Leafsfan
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2003
- Location
- Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
- TDI
- 2015 Golf Wagon TDI Highline 6MT, Pure White
Hi all!
We just returned from our first very long road trip in my 2011 Golf Wagon 6MT Highline TDI. We made the common trip many of us frozen Canucks make annually to the Sunshine state. I have to say, that the more I drive this car, the more I am impressed by it! I always wonder why there aren't more of these TDI's on the road. Especially in the USA. Here are the details and some observations made on our trip....
I loaded up the car on a cold late March afternoon for the trip to Florida. I was planning for a tough slog as my wife and I were taking our 5 1/2 year old daughter, and 4 year old son on their first major road trip. Our destination was Disneyworld, so our kids were really pumped to go of course! My wife and I explained to them for a few days before the trip that it would be a very long time in the car before we got to see Mickey Mouse. We hoped it would provide good incentive to them to behave and tolerate a long time in the car. Our plan was to make the trip straight through. We departed home in the late afternoon. I filled my car up to the neck at a station around the corner from my house. The trip distance we chose was the shortest possible route. Crossing into the USA at Buffalo, NY, then going on I-90 to Erie, PA, and south on I-79 through PA and into WV. Then we went on US 19 to connect up to I-77. Our first fuel stop was in Fayetteville, WV. I wasn't close to empty yet, and hadn't planned to fill up until later on. However we needed a break at that point, so I figured I may as well fill it. Distance on that first tank was 850km (528 mi) on 47 Litres (12.4 USG). The majority of that leg was using cruise control set for between 70-75 mph on the GPS. I was pretty pleased with the mileage, considering we were fully loaded with people and junk, and were driving overnight in below freezing temperatures on winterized fuel.
We continued on I-77 into VA, then NC and SC. The sun rose in SC, and boy was it ever nice to see green grass and trees again! Then we proceeded onto I-26 and I-95 into GA, and finally in Florida. Our next fill up was just south of Jacksonville. This tank got us an improvement in mileage. 1025km (637 mi) on 54.5 Litres (14.4 USG). Average speed was the same, but I assumed the mileage improved as there was less mountain driving during this stretch, and the warmer air temperatures. I am not sure in diesel fuel in WV is winterized as it is in Canada? Regardless, I was quite pleased with the mileage we were getting!
The next tank lasted us the remainder of the trip to Orlando, and then for our trip down to Fort Lauderdale, and got us back up to Melbourne, FL. The fuel Mileage remained pretty constant for the rest of the trip back up to Mississauga, until we got back into the colder climates of the northern USA and home. Over the entire trip we consumed 267 Litres (70.4 USG) of fuel. The total trip distance driven was 5049 km (3137 mi). Our total fuel mileage was 5.3L/100km or 44.55 US MPG. All my figures were hand calculated, although the MFD mileage was pretty close.
Overall, we had a fantastic trip! The kids were amazing in the car. Having cartoons on my PlayBook sure helped. No complaints from anyone. I guess my kids inherited my love of big road trips! We had great weather, and light traffic most of the time. Both for the trip down and the return trip, we chose to depart in the late afternoon. It allowed the kids to sleep as much as possible for the trip, and also reduced the possibility of hitting heavy traffic in the Pittsburgh and Charlotte area.
A couple of observations I made... One was that there is a far smaller proportion of TDI Volkswagens in the USA then in Canada. When I drive, I always notice other VW's on the highways, and try to see if they are TDI's or gassers. In Canada it seems like more then half of all VW's you see are TDI's now. Driving through the USA, I noticed almost every VW was a gasser. Over the entire trip I saw only 5 TDI's with American plates! I wondered why TDI's aren't common place in a country where long highway roadtrips on the amazing Interstate system is routine for so many people? My only thought as to why may have to do with my second observation.... I noticed that in all states we went through, diesel fuel was about 50 cents per gallon more then RUG. In many cases it was even more the Premium gas! In Canada diesel fuel this time of year is nearly identical in price to RUG. Or very close to it. Now the price is starting to drop below RUG as the weather is warming up. I'm not sure if the same thing happens in the USA? However, even with the price difference in fuel, there is no way a 2.5 gasser version of my car could come close to doing this long of a trip on less then $300 worth of fuel! Especially driving at an average speed of 70-75 mph, and having the car loaded down so heavy, that the rear bumper was nearly scraping the road! I don't think any car, hybrid, or Eco gasser type cars could come close to matching our TDI's performance on a trip like this! Added to that, is this car is very comfortable, and damn fun to drive!
Boy, am I glad I bought this car!!!!
We just returned from our first very long road trip in my 2011 Golf Wagon 6MT Highline TDI. We made the common trip many of us frozen Canucks make annually to the Sunshine state. I have to say, that the more I drive this car, the more I am impressed by it! I always wonder why there aren't more of these TDI's on the road. Especially in the USA. Here are the details and some observations made on our trip....
I loaded up the car on a cold late March afternoon for the trip to Florida. I was planning for a tough slog as my wife and I were taking our 5 1/2 year old daughter, and 4 year old son on their first major road trip. Our destination was Disneyworld, so our kids were really pumped to go of course! My wife and I explained to them for a few days before the trip that it would be a very long time in the car before we got to see Mickey Mouse. We hoped it would provide good incentive to them to behave and tolerate a long time in the car. Our plan was to make the trip straight through. We departed home in the late afternoon. I filled my car up to the neck at a station around the corner from my house. The trip distance we chose was the shortest possible route. Crossing into the USA at Buffalo, NY, then going on I-90 to Erie, PA, and south on I-79 through PA and into WV. Then we went on US 19 to connect up to I-77. Our first fuel stop was in Fayetteville, WV. I wasn't close to empty yet, and hadn't planned to fill up until later on. However we needed a break at that point, so I figured I may as well fill it. Distance on that first tank was 850km (528 mi) on 47 Litres (12.4 USG). The majority of that leg was using cruise control set for between 70-75 mph on the GPS. I was pretty pleased with the mileage, considering we were fully loaded with people and junk, and were driving overnight in below freezing temperatures on winterized fuel.
We continued on I-77 into VA, then NC and SC. The sun rose in SC, and boy was it ever nice to see green grass and trees again! Then we proceeded onto I-26 and I-95 into GA, and finally in Florida. Our next fill up was just south of Jacksonville. This tank got us an improvement in mileage. 1025km (637 mi) on 54.5 Litres (14.4 USG). Average speed was the same, but I assumed the mileage improved as there was less mountain driving during this stretch, and the warmer air temperatures. I am not sure in diesel fuel in WV is winterized as it is in Canada? Regardless, I was quite pleased with the mileage we were getting!
The next tank lasted us the remainder of the trip to Orlando, and then for our trip down to Fort Lauderdale, and got us back up to Melbourne, FL. The fuel Mileage remained pretty constant for the rest of the trip back up to Mississauga, until we got back into the colder climates of the northern USA and home. Over the entire trip we consumed 267 Litres (70.4 USG) of fuel. The total trip distance driven was 5049 km (3137 mi). Our total fuel mileage was 5.3L/100km or 44.55 US MPG. All my figures were hand calculated, although the MFD mileage was pretty close.
Overall, we had a fantastic trip! The kids were amazing in the car. Having cartoons on my PlayBook sure helped. No complaints from anyone. I guess my kids inherited my love of big road trips! We had great weather, and light traffic most of the time. Both for the trip down and the return trip, we chose to depart in the late afternoon. It allowed the kids to sleep as much as possible for the trip, and also reduced the possibility of hitting heavy traffic in the Pittsburgh and Charlotte area.
A couple of observations I made... One was that there is a far smaller proportion of TDI Volkswagens in the USA then in Canada. When I drive, I always notice other VW's on the highways, and try to see if they are TDI's or gassers. In Canada it seems like more then half of all VW's you see are TDI's now. Driving through the USA, I noticed almost every VW was a gasser. Over the entire trip I saw only 5 TDI's with American plates! I wondered why TDI's aren't common place in a country where long highway roadtrips on the amazing Interstate system is routine for so many people? My only thought as to why may have to do with my second observation.... I noticed that in all states we went through, diesel fuel was about 50 cents per gallon more then RUG. In many cases it was even more the Premium gas! In Canada diesel fuel this time of year is nearly identical in price to RUG. Or very close to it. Now the price is starting to drop below RUG as the weather is warming up. I'm not sure if the same thing happens in the USA? However, even with the price difference in fuel, there is no way a 2.5 gasser version of my car could come close to doing this long of a trip on less then $300 worth of fuel! Especially driving at an average speed of 70-75 mph, and having the car loaded down so heavy, that the rear bumper was nearly scraping the road! I don't think any car, hybrid, or Eco gasser type cars could come close to matching our TDI's performance on a trip like this! Added to that, is this car is very comfortable, and damn fun to drive!
Boy, am I glad I bought this car!!!!
