Skoda Superb Estate 2.0 TFSi 200bhp - unusually low fuel economy?

[daniellloyd]

Hi all

 

Like many, I've been a long time lurker on this forum but this is my first post.

 

I recently purchased a 2013 Skoda Superb Estate, 2.0 TFSi 200bhp DSG petrol, an upgrade from my '06 Octavia Estate Laurin & Klement 2.0 TDI PD DSG, which I'd had for 7 years.

 

On my Octavia, which had a suggested 'extra urban' fuel consumption estimation of 47mpg, but I would regularly get 55-60mpg on my commute, measured both on the display and calculated brim to brim (I've become an expert in trying to use as little fuel as possible, almost as a competition with myself).  

 

Having done some research before hand, I'd found that the expected MPG of the new Superb on 'extra urban' drives to be around 35-37mpg.  So, I figured that with my extra careful driving, I may be able to get it up to 42-45 50mpg.  However, I've actually found completely the opposite - no matter how carefully I'm driving, I can't get more than 35mpg, which I'm finding really frustrating!

 

Is this normal, or could there be something that is causing it to use more fuel than it should?  

Any suggestions gratefully received.

 

Dan

[bigjohn]

 

35mpg sounds about right for a 2.0 tsi DSG Superb Estate.

 

What tyres have you got and are they at the correct pressure?

Try using a higher octane petrol (I use Tesco Greenenergy or Shell Vpower)

Edited 10 January, 2016 by bigjohn

[Paulbrown]

Agreed in my oct round towns not so good but high 30s low 40s I get quite regular

[100andthirty]

I have a 1.8TSI 152BHP and I can get 40-42mpg (maxidot) on a longish run. On more normal journeys, I get an indicated 38mpg. I struggle to get more than 30mpg around town. I did once get an indicated 100mpg, but that was on a 15 mile journey that was entirely downhill!!

 

Thus, I don't think your results are unreasonable.

 

Have you tried Shell V-Power Nitro+ Unleaded?

[Noddy90]

I think 35mpg is a very good result.  The petrols are not renowned for their economy, even if you drive like a nun.  I have quite a short drive into work now, so I tend to average a misleading 32mpg.  On one of our regular runs up to Liverpool, I average about 36-37mpg; around town it's more like 25-26mpg.

 

Mine's a mapped 1.8TSi, so similar in performance to yours.  I do look with envy at some of the *claimed* figures for diesel motors, but then I'd miss the silken delivery of the petrol engine: the lower economy is a price I'm willing to pay.

 

Regarding fuel claims, I've always found the most reliable rule of thumb for me to be halfway between the urban and the combined, with a slight bias to the urban.  This has held good for years.

 

I wouldn't worry if I were you - I used to average just 42mpg out of my indifferent Saab diesel so to get 35mpg out of a jewel of an engine makes for a decent result.

Edited 10 January, 2016 by Noddy90

[silver1011]

So, Skoda claim 35mpg and you are getting 35mpg...

[Ootohere]

http://skoda.co.uk/pages/fuel-consumption-statement.aspx

They never gave the figures on a vehicle that was outside of a building with its tyres touching a road surface.

The figures where for a 'Comparison' against other vehicles not outside a building.

To compare against other EU Test Centres and manufacturers cheating even those tests.

[Superb170]

You're doing well to be achieving mpg given how wildly optimistic manufacturers are with their number

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bigjohn]

The petrols are not renowned for their economy

 

The 1.4 petrol is proving OK re economy. I have a commute that involves a bit of a mixture - A roads, small section of dual carriageway, a long uphill section  (and back down ) and some heavy traffic. On the same journey types it's proving to be 3-4mpg worse than by old 1.9 pd Superb which to be honest is much better than I expected. 

 

You don't get 200bhp though

Edited 10 January, 2016 by bigjohn

[old newbie2]

It's a 2 litre turbo petrol in a big & car, what do you expect?

 

Try driving it quickly, you might be surprised!

 

I get from 32  to 40 mpg depending on journey & driving style & I'm quite pleased.

 

DC

 

PS Did you recently purchase you car from the East London / Essex area?

There is / was one for sale recently, with damaged wheels.......

[daniellloyd]

Yes I bought that one in South East London. Very pleased with it, got it for £12300 and I have got a friend who can sort the alloys.

Just not sure I can get used to such a low MPG after what I've been used to. I know I should have expected it but I just thought I'd be able to eek 40mpg out of it.

Just done my 50 mile commute to work and got 37.5 on the dashboard so not too bad.

If I do decide to sell it in a year, hopefully I won't lose too much on it.

[Ootohere]

Please let us know what you get after 2 tank fills of Brim to Brim and how many litres are required for how many miles covered.

The cars computer and averages really is not about actual miles per gallon with any true accurecy.

[lichfielddriver]

Who needs 200bhp?.... 30mpg is the price you pay for 200bhp/big car/petrol/auto....

 

TBH a yank V8 would get you 25mpg....but LHD

[Ootohere]

Because you have 200bhp available it does not mean you use it or the engine needs to drink fuel.

You might be using only 50 hp in towns like many vehicles do and 75 bhp or so cruising along.

 

The engine might be the size that can move the car along quite economically out on the road while carrying passengers and luggage

without effort.

 

Is a Superb 1.6 Diesel not a bit underpowered out on a motorway fully loaded and not very economical and then noisy as sin when in towns 

except when Stop / Stat has it silent?

[SuperbTWM]

I have a friend who only gets that sort of economy out of his 2.2  Mondeo that is a DIESEL which i think has around 200BHP. I think your doing alright

[lichfielddriver]

Because you have 200bhp available it does not mean you use it or the engine needs to drink fuel.

You might be using only 50 hp in towns like many vehicles do and 75 bhp or so cruising along.

 

The engine might be the size that can move the car along quite economically out on the road while carrying passengers and luggage

without effort.

 

Is a Superb 1.6 Diesel not a bit underpowered out on a motorway fully loaded and not very economical and then noisy as sin when in towns 

except when Stop / Stat has it silent?

 

 

If id have wanted a road racer id have bought one, its torque that moves cars...

 

1.6tdi has 184lb ft @ 1500-2500rpm (249Nm?) which seems adequate and provides 75/80 mph cruising at 2100 rpm (approx) and my required mpg, 55-64 

[Ootohere]

OK.

I thought i remembered you posting before in the Fabia section about poor economy when you got your new car.

 

That is not much Torque for a heavy car like a Superb is it, a 1.4TSI petrol with 140 or 150ps in lighter cars has the same.

Disregarding being a road racer, they must be a bit of a slouch 5 up with luggage.

[Redboy]

1. Why would you expect a 200Bhp performance petrol engine to deliver comparable economy to a diesel when your vehicle us probably a bit heavier and definitely larger than an Octavia.

2. You should notice an improvement of 2-3 Mpg when the temperatures climb to 15c and above.

3. You are paying for the extra zing and hold onto 3rd when you need it as you overtake. As other posts mention, it is a very smooth engine and I think worth paying the extra fuel costs.

[Jules Tohpipi]

OK.

I thought i remembered you posting before in the Fabia section about poor economy when you got your new car.

That is not much Torque for a heavy car like a Superb is it, a 1.4TSI petrol with 140 or 150ps in lighter cars has the same.

Disregarding being a road racer, they must be a bit of a slouch 5 up with luggage.

I've owned a proper roadracer as a second car for the last 12 years, and can honestly say that I had the same doubts about the diesel 1.6 before buying. So, I booked a three-day test loan of the car to test it on all aspects of my long commute.

Fact is, the car arrived and I had made my decision before reaching the end of the road. Literally. And nothing has slightly changed my mind about that in the last 3.5 years and 100,000 miles.

I get monster mpg, too.

On the face of it this shouldn't stack up, but it does.

[Ootohere]

A long commute i take it with an light car and not a Airport run with 4 paying customers?

 

?

What sort of MPG have you had then over the 100,000 miles?

[psycholist]

If you plan on ever overtaking anything safely on an Irish A road with a car the weight of the Superb, 200 bhp is very useful indeed. Still no help when the 70 km/h driver has an articulated truck and 10 cars already tailgating it though :(...

 

Any car buyer has to trade-off economy/performance, size/space, cost/spec etc. in buying a car, so the car each person ends up with tends to be the option available where the trade-offs are acceptable. Buying a 200 bhp TFSI to drive for economy only doesn't look like it falls obviously within this range given the only less economical option is the 3.6. Achieving the official economy figures is pretty good for most modern cars unfortunately. Over the last 5-10 years the gap between what people can realistically get and the manufacturer's claims has widened significantly. It could be worse though, you could have a Mercedes: http://www.transportenvironment.org/press/mercedes-ranks-no-1-europe%E2%80%99s-list-fuel-economy-cheaters-%E2%80%93-report 

[silver1011]

People get too hung up on fuel economy.

 

Just not sure I can get used to such a low MPG after what I've been used to. I know I should have expected it but I just thought I'd be able to eek 40mpg out of it.

Just done my 50 mile commute to work and got 37.5 on the dashboard so not too bad.

 

The 2.5mpg difference between what you are getting versus what you'd like to get is negligible.

 

1 (UK) gallon = 4.55 litres.

 

Average UK fuel price (petrol) per litre is currently £1.02 (11th January 2016).

 

37.5 mpg would therefore cost you...

 

£1.02 x 4.55 = £4.64 / 37.5 = £0.123 per mile

 

40 mpg would therefore cost you...

 

£1.02 x 4.55 = £4.64 / 40.0 = £0.116 per mile

 

So assuming average annual mileage (12,000) the car is currently costing £1,485 on fuel.

 

If it managed your preferred economy it would cost £1,392 on fuel.

 

A whopping yearly saving of £93.

 

Far, far less than you'd lose by selling the car early.

 

Forget the fuel economy and enjoy the car for what it is, an effortless and reliable luxury barge.

[daniellloyd]

Please let us know what you get after 2 tank fills of Brim to Brim and how many litres are required for how many miles covered.

The cars computer and averages really is not about actual miles per gallon with any true accurecy.

OK, will report back in a couple of weeks with the actual figures then.

According to the dash, I managed to get to the heady heights of 40mpg on my.l commute home this evening!

[Jules Tohpipi]

A long commute i take it with an light car and not a Airport run with 4 paying customers?

?

What sort of MPG have you had then over the 100,000 miles?

I thought you said the Superb was a heavy car?

If you drive like any taxi driver, or the many many chauffeurs on an airport run that I've ever sat behind, then the acceleration of the 1.6 diesel is going to feel like a rocketship if used to its full potential.

If your aim is to bang your paying customers through the gears when fully loaded then you're literally burning your profits; big engine or small engine. That's your choice - if indeed it's the way you drive.

You can choose to believe this next statement or not, but I have actually driven the family to the airport in my Superb. Sometimes it was even busy and heavily congested on the M25 when doing so. Still got 50+ mpg.

If you're trying to keep up with me around Oulton Park then you might see better economy out of an M3 than say your 2 litre diesel. But trust me, if you're driving someone to the airport you'll see better economy out of a small torquey engine that's not being banged through the gears.

As I said, I've never once felt the 1.6 diesel was underpowered; be that on a motorway entry slip, or whatever. It's a good engine.

Edited 11 January, 2016 by Jules Tohpipi

[Ootohere]

They are what they are, they weigh what they weigh with a driver,  or more with passengers, they do not defy science.

1.6 TDI CR.  (Well VW had the Engines defying the true emissions while being tested, but thats come out in the wash.)

 

So over the 100,000 miles what has it worked out as for MPG?

Edited 11 January, 2016 by GoneOffskiroottoot