MPG impressions on 2015 Golf so far

Asmerrill

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2011
Location
Tucson, AZ
TDI
2015 Blue Silk Golf TDI SEL
I have an SEL DSG and I can't break 36 mpgs. My commute is 20 miles at 80 mph and then 30 miles ranging from 50 - 70 mph on mostly flat road here in so AZ. I'm at around 1200 miles. Much much lower than my mk6 manual. I knew there would be a difference but didn't think it would be this bad. Ugh.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Any Fuelly users also track their average speed per tank? I've found estimating my city/highway percentage to be difficult, but I think I might start tracking speed myself to use as a proxy.

Has anyone explored this before?
I do on the Passat, but not the other two vehicles.
 

BadWolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Location
US
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium DSG/ 2015 Golf S Three Pedal
assorted said:
On another note, I was comparing my overall MPG (42.4 over 3644mi) to other MK7 Golf TDIs and I found mine to me just a bit above average (looked like most are getting 40-42 mpg). I'm wondering is what the heck drivers are doing to get to the 45+ MPGs on a consistent basis.


The actual Avg. for tracked diesels on Fuelly is 43.5. It is a little hard to get to because people put their cars in as gassers by mistake or fat finger fillups.

Mine is still the best, which I did not expect at all. I averaged 44 over 1 year and 21k miles on my commute in my 13' Passat DSG. By contrast in 3.5k the last two months I am at 53 with a high of 55 in the TDI - S.

On my commute I avg over 60 on he MFI 25 miles each way majority back roads 40-50 mph and the rest highway. I rarely have traffic and do take my time. watch ahead and the like (but no different than I did in the Passat). Where I get dinged is around town. Short trips don't look terrible on be MFI but the needle moves very quickly. So soccer and store trips on the weekend pull it down. Absent that I am sure I could get a 58-9 mpg tank out

I do think speed takes a bigger toll than we want to imagine. I keep it at or below 65 on area highways (hilly western MA) I also think the S has a small advantage with 16" wheels

My last three tanks the MFI dinged for low fuel at 590 miles or so and I could not get 12 gallons in. So if I was brave (not) I could get a 700 mile tank. Maybe I will next spring. My current tank I am 300 miles in showing 365 left on the to-go meter with 9/16ths of a tank remaining. 57.8 on the MFI

The car is stock (tires at 40) The weather is cool so no longer need AC, I don't use additives,









 

BadWolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Location
US
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium DSG/ 2015 Golf S Three Pedal


Arrived at work this morning a needle width above half a tank








 

T_D_I_geek

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Location
northeastern Connecticut, USA
TDI
2015 Golf TDI S 6-speed
Just finished a 5 day, 1620 mile trip today. Mostly highway, MPG calculated to 45.35 and spent a total of $133.11. Drove from Prince George, VA to Watertown, NY area looking for places to live, so I did a lot of around town driving there. Even made a trip to Kingston, ON yesterday. Pretty happy with the fuel mileage, but I wish the tank was larger. We (wife and I) usually do our long drives on our Passat TDI, so it felt a little disappointing to stop more often to fuel up.
On another note, I was comparing my overall MPG (42.4 over 3644mi) to other MK7 Golf TDIs and I found mine to me just a bit above average (looked like most are getting 40-42 mpg). I'm wondering is what the heck drivers are doing to get to the 45+ MPGs on a consistent basis.
After 5 tanks my FE is 48.6 mpg (calculated). It looks like my FE is in the top 3 or 4 on Fuelly - which like Lone Wolf I'm also surprised about. I don't drive strictly for maximum FE, as I "get on it" some when I'm driving around town. It's not unusual for me to shift at 3500-4000 rpm's out of 1st and 2nd.

My driving is about 85% highway/15% city. My "highway" miles are my 60+ mile commute, which is 20-25 miles on a very hilly 2-lane state route with average speeds of 45-60 mph, and 40 miles on the interstate where I average 65-75 mph.

My TDI is a 6-speed manual, with the stock OEM tires...and although I know I'm going to disappoint the FE gurus with this, I have no idea what my tire pressure is...I haven't checked it yet.

About the only active FE method I employ is to coast down hills on the 2-lane state route when I commute; although I'm not sure how much fuel this saves, as IIRC our Golfs drop their fuel consumption to almost nil when the accelerator isn't depressed.

A/C has been on maybe 1/3 of the time since I bought my car. And on 3 of 5 tankfuls, the calculated range has been in excess of 600 miles.
 

T_D_I_geek

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Location
northeastern Connecticut, USA
TDI
2015 Golf TDI S 6-speed


Arrived at work this morning a needle width above half a tank

Wow, nice job on the range!

Interesting that your average speed for this tank is 32 mph. I'd be curious to know what your average speed has been since new? If it's close to 32 mph, I wonder if that explains some of the difference in our FE?, as mine since new is a bit higher than yours at 42 mph. And higher average speed would mean greater drag.
 

T_D_I_geek

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Location
northeastern Connecticut, USA
TDI
2015 Golf TDI S 6-speed
Any Fuelly users also track their average speed per tank? I've found estimating my city/highway percentage to be difficult, but I think I might start tracking speed myself to use as a proxy.

Has anyone explored this before?
Any thoughts on what your scheme might be for delineating city/highway percentages based on a particular average mph?
 

BadWolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Location
US
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium DSG/ 2015 Golf S Three Pedal
Wow, nice job on the range!



Interesting that your average speed for this tank is 32 mph. I'd be curious to know what your average speed has been since new? If it's close to 32 mph, I wonder if that explains some of the difference in our FE?, as mine since new is a bit higher than yours at 42 mph. And higher average speed would mean greater drag.

The range is cool. This tank may not be it but I will get a 700 mile tank in it is mostly about where I am in my commute. I have about 17 miles with no station all.

Speed is weird I think. It's the whole average problem... One foot in boiling water and the other on an ice block but on average it is balmy...

Over the course of 600 miles you might have
Cruised at 32 Or Spent 500 miles at 80 and a day in heavy traffic. The only time it really tells you anything are on those rare occasions you do long stretches doing the same thing.

Currently Range is down to 690 now. 275 miles to go.






 

BadWolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Location
US
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium DSG/ 2015 Golf S Three Pedal
Any thoughts on what your scheme might be for delineating city/highway percentages based on a particular average mph?

A gps tracking app could score a route relative to all other routes. It would know elevation, stops, congestion.

Would be awesome but market size of 1

.




 

nkgagne

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2010
Location
Kitchener, Ontario Canada
TDI
2015 Sportwagen 6M, 2006 Golf GLS TDI (sold)
I have an SEL DSG and I can't break 36 mpgs. My commute is 20 miles at 80 mph and then 30 miles ranging from 50 - 70 mph on mostly flat road here in so AZ. I'm at around 1200 miles. Much much lower than my mk6 manual. I knew there would be a difference but didn't think it would be this bad. Ugh.
It looks like the DSG's are trending in the mid-high 30's and folks with the manual seem to be in the mid-high 40's. You would think that the DSG's tendency to grab higher gears in town would yield better results but my guess is that the extra parasitic load of the hydraulic pump is more than negating this advantage.

Asmerrill: 80 MPH is never going to get you the best mileage in anything. Drag increases at the square of velocity. As well, at 1200 mi, you're nowhere near broken in.
 

NoSmoke

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2001
Location
Calgary, Alberta
TDI
2K2 Golf
It looks like the DSG's are trending in the mid-high 30's and folks with the manual seem to be in the mid-high 40's. You would think that the DSG's tendency to grab higher gears in town would yield better results but my guess is that the extra parasitic load of the hydraulic pump is more than negating this advantage.
Hard to imagine the parasitic load being that high - a 10 mpg loss is a huge hit from a transmission.

Asmerrill: 80 MPH is never going to get you the best mileage in anything. Drag increases at the square of velocity. As well, at 1200 mi, you're nowhere near broken in.
Correct - maybe the 80 mph is more the culprit here.
 

toroos

Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2010
Location
michigan
TDI
2015 golf tdi s
I have now owned my 15 golf manual for 2 months and have 7100 miles on it. I have a 56 mile commute one way so this has given me the chance to drive on a full tank at different speeds. If I average 80 mph I usually get 45 mpg. If I average 65 I can easily get 55 mpg on a tank. That's actual miles not just off the trip computer. Its been a great car so far and you cant notice the rear suspension in the least.
 

BadWolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Location
US
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium DSG/ 2015 Golf S Three Pedal
New best tank 56.2 low fuel light came on at 607 fueled at 616.


Had 60 miles left but cheap diesel was near. Note the little gray Golf halfway to the fuel pump. (Normally sits on the far left)




 

jayb79

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 20, 2000
Location
Exeter,NH
are you telling us that you only put 11 gallons in the tank and it was empty? I am so spooled by my ALH 16 gallon tank.
 

BadWolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Location
US
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium DSG/ 2015 Golf S Three Pedal
In my experience if you drive the 15' Golf to zero miles it will take ~12 gallons (one gallon left). So in this case the tank had 2 gallons +. I am not comfortable driving past the MFI zero, even though I know there is fuel, dumb but there it is




 

BadWolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Location
US
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium DSG/ 2015 Golf S Three Pedal
The car freaks me right out. If you keep your foot out of it this car is a mileage MONSTER.






 

Marsupial

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Location
Westchester
TDI
'15 Golf TDI DSG S
I've been following this thread for a while and it looks like there is be a substantial difference in efficiency between Golf TDIs with manual versus those with DSG. I'm wondering if TDI DSG owners could post some more of their mpg impressions so far. It seems like lately it's been mostly the manual owners that have been posting. I have a TDI S with DSG on order and it should be here in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately I had to get the DSG because my wife is just not compatible with manual transmission cars at all. I would like to get a sense if 50 mpg on a highway is at all possible with the DSG. Manual owners are posting some very impressive results. Any input will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
 

BadWolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Location
US
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium DSG/ 2015 Golf S Three Pedal
Hard to tell. The sorting / filtering capabilities of Fuelly have a long way to go. That said here is a DSG listed at 46 MPGs.







 

andyrooski17

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2014
Location
Newton, MA
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SE DSG
Any thoughts on what your scheme might be for delineating city/highway percentages based on a particular average mph?
Not yet, I've been tracking my commutes the last couple weeks. Traffic tends to vary, so i'm thinking lower average speed will be like city driving (lots of accel/deccel and gear changes), and higher will be more like highway. I'm guessing there may be some direct relationship between avg speed to mpg, over some range of speeds, but then higher speeds will see a decrease.

Hopefully in a few more days i'll have enough data to plot, though, most likely is that any "signal" will be obscured by the "noise" of different weather conditions day to day. But it's fun to try.
 

andyrooski17

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2014
Location
Newton, MA
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SE DSG
I've been following this thread for a while and it looks like there is be a substantial difference in efficiency between Golf TDIs with manual versus those with DSG. I'm wondering if TDI DSG owners could post some more of their mpg impressions so far. It seems like lately it's been mostly the manual owners that have been posting. I have a TDI S with DSG on order and it should be here in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately I had to get the DSG because my wife is just not compatible with manual transmission cars at all. I would like to get a sense if 50 mpg on a highway is at all possible with the DSG. Manual owners are posting some very impressive results. Any input will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
DSG owner. I'll admit that at times i'm jealous of the manual owners' numbers, especially since I debated with myself for weeks on DSG vs. manual. Mostly, though, I really love the DSG, despite what may be a small mpg hit.

As for you specific question, 50 mpg is definitely possible on the highway. My best single trip was 56.8 mph, pretty much traffic, free, about 2 hours of almost 100% highway (and slightly net downhill!). On a long weekend roadtrip from MA to PA and back, including some driving around town while in PA, I had 51 for the trip. You'll see the spike from that trip in my Fuelly history. I've had numerous other 50+ mpg trips when the driving is mostly highway and I stick 65-70.

Of course, the numbers I quoted here are indicated on the car's computer. As has been well documented here, the Fuelly calculated numbers are coming out lower that that.
 

Marsupial

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Location
Westchester
TDI
'15 Golf TDI DSG S
Thanks Andyrooski17 and BadWolf for your quick replies.
Andyrooski, your reply in particular is encouraging. It is my understanding that with about 10000 miles driven we should see a noticeable improvement in efficiency - although it might not be as much with the new lower friction engine as it was with previous TDIs. Time will tell. For now low 50s / mid to upper 40s sound good to me - sounds like you're beating EPA estimates soundly on a new engine which is great. Thanks again.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Manual vs. DSG should be pretty close. Within 10% for sure. The differences being posted here are likely due to driving style, route, and average speeds more than they are transmission differences.

andyrooski17's numbers should be a pretty good indication of what's possible under the right conditions with a DSG - similar to what BadWolf is seeing with his manual. :cool

If your average highway speeds are over 70 MPH, then it's going to be a challenge to get 50+. The closer to 55 MPH you can keep it, the more impressive your numbers will be. Unfortunately, that isn't practical in many places now due to higher speed limits and/or crazy drivers. ;)
 

BadWolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Location
US
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium DSG/ 2015 Golf S Three Pedal
Vdub, I keep it under 65 and as importantly don't spend fuel when I don't need to. Watching ahead is not only safe, it improves mileage. I got in the habit a million years ago when I had a corolla with a bad clutch slave. I drove it that way for months. Stopping meant stalling and starting in gear (totally safe!) so I was well motivated to look ahead.




 

VeeDubTDI

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Joined
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Location
Springfield, VA
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And there is the secret. Look ahead, plan accordingly, and use the brakes as little as possible.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
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Location
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‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
The Passat DSG will do about 55 MPG (58 indicated) on a 55 MPH highway trip. I would expect that the Golf will crack 60. :cool:
 
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TurnOne

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Joined
Sep 22, 2014
Location
Cincinnati, OH
TDI
2015 Golf SEL TDI 6MT
Has anyone driven 55mph on a trip yet?

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I wish I had a long back road country trip but my driving consists of a lot of 70 mph interstates. I can tolerate 65 but no way I want to be doing 55. 5 under is my default lately. Been getting very high 40's using this technique.
 

JASONP

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 24, 2008
Location
Guelph
TDI
2015 Golf TDI Comfortline 6spd
I wish I had a long back road country trip but my driving consists of a lot of 70 mph interstates. I can tolerate 65 but no way I want to be doing 55. 5 under is my default lately. Been getting very high 40's using this technique.
I can usually get 55 mpg on my commute to work,53 km (33 miles) each way at 105 kph (65 mph)

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