Poor fuel economy 2017 1.2 TSi DSG

[greenstripe]

My girlfriend recently bough a brand new Yeti SEL Drive 1.2 TSi with DSG. The car has done over 3000 miles so can be considered run-in. She is happy with the car apart from the fuel consumption which is terrible. We have been measuring the fuel economy since new using Fuelly and it's averaging 28-30mpg. The car has been run on regular 95 unleaded from the supermarket, and we are trying a couple of tankfuls of Super to see if it makes any difference.

 

As I see it the car seems to change down unnecessarily and never takes advantage of the torque that this engine has  -using cruise control at 70 in 7th gear and as soon as it hits a hill, the car changes down to 4th. I'd be interested to hear other people's experiences 

 

 

Edited 11 October, 2017 by greenstripe

[Ryeman]

The 1.2 is primarily designed for town use, and it’s got the aero efficiency of a brick.

[greenstripe]

Even in town it's pretty rubbish though 

[Ryeman]

8 minutes ago, greenstripe said:

Even in town it's pretty rubbish though 

....and it’s heavy so limit your brake use......keep it rolling.

[AllanDJ]

You're never going to get fantastic fuel consumption from a petrol engined Yeti with an automatic gearbox. Saying that I'm pretty sure I've seen some posts here from owners of similar cars getting a lot better than 30mpg even with the automatic gearbox. Maybe worth asking the supplying dealer if they can check all the engine management software on the car, that can make a big difference to fuel economy and how the auto gearbox operates too, never assume that even a new car will come out of the factory with everything set properly. My father has a Volvo XC60 with an automatic gearbox, it drove really badly when he first got it, erratic gear changes, poor fuel consumption, vast improvement after having everything checked and reloaded.

 

I've got the 1.4 petrol engine which only comes in manual version, early fuel consumption was in the low 30's mpg even being careful. Recently that has improved a bit after some warranty work on the car when engine settings were updated and the accelerator pedal was replaced, car now showing readings up to 38 to 40mpg average consumption quite a lot of the time when engine is warm, much lower than that when it is cold, with careful driving it can now get 35 to 38mpg out of a tank

[The Plumber]

You seem to getting similar economy to our petrol 2ltr AWD auto Volvo, although I wouldn't necessarily consider 3k run-in and there are many factors which can effect fuel usage. For example I can get an extra 7mpg sitting on a motorway at 70 over my up and down dale rural open road drive to work covering a distance of 38 miles.

 

TP

[Ryeman]

My petrol C4 Picasso gives me better mpg than my old 140TDI Yeti 50 v 47 mpg.......fill to fill driven the same way in the same environment.

[gman88667733]

My 2014 1.2L DSG Yeti gets me between 25-35mpg. I am very disappointed with it. Even when I drive like a granny (letting the car change up to 6th at 30mph and labouring) it barely reads of 35mpg. As soon as I hit a hill it drops by 5-6mpg.

Tempted to get a DSG reset to see if that helps with the gear selection and mpg.

 

On a side note, I wish my car changed down more, it hold onto gears until 1100 rpm and the engine is vibrating and i can tell it is struggling.

Edited 12 October, 2017 by gman88667733

[Rooted]

Really labouring at 30mph?

Maybe tell how much actual fuel you put in and say how many litres is needed after however many miles.  

How many miles you get to the litre or gallon, not that fuel is sold in gallons or has been for decades now.

 

Actual fuel used rather than what the Maxidot shows is used.

 

Something does sound to be wrong with your vehicle if it behaves as you describe, 

others just put the stick in 'D' and drive, normal behaviour not going like some old car with the choke half out.

[Ryeman]

Don’t fixate on instant economy........if it’s that important, swallow your pride and drive in the truck lane, unless you really NEED to hurry.

[gman88667733]

18 minutes ago, Headinawayoffski said:

Really labouring at 30mph?

Maybe tell how much actual fuel you put in and say how many litres is needed after however many miles.  

How many miles you get to the litre or gallon, not that fuel is sold in gallons or has been for decades now.

 

Actual fuel used rather than what the Maxidot shows is used.

 

Something does sound to be wrong with your vehicle if it behaves as you describe, 

others just put the stick in 'D' and drive, normal behaviour not going like some old car with the choke half out.

Well, as I understand labouring to be. If I drive on light throttle, it change to 6th at just over 30mph and if i try to accelerate at that speed/rpm, the car shudders a bit before it picks up speed and the engine sounds lot more rough.

A full tank (50l of fuel used I reckon) gets me about 320 miles.

 

It changes up like so - 4th gear at 20mph, 5th at 25 (going downhill) or 29 on a flat road (RPM would be at about 1400 at this point and the car would feel okay) 6th at 32mph (car would feel to me like it is labouring, the engine note is much lower and the car vibrates upon acceleration) and then 7th at 39/41mph. However, the car will hold 7th gear until 35mph and it feels like it is really struggling.

Edited 12 October, 2017 by gman88667733

[Expatman]

I've got a 1.2 DSG SEL, new in March. Over 6,000 miles it has averaged 44.1 MPG. Worst being 38.5 - high speed motorway drive in appalling weather into gale force headwind. I do find that Shell or BP high grade petrol improves MPG by 2-3 MPG but usually use Sainsbury's Super.

If you are getting less than 35 MPG then either something is wrong or you've got a very heavy right foot. My driving is mix of urban, rural and motorway and I drive briskly in line with traffic conditions.

[gman88667733]

Just now, Expatman said:

I've got a 1.2 DSG SEL, new in March. Over 6,000 miles it has averaged 44.1 MPG. Worst being 38.5 - high speed motorway drive in appalling weather into gale force headwind. I do find that Shell or BP high grade petrol improves MPG by 2-3 MPG but usually use Sainsbury's Super.

If you are getting less than 35 MPG then either something is wrong or you've got a very heavy right foot. My driving is mix of urban, rural and motorway and I drive briskly in line with traffic conditions.

I do not have a heavy right foot. I do mostly very short journeys though (6-7 miles)

[Expatman]

51 minutes ago, gman88667733 said:

I do not have a heavy right foot. I do mostly very short journeys though (6-7 miles)

I don't think 6-7 mile journeys can account for the poor mileage - I probably do similar on a daily basis - and as you don't have a heavy foot then I can only think there is something wrong with the set up . My Yeti doesn't labour in higher gears, I never get the feeling it is labouring,  but does change up as soon as possible. What does your dealer say?

[gman88667733]

Just now, Expatman said:

I don't think 6-7 mile journeys can account for the poor mileage - I probably do similar on a daily basis - and as you don't have a heavy foot then I can only think there is something wrong with the set up . My Yeti doesn't labour in higher gears, I never get the feeling it is labouring,  but does change up as soon as possible. What does your dealer say?

I took it to the dealer about another issue and they took it for a drive and said it felt fine.

I read somewhere that turbo charged engines can feel a bit choked from below boost rpms.

[Ryeman]

That’s the problem - 6 to 7 miles. Cold starts are the killer, particularly low temps.

[gman88667733]

Just now, Ryeman said:

That’s the problem - 6 to 7 miles. Cold starts are the killer, particularly low temps.

On fuel economy you mean?

[Ryeman]

Just now, gman88667733 said:

On fuel economy you mean?

Yep

Try a long run in the truck lane and you will get a pleasant surprise.

[gman88667733]

Just now, Ryeman said:

Yep

Try a long run in the truck lane and you will get a pleasant surprise.

On a long run of about 160 miles doing between 60 - 75mph, it averaged 38mpg. This was including a very long traffic jam too.

So maybe I just do too short journeys for it.

[Ryeman]

4 minutes ago, gman88667733 said:

On a long run of about 160 miles doing between 60 - 75mph, it averaged 38mpg. This was including a very long traffic jam too.

So maybe I just do too short journeys for it.

Yeah

Note the big initial drop in DTE (distance to empty) after a long run the previous day. 

The water temp might show normal but the engine oil takes longer to get up to max economy temp.

[gman88667733]

I'm more worried about what Expatman said about my car now though!

If it changes into 6th at 32mph or so, the engine straight away sounds more course and if I accelerate more than very gently, the car vibrates as if I am in too high a gear for the speed I am going. It gets stronger theharder I try to accelerate.

[longedge]

My 1.2TSI DSG is currently averaging 34.73 m.p.g. with a min 32.02 and max 34.73. It's pretty much what I expected as my journeys are overhwelmingly very short. I've only done 3,200 miles since I got it new at the beginning of January when I changed from a 2.0 TDI because of the short trips/low mileage. I occasionally ask my son-in-law to take it out to let it have a run .

[gman88667733]

Just now, longedge said:

My 1.2TSI DSG is currently averaging 34.73 m.p.g. with a min 32.02 and max 34.73. It's pretty much what I expected as my journeys are overhwelmingly very short. I've only done 3,200 miles since I got it new at the beginning of January when I changed from a 2.0 TDI because of the short trips/low mileage. I occasionally ask my son-in-law to take it out to let it have a run .

What speed does your car change up into 5th/6th/7th? Do you notice the engine note drops and the engine vibrates a tad when it changes into 5th/6th/7th early? It isn't anywhere near as noticeable with the radio turned up more, but if you accelerate anything more than lightly from that low rpm, the car vibrates a reasonable amount.

[longedge]

I can't say I've ever noticed any vibration other than that I could definitely see was from changes in road surface. The car is a lot more 'aggresive' in gear selection on the odd occasion that I use cruise control, to the extent that I knock it off if I see a situation coming up where I know it'll be changing down. The only other observation I would make is that I don't like the 'fly by wire' accelerator control and I'd gladly go back to a good old fashioned cable.

 

Perhaps lower gears are selected just a little earlier than I would myself but what more than makes up for that is the way that the DSG system intelligently changes down to assist braking when going downhill.

[greenstripe]

Have never noticed the engine labouring on my girlfriend's Yeti. As i said in my original post, the car is very keen to change down. It's annoying when pulling out on a motorway to overtake, as it just shifts down and revs a lot without making much progress when you put your foot down. I used to have the older chain cam 1.2 TSi in my Roomster with a manual gearbox and I know that the engine in the Yeti has the torque but doesn't make use of it. 

 

Also I thought that the DSG gearboxes were supposed to be more economical than their manual equivalents in the petrol range.