I've had my 2.0TDI CE SR DSG for a couple of months now, and have been driving it in "normal" mode. I get around 49mpg, a fair bit off the official figure. Is that about the norm? My last car - a Citroen C4 - was closer to the mark, reporting 46mpg with an official of 53. I appreciate these displays can be quite inaccurate though, and admittedly have never tried working out the mpg based on how much fuel I put in vs miles driven.

 

I would be interested to hear what sort of mpg people get in eco mode, which I only tried for the first time yesterday. I wasn't too keen on the lack of engine breaking while coasting, and there was a subtle difference in (lack of) acceleration. If eco only offers a couple of extra mpg then I'd probably stick with normal mode.

 

 

Can't offer figures for your model but I'm running my own test on my VRS TDI DSG this tank. I always had it in ECO but didn't like the things you mentioned. Currently trying the same journey in sport mode to test the other extreme. Like you, if it's no real difference (so far it isn't) I won't bother with ECO.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited 9 March, 201610 yr by WPUK

Firstly, unless you are doing the calculations yourself then it's a bit pointless to compare cars.  The on-board computers all lie a bit - but the amount by which they lie can vary a lot.  My Mk1 Octavia TDI regularly showed a long-term average of 58MPG on the trip computer, but had a true long-term average of 51MPG when I did the calculations myself.  It was over-reading by some 14%.

 

My Mk3 1.4TSI is showing a long-term average of 49MPG on the trip computer, and my true calculated average is around 47MPG - only a 4% difference!

 

If i just went on what the trip computer told me I would think that the petrol (49MPG) was a lot worse than my old diesel (57MPG).  Doing the maths myself shows it to be much closer (47MPG vs. 51 MPG).

 

Secondly, manufacturers are continually optimising for the EU tests.  I've looked at and analysed the user-reported figures on Honest Johns Real MPG site.  My last analysis showed that models launched in 2002-2004 had user reported MPGs of 93% of the official value.  For models launched in 2014/15 that was down to 78%.  This means that a typical new car replacing an older one will not get as close to the official figures.

 

On the specific question on Eco mode, my car is a manual and so does not have the freewheeling feature of DSG cars (and I hope you mean engine braking not breaking :-) ).

 

For me, Eco mode does nothing that a careful right foot cannot achieve.  I tried it once and never again.

 

Finally - a personal opinion.  You bought the 2.0-litre.  Enjoy it.  Why spend all that money then drive it slower than a 1.6 :-)

Edited 9 March, 201610 yr by iriches

My previous octy, the 140bhp 2.0 CR diesel manual used to average 59mpg according to the Maxidot. 

 

My new vRS DSG is claiming 46mpg. I have tried driving it in ECO mode but I don't like the "Coasting" and it doesn't seem to fare much better on the fuel oil consumption rate. 

I have the 1.6 tdi engine with dsg gearbox I drive all the time in eco mode I average about 54 mpg I like the way you can cost along you do get use to it I've had the car since August last year

Most people report getting better consumption from using Normal or Sport modes than Eco.

To get the best out of Eco you have to anticipate traffic conditions a lot further ahead than is required for more normal driving.

 

I went from a manual diesel to a manual 1.4tsi which unlike the diesel has bugger all engine braking in gear, it took me a while to be able to get used to the coasting distances I can achieve in gear. Coasting out of gear (or with clutch disengaged) is similar to the DSG eco 'freewheeling' and that can offer benefits in certain conditions but requires a further step in anticipation.

 

For instance if you are in a slow moving traffic jam on a motorway,  where it does not actually stop but moves in surges, then the Eco mode can work quite well for you as you spend most of your time coasting and the engine merely ticking over. That will be more economical than the use of throttle to maintain slightly higher revs to match road speed in gear.

It is basically the accelerate and coast technique used by the hypermilers but it is not a technique that can be used in normal driving without offending a lot of other road users.

 

If you drive in area with steep hills then you are better off with the engine braking provided by Normal or Sport.

IF the gradients are less steep (slight throttle required to maintain downhill speed) then Eco mode will be the better option.

 

It is just a question of working out what is best for you.

 

I'd advise recording your fuel usage in something like Fuelly so you can work out your true consumption and the accuracy of the maxidot and check your speedo and odo against GPS.

Edited 9 March, 201610 yr by Gerrycan

 

 

My Mk3 1.4TSI is showing a long-term average of 49MPG on the trip computer, and my true calculated average is around 47MPG - only a 4% difference!

 

 

The long term Maxidot display will not show the full term of your 27 fill-ups so that is not really a good comparison. The 'long-term' is actually not that long and resets itself quite regularly (I forget the parameters). You can confirm that by looking at your long-term mileage reading.

So the consumption accuracy may be better or worse than you think.

 

For the record my Maxidot consumption is very accurate, within 1%, but as the speedo is out the average speed is usually optimistic, so I tend to drive to GPS speeds.

The long term Maxidot display will not show the full term of your 27 fill-ups so that is not really a good comparison. The 'long-term' is actually not that long and resets itself quite regularly (I forget the parameters). You can confirm that by looking at your long-term mileage reading.

So the consumption accuracy may be better or worse than you think.

 

I know :-)  The "long-term" resets every 100 driving hours or 10,000 km, whichever is reached first.  Unless you never drive in a city, that will most likely be after 100 driving hours.  

I like the idea of saving fuel in Eco Mode but, I don't drive slowly

 

Overall, I'm happy with my little cars performance/economy

 

Regards

T

I think people get lost understanding what the "driving" mode button really does.

Its not like an instant switch that gives +5mpg in ECO and -5mpg in SPORT.

 

On a manual, all it does is change the gradient of the accelerator pedal mapping so in ECO you have to press more to request the same torque/fuel in SPORT your get more torque/fuel for your pedal input.

A DSG will do a little more changing the shift schedule to run at a more economical rpm/gear in ECO or choosing for performance in SPORT.

 

 

It is an "aid" to help YOU drive more economically by accelerating slower & in an auto shifting to a more economic gear.

However, if you do not change your driving style, you wont see any difference between the modes.

 

e.g. cruising at 70mph in Eco, Normal & Sport will return theoretically the same economy.

 

 

 

The BMW ECO mode is much more intuitive, where it gives you a sliding economy scale & flashes a "Less Go Pedal" warning at you when you try to accelerate too hard.

Based on several attempts I can achieve roughly from 0.3 to 0.4 l/100km consumption reduction with ECO mode, with the DSG, around 4%.

I concluded it's not worth the effort.

I tend to use ECO mode on my 50 mile round trip daily commute - about 20% city / 40% urban / 40% rural driving - it's easy to anticipate traffic and I find it works quite well - I get around 50mpg.  

 

On any other journey out of town I use either NORMAL or SPORT mode depending on type of road and traffic conditions.  I get about 48mpg.

 

I have a 150PSI manual Scout and the above figures are averaged out from my Fuelly database.

I've had my 2.0TDI CE SR DSG for a couple of months now, and have been driving it in "normal" mode. I get around 49mpg, a fair bit off the official figure. Is that about the norm? My last car - a Citroen C4 - was closer to the mark, reporting 46mpg with an official of 53. I appreciate these displays can be quite inaccurate though, and admittedly have never tried working out the mpg based on how much fuel I put in vs miles driven.

I would be interested to hear what sort of mpg people get in eco mode, which I only tried for the first time yesterday. I wasn't too keen on the lack of engine breaking while coasting, and there was a subtle difference in (lack of) acceleration. If eco only offers a couple of extra mpg then I'd probably stick with normal mode.

How many miles has your car done?

What makes up your typical driving when obtaining your 49mpg?