Real World MPG figures

[Bule]

Please keep us updated. I feel the same way on my 190 DSG. It feels like it holds the gears too long, certainly be my Octavia 150 diesel. I'm on 6500 miles and still getting high 30s on average with super careful driving that would have resulted in mid 50s on my old Octavia.

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Only had my 190 DSG estate five days, but I have noticed that it does hang on to low gears much longer than my previous 170 DSG estate.  It was a feature of the 170 that it would change into high gears very early and thus enable it to average around 46 mpg in my style of mixed driving.   My 190 has a choice of driving modes and I haven't had the car long enough to ascertain whether these make much difference to its fuel economy.  

[drewpost]

Please keep us updated. I feel the same way on my 190 DSG. It feels like it holds the gears too long, certainly be my Octavia 150 diesel. I'm on 6500 miles and still getting high 30s on average with super careful driving that would have resulted in mid 50s on my old Octavia.

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Only had my 190 DSG estate five days, but I have noticed that it does hang on to low gears much longer than my previous 170 DSG estate. It was a feature of the 170 that it would change into high gears very early and thus enable it to average around 46 mpg in my style of mixed driving. My 190 has a choice of driving modes and I haven't had the car long enough to ascertain whether these make much difference to its fuel economy.

I have set up the car to use Eco engine and normal other things via drive mode selection and its increased it by 2mpg or so. Mostly as a result of the coasting ability that seems to overcome the engine braking.

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[old newbie2]

Mine is going in on Friday. Case opened by Dealer with Skoda HQ. I'm not expecting much though as experience tells me they will try every wrinkle in the book and then some to pass the buck, blame the economy tests etc etc.

What I am finding is that using manual mode is improving the mpg because I control the gear change. The current DSG map seems to be determined to select a gear at wrong rpm so the engine is off the power curve, has no turbo assist and needs much more throttle than should be necessary to achieve any performance. 6th seems to be an overdrive and 5th not much better.

I don't know if the engine map is wrong, transmission map is wrong, turbo controller is set wrong or VAG just got something badly wrong. Given their recent faux pas it's hard to be positive although I do understand it isn't the Dealer.

At present I honestly feel that I've been conned somehow. 40mpg is what I expect from a petrol car, not a state of the art diesel unit.

 

 

Our 150 TDI 4x4 SE L Estate seems to be averaging around 42mpg according to Maxidot, with around 1300 miles on the clock.

That's mostly driven sensibly by my wife too.

 

Was expecting better - hoping it improves with some more miles, but there seem to be a wide range of figures being quoted on here, with some getting much better figures yet at lower mileages ?

I'm confused, do both of you feel that the DSG is changing up & down too early or too late? 

 

The wide-ratio gearsets that the latest generation DSG's are probably better for emission testing, but not for real-world economy.

 

I'm glad that we can stay with our older petrol engined cars for a while, any potential replacements won't be so much fun!

 

DC 

[muddyboots]

I'm confused, do both of you feel that the DSG is changing up & down too early or too late? 

Ours is a manual, not DSG.

[old newbie2]

Ours is a manual, not DSG.

Whoops, sorry.........

 

At least you can choose when to shift the gears............

 

DC

[FelisBengalensis]

I certainly feel that nine is changing up to early resulting in the engine falling 'off the cam' allowing the turbo to spool down leaving no boost and no torque. In gear acceleration below about 1300rpm is abysmal, but the box keeps selecting drive ratios in that rev range so constantly needs manual intervention. In 'auto' the box will drop two cogs to bring the revs up which results in the fuel consumption rocketing. I have also noticed that on a level road maintaining constant throttle at around 50mph can often see the fuel consumption increase when the box changes from 5th to 6th. That is just wrong as I would have expected the opposite.

This is the only car I have ever owned - manual/auto/DSG where you really must stay ahead of the car at all times or you have no power because the car is in the wrong gear at the wrong moment. I find myself constantly having to use the paddles to anticipate each corner or slope change simply to keep a steady rate of progress.

Even applying an inch or so of throttle pedal movement does little more than dump fuel into the engine for precious little reaction for a considerable delay. The turbo lag - if that is what it is - is the worst I have ever experienced and to be honest belongs back in the early 1990s. I'm not sure what VAG are trying to achieve, but something seems very wrong with the current drive system map.

[Mark944gold]

Even applying an inch or so of throttle pedal movement does little more than dump fuel into the engine for precious little reaction for a considerable delay. The turbo lag - if that is what it is - is the worst I have ever experienced and to be honest belongs back in the early 1990s. I'm not sure what VAG are trying to achieve, but something seems very wrong with the current drive system map.

That is similar to what I found when I test drove a manual and then dsg back to back. I always thought I would go for an auto on my next car but after trying them both I much preferred the manual due to the the lack of response from the dsg and also the way stop start worked when pulling up to traffic lights that change just as you arrive. The more I see on hear the happier I am that I went for the manual.

[hecklerx]

Drove my 150 TDI dsg today for the first time and initial impressions are very good. Keen to pick up and no lag that I noticed.

Cheers

Rory

[nicowalker85]

My 150ps manual is struggling to get to 45mpg. Only driven 150 miles so far so there is time for it to settle but I can't see it improving that much...

My octy did 55-60mpg yet the superb quoted better than that...

[Rpl1722]

Ive just finished my full tank of fuel. 150ps tdi manual estate.

As i pulled up at the pump columbus said i had done 689miles since last fill up (to full). It said i had 5 miles range left. Showing as average of 51.7. Mainly town driving for me, few national speed limit dual carriageways no motorways, ave speed of 30mph for that period.

Fill up was 64 litres to full, tank is 66 as per owners manual.

By my maths .... 48.9 mpg average. So car over estimating slightly.

Interesting car is less economical then a 16 year old 1.9 tdi passat estate which i have been using for last 3 months! Same journeys/same routes that average 53mpg using pump to pump figues!!

Edited 16 January, 2016 by Rpl1722

[Tony R]

 I have also noticed that on a level road maintaining constant throttle at around 50mph can often see the fuel consumption increase when the box changes from 5th to 6th. That is just wrong as I would have expected the opposite.

          I find the same with a manual box, the mpg  relies more on the rev band  I think between 16-1800 rpm which is supposedly the optimum ,so if one is doing 50 mph or less in 6th gear my engine is doing circa 12-1300rpm, too low and also not healthy for the engine. Most of my journeys are  on the M3,vast stretches of which are limited to 50mph. I find  6th gear is too high and when I  slip back to 5th,the mpg  reading goes higher, the revs go higher of course but nearer the more optimum rev band. So your g/box does the same. It is a long time since I had an auto geared car ( not fond memories of ) and at that time I was under the impression the engine of an auto car lasted longer as  the car is always in the right gear  at every point in time, so maybe not!

[GaSelle]

You can't expect much before the engine has been run in. Economy will improve after the first 10000 km. Complaining to the dealer about economy? Come on, what do you expect them to do? The engine has to loosen up, weather must be warmer, tire pressure correct/high and you need to learn to know your new car.

[FelisBengalensis]

Modern engines need very little real 'running in' and are unlikely to improve that much. Owners are reporting figures well below the worst case performance where the cars are failing to show mpg figures for urban use even though they are being used in far better environments and driving cycles. My commute falls into the mixed cycle with large sections being in the extra-urban cycle. 41mog average over 3,600 miles is far away from the manufacturer's quoted test data.

Tyre pressures are correct, the electrical load isn't excessive and I know how to drive and operate the vehicle correctly. I have been driving turbo diesel powered vehicles for more than 25 years, both manual and automatic, and the current S3 setup performance is significantly worse than any other I have had over that time. Cold weather operation in the UK has no real impact on the overall mpg, and I had the car delivered in warmer weather - the mpg is the same so that isn't the cause either.

I am not expecting miracles from the Dealer because it isn't their responsibility to fix the manufacturer's potential deceit. I do expect them to flag it to the National HQ for them to gather data and report it back to Skoda HQ - which is exactly what they have done. If owners complain and cases get raised then Skoda HQ get the message something isn't right. Once the Press get hold of it too - which at some point they will - then Sales get affected. It's amazing how quickly bad press gets things looked at.

If Owners start handing cars back or people stop buying generally, then that hits financial figures and that just might wake them up. What I do expect is more honesty about cars being sold. We are told that the data on economy is for 'comparison purposes'. The 'comparison' only works if the data is accurate. Many other manufacturers publish test results which are between 10-15% out in the 'real-world'. A difference of 30% is a long way from that and there really is no excuse for it.

I for one am not just going to sit back and say nothing.

Edited 17 January, 2016 by FelisBengalensis

[nicowalker85]

Great post. I am staggered by how far out the quoted figures are. I am not stupid enough to believe the quoted figures but they are way out. My biggest disappointment with what is otherwise a fantastic vehicle.

[Bugginbob]

Agreed, I normally assume I'll get somewhere near the urban figure despite 75% of my driving being on motorways at a steady cruise. In fact my last three cars (all vag) have returned the urban figure over mixed driving. The last of which, a short term purchase of a very leggy golf 2.0tdi 110bhp was not in the prime of its life and still hit over 50mpg despite being hammered everywhere.

It doesn't matter what I try in my 2.0 tdi 150 superb I still can't get it to average over 41mpg. In fact this morning I cruised 65 miles down the a30 at 70-75 on acc in Eco mode. It averaged 41.8. Then moved to fast Cornish backroads a for 35 miles and rung its neck in sport mode - still 41.2mpg

I've never before been annoyed at a manufacturer about their mpg claims but as the urban figure on mine is 58.9 the reality of 41/42 is a little hard to stomach.

[hecklerx]

You've definitely got a problem (I known you don't need me to tell you!). Drove from Thatcham to London and back today and got just over 50mpg each way. Set ACC to 75 and didn't try to drive particularly economically. Fair amount of crawling through London traffic too once off the M4. My car has around 300 miles on the clock - TDI 150 DSG.

No I'm not trying to say 50mpg is good enough, my father in law has 2011 C220 and regularly sees over 70mpg on a long motorway run!

Cheers

Rory

[vRS Carl]

You should all think yourselves lucky. My C350 Diseasel Merc will do 51mpg on a pure motorway run.

However at the moment I am getting around 22-23mpg (mainly round town) and over it's life the car has averaged 35mpg on all journeys (nearly 51k)

But then again it is a 300bhp/500lbft near 2ton car so I'm actually quite pleased with it .

But in all seriousness.

Modern cars do require running in.

Cold weather has an impact on your car. You're using the Aircon/Heating more than you realise. Cold dense air means a Diesel engine takes longer to warm up. So the needle/gauge may indicate the coolant is up to temp. But your oil won't be until about 10miles or so at M'Way speed and 15 miles or so at round town speed. So it is a lot more viscous than when fully up to temp.

Using things like heated seats, screens, modern complex infotainment systems etc all place quite a lot of load on the car.

Tyres play a big factor and also the condition of the roads. Wet/cold roads create drag on the tyres which in turn means the vehicle works harder. Different tyres give different MPG. As much as 4mpg difference between an A rated and E rated tyre.

Cold dense air is harder for the car to drive through etc.

All this plays into reducing the MPG.

Also remember the min weight for a Superb Estate 2.0 diesel is 1430kg. The max weight is 1560kg. 130kg additional weight will make a lot of difference.

Edited 17 January, 2016 by vRS Carl

[Damn7547]

Gosh will be interested to see how my petrol 2.0 220 will fare mpg wise... 

[hecklerx]

Me too, bet it's closer than us diesel owners would like to think!

Cheers

Rory

[Bugginbob]

Me too, bet it's closer than us diesel owners would like to think!

Cheers

Rory

Yep if I'd realised I was going to get 41mpg out of the diesel I'd have considered the 220 petrol. Although mines a lease car and the diesel is much cheaper to lease.

[LSoutherland]

So what are people getting out of the 220 tsi please?

[BFG1]

Having had a Superb I Elegance TDi 130 manual in that past which regularly got over 50mpg, I was a bit disappointed at first as despite driving like a granny I'd been getting 30mpg (the same as my old E320CDI), admittedly in lots of short local trips. However, I've done a couple of longer trips (mostly country lanes & A roads) & got 42mpg on the last one which I am much happier with as this car is 190 & 4X4 so I wouldn't expect much better than 45-50 anyway. Looking forward to seeing what it does on a longer dual carriageway/motorway run.

 

A neighbour who has a diesel Audi said his didn't free up & start getting much better mpg until it got to around 10,000 miles.

[Custardmonkey]

So what are people getting out of the 220 tsi please?

In a L&K 220 DSG I did a run from Peterborough to St Albans yesterday afternoon (pretty much all motorway). Average speed 55 mph and achieved 39.9 mpg. That was with two adults and a baby (plus all the paraphernalia associated with a baby), both heated front seats on and air conditioning. I did not use ACC at all as I think that's been knocking my fuel efficiency. That's the best I've managed (at ~2,500 miles).

[sooty1444]

4100 on the clock now in my l&K 280 4x4,98 mile round trip commute of which 18 mile is twisty stop start country lane stuff,rest of it motorway,four days a week (if it was six would have gone diesel) ave according to trip computer 31.8 mpg.not too bad for a big powerful 4x4 petrol motor,not a million miles off some of the diesel ave com ive seen on here,but around 9 mpg worse than my octavia vrs tsi dsg 220 petrol i had before the superb,didnt think the difference would be that great.still lovin the car though,and boy does she go!!! Kevin.

[sooty1444]

Think that 4x4 hardware knocks consumption for six!