I thought I'd run some tests to see how ecconomic the Greenline is under different conditions, both for my own interest and for future owners to decide if its worth it over the standard 2 litre Diesel.

The first experiement involved a drive on the M3, from junction 3 to junction 9 in an effort to use as little fuel as I could. The route is mostly downhill and I sat behind trucks as much as I could.

The tyres were running on normal pressures (2.4/2.6 bar) with 3/4 of a tank of fuel. Mileage was around 290 when I started the journey so the engine has yet to bed in. There were early indications that I could attain 100mpg but the trucks kept leaving the motorawy. By the time I got to the junction I was leaving at, this was my result

At no point did I drop below 50mph or exceed 70mph. Very impressed with what is capable from it if you make the effort to eek out the ecconomy and aren't in a hurry. On the way back I just drove normally at between 60 and 70mph and managed 67mpg over the entire trip (including urban roads at both ends).

Edited 4 May, 201214 yr by Cemesis

How difficult is it to repair the hole in the floor (as in Wacky Races/Fred Flinstone)?

Very impressive - I thought I was doing well getting high 30s mpg from my Superb 2.0TSI this week

Very impressive - I thought I was doing well getting high 30s mpg from my Superb 2.0TSI this week

I can get that in my V6. Notice the word 'can'. That implies I don't

what engine has your greenline got in the 1.9tdi pd or the 1.6tdi cr

His profile show 16 CR Elegance Greenline Twindoor.

There were early indications that I could attain 100mpg but the trucks kept leaving the motorawy.

Anything is possible if you have the balls to sit close enough behind a truck and really benefit from the slip-stream. Last year after 2 trips down to Heathrow in a week I realised I was going to need a top-up on the way back up the M1. I'm not accustomed to paying motorway rip-off fuel prices and I just couldn't be bothered to stop anyway so decided on the challenge of finding an HGV travelling at the right speed (many are governed to 54/56, which is just a bit too slow for my liking).

I found a truck doing very close to 60 and it was probably light as its speed didn't vary much, even uphill. I sat behind him for the last 50 miles with my instant mpg reading 130 on the flat and saved so much fuel that I had enough to go to the office the next day and fill up the following evening on the way home.

You do have to concentrate a bit but if you can set your cruise control to match the truck speed it's a lot easier. Finding the right truck is the challenge. It's a pain when you get used to sitting behind a particular truck, you get used to its speed variances according to gradient etc and then he turns off just off at the next junction.

or you want a nice Luton doing 75-80

That's the problem, I don't think I could be bothered to sit right on the arse of a truck at 55mph

You do have to concentrate a bit but if you can set your cruise control to match the truck speed it's a lot easier. Finding the right truck is the challenge. It's a pain when you get used to sitting behind a particular truck, you get used to its speed variances according to gradient etc and then he turns off just off at the next junction.

Exactly. But I found it a good game and it kept me alert. I'm driving to Germany on Friday so that will be a chance to try another run, this time four up with a full boot. The instant MPG would often read 130-160mpg on the flats but the hills saw it drop to 50ish. You have to weigh up accelerating more to keep up with the truck at the cost of fuel, or loosing speed up hill and thus the benefit of the slip stream as you spend time catching back up on the flat. If I had stayed behind the original truck the whole way (he turned off about half way through), I would have made 100mpg. I have yet to fill the tank a second time so have not yet measured the acuracy of the gauge.

The car is a 1.6 Greenline twindoor, had it 8 days now

Edited 5 May, 201214 yr by Cemesis

That's the problem, I don't think I could be bothered to sit right on the arse of a truck at 55mph

It's simply a case of changing the way you drive. If you're driving home listening to the radio, a slightly longer journey time is outweighed by the fuel savings.

57.3mpg from your Leon is pretty good and places you fourth according to Spiritmonitor.de.

My tanks are driving at 70mph.

I did Manchester > Warrington > Chester > Southport all at 70mph the other day and got 67mpg on the whole journey!

My 1.6CR now has 20000miles on the clock. On the flattish bits if the A90 north of Forfar I regularly achieve 70+mpg for 30 mile journeys , but need to chill and not exceed 55mph

On the otherhand if I want a bit of fun with accelerating etc this drops to about 47 mpg for the same run.

Driving style makes a huge difference. As I get a fixed milage allowance I try where possible to allow enough time to drive economically so I am not subsidizing my employer. Superb 1.6 helps with this

You seriously tail gate a truck? heaven awaits.

how close do you need to drive behind a truck to get the slipstream?

how close do you need to drive behind a truck to get the slipstream?

Close enough so it's probably not safe if they slam on.

Tail gating is for the brave and (I'm sorry) foolish.

Tail gating is for the brave and (I'm sorry) foolish.

Nothing brave involved at all. The second category is the accurate one.

Ray

Tailgating a truck!!! I am stuck for words!!

I have a DSG 170 and drive it without a consideation for consumption and get 45mpg overall alldaylong. I get loads of smiles per gallon. I am fully aware of the price of fuel etc, but driving everywhere focussed purely on mpg bores me to death.

I only focus on miles per tank and get around 575 full to empty. I do often wonder just how economical a 1.6cr is in a superb vs driving pleasure??

Did a 220 mile round trip from Notts to Lancs yesterday; some 75mph motorway, some twisty A roads, some urban crawl. Arrived home with 58.9mpg on the display. Even if it over-reads by 8%, that's 55mpg for a big car, not driven gently. That's good enough for me. (140tdi)

Stuart

I think people have the wrong idea here. It was an experiment for efficiencies sake and there was no chance of running into the back of the truck as 1) I'm concentrating on keeping my distance and 2) The Superb has much better brakes than the truck. My distance from the truck was about the same as the trucks keep from each other.

To the Giant Hot Dog, I've had driving pleasure for years driving M5's but with a now greatly increased work mileage and fuel costs reaching levels I just cannot accept anymore I've switched and gone for a more relaxing (and slower) drive. I filled up in Belgium on Friday which gave me a chance to measure my first full tank. Despite the light being on the car wouldn't take more than 49.5 litres but I had covered 656.8 miles in that time. Works out to be 60mpg with the OBC reading 63mpg for the tank so over-reading by 5%. On the journey from home to Belgium I had managed 76mpg on the oBC and thats with 4 in the car and a full boot.

I didn't really consider a CR170 as coming from a 400bhp Petrol, everything feels slow.

Did a 220 mile round trip from Notts to Lancs yesterday; some 75mph motorway, some twisty A roads, some urban crawl. Arrived home with 58.9mpg on the display. Even if it over-reads by 8%, that's 55mpg for a big car, not driven gently. That's good enough for me. (140tdi)

Stuart

That's good figures Stuart - given that we have the same engine, my figures are averaging around 44-46mpg, again I don't drive gently.

I still think tailgating a truck is a very dangerous thing to do. I appreciate it was and experiment but it is bonkers. better brakes and full concentration count for very little at those distances and speeds.

I agree your economy is brilliant but tailgating a truck is a recipe for an early finish and I am not sure you are benefiting from the flip stream unless you are almost spitting distance??

Having done some long journeys within the UK I can't think of a better car to do the journeys you are doing. The superb just chews up the miles.

M5's are unreal though, my dad had one. Plenty of smiles per gallon!!

I still think tailgating a truck is a very dangerous thing to do. I appreciate it was and experiment but it is bonkers. better brakes and full concentration count for very little at those distances and speeds.

I agree your economy is brilliant but tailgating a truck is a recipe for an early finish and I am not sure you are benefiting from the flip stream unless you are almost spitting distance??

Having done some long journeys within the UK I can't think of a better car to do the journeys you are doing. The superb just chews up the miles.

M5's are unreal though, my dad had one. Plenty of smiles per gallon!!

And plenty of gallons to the mile if your smile is big enough.