Diesel fuel economy

[Booshakker]

My 220ps S3 does max 45mpg on a long motorway and fast A road run. Been from Leeds to Slaithwaite and Barnsley then return to Leeds today, over the tops and the odd fast run, the car did 34mpg.

However on my usual 5 mile commute to work (which is mostly nose to tail) I get about 12-15mpg.

I tried 95 Ron fuel as it says on the fuel cap - the car did 325 miles on a full tank. I switched to Momentum 99 and it now gives normally 450 - 475 miles to a full tank. 

 

I'm happy with that!

[facet edge]

1 hour ago, Booshakker said:

My 220ps S3 does max 45mpg on a long motorway and fast A road run. Been from Leeds to Slaithwaite and Barnsley then return to Leeds today, over the tops and the odd fast run, the car did 34mpg.

However on my usual 5 mile commute to work (which is mostly nose to tail) I get about 12-15mpg.

I tried 95 Ron fuel as it says on the fuel cap - the car did 325 miles on a full tank. I switched to Momentum 99 and it now gives normally 450 - 475 miles to a full tank. 

 

I'm happy with that!

Are you sure that switching from 95 to 99 has given you a minimum of 28% increase in fuel economy?

[4StringBass]

On a long 300+ mile run, my 150ps diesel on 17" wheels will be low-mid 50s.  When we take it Le Mans, as soon as we hit French motorways it jumps to high 50s/low 60s as the roads are so smooth.

[JackySi]

How do you guys with 190's have so low consumption  I can't get it bellow 39mpg even when driving REALLY carefully and slow (extra urban)! 190hp manual 2WD =/
Tho 15.400km on the clock right now

[Booshakker]

11 hours ago, facet edge said:

Are you sure that switching from 95 to 99 has given you a minimum of 28% increase in fuel economy?

Yeah, it is wired.

I got it in July last year and put a couple of tanks of momentum in and it ran great. Then was told that if it says 95 Ron on the fuel cap, then put that in, so I did.

I filled up about a dozen times with Tesco unleaded and watched the fuel economy drop each time.

When it got to the point of 325 miles from a 70 litre fill I was panicking and convinced there was something wrong with the car. I did have a dashboard fault which the dealer told me needed a replacement air inlet temperature sensor (apparently!) It was around this time the fuel economy took a nosedive.

I remember them asking whether the car was at restricted revs? Nope! Oh we don't understand that... Which made me think it wasn't that sensor really.

So back to what I was saying... I started doing a tank test by using the same pump at my local Tesco. There wasn't much of a change on the first couple of tanks as there was some 95 left in when I filled up, but then I'd see an increase (from the trip computer) showing 350 miles, then 375, 400, 410 and so on.

Admittedly, it has been in small amounts and seems to have levelled off now. The journeys at 325 miles were a 40 mile commute with an average of 30mph along the route. Having moved house my commute is 9 miles and the car says 11-15mpg.

My driving style is mixed, sometimes like Miss Daisy is in the back and others when I'm being an idiot (as her indoors tells me ;-)

In the end, I didn't do the tank test completely as I was happy with the improvement in mpg. But I was glad that I did change the fuel. That 7p per litre has made a massive difference for me.

 

Cheers

[Rainmaker]

52 minutes ago, Booshakker said:

Yeah, it is wired.

I got it in July last year and put a couple of tanks of momentum in and it ran great. Then was told that if it says 95 Ron on the fuel cap, then put that in, so I did.

I filled up about a dozen times with Tesco unleaded and watched the fuel economy drop each time.

When it got to the point of 325 miles from a 70 litre fill I was panicking and convinced there was something wrong with the car. I did have a dashboard fault which the dealer told me needed a replacement air inlet temperature sensor (apparently!) It was around this time the fuel economy took a nosedive.

I remember them asking whether the car was at restricted revs? Nope! Oh we don't understand that... Which made me think it wasn't that sensor really.

So back to what I was saying... I started doing a tank test by using the same pump at my local Tesco. There wasn't much of a change on the first couple of tanks as there was some 95 left in when I filled up, but then I'd see an increase (from the trip computer) showing 350 miles, then 375, 400, 410 and so on.

Admittedly, it has been in small amounts and seems to have levelled off now. The journeys at 325 miles were a 40 mile commute with an average of 30mph along the route. Having moved house my commute is 9 miles and the car says 11-15mpg.

My driving style is mixed, sometimes like Miss Daisy is in the back and others when I'm being an idiot (as her indoors tells me ;-)

In the end, I didn't do the tank test completely as I was happy with the improvement in mpg. But I was glad that I did change the fuel. That 7p per litre has made a massive difference for me.

 

Cheers

 

I'm fairly confident your car definitely had a fault. That or you drove everywhere in 1st gear and use the pedals clog and anchor style! My 220 doesn't dip below mid 30s on a journey that long, unless I'm bouncing it off the red line in every gear - in which case I'll see low 30s. When the traffic isn't bad I can tip 40mpg. I tend to find 95 RON doesn't give that much of a difference to 99 RON over the course of a tank. The higher octane stuff definitely feels more drivable at the top end (and has a bit more urge at the bottom end), especially pressing on at three digit speeds in hot weather, but fuel economy isn't massively different - certainly not to the tune of almost 30%! Maybe try Shell 95 instead of Tesco. It's the same base fuel but Shell's additives are much more advanced. As you say though, for an extra 5ppl (Tesco's national policy for M99 pricing) there's nothing in it really. I'll fill up wherever I'm passing (Costco, Tesco, Gulf, Essar or Shell - for the 99 RON) but if needs be I'd not think twice about throwing in some Shell 95 for a tank, especially when I'm only expecting to pootle around town.

[Ootohere]

^^^ 

Gulf & Esso Super Unleaded in the UK are 97 ron minimum are they not?, 

no idea about Essar as i have never heard of it's fuel, just the steel they sell.

 

Edit.

Now see them, cheers, never seen a filling station.

http://essaroil.co.uk/retail 

 

As to Royal Dutch Shell 'Fuel Saver' 95 ron in the UK, not so sure there is anything special or 'advanced' about the Detergent Package added to the base fuel that is different 

from what Greenergy add to the 95 ron base fuel that go to Tesco filling station that they and Royal Dutch Shell import to their shared / co-owned facilities.

http://greenergy.com/uk/independent 

Edited 24 February, 2018 by AwaoffSki

[Baverhanne]

8 hours ago, JackySi said:

How do you guys with 190's have so low consumption  I can't get it bellow 39mpg even when driving REALLY carefully and slow (extra urban)! 190hp manual 2WD =/
Tho 15.400km on the clock right now

The key isn't to go slow or carefully. Planning and reading traffic to minimize use of brakes and need of acceleration. I think that my car is most fuel efficient at 80-90km/h above and below that it uses more fuel to achieve the same distance. 

But to be honest my daily commute is somewhat optimal for fuel efficiency with the major part being between 70-90km/h no red lights and reasonably flat.

[Rainmaker]

14 hours ago, AwaoffSki said:

^^^ 

Gulf & Esso Super Unleaded in the UK are 97 ron minimum are they not?, 

no idea about Essar as i have never heard of it's fuel, just the steel they sell.

 

Edit.

Now see them, cheers, never seen a filling station.

http://essaroil.co.uk/retail 

 

As to Royal Dutch Shell 'Fuel Saver' 95 ron in the UK, not so sure there is anything special or 'advanced' about the Detergent Package added to the base fuel that is different 

from what Greenergy add to the 95 ron base fuel that go to Tesco filling station that they and Royal Dutch Shell import to their shared / co-owned facilities.

http://greenergy.com/uk/independent 

 

Gulf do offer a standard 97 super, and they also market Gulf Endurance 99 at some of their sites. Essar, you've already found them. I'm surprised you didn't know they own Stanlow refinery, and have done since buying it off Shell years ago. Essar Stanlow is where all 99 RON fuel is made, as they're the only UK refinery capable (or at least doing it?). As such they supply Shell, Costco, Gulf, Greenergy/Tesco and indeed their own stations with the base fuel.

 

A member of PistonHeads who happens to be a scientist threw a handful of local supermarket and branded 95 RON fuels through the mass spec at his work, following a thread about supermarket vs branded fuels. He posted the resulting graphs up, and they were all identical - except for the Shell fuel. The Shell 95 had not only much more of the same additive as was present in the other brands, but also additional additives on top. Hence my suggestion.  

 

EDIT: Found them. As you can see, they (supermarket and BP) are all identical. However, Shell clearly has a lot more of the same additives and also a lot of extra additives compared to the rest.

 

 

From top to bottom: Morrison's, Asda, BP, Shell.

 

 

Edited 25 February, 2018 by Rainmaker

[Gerrycan]

15 hours ago, Baverhanne said:

The key isn't to go slow or carefully. Planning and reading traffic to minimize use of brakes and need of acceleration. I think that my car is most fuel efficient at 80-90km/h above and below that it uses more fuel to achieve the same distance. 

But to be honest my daily commute is somewhat optimal for fuel efficiency with the major part being between 70-90km/h no red lights and reasonably flat.

Various engines do have different characteristics but I would have thought it easy to deduce the best load/rev/speed/gear combinations suiting economy by viewing the instant consumption display while using cruise control on a flat bit of road.

I'm not saying the instant display is necessarily that accurate in terms of true economy but it should accurately reflect relative consumption under different conditions.

Usually on an open road the trade-off is speed v. consumption but there is a minimum speed or revs where the engine cannot perform efficiently.

My 1.4tsi Octavia offers its best economy at about 65kph in top (6th) gear at about 1200 rpm on a very small 'throttle'. A kia 1.6d I drove last year was hopeless at revs below 1500 rpm but above that it was very economical.

[Gross9661]

I have a 1.6 greenline diesel....and around town ,to and from work etc usually 2 miles max at a time and I average (according to the trip computer) 55mpg. Howevet on a good long run on a motorway ...cruise control on ...and I can average 70 mpg  sometimes more.  The onboard computer  works out that we can get up towards 900 miles to a tank of diesel (Tescos regular diesel) In fact on a trip to Italy last year on a German  autobahn we averaged 65mpg doing a 70mile stretch at 100mph. Ok I  admit that it is rare to get a 70 mile stretch where you dont have to slow down at all etc but a reduction  in horsepower  can pay off when it comes to fuel economy. A 1.6 greenline wont be the most powerful car I've ever driven but it suits me.

Edited 25 February, 2018 by Gross9661
Typing error

[Gerrycan]

On ‎25‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 17:36, Gross9661 said:

I have a 1.6 greenline diesel....and around town ,to and from work etc usually 2 miles max at a time and I average (according to the trip computer) 55mpg. Howevet on a good long run on a motorway ...cruise control on ...and I can average 70 mpg  sometimes more.  The onboard computer  works out that we can get up towards 900 miles to a tank of diesel (Tescos regular diesel) In fact on a trip to Italy last year on a German  autobahn we averaged 65mpg doing a 70mile stretch at 100mph. Ok I  admit that it is rare to get a 70 mile stretch where you dont have to slow down at all etc but a reduction  in horsepower  can pay off when it comes to fuel economy. A 1.6 greenline wont be the most powerful car I've ever driven but it suits me.

Those are quite remarkable figures. Have you confirmed the OBC accuracy during refills?

[BriskodaJeff]

45 minutes ago, Gerrycan said:

Those are quite remarkable figures. Have you confirmed the OBC accuracy during refills?

Pretty sure I saw similar (maxi-dot) numbers on my SII Greenline, so not all that surprised. Never did the tank accuracy check though.

[Gross9661]

1 hour ago, Gerrycan said:

Those are quite remarkable figures. Have you confirmed the OBC accuracy during refills?

 I can't say that I'm  overly concerned if the figures on the cars computer are out by a few mpg..... 

I have much bigger things in life to worry about... but its a good indication that the car is pretty economical.

I'm  an hgv  chemical tanker driver so tend to be used to driving fairly gently (or the bloody things tip over) so I would imagine that may help improve the figures to a certain degree.

I tend to take the figures as an "ish" anyway.

[Rainmaker]

49 minutes ago, BriskodaJeff said:

Pretty sure I saw similar (maxi-dot) numbers on my SII Greenline, so not all that surprised. Never did the tank accuracy check though.

 

Same here. My SII Greenline showed 78mpg after a run from Liverpool to Brighton overnight when it was quiet, followed by a weekend driving around Brighton and then the same trip home (on a single tank). I double checked with a brim to brim fuelling, and the actual result was 76mpg. Can't complain at that really!

[Gerrycan]

I do believe that 70+mpg on UK motorways with a 1.6tdi is very achievable, It is something I have experienced myself in a UK hire car last year although not a Skoda.

The 100mph/65mpg claim is missing a vital contributory factor or two. I can ride my bicycle at 80kph for 3km, different story in the other direction though, so you can guess what I have failed to mention

 

The other claim of regularly getting 55mpg on max 2 mile journeys with a DPF equipped vehicle? Let's just say that most don't and many diesel owners doing regular short distances are now turning to small petrol engines even though petrol engines do not give particularly good economy over short distances from a  cold start (personal experience).

 

People who are not Briskoda members read these pages to get an idea of what they can expect from a potential purchase and may not realise that (in this case) a professional driver has presented some  'cherry picked' examples that may be beyond their capabilities to achieve  in their more general circumstances.

 

A while back there was a 2.0d Superb owner achieving even better results, but by his own admission he was putting some effort into meeting a particular personal challenge and once that was done it was a relief to get back to more sustainable concentration levels.

Similar with a Citigo owner who got 600 miles from a tank (37 litre refill if my memory serves me)

I did not doubt the veracity of these exceptionally  good results but I did appreciate the context in which they were presented.

 

I have achieved some satisfyingly good consumption figures in my 1.4tsi Octavia for various individual journeys, far better than official figures and like a problem gambler I only mention my winnings and gloss over my losses. Reality is reflected in my signature's Fuelly average of 46 mpg, which I think is reasonable for the type of driving environment it spends most of its time, but someone with a heavier right foot on accelerator and brake would not get as good figures.

Edited 27 February, 2018 by Gerrycan

[Gross9661]

3 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

I do believe that 70+mpg on UK motorways with a 1.6tdi is very achievable, It is something I have experienced myself in a UK hire car last year although not a Skoda.

The 100mph/65mpg claim is missing a vital contributory factor or two. I can ride my bicycle at 80kph for 3km, different story in the other direction though, so you can guess what I have failed to mention

 

The other claim of regularly getting 55mpg on max 2 mile journeys with a DPF equipped vehicle? Let's just say that most don't and many diesel owners doing regular short distances are now turning to small petrol engines even though petrol engines do not give particularly good economy over short distances from a  cold start (personal experience).

 

People who are not Briskoda members read these pages to get an idea of what they can expect from a potential purchase and may not realise that (in this case) a professional driver has presented some  'cherry picked' examples that may be beyond their capabilities to achieve  in their more general circumstances.

 

A while back there was a 2.0d Superb owner achieving even better results, but by his own admission he was putting some effort into meeting a particular personal challenge and once that was done it was a relief to get back to more sustainable concentration levels.

Similar with a Citigo owner who got 600 miles from a tank (37 litre refill if my memory serves me)

I did not doubt the veracity of these exceptionally  good results but I did appreciate the context in which they were presented.

 

I have achieved some satisfyingly good consumption figures in my 1.4tsi Octavia for various individual journeys, far better than official figures and like a problem gambler I only mention my winnings and gloss over my losses. Reality is reflected in my signature's Fuelly average of 46 mpg, which I think is reasonable for the type of driving environment it spends most of its time, but someone with a heavier right foot on accelerator and brake would not get as good figures.

Ok then.. a couple of issues to address here.

It is inferred here that the 70 mile stretch was  downhill......no it was a very flat stretch of road.... (trust me .. I  know what flat roads look like)  almost deserted very early on a Sunday morning when trucks aren't  allowed on the roads in Germany.  I didn't have to touch the pedals once. My post did say that those conditions were rare, but provide an example of how economical  the car could be in those circumstances.

As for your knowledge of why non briskoda members read these pages....  I'm  impressed, but surely  they can make a more informed choice with as much input from skoda owners as is possible.

As for my "claim" of getting 55mpg  around town etc on short journeys, all I  can tell you is what the cars computer tells  me.

As for being a professional driver, and by presenting "cherry picked examples" you almost make it sound like I'm  cheating. In actual fact it just indicates what I  personaly get from my car on certain journeys as you yourself said....." personal experience"

Being a professional driver doesn't give me any advantages in any way, it just shapes the way I drive. How you drive your car is personal choice, I  just happen to drive my car like I  drive a 44 ton  chemical tanker....gently.

As I  also said  in my previous post .... I take it all as an "ish" anyway.

Whinge over....and breathe....and relax.

[BriskodaJeff]

Just to update - I'm now seeing mid-fifties (maxi-dot) on my 190 TDI as work driving patterns stabilise and it's getting warmer - at least until the weekend. Did we ever reach any conclusions about improvements through different brands / octane ratings? FYI mine is currently on standard diesel (Morrisons for last couple of refills). Might treat it to something tastier for a month to see if it makes a difference. Any recommendations?

[Muff]

Latest best reading for Fuel consumption on my 190 4×4 was 48mpg over an 80 mile trip of which 30 miles were motorway so it's moving in the right direction.  Engine now has 10,000 miles on the clock. I drive rather conservatively i.e  no fast acceleration or harsh breaking by reading the road ahead.

[Baverhanne]

I've moved to a new house in the north of Stockholm (lived on the south side before).

Despite now just having country roads with a speed limit of 80km/h my average has raised with 1dl/10km.

Never any traffic so it must depend on something else... Might be that we had around between -10 and -17 degrees Celsius a couple of days.

But if not maybe the superb is more effective cruising in 100-120km/h?

[BriskodaJeff]

Temperatures in the south of the UK have been c10 degrees higher this week than last week (though dropped right back again today). My consumption is 5mpg better this week, so I'm putting it down to the temperature change. 

[FixxaH]

My mobile app tells me that for the first 5444km on the car at averige speed of 54km/h and driving time at 99,59h is exactly 6.0l/100km.

 

Its around -5 to -10 degrees here in Finland so I use the external heater and warmers a lot which adds to the consumption and also its a new car so there is some settling in for the engine probably. But I don't think thats a bad fuel consumption at all?

 

My ex Volvo V60 D4 automatic did about the same and its a lot smaller..

[Baverhanne]

About the same consumption as mine.  I have 21000km since October and the consumption has been about the same  from start. Our70 D4 AWD AT has the same consumption as the Superb with some exceptions.

Highway +110km/h - Volvo uses a lot more fuel. 

Towing - Volvo uses less fuel.

Short trips - Volvo uses more

Mixed driving - Same consumption.

 

Volvos curb weight is 100kg more  1917kg Vs 1805kg

 

I think it's fantastic that such heavy vehicles is able to be so efficient! 

[Muff]

I agree considering the size and weight of the car.  I also have a 10 year old Fabia 1.9 Tdi and I constantly return over 57mpg on that but obviously itbis a much smaller car so a direct comparison is hardly appropriate.

[IJWS15]

Filled the car and checked my records yesterday, over the last 9 months it has averaged 57mpg - calculated from miles travelled / fuel into tank.  The computer is optimistic.  It easily does 800 miles on a tank and has been close to 900.  Had it since April 17 and it has done nearly 21k, at least it is run in now.

 

Most of the mileage is stop-start since my commute (Rugeley - Romsley) includes J11 of M6 to J3 of M5 (and reverse in the evening).  

 

I tend not to rush, and when I have the time on motorways cruise is set at 65 (Why is everyone in so much of a hurry - chill out and enjoy life) in these cases have seen the trip computer over 70.

 

Tyre pressures are 2,5/3.0 so on the hard side but not at full load level, most of the time there is only me in the car but about 10% of the mileage is the biannual trip into France with the car full.