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

 

[Rsgunther]

I don't know much about the engine - but I picked up a brand new 2015 Passat TDI SEL from the dealer yesterday. It had 14 miles on it and when I got home it had 65 miles. We had to go to one of the dealer's other lots (farther from my house) to pickup the car I wanted (blue with tan interior). Anyway, I averaged 41mpg on the way home without trying and this was about 30-40% stop & go city driving. Very impressive to me for a brand NEW car that isn't broken in yet.

 

[jhinsc]

I don't know much about the engine - but I picked up a brand new 2015 Passat TDI SEL from the dealer yesterday. It had 14 miles on it and when I got home it had 65 miles. We had to go to one of the dealer's other lots (farther from my house) to pickup the car I wanted (blue with tan interior). Anyway, I averaged 41mpg on the way home without trying and this was about 30-40% stop & go city driving. Very impressive to me for a brand NEW car that isn't broken in yet.

Sounds like you'll get great mileage when fully broken in! It took me two tanks of diesel to get my average over 40 in my 50/50 city/hwy commute. It' might be slightly below 40 mpg this tank due to the colder weather since I filled up, but it's warm out today and that may help. If only I could have waited to get one last year - I really love the new Fortuna Red that was not available on 2014 models.

 

[FJR1300]

Anyone out there with a 2015 VW TDI:
How is the new EA288 engine? How is the MPG in real life? Is it much better than the previous models? Any downsides to the new engine? What are your thoughts?
I never trust the numbers they put on the stickers because I had a 2000 Jetta TDI that got 50+ mpg.

Hello Everyone,

For what it's worth, I have a new 2015 Golf TDI SE with 6 spd manual transmission and stock 17" wheels; front tires are inflated to 35psi, rear tires inflated to 34psi.

Just barely 6,000 miles on it since picking up the car at the end of October, 2014.

I just filled up the tank tonight and calculated the tank MPG and it comes out to 43.668 mpg (507.3 miles / 11.617 gallons = 43.668761 mpg). My driving is about 80% highway 20% about town. 128 mile commute to the airport and back.

The best average consumption I've experienced according to the dash display has been 51.8 miles per gallon experienced just a couple days ago while I was driving from my home to the DFW airport.

Temperature range has been from 18 degrees to about 55 degrees fahrenheit. I'm looking forward to the mileage figures I will experience when the engine is broken in.

The only disappointment I have is the car came with a 13.2 gallon tank and not a larger capacity tank (15 gallons?) that most of you have on your VW's.

 

[FJR1300]

New 2015 Golf TDI, 6 spd manual transmission

Anyone out there with a 2015 VW TDI:
How is the new EA288 engine? How is the MPG in real life? Is it much better than the previous models? Any downsides to the new engine? What are your thoughts?
I never trust the numbers they put on the stickers because I had a 2000 Jetta TDI that got 50+ mpg.

Hello Everyone,

I have a 2015 Golf TDI SE with 6 speed manual transmission, and standard 17" wheels; front tires are inflated to 35 psi, rear tires are inflated to 34 psi.

I have put on about 5,800 miles since purchase. My commute to work @ the DFW airport is about 128 miles round trip; 80% highway 20% city driving.

I just started using the cruise control about a week ago, with settings @ 70 mph and below. Static air temperature has ranged from 18 degrees up to 55 degrees.

Just filled up tank tonight (507.3 miles / 11.617 gallons = 43.668761 mpg).

I'm really looking forward to the mileage figures I will be getting when the engine is broken in and the average air temperature goes up. The only disappointment I have is the car came with a 13.2 gallon tank, so I don't have the 15 or so gallon gas tank that the majority of you have.

 

[jhinsc]

Hello Everyone,

For what it's worth, I have a new 2015 Golf TDI SE with 6 spd manual transmission and stock 17" wheels; front tires are inflated to 35psi, rear tires inflated to 34psi.

Just barely 6,000 miles on it since picking up the car at the end of October, 2014.

I just filled up the tank tonight and calculated the tank MPG and it comes out to 43.668 mpg (507.3 miles / 11.617 gallons = 43.668761 mpg). My driving is about 80% highway 20% about town. 128 mile commute to the airport and back.

The best average consumption I've experienced according to the dash display has been 51.8 miles per gallon experienced just a couple days ago while I was driving from my home to the DFW airport.

Temperature range has been from 18 degrees to about 55 degrees fahrenheit. I'm looking forward to the mileage figures I will experience when the engine is broken in.

The only disappointment I have is the car came with a 13.2 gallon tank and not a larger capacity tank (15 gallons?) that most of you have on your VW's.

Your mileage will get better with 'age' as they say. I will be coming up on 12k miles on the current tank, and my average, which I thought would dip below 40 due to the cold weather came in at 40.7 mpg. Funny, yesterday on the way home, in the mid-50'sF, my MFI was just a hair over 50 mpg! My commute is about 50/50 city/hwy.

 

[andyman7931]

My all in MPG so far is 45.9 over 13500 miles. I found that the onboard mpg indicators are too generous so I adjusted mine down 5% with vcds. I drive about 75% highway with a heavy foot.

 

[Rico567]

These threads become interminable because people believe that a basically instantaneous reading on the MFI "average mpg" screen has some particular significance. Toward the end of a tank it does, for that tank.
The actual mileages that these cars are capable of are determined by a pencil-and-paper calculation when filling up, gallons pumped into miles traveled.
And in the age of Fuelly, it leaves little room for argument. When I look at the average for our Passat over >25K miles, the average (see below) is very close to the published Fuelly average for the NMS Passat TDI. This is for many vehicles, and such numbers don't lie.

 

[PAULMKOLON]

My EA288 JETTA 6 speed manual that I bought 2-6-15 has 2800 miles on it. The last fill up, when we got to Florida, from Michigan was 53.1 mpg. This was calculated using odometer and # of gals.to the top of the neck, each fill up. The digital MPG was 58.6. We were running it at 70 mph, some short bursts to pass vehicles. ( All highway.) This has been the best so far.

 

[tomo366]

Mine is not great.....1st tank was 36.7 second tank was 29 and the
last tank was 26.4...very cold weather and 3 miles to work......car has 1100 miles after 3 weeks! wife took the car to NC this weekend reported MFI said 47 MPG for the trip down

 

[eurojet]

My 2015 Jetta
First tank was 940km's
second tank was 890km's

both pretty much 80 hwy 20 city

doing a long hwy trip soon , hoping to push over 1000km's

 

[FJR1300]

Well, with over 15,000 miles and 32 tanks filled to the brim with diesel on this new 2015 Golf TDI SE, with a six speed manual transmission, my average TANK mileage is 42.683 MPG with about 80% highway and 20% in-town. Speeds on highway are as low as 55 (due to construction) to 90 mph trying to pass these gravel hauling 18 wheelers who do not have their loads covered (Grrr!!!) I've had a couple of tanks calculate to over 45 MPG, which is gratifying since the car is rated @ 45 MPG Highway. The more I drive this car, the happier I am that I made the decision to purchase a VW GOLF TDI with the 6 speed manual transmission.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

That's useful info, FJR1300. Looks like your FE is similar to mine in my '12 Golf. On one hand it's a good thing that they got a few more HP out of the car without sacrificing economy. On the other hand I'd have expected better numbers given the car now uses AdBlue and all VW's chattering about lighter weight. And emissions do have a cost in FE: I get better numbers in my '02 wagon making similar power.

If only they'd not made the fuel tank smaller...

 

[Thunderstruck]

What confuses me is how the Golf doesn't get better FE than my 13 Passat did. That car was a barge compared to the new Golf. It's 300 pounds lighter, yet doesn't seem to be getting any better mileage.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

What confuses me is how the Golf doesn't get better FE than my 13 Passat did. That car was a barge compared to the new Golf. It's 300 pounds lighter, yet doesn't seem to be getting any better mileage.

FE is so dependent on driving conditions and the driver that it's hard to compare two vehicles unless you've owned and driven both. Lots of people get great FE in the Passat, but lots don't see 40 MPG in daily driving. Just like the difference between manual and DSG JSWs. The EPA numbers are similar, the real world numbers are not.

 

[Thunderstruck]

That's why I looked at Fuelly. I restricted it to 2015 MY so I was looking at roughly the same time periods, to account for winter driving/fuel and such. Golf numbers and Passat are both around 40-42 for the greatest number of cars reporting that mileage. Unfortunately Fuelly doesn't allow for real in depth analysis, like trans type, city/hwy, etc when you choose. I'd love to be able to export all to excel.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

And keep in mind that the Golfs are all pretty new, still. The FE will improve with break in.

This is what I would miss with a new GSW.

On a new GSW that would be an average tank range, but on my B4 I'll probably go another week before I have to fill up. 900 mile tanks aren't difficult in this car.

 

[tikal]

These threads become interminable because people believe that a basically instantaneous reading on the MFI "average mpg" screen has some particular significance. Toward the end of a tank it does, for that tank.
The actual mileages that these cars are capable of are determined by a pencil-and-paper calculation when filling up, gallons pumped into miles traveled.
And in the age of Fuelly, it leaves little room for argument. When I look at the average for our Passat over >25K miles, the average (see below) is very close to the published Fuelly average for the NMS Passat TDI. This is for many vehicles, and such numbers don't lie.

Very good point(s). Another way to put it: Central Limit Theorem

 

[tikal]

What confuses me is how the Golf doesn't get better FE than my 13 Passat did. That car was a barge compared to the new Golf. It's 300 pounds lighter, yet doesn't seem to be getting any better mileage.

Ok, lets take a look at Fuelly for example (trying to get the diesel model year with the highest cumulative miles):

* 2015 Golf: 91,369 miles tracked - Average MPG = 41.3
* 2015 Passat:322,828 miles tracked - Average MPG = 39.6
* 2013 Passat: ~12 million miles tracked- Average MPG = 40.0

It is hard to say at this point that these three averages are statistically different at a certain confidence level. Need more time/data to decide for the 2015 models.

It could be the gear ratio on the latest Golf is different (more sporty) than the one for the Passat. I am not sure really.

Now financially one could argue that you get a lot more car with the Passat than the Golf but that is a separate argument not for this thread.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Those are interesting numbers, tikal. The golf getting about 5% better FE isn't nothing. And I would argue you get more car with the Golf: Better structure, better interior finishes, newer design. Despite that, the Passat FE is impressive.

Funny how history repeats itself. The B4 Passat somehow consistently managed to get better FE than the A3 Jetta with the same drivetrain, despite the Jetta's smaller size. That's puzzled a lot of folks for a long time.

 

[RIP TDI]

This is what I would miss with a new GSW.

Me too (note the MFA trip, not the limited-range odometer trip)!

The solution: make more room in the garage for the GSW and use it for those shorter trips!

 

[PAULMKOLON]

Update on my 2015 Jetta TDI, 6 manual. We have 11,850 miles on it now, 20% city, the rest highway, around S.W. Mich .Mileage, overall, since new, is 50 MPG. Trip to Florida, 5,000 miles, averaged 51.15 MPG. These MPG's are all hand calculated. Filled the DEF tank at a truck stop last week, 2.3 Gal. total. Put nozzle into tank neck and it clicked off when full. If the tank is 3.5 gal, it would be empty at about 17,000. We are going out west soon and i anticipate highs of 55 MPG w/o air, rolling at 70 mph.

 

[kbayne]

Just passed 7k miles. I have a daily commute of 74 miles with approx. 25 of those miles in stop and go rush hour traffic. The last 4 tanks have averaged over 50 mpg, the last being 52.3. 706 miles using 13.5 gallons of fuel. I don't baby my Jetta, drive it like I drive other vehicles.
This vehicle is almost as impressive as our 2014 Grand Cherokee Diesel. We averaged 31.9 MPG on a round trip from Minneapolis to Breckenridge when the vehicle only had 500 miles on it.

 

[ezshift5]

Well, with over 15,000 miles and 32 tanks filled to the brim with diesel on this new 2015 Golf TDI SE, with a six speed manual transmission, my average TANK mileage is 42.683 MPG with about 80% HWY.

........diesel engine break-in takes a surprising amount of time/miles (and has a significant effect of fuel economy).

My CJAA seems to be showing - albeit very slowly - improving MPG. How much of that is due to a recent ECU reflash is a fair question.

ez

 

[eats1963]

Coming up on 18,000 on my 2015 Passat. My fuelly numbers have increased since I got my vehicle. I think most of the increase is due to the warmer weather, but I'm sure that as I get more miles on my car it will get better MPG's. I'm seriously thinking about the winter front end cover for this coming winter to see if that will make a difference. Just wondering if I would have any issues during a regeneration?

 

[Borsig]

First two tanks in My EA288 and I am not happy yet.

First tank - lots of idling, sitting in car in driveway, driving around town etc etc.
Second - I am still returning mid 30's. This mornign I had a stellar drive to work, very few lights, no traffic. I had a similar, but worse drive earlier this this week that returned 46.4 on the readout. Today that drive was 42.8. I suspect the "high quality diesel" I fueled up with is actually crap fuel. I also used XPD in this particular fill up. Too many variables, but at this point Im starting to get frustrated when I see people putting up MPG's in the mid 40's and I am seeing mid 30's.

And yes, I know. Break in. But people putting up mid 40s in these cars arent "broken in". And I expect a hell of alot better than mid 30s, break in or not.

 

[Rodmiser]

Last tank 752 miles,18.467 gal 40.7MPG
Total miles 3218

 

[tomo366]

Lifetime average on my ex2010 Jetta Sportwagen 6 speed was 33.8 and I do a lot of stop and go Loved that car! To date after 8500 miles on my 2015 Jetta SEL TDI lifetime is 35.8 with a high of 46.7 love this Car and the EA288!

 

[jhinsc]

First two tanks in My EA288 and I am not happy yet.

First tank - lots of idling, sitting in car in driveway, driving around town etc etc.
Second - I am still returning mid 30's. This mornign I had a stellar drive to work, very few lights, no traffic. I had a similar, but worse drive earlier this this week that returned 46.4 on the readout. Today that drive was 42.8. I suspect the "high quality diesel" I fueled up with is actually crap fuel. I also used XPD in this particular fill up. Too many variables, but at this point Im starting to get frustrated when I see people putting up MPG's in the mid 40's and I am seeing mid 30's.

And yes, I know. Break in. But people putting up mid 40s in these cars arent "broken in". And I expect a hell of alot better than mid 30s, break in or not.

After break-in, you mileage will improve, but beyond that, it's your driving style and route. Lot of idling, sitting in car in driveway and driving around town? Out of the gate, you expected to get over 40 doing that, even after 2 tanks? Unless you're stuck in traffic or need to be sitting in your car with it idling, shut the engine off. You have to have at least some steady-state and "highway" driving to get your average up. Your two commute examples prove you can average over 40 mpg. My average varies too, especially this summer when I encounter a lot of traffic, plus road construction seemingly everywhere, and constant a/c use. Since new, I've had 3 fill-up where I averaged under 40 mpg. Sometimes it's hard for me to break 40 mpg on my MFD on my commute because of traffic conditions. Also driving into a headwind hurt mileage too. XPD is a good additive and should even out the variables of "crap" fuel - I recommend you fill up at a station that has a lot of traffic so you know the fuel is constantly replenished and doesn't contain a lot of sediment and/ or water.

 

[ezshift5]

After break-in, you mileage will improve........



I recommend you fill up at a station that has a lot of traffic so you know the fuel is constantly replenished and doesn't contain a lot of sediment and/ or water.

Agree big time.

At 26,000 the increase in fuel efficiency rate is viable (but the ECU reflash may have an effect here also).

Use of high turnover Chevron station - where UPRR fills their "Hi-Rail" vehicles daily - seems like a no brainer.

It's all good (and getting slowly better............... fuel economy-wise).


ez