Real World MPG with DSG

[LogicBomb]

Took a trip out to Yosemite, filled up on the way out of Yosemite, about 300 miles from home and I only got 41.2MPG. Used 9.839 gallons of fuel for 405 miles. This is largely due to the upward grade of the mountain roads going out towards Yosemite.

The rest of the ride home, and a couple of commutes to and from work netted me 49.8MPG, 14.743 gallons of fuel 734 miles total. My best tank to date.

Also hit another milestone, I've owned the car for 1 year now and I'm currently at 38,5xx miles.

 

[mikew85120]

HOT Temperatures make a difference

I live in the Phoenix metro area and drive a 2014 Passat TDI DSG. This past Sunday it was cool by our standards about 85°F, I drove at 67 mph on a 6 lane highway and my average consumption read 50.3 mpg. I took the same drive today at 106°F and my average consumption read 36.5 mph. I guess for most of the country this will not make a big difference but here where next month it will be 115°F, it sure does.

 

[Lightflyer1]

It may make a difference, but reading your gauge for that short a distance won't really tell you. Track your fuel at Fuelly. When I look at mine from last May to this May, fairly steady 40 mpg average or so. I have been through 2 hot Texas summers without noticing that big of a hit.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/volkswagen/passat/2013/lightflyer1/150923/fuelchart

 

[Rico567]

^^^^^^

What "Lightflyer1" said in the post above. When your vehicle's average over a season is compared to all the other Passats on Fuelly, then there's a reasonable basis to draw conclusions. Readings from one drive to the next taken from the MFI are not particularly accurate. And do FE calculations with pencil and paper. I got into the habit of carrying an envelope in the glove box. I take the pump receipt and write the odometer reading on it, then enter the figures into Fuelly later.

 

[RoadRunnerTR21]

I've been through 3 1/2 years of Texas summers with my 2012

 

[jhinsc]

I live in the Phoenix metro area and drive a 2014 Passat TDI DSG. This past Sunday it was cool by our standards about 85°F, I drove at 67 mph on a 6 lane highway and my average consumption read 50.3 mpg. I took the same drive today at 106°F and my average consumption read 36.5 mph. I guess for most of the country this will not make a big difference but here where next month it will be 115°F, it sure does.

There are variable's that can explain differences; direction of wind during each drive, hotter air is less dense, use of a/c, etc. I find I get my best mileage when temps range from 70s to 90's, my overall average over many months has been staying pretty steady for me, but I am seeing fluctuations up and down from one tank to the next.

 

[Sigforty]

There are variable's that can explain differences; direction of wind during each drive, hotter air is less dense, use of a/c, etc. I find I get my best mileage when temps range from 70s to 90's, my overall average over many months has been staying pretty steady for me, but I am seeing fluctuations up and down from one tank to the next.

I agree. Mine fueling has been fairly steady over the last two years. There are a lot of variables and one that is hard to track is sitting in traffic. A bad week can kill my tank mpg by a almost 2 points.

 

[LogicBomb]

Over what distances though MikeW? It makes it really difficult to judge MPG numbers when there is no mention of the mileage for the sample. As many above have stated, there are a lot of variables to take into account, wind being my largest enemy having dropped some of my daily MPG snap shots 4-6MPG due to having a tailwind the day before.

Also, typically speaking, the hotter it is, the better my MPG gets. The car obviously makes less power but it doesn't need to make a lot of power to maintain 65MPH. I live in Southern California and my car rarely sees sub 50 degree temps.

 

[mikew85120]

I have tracked our economy since we have owned the car. During our winter (Nov-March) we average 42 to 48 mpg. Summer temps over 100°F reduces our mpg to 35 to 42 mpg. I refuel at approx 300 miles driven at my local Chevron dealer & use Opti-Lube Summer+, 1 oz per 9 gal fill up. The course driven is on route 60, from my home towards Phoenix, about 35 miles this is a slight down hill route. Winds are pretty calm during the summer. I am saying our mpg is better during the cooler months, not sure why.

I live in the Phoenix metro area and drive a 2014 Passat TDI DSG. This past Sunday it was cool by our standards about 85°F, I drove at 67 mph on a 6 lane highway and my average consumption read 50.3 mpg. I took the same drive today at 106°F and my average consumption read 36.5 mph. I guess for most of the country this will not make a big difference but here where next month it will be 115°F, it sure does.

 

[mikew85120]

Over what distances though MikeW? It makes it really difficult to judge MPG numbers when there is no mention of the mileage for the sample. As many above have stated, there are a lot of variables to take into account, wind being my largest enemy having dropped some of my daily MPG snap shots 4-6MPG due to having a tailwind the day before.

Also, typically speaking, the hotter it is, the better my MPG gets. The car obviously makes less power but it doesn't need to make a lot of power to maintain 65MPH. I live in Southern California and my car rarely sees sub 50 degree temps.

Temperature 50° C or F?

 

[LogicBomb]

Temperature 50° C or F?

Seriously? This is Murica, F!



Edit: Just saw that your car is returning better MPG's in the cooler months, which is usually the opposite of what most will see. I too use the Optilube Summer+.

 

[rotarykid]

In S California, where the poster says he is from that low end range would 50* F.

While it can and does away from the ocean get into the low to mid 110s*F quite often all over the S Cal region, I highly doubt you would ever see into the mid 120s* F outside of death valley or maybe palm springs.....

 

[atc98002]

I have tracked our economy since we have owned the car. During our winter (Nov-March) we average 42 to 48 mpg. Summer temps over 100°F reduces our mpg to 35 to 42 mpg. I refuel at approx 300 miles driven at my local Chevron dealer & use Opti-Lube Summer+, 1 oz per 9 gal fill up. The course driven is on route 60, from my home towards Phoenix, about 35 miles this is a slight down hill route. Winds are pretty calm during the summer. I am saying our mpg is better during the cooler months, not sure why.

I know AZ can have a wide variation in temperatures throughout the state. What are your "normal" winter temps? Don't forget you have your A/C running full blast when it's 100 F. I know I will leave my car running (with someone in it) if I stop somewhere to keep it cool. That kills the mileage as well.

I haven't experienced a complete year yet, but I absolutely saw lower mileage through our winter (average temps in the 40s F) compared to what I've been seeing the last month or so (average temps 80-90 F). Just this morning I pulled into my work parking lot indicating 52MPG (62 F), but of course I also made every traffic light . In the winter I rarely see higher than 45, more likely 42-43. And I've adjusted my MFD display with VCDS so if anything it's just slightly lower than real.

 

[Lightflyer1]

My normal commute is 35 miles one way. MFD usually shows 50 mpg or just under for each trip. Tank average is usually around 40 mpg or slightly less. The return trip is usually higher than the going trip. There is really no way to correlate such short trips and using the mfd to do it. Temperature and AC use for sure has an effect but not 15 mpg, IMHO.

 

[LogicBomb]

In S California, where the poster says he is from that low end range would 50* F.

While it can and does away from the ocean get into the low to mid 110s*F quite often all over the S Cal region, I highly doubt you would ever see into the mid 120s* F outside of death valley or maybe palm springs.....

I saw 109 in Fresno, but that's not SoCal. That was also the best MPGs I've seen to date. MFD said 61.9MPG with the A/C blaring the whole way, loaded with camping gear and the three of us. Not sure how the individual above is getting such poor mileage in the high temps.

 

[Audi Guy]

Well my first fill up at 531 miles and approx 1/4 tank indicated the car returned 34 mpg in commute heavy use. I live 3 miles from work and it took 2+ weeks to use that 15 or so gallons of dinosaur juice.

 

[PassatTdi13]

Not sure if this is good or bad mileage honestly. 41.8 ish over the past 4000 miles. http://www.fuelly.com/car/volkswagen/passat/2014/14vwpassat/368760

 

[Rico567]

Not sure if this is good or bad mileage honestly. 41.8 ish over the past 4000 miles. http://www.fuelly.com/car/volkswagen/passat/2014/14vwpassat/368760

Note my Fuelly average; much like yours. We have 30K on the car, and I've recorded all refueling data since new. Our figures compare very favorably to the averages for our cars on Fuelly, too. These figures don't lie (unlike instantaneous readings from the MFD, which can be problematic), so I think we can conclude that we're getting the kind of mileage we might expect from this car, mas o menos.

 

[PassatTdi13]

Note my Fuelly average; much like yours. We have 30K on the car, and I've recorded all refueling data since new. Our figures compare very favorably to the averages for our cars on Fuelly, too. These figures don't lie (unlike instantaneous readings from the MFD, which can be problematic), so I think we can conclude that we're getting the kind of mileage we might expect from this car, mas o menos.

I'm sure if I didn't top off each tank my mileage would be "better" but I top off each tank with like an extra gallon if possible to get the most range out of each tank. But according to fuelly we're doing well, I'm not doubting it either considering most people are getting worse than ours. I'm sure it would be better too if Florida had slower highway speed limits and better traffic. i4 Kills me each afternoon heading home from work, sitting on the highway stop n go at 10mph and all that. Oh yeah, and I'm at 9000 miles, bout it at 5000mi two months ago. I commute far for work so this car is perfect.

 

[pjfslk]

Dsg

For the past 3k, 50/50 highway & city average is 45.6 mpg 2014 TDISEL

 

[jhinsc]

I'm sure if I didn't top off each tank my mileage would be "better" but I top off each tank with like an extra gallon if possible to get the most range out of each tank. But according to fuelly we're doing well, I'm not doubting it either considering most people are getting worse than ours. I'm sure it would be better too if Florida had slower highway speed limits and better traffic. i4 Kills me each afternoon heading home from work, sitting on the highway stop n go at 10mph and all that. Oh yeah, and I'm at 9000 miles, bout it at 5000mi two months ago. I commute far for work so this car is perfect.

If you didn't top off your tank with the extra gallon, then yes that one tank's mileage would seem better, but subsequent tank fills done the same way will net you the same average over time. That's why people boasting about one particular tank's mileage versus another is really insignificant, unless it was done in a very controlled, documented manner. I fill my tank until the pump clicks off, then slowly add more under it's clicks off twice and I call it done. Then I record it on Fuelly.com my total miles and gallons used. To gauge how I'm doing with each tank, I watch my average MFI-2 for the tank and MFI-1 for each trip. While it reads a bit high, it's a good indicator of how the traffic pattern, my driving style, and weather is impacting my current mileage.

 

[Bobmws]

Not sure if this is good or bad mileage honestly. 41.8 ish over the past 4000 miles. http://www.fuelly.com/car/volkswagen/passat/2014/14vwpassat/368760

I'm sure if I didn't top off each tank my mileage would be "better" but I top off each tank with like an extra gallon if possible to get the most range out of each tank. But according to fuelly we're doing well, I'm not doubting it either considering most people are getting worse than ours. I'm sure it would be better too if Florida had slower highway speed limits and better traffic. i4 Kills me each afternoon heading home from work, sitting on the highway stop n go at 10mph and all that. Oh yeah, and I'm at 9000 miles, bout it at 5000mi two months ago. I commute far for work so this car is perfect.

Your peak travel time on I4 is what's hurting the #'s, but it's still great compared to a gasser.
While I was working I did a 40 mile commute during off-peak times with no stop & go situations. Now that I'm retired (4 months!) my tanks consist of shorter trips, 12 -20 miles, and I see about 1.5 mpg lower avg. I expect my fuelly avg will drop slowly.

 

[PassatTdi13]

My trip to and from work is 50 miles both ways, so 100 miles total. 40 of which is highway each way. My trip/ mpg #2 says 44.9 for the car average, I just reset #1 each fill up. So I guess not that terrible but i4 some days just kills mpg from sitting in stop n go for 20 miles. Overall I'm still happy with the mpg I can achieve from this car considering the conditions. And most days I'm driving home from work in the rain as well.

 

[atc98002]

My trip to and from work is 50 miles both ways, so 100 miles total. 40 of which is highway each way. My trip/ mpg #2 says 44.9 for the car average, I just reset #1 each fill up. So I guess not that terrible but i4 some days just kills mpg from sitting in stop n go for 20 miles. Overall I'm still happy with the mpg I can achieve from this car considering the conditions. And most days I'm driving home from work in the rain as well.

#1 resets itself after roughly two hours parked, so it's not giving you anything valuable for the entire tank. I reset #2 for each tank, although I use Fuelly for more accuracy. I have modified my car with VCDS, and the MFI display is actually slightly lower than real world now. I've seen trips as high as 53MPG, after estimating the MFI error based on experience.

My commute is 18 miles each way, with about 10 of it freeway. In the morning (4:30AM!) there's significant traffic but everyone's doing 60+ (speed limit 60). Coming home, I use a transponder that allows me to drive the carpool lane solo (for a price), but it ends before I exit and I often am in stop and go before the exit. Then I have heavy traffic through my town, and the last 1/2 mile home is up a very steep hill. I usually show 35MPG pulling in the gaarage, whereas the morning trip (downhill the first 1/2 mile!) is between 45-52MPG entering the work parking lot. On average, almost exactly my Fuelly results.

 

[LogicBomb]

the last 1/2 mile home is up a very steep hill.

18? If so, I can vouch for that being one hell of a hill. If not, if you're on the other side of the valley, it's still a large hill. I've been wondering how the Passat would do on my old commute up in WA, Kent (top of James hill) to Fort Lewis.

My trip to and from work is 50 miles both ways, so 100 miles total. 40 of which is highway each way. My trip/ mpg #2 says 44.9 for the car average, I just reset #1 each fill up. So I guess not that terrible but i4 some days just kills mpg from sitting in stop n go for 20 miles. Overall I'm still happy with the mpg I can achieve from this car considering the conditions. And most days I'm driving home from work in the rain as well.

Sounds like my commute home in the afternoons going north on I-5/405 here in California. It's a solid 30-60 minutes of 5-10-0MPH traffic.

 

[atc98002]

18? If so, I can vouch for that being one hell of a hill. If not, if you're on the other side of the valley, it's still a large hill. I've been wondering how the Passat would do on my old commute up in WA, Kent (top of James hill) to Fort Lewis.

I live in Lakeland Hills in South Auburn. It's a 400' climb in 1/4 mile. Even steeper than SR 18. My Passat climbs SR 18 without breaking a sweat. Never even downshifts out of 6th.

 

[PassatTdi13]

Not getting into too much detail here, but just filled up today. 702 miles to 15.2 gallons (46mpg). Mostly my commute for work 100 miles a day. Typical Florida highway speeds of 70+mph and then typical rush hour traffic heading home from work as well as the wonderful rain storms every afternoon on my way home. Not a bad tank I'd say. Topped it off though to 16 gallons to go a little further. Currently at 10k miles

 

[kmrenken]

I don't have a lot of miles on my Passat....haven't gotten to my first oil change yet, but my mileage has been consistently in the 43 mpg area. One tank with nearly all road miles yielded 47 mpg. Got 44 on my last tank with more spirited driving. I traded a diesel truck that got 17 mpg for this car. Needless to say I'm extremely pleased with the mileage I'm getting.

 

[White Passat]

My driving is about 50/50 City and Highway. My 2013 has been very consistent 38 mpg, best was on a trip to Arkansas, 49 mpg @ 500 miles of 65-80 mph interstate driving. 23,000 miles since October 2014. I like the DSG.

 

[RoadRunnerTR21]

My fuelly says what I get.