2.5 tdi V6 economy

[oh_superb]

I drove down to London on Saturday where I brimmed the tank on Shell diesel (normal grade), through North Circular, then down to the South coast, then back up home via the M25/M1 and averaged 52mpg.  Yesterday I drove down to London again, speed limits of 50-60mph all the way due to congested traffic and back up home again, again just M25/M1 and a bit through London driving too, averaged 54 mpg.

Basically I have done over 400 miles since the fill up in two days, and the needle has just moved over the half mark.

She has done 128000 miles, is automatic, the climate was off, and the last service was 7000 miles ago (GM Dexos2 synthetic oil 5w30 grade).

Quite incredible I'd say 

I have some shorter journeys to work this week, but with another trip to LOndon next week, I am hoping to crack the 620 mile barrier on a tank (1000 km) - I have never managed it before - I know with the 1.9 this is easy, but not quite so with the big lump  :sun:

 

[dieselV6]

With manual gearbox, if you drive at 50mph - 60mph on motorway you can get silly economy figures out of the 2.5TDI (if you are patient enough to drive slowly, that is   ) . Though I appreciate more the fuel economy at higher speeds, from 90mph upwards the car uses less fuel than current 1.6CR engines, and from 110mph up, manual 2.5TDI uses less fuel than the 1.9 did. Greatly shortens travel time across Germany, while keeping fuel bill sane.

 

One other thing I like about the 2.5 is the relaxed drive, not just on flats but also in hilly/mountain areas.  Usable rev range starts at 900 rpm, no vibration, enough torque, and under load turbo is felt already at 1300rpm or so. 

 

To compare, I just came back from a trip to Catalonia (in a 1.6CR Roomster), and frankly the 1.6CR offered near zero engine braking, on 8%-9% deg slope even in 2nd gear the engine would happily accelerate past 3500rpm, or 40mph. Several years back, I took the 2.5TDI Superb to Kefalonia and drove on similar inclines, and never had problems maintaining speed using engine braking, I used 3rd on downhills most of the time, and remember the Superb is 500kg+ heavier. Far fewer gear changes with the 2.5TDI as well. Suffice to say, I have now retired the Roomster from trips abroad until further notice, and assigned it back to the role it is best at - a shopping trolley / family day out transport.

 

Fuel wise, nowadays I mostly use cheap French supermarket fuel, also in the UK as the car does most of the mileage abroad. Leclerc has less foaming fuel than Carrefour, makes filling up the whole 69l much faster, that's just about the maximum of attention I pay to fuel quality. Incidentally, Leclerc also has cheap VW spec engine oil EUR30 for 5L 100% synth Shell VW504/507), though I use 5W-40 VW505.01 at present and still have supplies for a few years. By the way, diesel fuel in Andorra costs £0.90/l, similar in Luxembourg, though both places are a bit too far away from the UK to fill up on a regular basis :p

Edited 1 September, 2014 by dieselV6

[samuir1974]

Very impressive for that big lump mate! Always wanted one of these too 

[jimbof]

Is your fuel tank level sender on the fritz?!

If I try really hard in my 1.9 Tiptronic I can get ~52mpg, though time warming up the engine getting out of town in traffic really kills economy for me.

I usually average 44mpg over a tank, having to refil at around 530 miles.  That is a bit of town driving plus 55 mile each way runs from Norwich to Ely.

[oh_superb]

No, my fuel level and mpg readouts are spot on, have always been anyway.  And I did drive this weekend much slower than usual.

In France I usually use Carrefour, it's around £1.05 a litre now, never on M-ways as around 20 cents a litre dearer.  Same in Austria, around same price as France off the M-way (e1.279 a litre a couple of weeks ago) on the old Agip pumps, now rebranded to something else that I cannot remember the name of - compare that to 1.45-1.50 a litre on the M-way.  It adds up on a 55 litre tank (difference pays for the 10 day Vignette).

In Montenegro we also payed e1.27 a litre for some Greek made diesel (LUK pumps).  Slovenia was around e1.30 a litre, and Italy was much more dear, around e1.70!  So I was glad I could go from Cannes in France to Croatia on a single tank   .. oh yea…  Then one more tank to Montenegro.  Then one further tank took me to Hungary again, though I chose to fill up in Serbia before crossing the border as Hungary has become expensive to fill up.

That tank lasted all of Hungary and all of Austria, filling up 5km before the German border  :clap: .  Happy motoring...

It's interesting to read where all of our cars end up cruising around the continent :-)

This year we have been to:

France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech rep, Slovakia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, Monaco, Holland :-)

Can anyone beat that? 

The big question is how many more miles do I do on the Continent before starting to doubt the reliability of the Superb and go for something fresher and younger…. as she still purrs so nicely…  By comparison, my mate's Laguna diesel is falling apart at 140k at 4 years younger...

 

I pay £16 a 5 litre tub of Dexos2 as I buy in lots of 4 tubs from a Vauxhall dealer using a Vauxhall trade card I get through work.  I run my brother's Ibiza TDI (PD engine, 100 ps, a little cracker as remapped, needs 505.01 oil, and Dexos2 satisfies this spec), my mum's A class CDI, my wife's Jazz and the Superb on this oil.  It universally fits all these engines, and is cheap.  One lot of 4 tubs does the year for us all, doesn't get any cheaper than that!

I had a good look at the cylinder head when the cam cover had to come off at 121000 miles as I had to replace the needle lift sensor injector on the right bank on my 2.5, and it is spotless, no carbon build up, the detergency of the Dexos 2 is good, really keeps the carbon off metal, really impressed with this oil.  Not sure who the manufacturer is, but good stuff in my opinion.

Edited 1 September, 2014 by oh_superb

[jimbof]

Hang about, me smells a little rat... ;-p  69L?  You're sticking it in the fuel vent aren't you? :-p

I can only ever get around 57-58L into the tank (trip usually shows 20-30 miles range at that point).

So you get an extra 10L in the vent?

[oh_superb]

I am vented too, but the highest I can get in is around 57 litres.. thats after driving for a bit with 0 miles left on the on board comp, by which point I am biting my nails…. Later facelift spec from around 55 plate I think have a few more litters I think, dieselV6's is BDG engined facelift, mine is earlier AYM so will have a bit smaller tank I think. 

[jimbof]

I think you are right, I get about 59L or so if I leave it to zero miles.

Sorry I confused the posts, I see it was dieselV6 with the ludicrously large fill

You V6 types all look the same to me lol

[oh_superb]

I think you are right, I get about 59L or so if I leave it to zero miles.

Sorry I confused the posts, I see it was dieselV6 with the ludicrously large fill

You V6 types all look the same to me lol

"our v6 types" LOL… 

[Gaz]

"our v6 types" LOL… 

 

Jim's just jealous that we've got two more pots than the weeny little 4 potter  :p

 

Am dead envious of your mpg.  My best has only been 48mpg and my average is well down - my fuelly sig covers the last 20k miles 

 

Gaz

[dieselV6]

Hang about, me smells a little rat... ;-p  69L?  You're sticking it in the fuel vent aren't you? :-p

I can only ever get around 57-58L into the tank (trip usually shows 20-30 miles range at that point).

So you get an extra 10L in the vent?

FL (BDG engine) cars have 62l fuel tank stock, and 69l if you either press or remove permanently the vent valve (on diesels only). I did put 69l on at least 3 occassions over the years, as well as initially when I removed the vent valve and measured fuel left+filled up later, the vented FL tank might actually hold 69.5l or so.

[dieselV6]

>>France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech rep, Slovakia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, Monaco, Holland<<

 

I try to keep the number of countries visited down to under 10 a year :p  but vary them somewhat every year.

This year's new countries were Andorra and Spain, the full list is: 

 France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Czech Rep, Holland, Poland, Andorra, Spain

 

For maximum number of countries to visit in 1 trip, I guess you could take an overland trip from Finland to Greece with a return via a ferry to Italy and then Denmark/Sweden, about ~20 countries.

 

I'm actually missing trips abroad in the Superb now, as for the last 6 months I had to make do with the Roomster, it really needed to prove itself after engine block replacement and a couple other warranty fixes. Hopefully nothing else breaks now, and hopefully I now found all bolts left loose by the workshop.... thankfully the ones I found so far were non-critical ones (battery tray and air filter mounts). Roomie is a great value for money car, and fantastic for shopping/household chores / sightseeing (panoramic glass roof), but I find it consistently underpowered as soon as the needle touches 85mph. Funnily enough, it even has sufficient legroom (nowhere near as much as the Superb though), just not the power. 2.5 Superb cruises happily at 130mph with full load, still has some acceleration left at this speed, and at lower speeds (~100mph) actually uses less fuel than the 1.6CR Roomie.

Edited 2 September, 2014 by dieselV6

[oh_superb]

That trek would be quite something, from FInland down to Greece!

We did take the ferry from Italy to Montenegro two years ago, but never again - the ferry was running 6 hours late, the aircon was broken so it was a sweat pit, and there was overwhelming smell of heavy oil on the platform… too much really.  I regretted not going up to Venice and round that way via Croatia.  But anyway that was then.

The Superb is happiest on the Continent, wonder how many more miles she can handle.  In under 2 years she will be clocking 150k and it will be time for a major service indeed, and I suspect it will still all be working apart from small age related niggles that I can live with.

 

So it seems the 1.6 CR is not a particularly good engine then, a new block at low mileage is not a good sign at all!

 

By the way my lifetime economy is 39 mpg (7.13 l/100km), but most of the fuel burn is fast-ish motorway driving.

Edited 2 September, 2014 by oh_superb

[dieselV6]

I am hoping to run the Superb till it is 15 years old, but I already feel I got way more than full value out of it.  I'll DIY the belts (again) in 1-2 years time, might change the water pump this time (replacement pump has been sitting in the garage since last belt replacement, as there was nothing wrong with the factory one, even bearing play was the same). It would be nice to get another 90k miles out of it (15k to the belt job, and 75k afterwards), or perhaps even drive it till 300k?  

 

Roomie's 1.6CR is actually nice on flats, and reasonably frugal, but around 2012 Skoda has had a lot of production quality problems with both petrols and diesels, for some engine ranges replacement rates were up to 30% for a while, not sure what the status is with the latest engines but hopefully improved. Though even for a 1250kg car 105bhp is not enough power on hilly motorway, and not enough engine braking on steep descents (8%+ slope). I guess a 2.0CR with at least 130bhp would be an absolute minimum for me, even in a budget replacement.

 

New block was a hassle, but I got 2 more years of warranty out of it, total 5 years.

Roomie has been behaving since the block repair, as a reward this Saturday it gets 5 all weather tyres (Vredestein Quatrac Lite). At 195/60/R15 they're ~10mm taller than stock because ground clearance is insufficient (bashed the skid plate several times in Catalonia, glad that I put it there), comfort will be better, and the speedo exact.  If these tyres work well in winter, next year I'll get all weathers for the Superb as well, though likely even better ones (Goodyear 4 Seasons) and I will stop using winter wheels for the Superb as soon as winter tyres are worn out, as there is not enough winter mileage to justify them anymore and Goodyears are just as good in rain/ice/slush winter weather and acceptable in snow. If I don't have any more problems with the Roomie, I'll also put Bilstein B6 monotube shocks in spring, same as on my Superb, had them for 120k+ and 7+ years and they still feel good as new.

 

I sense we got OT quite far enough, but it's your thread

Edited 3 September, 2014 by dieselV6

[oh_superb]

Yes, got OT indeed, but who cares 

Anyway, last night odo clocked to 620 miles (1000km) since last fill-up and then the low fuel ding came on with 50 miles to go…  Objective achieved!

My slow driving has been rewarded  :sun:  Yeehaaa.

Time for a  :coffee:  cuppa!

As I was cruising last night, I was thinking as the road tax expires at the end of September I will have to renew it and get another year out of the old girl, she is just too good to pass on as a cheap part-ex…  no rattles and drives great, I had to do a quick manoeuvre in London yesterday a couple of times to cut in traffic and the Bilsteins kept it stable and the engine pulled on demand making my wife grab the seat a big harder.. yes.  :clap:

 

If you do the t/belt on yours, I'd renew the thermostat too, mine was misbehaving last year, then stabilised when I got the engine really hot on day, but when I come to replace the front end belts/tensioners etc the water and the thermostat are definitely going to be swapped too.

I plan to DIY it.  But that's over a year from now, still under 129k, due at 150k, though will probably do it sooner as the garage that changed it told me they used genuine parts, but I noticed that the fuel injection pump belt is made by DAYCO when I adjusted the timing.

Though perhaps that's OEM?

Edited 9 September, 2014 by oh_superb

[dieselV6]

 

Yes, got OT indeed, but who cares 

Anyway, last night odo clocked to 620 miles (1000km) since last fill-up and then the low fuel ding came on with 50 miles to go…  Objective achieved!

My slow driving has been rewarded  :sun:  Yeehaaa.

Time for a  :coffee:  cuppa!

As I was cruising last night, I was thinking as the road tax expires at the end of September I will have to renew it and get another year out of the old girl, she is just too good to pass on as a cheap part-ex…  no rattles and drives great, I had to do a quick manoeuvre in London yesterday a couple of times to cut in traffic and the Bilsteins kept it stable and the engine pulled on demand making my wife grab the seat a big harder.. yes.  :clap:

 

If you do the t/belt on yours, I'd renew the thermostat too, mine was misbehaving last year, then stabilised when I got the engine really hot on day, but when I come to replace the front end belts/tensioners etc the water and the thermostat are definitely going to be swapped too.

I plan to DIY it.  But that's over a year from now, still under 129k, due at 150k, though will probably do it sooner.

 

You've been causing traffic jams driving 50mph then? :p  More seriously, congratulations on the achievement, most notably on the level of patience required. On my part, I tend to tell myself that I saved so much money buying Mk1 Superb V6 over an Audi A6, that I can now spend the saving freely on fuel   Actually this attitude works nicely on autobahn at night, I often pass by some premium saloon (BMW/Audi/Merc), they catch up and overtake me, I just keep my cruise control (at 130mph when the road/conditions allow) and after a while, when they remember fuel bill, I overtake them again for good  :sun:

Not to mention the queue of people overtaking other cars and then getting back in lane behind mine whenever my Superb is carrying the towbar carrier box, I guess it is an attraction of some sort as they are not sold in Europe anymore, and very few were sold anyway. Some even take photos, unsettled me on a couple occasions when I thought it was a speed camera and it was just a flashlamp going off in the car behind me.

  

Bilstein B6s monotubes are indeed very good, cannot wait to put them in the Roomster. On my Superb, tyres lose grip before the car loses composure. It was the other way round with factory shocks, even when the car was new.

 

Road tax is a bit on the high side, especially for an automatic, but insurance seems to have come down, I use Aviva as they have best country coverage abroad, and this year switched to their multicar option. £300 fully comp with travel to Europe and courtesy car/legal at£250 excess is not bad at all. Breakdown is best obtained elsewhere, I use cover from Nationwide's FlexPlus, at £10/month for RROT breakdown cover incl Europe, all sorts of other travel insurance and extended warranty on goods and covering both cars and both drivers it is hard to beat.

 

I actually have both the water pump and the thermostat sitting on the shelf... as I 'd stated I bought them together for 1st TB job, but since water pump bearings felt pristine (little or no play), decided not to touch them. Will swap them during the next TB job, I think around 145k unless I have a lot of travel abroad coming up earlier. 

[oh_superb]

Yes, RT around £290 I think.  Ouch.

But no more depreciation, and a FC that is actually better than many "eco" diesels of today.

Insurance, mine is around £300 too.  DIY servicing saves a fortune too, which is not possible on a new car under warranty.

WIll have to shop around a bit, and may bring it down.

[oh_superb]

Just for the record, 51 mpg on the last tank.

[Gaz]

Just for the record, 51 mpg on the last tank.

 

I'm off to Dorset for a few days break tomorrow.  Unfortunately it's not really 'til Southampton that the roads begin to clear a bit and I can keep up a steady pace.

 

But I might still drive like a granny seeing as how you've kinda laid a gauntlet down! :sun: 

 

Gaz 

[oh_superb]

I'm off to Dorset for a few days break tomorrow.  Unfortunately it's not really 'til Southampton that the roads begin to clear a bit and I can keep up a steady pace.

 

But I might still drive like a granny seeing as how you've kinda laid a gauntlet down! :sun:

 

Gaz 

 

Well Gaz, you can try and beat my granny drivecycle 

The highest I got was 55 mpg on a continuous 80 mile boring journey, but as soon as I got into stop start traffic it dropped a bit.  The v6 uses a lot of fuel idling  :|

[Gaz]

I'm going for explosive tyre pressures and taping up every little nook and cranny that could be an air brake.  Bigger tyres on the back and smaller ones on the front so it's always going downhill 

 

Gaz

[creaghadoos]

i have just bought an 04 superb 2.5 auto, after having an 03 manual. 

pound for pound skoda are easily the best car on the road

 

only problem is fuel economy, or lack of it.

a lot of short 10 - 12 mile journeys but only getting an average of around 35mpg

best on a long run approx 45mpg

car is serviced and was well looked after.

 

is there a remap that would help or is there something i am just overlooking.

 

havent checked tyre pressures yet

Edited 15 September, 2014 by creaghadoos

[CRC]

My 06 V6 manual always averages around 48 mpg (on the second mode on the stalk switch) with mostly relaxed A road driving with occasional "warp drive" use to get past lorries as the opportunity allows. Best I've ever achieved is 63 mpg on a 26 mile trip in hot weather and very relaxed acceleration. On a recent 160 mile trip fully laden with 4 adults driving on motorways at legal speeds and with the aircon set to auto, it returned 49 mpg.

 

Pretty impressive considering what the thing weighs.

[creaghadoos]

i have just bought an 04 superb 2.5 auto, after having an 03 manual. 

pound for pound skoda are easily the best car on the road

 

only problem is fuel economy, or lack of it.

a lot of short 10 - 12 mile journeys but only getting an average of around 35mpg

best on a long run approx 45mpg

car is serviced and was well looked after.

 

is there a remap that would help or is there something i am just overlooking.

 

havent checked tyre pressures yet

 

can anyone offer any advice to try to help me

[jimbof]

You're not very far off the published figures for your car I'm afraid...

http://carfueldata.direct.gov.uk/search-new-or-used-cars.aspx?vid=204805

47.1MPG extra urban, 24.4 urban cold, 35.3 combined.

 

Two of the guys posting above have the manual gearbox (dieselv6 and CRC).  My experience with the 1.9PD engine is that the auto box robs you of about 10MPG, for the same driving style / road conditions.  

 

If you can get extremely good road conditions and a long run then you might better the 47.1MPG extra urban, but only just.

 

You've basically got the wrong car if you want much more economy than you are getting. 

 

To put it into perspective, my 1.9 auto up to around 12 miles trip (4 miles getting out of town, and 8 miles on dual carriageway) would be showing around 36MPG on the trip.  It isn't until I get another 10 miles on the dual carriageway that I'm up to 42MPG, and then if I carry on driving economically I'll get up to 46MPG at around 30 miles trip.  If I drive super-economically I might get up to 50-52, but it is very rare for the road conditions round here to let me get that.