My brim to brim for the last tankful is 53.92mpg. My best ever over 27,000 miles or so and was reflected in my recent compeuchter reading of ~54mpg on a trip back from Bromsgrove, when I limited the use of cruise control to the average speed camera areas..

My memory has now reset itself after the usual 20 hours so I do not still have a long term reading in memory2.

Not using cruise control seems to be improving the mpg by allowing me to lift off now and again to get 200mpg for a short while. Puzzling as to why the cruise control can not do that itself?

Anyone else found that?

I do like using it on long motorway runs and to assist in keeping my speed at 30mph as necessary round town.

I've always found that too. I guess it's because Cruise control is not as intelligent as you are so it doesn't know it can lift off on the brow of a hill etc.

You'll get loads of people telling you cruise is the most economic way to drive though......

My brim to brim for the last tankful is 53.92mpg. My best ever over 27,000 miles or so and was reflected in my recent compeuchter reading of ~54mpg on a trip back from Bromsgrove, when I limited the use of cruise control to the average speed camera areas..

My memory has now reset itself after the usual 20 hours so I do not still have a long term reading in memory2.

Not using cruise control seems to be improving the mpg by allowing me to lift off now and again to get 200mpg for a short while. Puzzling as to why the cruise control can not do that itself?

Anyone else found that?

I do like using it on long motorway runs and to assist in keeping my speed at 30mph as necessary round town.

But when you lift your foot off to get 200mpg you lose speed unless you are going downhill. You then have to accelerate to get back again. The alternative is that you have allowed your speed to creep up and are lifting off to drop back down.

Either way you must be using more fuel.

If you are an average driver with an average concentration span the cruise control will save fuel because your speed won't creep up - for example as you accelerate to maintain speed going up hill and fail to drop back as you crest the hill; or as you move into the overtaking lane to pass a car and accelerate just a little unconsciously then think, I may as well stay out and get past the next one too but there is someone coming up behind so just a little faster..., or as you unconciously accelerate to keep up with the rest of the traffic.

In my case the cruise engenders a much more relaxed driving style so I drive more slowly, am less "aggressive" on the throttle and save fuel as a result.

... so it doesn't know it can lift off on the brow of a hill etc.

But that is exactly what the cruise control DOES do.

What it doesn't do is allow a build up of speed going down hill to gain momentum to get up the next one. This is especially so on a DSG where it will change down the gears to increase engine braking to maintain the set speed going down hills. When I see that situation develop I just flick off the cruise and resume as soon as the speed drops back to the set point on the up-gradient.

You'll get loads of people telling you cruise is the most economic way to drive though......

Yep! Me for one

I'm with you there.

I use a combination of CC and me switching it off when appropriate. The best way to save fuel is to coast in gear up to junctions/roundabouts etc letting the car slow down of its own accord until you have to brake. I always do this when going from 70mph to 50mph limits aswell as roundabouts/junctions.

I find that on up hill / down dale A roads, cruise control displays a much more aggressive driving style than I myself do when driving without CC and for those sort of journeys the economy displayed by maxidot is definitely inferior with CC. This was particularly noticable on my Octavia 1.8TSI DSG where the CC could be left in over prolonged periods through the gear changes. Currently running a 1.9TDI Fabia till my Yeti arrives and find the same CC economy factors apply to that.

Don't really know what I'm thinking now as I'm getting very attached to that nippy 1.9TDI Fabia !! (SHMBO car)

The most economical way to drive is to gain speed whilst going downhill and allow it to ebb off slowly on the uphills. Cruise control will not do this for you, so I am always more economical driving without cruise, but I do use it on motorways as sometimes I cannot be bothered plus I get a gammy right ankle if held in one position too long.

The instant read out doesn't seem that accurate. I can go on cruise control home (uphill) at 80 and it scores 32mpg over an 16 mile journey. If i coast down through the village to my place, 2 miles, it's reading 40.something by the time i pull in the driveway

Seems to weight the consumption in the last 10 mins far too highly for the trip average

If i keep it in gear but no throttle, it seems just about accurate. I've been twiddling with VCDS and more often than not the trip2 mpg is within 0.5 mpg of my receipt / brim to brim calc.

The most economical way to drive is to gain speed whilst going downhill and allow it to ebb off slowly on the uphills. Cruise control will not do this for you, so I am always more economical driving without cruise, but I do use it on motorways as sometimes I cannot be bothered plus I get a gammy right ankle if held in one position too long.

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I do use it, but from my personal experience doing my commute multiple times with and without cruise, I always find I get better consumption without using cruise.

I knid of agree with you though eccleshill- I reckon if you're not an attentive driver and you do speed up and slow down without realising it and you don't anticipate what is happening in front of you then you may be better off using cruise.

Personally though, as I said, I find it gives worse mpg.

I tend to use my right foot on normal roads and A roads and the cruise on the motorway if on a long journey in light traffic. Not really noticed much difference in MPG - apart from on a long journey the cruise will actually improve MPG on the motorway.

Rich

For the last 15 years I have had cars with cruise control and trip computers.

Every single one has been LESS economical on cruise, by approx 10%.

My reckoning is that when cruise is on it will accelerate HARD to keep the speed constant when going uphill, whereas the natural drivers reaction is to accelerate a little and lose a bit of speed, and then regain speed on the downhill with gentle acceleration.

in my old Fabia VRS I could before remap get it to read on a average trip I did a lot approx 100 miles 71.9mpg and in a hurry (not speeding but more acceleration out of restricted zones) I would get 52mpg ish I could only do this by finding off the constant mpg reading the correct mix of gears and speed to give as little load on the engine as possible if you apply just enough pressure feather light on the accelerator pedal to just keep the speed you want generally that is all is needed. BUT a lot of people seem to beleive getting into 6th gear ASAP is good .......... if doing 55mph in my old car in 6th using as little pressure as possible to maintain the speed id show constant read out of a good 10mpg better if I used 5th not 6th rpm being as low as possible doesnt mean a thing if your keeping your foot half to the floor...... thats me anyway in my prev car to that same method I got 1045 miles between filling up once in a 406 2.0HDi GLX saloon was a lot of hard work to do it just did it to see what I could squeeze from it and it was over 2 weeks so a good few cold engine runs in it too and less than 300 of the miles on motorways. 56mph used to always be the combined fuel figure published for cars and tbh most seem to be geared to give their best at exactly that speed the extra 4mph sees a dramatic drop in my experience

I think cruise also works in your favour in other ways. I find I'm less tempted to travel more quickly than perhaps I should if it's set, for example

Also, be able to maintain a more constant average speed will also be more fuel efficient, even if the system is perhaps a bit more aggressive on gradient changes than a human would.

Also, in a motorway situation it can help you keep concentration on the things that matter, like observation of traffic around you; you don't have to be constantly aware of how quickly you might be going. Same in temp 50 roadworks sections.

Also, same as Jason - it's far easier going on the lower limbs

So it's not the greatest thing since sliced bread, but it's a very useful tool to have available - but crucially, when the conditions and road type favour its use

I have a funny feeling that for one persons driving style, cruise is more efficient. For another persons' style cruise is less efficient. I bet there is a group in the middle too!

Driving to and from work (75miles each way) for a year showed me that cruise less efficient for me, but when coming home from a 12+ hour day is was a nicer way to drive!

Cruise control is by far the best method on saving fuel but only if conditions are right - long journeys/not much traffic & speeds less than 83mph. Cruise will only give the minimum input to maintain set speed & therefore does not slow down (wasting energy) like we would do unaware with our right foot. Therefore, maximum speed with minimum input.

I regularly hit cruise at the right time when there's clear traffic in front or if there is a car in front a long way off I judge the speed & match it. It's nice to be able to take the right foot off the accelerator & give it a stretch!

Trouble is, there's folks who who sit in the fast lane who do the same & they are the ones who creep up very slowly & not let middle-laners out around the trucks - bloody annoying.

Using cruise is the only way I can hit 54Mpg in the Scout on a long run (100+miles)unless there's a hefty head-on wind.

One thing I've realized is what a waste of time doing 85mph+ is especially on the motorway - the gains even travelling from say Oxford to Glasgow is minuscule! Use cruise if you have it, relax & watch the Tits nose-to-tale in the fast lane - so funny.

I think cruise is essential . Not only on my frequent Calais/Frankfurt run - 400 miles, every inch on autoroute/bahn. Over the years, it "feels" more economical using cruise.

German autobahn can have huge speed differentials, your thinking, "ooooh! 90mph! and its all legal" then a Porsche zaps by at 150 and the draft pulls you 2ft off line. But the big saloons are even worse, especially when they are in convoy. I find cruise lets me concentrate better on life threatening stuff like the an AMG black flat out and his only concession being a flash of headlamps or the slaloming eastern European truckdriver in his Arctros GTI.

In UK, average speed cameras or highly taxed roads like the Cambridgeshire section of the A14 justify the use of cruise. Plenty of villages round here where the Police cameras hide, sometimes for only 1/2 an hour before they move on. Click the cruise, then look out for mums, kids and pensioners, not at my speedo.

How far do you have to drive saving only fractions of gallon to offset a £60 penalty? For me the peace of mind, comfort and ability to concentrate on the road and surrounding traffic is a major plus and I wouldn't buy a car without it. The jury may be out on fuel consumption, but I can enjoy my driving more by using it.

Nick

through restricted speed points like on the M25 road works I will always use the CC, set it to 50 and it will stay at that where as you tend to go over sometimes using your own foot.

Dont think I would use it all the time I'd like to have control over my speed, my uncle on the other hand swears by it, sets his to 30 around town and in his 1.8TSI DSG he says he gets alot better mpg than using his own foot.

I use cruise whenever the motorway (or main A road) is relatively quiet. I find it seems to save a bit of fuel (not a great deal), but is much more relaxing and gives my right foot a rest. Set at 70 it also means you don't have to worry about constantly checking your speed, and looking out for the speed camera vans on bridges, or set at 50 for the average speed roadworks. It does make me realise how other drivers don't maintain a constant speed though! Plus I do like the way that if you speed up to overtake something, then slow down again it gently resumes at the set speed again.

Just been on a 500 mile round trip this week (unusual for me), with motorway (or dual carriageway A road) almost all the way, and it averaged 55mpg (from the maxidot - 500 miles and still 165 miles left in the tank, if you believe the computer!), using cruise at 70 whenever possible, so I don't think that's too bad for a vRS.

Plus I do like the way that if you speed up to overtake something, then slow down again it gently resumes at the set speed again.

With the DSG it is even better - floor the throttle to overtake and it changes down a couple of gears without cancelling the cruise.

If you have to slow down to take a roundabout for example, just select resume and it accelerates through the gears back to cruising speed.

If you select speed increase on the cruise and hold it a while it will kick down a couple of gears to increase acceleration up to your new speed.

Likewise on hills it will change down going uphil to maintain speed or going downhill to increase engine braking - all without cancelling the cruise

I'm laughing reading this thread. Of course a car CAN be driven with better economy without using cruise control, but is clear some of the posters are unable or find it too hard to achieve better results with their driving! Well if YOU can't beat what cruise control offers in term of economy I guess using cruise is YOUR best bet. If you have the driving skills that allow you to get better economy than cruise control then drive the car with your foot (actually its your head doing most of the work!)

I'm another one who is convinced that cruise is NOT the most economical way to dive. I only ever use cruise on long stretches of 30mph roads, or through average speed camera areas on motorways, and that's purely to make sure my speed doesn't creep up enough to give me a ticket.

I leave my cruise control switched off 99% of the time.

Mike

Same here - cruise is a points avoidance system, not a way of driving economically!

I drove to Lincoln last night, 5 up from sunny Doncaster. My fuel consumption showed as 64 mpg, I know that the computer is a bit optimistic but it is all about having a smooth driving stlye, that is looking further ahead to avoid having to brake then speed up again, also shutting off earlier instead of keeping the power on then having to brake helps enormously. I recently showed my daughter how to drive properly and she now gets 8 to 10 mpg more out of her car. No, I'm not a slow coach, I'm an ex traffic cop retired (Sorry) so I do know how to drive.It also makes for a much smoother ride for yer passengers. Monkster.

I drove to Lincoln last night, 5 up from sunny Doncaster. My fuel consumption showed as 64 mpg, I know that the computer is a bit optimistic but it is all about having a smooth driving stlye, that is looking further ahead to avoid having to brake then speed up again, also shutting off earlier instead of keeping the power on then having to brake helps enormously. I recently showed my daughter how to drive properly and she now gets 8 to 10 mpg more out of her car. No, I'm not a slow coach, I'm an ex traffic cop retired (Sorry) so I do know how to drive.It also makes for a much smoother ride for yer passengers. Monkster.

Very true. Amazing how many people seem to think that being as close as physically possible to the vehicle in front will make their journey quicker too.

I drove to Lincoln last night, 5 up from sunny Doncaster. My fuel consumption showed as 64 mpg, I know that the computer is a bit optimistic but it is all about having a smooth driving stlye, that is looking further ahead to avoid having to brake then speed up again, also shutting off earlier instead of keeping the power on then having to brake helps enormously. I recently showed my daughter how to drive properly and she now gets 8 to 10 mpg more out of her car. No, I'm not a slow coach, I'm an ex traffic cop retired (Sorry) so I do know how to drive.It also makes for a much smoother ride for yer passengers. Monkster.

Agree 100%.

p.s. my Octy does 130 easy on my friend's private runway!